kernel panic when waking 2019 MacBook Pro from sleep

Dear Apple Support Community

My work MacBook pro running 13.3.1 (a) (22E772610a) often crashes when waking from sleep.

I use it primarily for Microsoft and Adobe apps with some unix scripting. Work requires I install Symantec and Cisco Anyconnect. They are both up-to-date, and both vendors claim compatibility with OS 13.

Apple recently replaced the hardware, but the computer continues to crash. I have read that many in this community advise against using Symantec, but I have no choice. Can anyone confirm the crashes are due to Symantec and/or offer some advice?


MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)

Posted on May 16, 2023 6:55 PM

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Posted on Jun 9, 2023 8:42 PM

Dear HWTech

This note is just to give you the resolution to this case. I took your advice and contacted Apple again to discuss why the laptop was crashing when it was in sleep mode, and I highlighted your advice (users had seen those error logs on many EtreCheck reports for the 2019 models where people did not have any troublesome apps installed) and that the computer was crashing when it went to sleep, even when I booted in single-user mode. It took some convincing, but they agreed to relook at the computer.


They took the laptop for >48 hours to run tests and called me to say that there was nothing wrong with the computer and that they recommended I wipe the drive and reinstall it again. I explained that we had already tried that and that it did not solve the problem. After another 24 hours, they called again and asked to wipe and reinstall the drive. But I stood firm and told them there was nothing wrong with the software. I pointed out that the touch bar sometimes flickered when it fell asleep and asked why, given they told me they had replaced it last time. Then he checked the records and said they did not replace the touch bar the last time. Instead, they replaced the motherboard. This led us to discuss the Touch Bar as the possible cause of the sleep issue.


After some additional time, Apple offered to replace the "top case"—I understand Top Case Replacement refers to the replacement of the full keyboard module including the battery, trackpad, speakers, Touch Bar, top case, and keyboard. Apple did so free of charge despite the laptop being some weeks out of warranty. I collected it one week ago, and the computer has worked flawlessly ever since. I have put it to sleep and woken it up multiple times, and no issues (with no change to my software).


So you were right; the problem was caused by faulty hardware. So please accept my heartfelt thanks for providing this advice. I had lived with this faulty laptop for 12 months given Apple insisted the issue was software-related. Apple's hardware tests should be more comprehensive. I am in South East Asia, so perhaps the diagnostics team here is not as well-versed in this model compared to US technicians. Anyway, I am leaving this note to give clues to other users that may experience similar issues with their laptops.

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5 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jun 9, 2023 8:42 PM in response to HWTech

Dear HWTech

This note is just to give you the resolution to this case. I took your advice and contacted Apple again to discuss why the laptop was crashing when it was in sleep mode, and I highlighted your advice (users had seen those error logs on many EtreCheck reports for the 2019 models where people did not have any troublesome apps installed) and that the computer was crashing when it went to sleep, even when I booted in single-user mode. It took some convincing, but they agreed to relook at the computer.


They took the laptop for >48 hours to run tests and called me to say that there was nothing wrong with the computer and that they recommended I wipe the drive and reinstall it again. I explained that we had already tried that and that it did not solve the problem. After another 24 hours, they called again and asked to wipe and reinstall the drive. But I stood firm and told them there was nothing wrong with the software. I pointed out that the touch bar sometimes flickered when it fell asleep and asked why, given they told me they had replaced it last time. Then he checked the records and said they did not replace the touch bar the last time. Instead, they replaced the motherboard. This led us to discuss the Touch Bar as the possible cause of the sleep issue.


After some additional time, Apple offered to replace the "top case"—I understand Top Case Replacement refers to the replacement of the full keyboard module including the battery, trackpad, speakers, Touch Bar, top case, and keyboard. Apple did so free of charge despite the laptop being some weeks out of warranty. I collected it one week ago, and the computer has worked flawlessly ever since. I have put it to sleep and woken it up multiple times, and no issues (with no change to my software).


So you were right; the problem was caused by faulty hardware. So please accept my heartfelt thanks for providing this advice. I had lived with this faulty laptop for 12 months given Apple insisted the issue was software-related. Apple's hardware tests should be more comprehensive. I am in South East Asia, so perhaps the diagnostics team here is not as well-versed in this model compared to US technicians. Anyway, I am leaving this note to give clues to other users that may experience similar issues with their laptops.

May 16, 2023 8:08 PM in response to denimcloak

Unfortunately the 2019 model seems to be prone to bad Logic Boards. So many people posting EtreCheck reports for 2019 laptop issues seem to always contain lots of those "ProxiedDevice-Bridge" crashes. I'm not exactly sure what they are related to other than possibly the T2 security chip. I've actually seen a lot more Logic Board failures with the 2018+ Macs with a T2 chip than I have ever seen with any older model Apple laptops (including the 2016 & 2017 USB-C models with a T1 chip). Even the "userspace watchdog timeouts" are fairly common in the reports for these 2019 models.


If you disconnect all external devices and run a clean install of macOS and you still get these crashes, then I suspect the Logic Board will be the culprit. This is the only way to differentiate between a hardware or software issue. Testing must done before installing any third party apps and before restoring from a backup.


I think you will need to take the laptop back to Apple for another repair. Keep in mind you have a 90 day part (or possibly repair) warranty depending on how the laptop was repaired.


Personally I really think you do have a hardware issue due to those "ProxiedDevice-Bridge" errors.


FYI, the reason anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software are such an issue is because they interfere with the normal operation of the OS. They cannot help it as that is what they are designed to do since they have ties to the very innards of the OS where they unfortunately interfere with system stability. Plus they are not needed on a Mac since macOS already has great built-in security especially when the user practices safe computing habits such as those outlined in this article:

Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community


I do understand that a school or employer may require the Symantec security software and you have no choice in the matter.


May 17, 2023 9:55 PM in response to denimcloak

The Symantec software could very well be causing problems and I would recommend uninstalling it since such software is not needed on a Mac, but I realize you don't have that option.


I've seen a lot of users running Cisco Anyconnect seemingly without too much problem. I would consider Symantec more likely to be the culprit if any third party software is causing the problem, but of course the Cisco software is entwined into the lower levels of macOS as well.


Besides, in this case I don't think Symantec or Cisco is the source of the problems since I've seen those error logs on many EtreCheck reports for the 2019 models where people did not have any troublesome apps installed.


Unfortunately the only way to separate out hardware & software issues is by testing the computer with a clean install of macOS without any third party apps installed and without restoring from a backup. This clean install test could be performed by installing & booting macOS from an external USB3 SSD. It is not as definitive as a clean install on the internal SSD since you won't be using the internal SSD when booted from the external drive, but if the clean install of the external drive has the same issues, then you know you have a hardware issue. In the case of a 2018-2020 Intel Mac with T2 security chip, a firmware "Restore" is the best way of performing the test since besides a clean install it also resets the T2 security chip and firmware. You can try a "Revive" which will reset the T2 chip & firmware....it is not supposed to affect the data, but make sure to have a good backup first just in case.


I doubt it has anything to do with 13.3.1(a) since I've seen these error logs posted by so many other users since 2020. The few users who actually followed up later confirmed a Logic Board replacement had been required to solve their reported issue (all involved the same type of logged errors as in your report).


I understand the intermittent nature of the crashes. I can see from the EtreCheck report that it seems like once one crash has occurs that it occurs numerous times in a day or two. Intermittent issues are always the hardest to troubleshoot since you can never be 100% certain when you've actually fixed the problem and it takes lots of testing as well. I can definitely tell you we've had more Logic Boards replaced for our organization's 2018+ T2 Apple Intel models than any other earlier model Macs....and not just the laptops, but iMacs and Mac Minis as well...not necessarily for the exact issue as your laptop. We have a lot more of the 2016-2017 models than we do of the 2018-2020 models, but it is the 2018-2019 models where we have to have the Logic Boards replaced which is very telling in my opinion.


Personally, if the laptop is not still covered by a part/repair warranty, then I would recommend not spending any more money on it and get another laptop. Unfortunately I don't know how well the Apple Silicon Macs are in comparison as our organization does not have enough of them deployed yet, nor have we used them long enough to gain any perspective. It did take a couple of years before we started seeing our 2019 models start to fail. Don't lose out on that 90 day part/repair warranty if you are still within that period from the previous repair.

May 17, 2023 4:43 PM in response to HWTech

Hi HWTech


Thank you for sharing your analysis with me.


When Apple recently repaired the computer, it replaced the logic board, including memory and storage. So I might speak with them again, but I believe the problem is the software, i.e., the specific combination I have installed. My colleagues who run earlier versions of the Mac OS (with Symantec and any connect installed) are reporting no crashes, so the problem seems to be a combination of:

  • Symantec Endpoint Protection 4.3.6
  • Mac OS 13.3.1 (a) (22E772610a)
  • Cisco Anyconnect 4.10.06090


The crashes occur regardless of whether I have attached USB and Bluetooth devices. I will try safe mode over the weekend to see if the crashes recur in that mode. But please keep in mind that sometimes I can go for days without a crash; the behaviour is intermittent, making it difficult to be sure.

Jun 9, 2023 9:45 PM in response to denimcloak

Thanks for the wonderful follow up details. I hope it may give others hope who find themselves in a similar situation. I'm glad you were able to get the laptop repaired...and even better that they covered the repair for you as well since it is very rare to see Apple extend coverage these days. Here is hoping you can get a lot more years of use from this laptop.

kernel panic when waking 2019 MacBook Pro from sleep

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