M1 MacBook Pro Max - Sudden, random shutdowns and boot loops

Hardware Info:


Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro18,2

Model Number: MK1A3B/A

Chip: Apple M1 Max

Total Number of Cores: 10 (8 performance and 2 efficiency)

Memory: 32 GB

System Firmware Version: 10151.41.12

OS Loader Version: 10151.41.12


This started happening a few days ago. The laptop will immediately shut down without warning and with no shutdown process, the screen simply goes blank.


Then when I try to turn it back on, it will get caught in a boot loop where the progress bar will appear for a second or two and then it'll shut down again.


When boot looping, sometimes it'll take a few seconds to shut down, sometimes it's immediate. If I leave the laptop for a few minutes whilst leaving it plugged in, it will eventually come back to life.


I have tried the following:


  • Apple Diagnostics tool - returns no hardware errors.
  • Re-installed Mac OS and upgraded to Sonoma. Whilst it runs better, it will still shut down randomly.
  • Upgraded the firmware as part of the OS install - I thought this would fix it, but the same problem happens.
  • SMC Reset (Using control+option+right shift+power) - This was the last thing I tried, and although it got stuck in a boot loop, it seems to be working now.


There is nothing in particular that I am doing when the laptop shuts down. I could just have one app open or many whilst working. It can happen within 2 minutes of booting up, or it can go 8 hours with no issues and then shut down without warning.


The only measurable part of the problem is that when it does shut down, it is guaranteed to boot loop for a few minutes. And so far, if I leave it for a while and come back, it will boot after a few tries.


It feels like this is a hardware issue. Since resetting the SMC I have not experienced the random shut downs, but the fans are spinning up a lot and the laptop is getting unusually hot.


We're currently living in a country with no Apple Store for the next 2 months, and so I'm trying to fix this any way I can with software.


If anyone has had a similar problem, please share it here or if you have any suggestions of what else I can try, please let me know.


Thanks

MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Nov 10, 2023 10:12 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 10, 2023 11:06 PM

Hi,


I thought it was a MacOS bug or Firmware issue too, but this started happening when I was on Ventura. I did a fresh, clean install (the old-fashioned way with Disk Utility and a USB Drive).


Now the laptop is on 14.1.1, and my firmware version has been upgraded but the problem still occurs.


I will try safe mode and post here with any updates, thanks for the suggestion.


There are a few consistent crash reports that point to the oahd-helper process. I popped the crash report into ChatGPT to help summarize the issue:


Process Information:
Process Name: oahd-helper
Process Identifier (PID): 1184
Path: /usr/libexec/rosetta/oahd-helper
Code Type: ARM-64 (Native)
Parent Process: oahd (PID: 652)
Crash Time and System Info:
Date/Time of the Crash: 2023-11-11 10:53:23.7471 +0530
macOS Version: 14.1.1 (Build 23B81)
Crash Details:
Crashed Thread: Main thread (0)
Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGKILL - Code Signature Invalid)
Exception Codes: UNKNOWN_0x32 at 0x00000001025d8000
Termination Reason: Namespace CODESIGNING, Code 2 Invalid Page
This indicates a memory access violation due to an invalid code signature.
Memory and Thread State:
Memory-related details show the memory regions and their state at the time of the crash.
The Thread 0 crashed with ARM Thread State, showing the register values at the time of the crash.


There is only one app I consistently use that relies on Rosetta, and that is Local WP (A local website development app).


This weekend, I'm going to try and use the laptop without spinning up Local WP and see if I get the same crash errors. But surely this shouldn't cause an immediate shutdown and a boot loop? I would have thought MacOS has built in crash handlers to prevent this.

Similar questions

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 10, 2023 11:06 PM in response to kaz-k

Hi,


I thought it was a MacOS bug or Firmware issue too, but this started happening when I was on Ventura. I did a fresh, clean install (the old-fashioned way with Disk Utility and a USB Drive).


Now the laptop is on 14.1.1, and my firmware version has been upgraded but the problem still occurs.


I will try safe mode and post here with any updates, thanks for the suggestion.


There are a few consistent crash reports that point to the oahd-helper process. I popped the crash report into ChatGPT to help summarize the issue:


Process Information:
Process Name: oahd-helper
Process Identifier (PID): 1184
Path: /usr/libexec/rosetta/oahd-helper
Code Type: ARM-64 (Native)
Parent Process: oahd (PID: 652)
Crash Time and System Info:
Date/Time of the Crash: 2023-11-11 10:53:23.7471 +0530
macOS Version: 14.1.1 (Build 23B81)
Crash Details:
Crashed Thread: Main thread (0)
Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGKILL - Code Signature Invalid)
Exception Codes: UNKNOWN_0x32 at 0x00000001025d8000
Termination Reason: Namespace CODESIGNING, Code 2 Invalid Page
This indicates a memory access violation due to an invalid code signature.
Memory and Thread State:
Memory-related details show the memory regions and their state at the time of the crash.
The Thread 0 crashed with ARM Thread State, showing the register values at the time of the crash.


There is only one app I consistently use that relies on Rosetta, and that is Local WP (A local website development app).


This weekend, I'm going to try and use the laptop without spinning up Local WP and see if I get the same crash errors. But surely this shouldn't cause an immediate shutdown and a boot loop? I would have thought MacOS has built in crash handlers to prevent this.

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M1 MacBook Pro Max - Sudden, random shutdowns and boot loops

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