MacBook Pro passing diagnostics but reproduced failure

hello guys, I'm looking for some insight on my 2018 MacBook Pro 16gb memory, 512 ssd. I bought this computer refurbished for starters. Originally it started with a constant sleep wake failure. I would leave the computer to sleep and when I reopened the lid I would be presented with a message saying my computer restarted due to an issue. Apple originally thought software issue and we have since reinstalled OS as new without backup or data transfer, I want to add we have erased and reinstalled 3 times now. Now the issue has slowly gotten worse, I am getting the same sleep wake failures accompanied by the computer freezing on the majority of tasks ending with the only option being hard reboot. The technicians are now able to see this and reproduce it in store, however all diagnostics are passing which even they thought was strange! To me this sounds like a failing ram even though tests pass, does anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

I have since been quoted a logic board replacement. What exactly on the logic board could be causing this? any insight would be great, I love understanding things and I understand nothing with this

MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Mar 20, 2024 12:52 AM

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Posted on Mar 21, 2024 9:24 PM

Diagnostics rarely detect hardware issues, but It is great when they do detect issues. A passing diagnostic only means that nothing caused the tests to fail at that time. The next time you run the diagnostics, they may report a failure....or not. Some hardware failures just cannot be detected by a diagnostic. I've run some diagnostics for days before an issue is detected, other times the diagnostic never fails, but after replacing a part the system is running fine. I will actually use a third party memory diagnostic to test memory because it runs a longer & more thorough memory test, however, even that memory test doesn't detect issues all the time either. And your Logic Board failure may not even be due to memory.


Keep in mind the Logic Board of the 2018+ Macs now have memory, CPU, GPU, WiFi, and SSDs integrated onto the Logic Boards. And they now all have a security enclave chip to control & manage nearly everything. It could be any of those items, or it could be some issue related to the power system on the Logic Board.


I suggested running EtreCheck on the off chance your issues are caused by a software issue. I overlooked the fact the tech already quoted a Logic Board replacement. When people say they erased & reinstalled macOS....many times they also end up restoring from a backup as well which can just bring the problem back. Plus the report would include log summaries which may show us it has Kernel Panics or "ProxiedDevice-Bridge" panics....the latter indicates an issue with the T2 security chip.


It does not surprise me the Logic Board would be bad since the Logic Boards of the 2018-2020 Intel Macs have a higher rate of failure than older models...even those from 2016-2017 which have similar designs with the main difference being the security chip.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 21, 2024 9:24 PM in response to Mackenzie2388

Diagnostics rarely detect hardware issues, but It is great when they do detect issues. A passing diagnostic only means that nothing caused the tests to fail at that time. The next time you run the diagnostics, they may report a failure....or not. Some hardware failures just cannot be detected by a diagnostic. I've run some diagnostics for days before an issue is detected, other times the diagnostic never fails, but after replacing a part the system is running fine. I will actually use a third party memory diagnostic to test memory because it runs a longer & more thorough memory test, however, even that memory test doesn't detect issues all the time either. And your Logic Board failure may not even be due to memory.


Keep in mind the Logic Board of the 2018+ Macs now have memory, CPU, GPU, WiFi, and SSDs integrated onto the Logic Boards. And they now all have a security enclave chip to control & manage nearly everything. It could be any of those items, or it could be some issue related to the power system on the Logic Board.


I suggested running EtreCheck on the off chance your issues are caused by a software issue. I overlooked the fact the tech already quoted a Logic Board replacement. When people say they erased & reinstalled macOS....many times they also end up restoring from a backup as well which can just bring the problem back. Plus the report would include log summaries which may show us it has Kernel Panics or "ProxiedDevice-Bridge" panics....the latter indicates an issue with the T2 security chip.


It does not surprise me the Logic Board would be bad since the Logic Boards of the 2018-2020 Intel Macs have a higher rate of failure than older models...even those from 2016-2017 which have similar designs with the main difference being the security chip.

Mar 20, 2024 4:58 PM in response to Mackenzie2388

Mackenzie2388 wrote:

hello guys, I'm looking for some insight on my 2018 MacBook Pro 16gb memory, 512 ssd. I bought this computer refurbished for starters. Originally it started with a constant sleep wake failure. I would leave the computer to sleep and when I reopened the lid I would be presented with a message saying my computer restarted due to an issue.

Apple originally thought software issue and we have since reinstalled OS as new without backup or data transfer, I want to add we have erased and reinstalled 3 times now. Now the issue has slowly gotten worse, I am getting the same sleep wake failures accompanied by the computer freezing on the majority of tasks ending with the only option being hard reboot.

The technicians are now able to see this and reproduce it in store, however all diagnostics are passing which even they thought was strange!

To me this sounds like a failing ram even though tests pass, does anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

I have since been quoted a logic board replacement. What exactly on the logic board could be causing this? any insight would be great, I love understanding things and I understand nothing with this


RAM is solder to the board. Logic boards are replace they are not repaired.


The components on these machine are soldered to the logic board using SMT (Surface Mount technology) you can not replace or upgrade components. The entire circuit board gets replaced.


Get your Mac ready for service - Apple Support Get ready for service - Apple Support



Mar 22, 2024 10:17 AM in response to Mackenzie2388

Mackenzie2388 wrote:

hello guys, I'm looking for some insight on my 2018 MacBook Pro 16gb memory, 512 ssd. I bought this computer refurbished for starters.

Where, specifically, did you buy this computer? There is only one source for refurbished Macs and that is Apple. Anything else is "used". Macs are expensive and people generally run them into the ground. Anyone selling a recent Mac is probably selling it due to some hardware problem that they don't want to pay to fix.

Originally it started with a constant sleep wake failure. I would leave the computer to sleep and when I reopened the lid I would be presented with a message saying my computer restarted due to an issue.

Yep. Dead on arrival.

I have since been quoted a logic board replacement. What exactly on the logic board could be causing this? any insight would be great, I love understanding things and I understand nothing with this

There's not much to understand. It's dead. I don't know how much a new logic board costs. But you can get a genuine refurbished Mac for well under $1000. Any Apple Silicon computer will be much faster than that old Intel computer. Event if it were in perfect condition, you should still be shopping for new Apple Silicon replacement.

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MacBook Pro passing diagnostics but reproduced failure

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