iPadOS 18 bricked my iPad M4

I updated my iPad Pro M4 to iOS 18. It did not go well, the iPad won't turn on, hard reset doesn't work and it doesn't show up on my Mac. I've booked it in for a repair.


Has anyone else had the same issue?


Is there anything else I can try?


thanks in advance.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPad Pro, iPadOS 17

Posted on Sep 16, 2024 12:20 PM

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Posted on Sep 18, 2024 1:31 AM

I’ve spent an hour with tech support at Apple regarding my bricked M4 pro following the update. They agree it can’t be fixed at home, there is no way to get it into recovery mode to do this. I need to send it back for a free repair or replacement. Apple have now pulled the update for these flag ship devices so it must be serious. Tech support indicated that in his experience it must have caused a hardware failure that their engineers are now looking into.

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57 replies

Oct 9, 2024 11:56 AM in response to varjak paw

so I have the iPad M4 - Pro (1TB) - updated to iPad OS 18 and it bricked. Crazy thing is that just a couple weeks earlier, my iPhone 15 Pro also bricked when updating to iOS18! - they sent me a new phone - didn't fix it. ended up I could set up as new but could not restore from my diligently backed up backup! - then, same thing happens to iPad. I see now the known issue with iPad - wondering how they could be connected? I spent hours on phone with tech support in both cases, and went to Apple store for a GB visit. - both cases they sent (and are sending) me a new device. I'm wondering if my replacement iPad will be able to restore from backup. At this point, I have little hope. Maybe it will come with iPad OS 17 and that will be how it works. It is SO MUCH WORK! to get my device back to the way it was set up previously - when not being able to use backup to restore. Putting apps in folders, signing in to accounts,... - so many things you don't even think about until they are gone! VERY VERY frustrating!


-Has anybody else has issue with iPad AND iPhone?

Oct 9, 2024 2:42 PM in response to DaveDolphin

DaveDolphin wrote:

so I have the iPad M4 - Pro (1TB) - updated to iPad OS 18 and it bricked. Crazy thing is that just a couple weeks earlier, my iPhone 15 Pro also bricked when updating to iOS18! - they sent me a new phone - didn't fix it. ended up I could set up as new but could not restore from my diligently backed up backup! - then, same thing happens to iPad. I see now the known issue with iPad - wondering how they could be connected? I spent hours on phone with tech support in both cases, and went to Apple store for a GB visit. - both cases they sent (and are sending) me a new device. I'm wondering if my replacement iPad will be able to restore from backup. At this point, I have little hope. Maybe it will come with iPad OS 17 and that will be how it works. It is SO MUCH WORK! to get my device back to the way it was set up previously - when not being able to use backup to restore. Putting apps in folders, signing in to accounts,... - so many things you don't even think about until they are gone! VERY VERY frustrating!

-Has anybody else has issue with iPad AND iPhone?


Your new iPad Pro M4 will be able to update to iPadOS 18.0.1 without issue - after which you will be able to restore your pre-existing iPadOS backup.

Nov 22, 2024 9:41 AM in response to octavio127

Apple is obviously having problems with their iPad Pro 13" M4 Hardware. Bought a new iPad Pro 13" M4 w/ 1TB last June 2024. Updated my iPad Pro M4 to 17.7.1 and that Bricked my new iPad Pro. Took it into the Apple Store and they couldn't fix it. So, Apple replaced it with a brand new iPad Pro M4 in September. Now my replacement iPad Pro M4 got "Bricked" after updating to iOS 18.1.1 Taking it in tomorrow to Apple Store tomorrow to see if they can fix it OR get a new replacement. Apple seems to be having continuing problems with their new iPad Pro M4's. I'm a long long time Apple user since the Mac FX. I hope Apple figures this out.......... Very disappointed......

Sep 22, 2024 3:47 PM in response to Spwilliams13

Hi everyone, I spent an hour with Apple support regarding my M4 pro which broke after an update. They agreed that it cannot be repaired by Apple. They said it should be sent for further testing and a replacement will be sent within 7 days. They did send a replacement but I have not received it yet. It is very annoying that an update can damage your iPad and then you have to wait a week for a replacement. Is the replacement used or new because mine was new a month ago and I bought it from Apple

Sep 23, 2024 12:13 AM in response to gigi878

I was told up to 2 weeks for the replacement. The Genius Bar gave me the number of the service centre, when I called I was told that there is a delay due to the high volume of iPads with this issue.


I was told that the replacement will be as new, either a returned product or in the authorisation of work document that you would have signed it would say something like this, "Apple may use parts or products that are new or previously used Apple genuine parts that have been tested and passed Apple functional requirements."


It is a bit gutting when you have paid out a lot of money for a new product to possibly get a refurbed unit sent back, but I imagine that I won't notice the difference.


I'm still waiting, I haven't heard anything about the progress of the repair, 6 days now.

Sep 23, 2024 4:43 AM in response to SuperAIDS

SuperAIDS wrote:

Same here. In Poland Apple service is a disaster. 2 days phone talk with mid technical cuz they need to ensure it’s really dead. In local apple service don’t have no recourses (people) to deal witch 1200€ iPad. Right now we know at least that apple (and maybe someone else) have the abilities to bricked your device anytime eg. intentional aging…


It's a fact of life that on devices that have firmware, corrupted firmware updates, or bugs in firmware updates, can result in turning customer hardware into a "brick". An update that "bricks" customer hardware is one of a firmware development team's worst nightmares; doubly so for the software quality assurance team that tested that update before it went out to the public.


This does not mean that

  • Vendors "brick" hardware intentionally. (One exception: Activation Lock. If the owner of a lost or stolen iPhone wants to "brick" of a stolen or lost phone, Activation Lock can help the owner accomplish their goal.)
  • Vendors are waiting for the opportunity to "brick" your device at any time
  • Third parties necessarily have any ability to "brick" your device at all. (On an iPhone that is not jail-broken, only Apple's software, itself, has the ability to install an iOS update. Apps don't have the privileges that it would take to mess with the firmware.)

Sep 24, 2024 9:43 AM in response to archy999

archy999 wrote:

My issue is not that my m4 ipad pro is bricked but rather how Apple is handling this whole mess… It’s been over a week now, no official explanation/apology, they pulled the 18 also no explanation on that, no possible timeline given or any instructions. As I said it’s been over a week now and we are in the absolute darkness! Extremely poor handling of a crisis on Apple’s side… Pure failure of a movement…


Apple might not know the cause of the problem yet – just that the issue is serious enough, and has been seen often enough, to make it worth temporarily pausing the iPadOS 18 rollout.


CNET (September 18, 2024) – Apple's iPadOS 18 Update Is Bricking M4 iPad Pro Models

"The company told CNET the issue is affecting iPad Pro models with Apple's newer M4 processor. "We have temporarily removed the iPadOS 18 update for M4 iPad Pro models as we work to resolve an issue that is impacting a small number of devices," Apple said in a statement."


If I remember correctly, Apple told a couple of Mac news sites the same thing, word for word. However, I do not see anything on the Apple Newsroom (press release) site mentioning the pause in the iPadOS 18 rollout.

Oct 23, 2024 2:34 PM in response to gigi878

This same thing happened to me on Monday, October 21. I have the 11inch M4 iPad Pro 512 G wifi. It is five month old. Apple GB told me it was a hardware failure, and that I would get a refurbished, not new, iPad Pro, with a continued warranty, not a new warranty. Since my iPad Pro is only five months old, I feel I should get a new one not a refurbished one. And, now, I learn that this hardware failure is could be due to the 18 iOS update? I'm angry.

Sep 18, 2024 2:29 PM in response to Spwilliams13

I'm not sure what version of iOS was on my iPad since I downloaded the beta iPad OS18 shortly after starting it up. The beta version (as it turns out) became the RC version (22A3354) and was installed on my iPad 2024 M4 without issue. After reading this thread and others, I can only assert that some pre-condition (either existing version of iOS), or there is a hardware issue with some iPads 2024 M4. It is peculiar that the issue seemed to only impact a small percentage of these machines, I do hope Apple provides some detailed explanation of what was in fact the root cause of this issue.

Sep 23, 2024 6:43 AM in response to Servant of Cats

Servant of Cats wrote:

It's a fact of life that on devices that have firmware, corrupted firmware updates, or bugs in firmware updates, can result in turning customer hardware into a "brick". An update that "bricks" customer hardware is one of a firmware development team's worst nightmares; doubly so for the software quality assurance team that tested that update before it went out to the public.

This does not mean that
Vendors "brick" hardware intentionally. (One exception: Activation Lock. If the owner of a lost or stolen iPhone wants to "brick" of a stolen or lost phone, Activation Lock can help the owner accomplish their• goal.)
• Vendors are waiting for the opportunity to "brick" your device at any time
• Third parties necessarily have any ability to "brick" your device at all. (On an iPhone that is not jail-broken, only Apple's software, itself, has the ability to install an iOS update. Apps don't have the privileges that it would take to mess with the firmware.)

But conspiracy theories are so much more fun! And so on-trend.

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iPadOS 18 bricked my iPad M4

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