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2018 macbook air constantly crashing with panic medic boot error

My daughter's 2018 intel macbook air was crashing constantly.

I tried to reset it back to factory settings but it crashed again during the os reinstall.

I took it back to apple. They did a diagnostic and said it was a battery issue, so I paid for them to replace the battery. The issue is not resolved though.

It runs fine in safe mode, but continues to crash on normal boot.

I've done a EtreCheck report and attached.

What is the likely issue here?

I don't want to keep going back and forward trusting apple to diagnose the issue as clearly they didn't bother to check if the issue was resolved before accepting my payment :(


Posted on Mar 2, 2023 6:21 AM

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Posted on Mar 7, 2023 7:52 PM

You most likely have a hardware issue of some sort. Make sure to disconnect all external devices in case one of them is causing a problem. Otherwise you will need to have the laptop repaired which will most likely involve replacing the Logic Board.


I believe at one time Apple actually had a free Logic Board repair program for the MBAir 2018 model, but I don't see it listed on their publicly acknowledged list of free repair programs. This means either it is expired, or it was (or is) a secret free repair program. Most Apple free repair programs are only valid for up to three years after purchase (some may be four years...it is rare for any to be five years these days). Many times Apple techs overlook the secret repair programs because they are noted in a different location (Apple doesn't make this easy for anyone...techs or users).


Depending how the battery repair was performed you should have a 90 day part or repair warranty so you should go back within that 90 days. I don't know why any tech would replace a battery for this problem especially when they should be aware of the Apple free Logic Board repair program (not all 2018 MBAirs qualify even if you have a failure...it is based on system serial number). Unfortunately Apple does not instruct their techs to look at Kernel Panic logs so unless a diagnostic gives them an error code, techs must resort to a best guess for which part to replace (Apple's service guides do provide suggestions, but not all issues fit neatly into a category).


FYI, this laptop does not have a proper cooling system installed...most techs which see this laptop laugh at it knowing Logic Boards will be burning up due to inadequate cooling. While this laptop does include a fan for active cooling, the heatsink for the CPU does not include a heatpipe which typically extends in front of the fan. The heatsink and fan are not next to each other on this laptop so the fan is not blowing air directly across the heatsink for optimal cooling. This is apparently what "Think Different" means today.


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3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 7, 2023 7:52 PM in response to bnninja

You most likely have a hardware issue of some sort. Make sure to disconnect all external devices in case one of them is causing a problem. Otherwise you will need to have the laptop repaired which will most likely involve replacing the Logic Board.


I believe at one time Apple actually had a free Logic Board repair program for the MBAir 2018 model, but I don't see it listed on their publicly acknowledged list of free repair programs. This means either it is expired, or it was (or is) a secret free repair program. Most Apple free repair programs are only valid for up to three years after purchase (some may be four years...it is rare for any to be five years these days). Many times Apple techs overlook the secret repair programs because they are noted in a different location (Apple doesn't make this easy for anyone...techs or users).


Depending how the battery repair was performed you should have a 90 day part or repair warranty so you should go back within that 90 days. I don't know why any tech would replace a battery for this problem especially when they should be aware of the Apple free Logic Board repair program (not all 2018 MBAirs qualify even if you have a failure...it is based on system serial number). Unfortunately Apple does not instruct their techs to look at Kernel Panic logs so unless a diagnostic gives them an error code, techs must resort to a best guess for which part to replace (Apple's service guides do provide suggestions, but not all issues fit neatly into a category).


FYI, this laptop does not have a proper cooling system installed...most techs which see this laptop laugh at it knowing Logic Boards will be burning up due to inadequate cooling. While this laptop does include a fan for active cooling, the heatsink for the CPU does not include a heatpipe which typically extends in front of the fan. The heatsink and fan are not next to each other on this laptop so the fan is not blowing air directly across the heatsink for optimal cooling. This is apparently what "Think Different" means today.


Mar 7, 2023 8:03 PM in response to HWTech

That, my friend, is exactly the sort of info I was hoping to get!

Thank you for taking the time to reply :)


I've had everything disconnected and had it constantly reboot, I've also had it running for an hour with no issues. Very frustrating when it's a clear issue, but when I took it in I was unable to show it, as it seemed to run fine at the apple store :/

2018 macbook air constantly crashing with panic medic boot error

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