2017 Macbook pro unexpected shutdowns

Is this the non-touchbar model? If so, then @svetlin_a1278 is most likely correct since the SSDs in the non-touchar 2016 & 2017 MBPros have a high rate of failure. The good news is there is a third party SSD replacement available from OWC which will be better & cheaper than getting another potentially bad SSD from Apple.

If you have any other model Apple laptop and the SSD has failed, it will require an expensive Logic Board replacement from Apple or an AASP.

Here is an Apple article for a blinking folder with question mark boot issue:

If your Mac starts up to a question mark - Apple Support

Here is another Apple article for other types of startup screens you may encounter (just for reference in case things change):

If your Mac doesn't start up all the way - Apple Support

Keep in mind a failing SSD can sometimes be intermittent. Most of the SSD failures I have encountered tend to show a failure when first booting a computer or when waking from sleep since the SSD sometimes needs more time to go ready. You can try an Option Boot to see whether the SSD appears as a boot option on the Apple boot picker menu screen...maybe by the time it tries to scan for bootable volumes the SSD will finally go ready. If this trick works, then it is only a matter of time before the SSD fails completely.

You can try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. Keep in mind that the issue may be intermittent so take a passing diagnostic with a grain of salt.

If you have the non-touchbar model and the SSD has failed, then the firmware update you mentioned may have been Apple updating the firmware on the SSD which was one of the things Apple would attempt under the free SSD repair program for the non-touchbar model. I thought this free SSD repair program had expired, but if it is still active for your laptop, then Apple should be able to replace the SSD for free (assuming the firmware update was for the SSD and not a system firmware update). Otherwise I would opt for the third party OWC SSD as it is cheaper than the Apple alternative (who knows how long the Apple replacement will even last since that particular SSD has a high rate of failure).

FYI, providing the exact model which includes the year designation is extremely important when asking for assistance for a Mac. If the Mac is not booting, then you can get this information by entering the system serial number here:

Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support

may be you have to replace your ssd but first put it to recovery modUse macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support(when you start your Mac hold command⌘ and R together) and click on disk utility then click on first aid and try to reboot again if that doesn't work put it on recovery mod again and click on reinstall os

samgarmoe wrote:

• Thank you for all that info. A few things to answer your various points:

this is the non touchbar model.

Had a feeling.

• I have also run the hardware diagnostic test and it passed each time.

The SSD failure is due to the SSD's controller which is either working or not. The SSD's health information won't reveal any failure. As long as the SSD is "working", the diagnostic will pass it.

I don't quite understand your point about the option boot but I will give that a try.

The point is to give the SSD time to power up and go ready. When this SSD fails, the SSD needs more time to get ready, but the Mac itself expects the SSD to be ready much sooner. Option Booting causes the Mac to look for bootable volumes which can take some time...perhaps enough time for the SSD to go ready and appear as a boot option on the screen. This is a long shot as I'm not sure exactly how the scanning process works. Just thought it may help you boot the laptop you cannot boot normally after a few attempts.

I am thinking I'll find a suitable third party replacement and do it myself.

AFAIK, OWC is the only one who makes an SSD compatible with this laptop. This laptop uses yet another unique Apple proprietary SSD connector. I provided a link in my previous post. Make sure to watch the OWC installation video instructions, but keep in mind the video will make it appear easier than it really is. The Bottom Case is tricky to remove (and reinstall) and their are two connections for the battery, one of which involves a very delicate and easily damaged flex cable and connector on the Logic Board for the battery (the Logic Board connector is extremely delicate especially when closing the latch on the connector...the lever tends to fall off many times as it gets pushed off instead of rotating even when a person is extremely careful...has happened to me multiple times).

Thank you for the help, I appreciate it. This has been plaguing me for months and having an idea for a solution is fantastic.

Many times you will find Kernel Panic logs in "/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports" referencing "nvme" in one of the first few lines of the panic log. "nvme" is a reference to the SSD. Many times it will mention "nvme: Fatal error occurred", or other times I have seen something like "nvme: AppleS3XController PCI link down". Kernel Panic log file names will usually begin with "kernel" and end in ".panic".

It can be hard to confirm the SSD failure unless you have an external boot drive for testing or can interpret Kernel Panic logs. I find booting to an external drive and sleeping & waking the computer is a good way to get some SSDs to show a failure (does not always work, but it definitely helps to speed up troubleshooting when successful).

If you have not already done so, I would recommend installing macOS 13.x Ventura now while the original Apple SSD is still "functional" so that the laptop's system firmware is updated by the Ventura installer. Sometimes the macOS installer may not allow updating the system firmware when a non-Apple SSD is installed internally (was an issue with the Monterey installer...Apple may have "fixed" it with a later version...I have not seen similar reports for the Ventura installer, but best to be safe just in case). Once the system firmware has been updated, it should not be a problem installing Ventura to the new third party SSD.

I cannot stress this enough....make sure to have a good backup now while the SSD is still functional. The SSD could stop working completely at any time. Just adding this reminder since so many people neglect to backup at all and many times will skip a backup thinking it is no big deal...until disaster strikes of course. This is also for other people who may read this post.