iPadOS 18 bricked my iPad M4

ZsuKovács wrote:

How can I send it back and get a new one?

If you want help from Apple, start here:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

suchandra009 wrote:

My Ipad pro M1 has flickering multiple black lines after the Ipad os 18 update, seems like the new OS is released without proper testing of the OS which is giving us these problems.

Your issue is unrelated to the problem currently affecting the 2024 iPad Pro M4 models.

In your case, you can easily determine if you have a hardware or software issue. A reliable method to confirm a screen or other hardware fault is to take a screenshot when the fault is evident - and then review the captured screenshot image...

When reviewed, if the lines are not present in the screenshot image, then you have demonstrated that you have a hardware fault that, sooner or later, may become sufficiently severe that repair or replacement of the iPad are the only options. If the lines are visible in the screenshot, the something other than hardware will be the cause.

Note: When reviewing the image, rotating the iPad screen orientation by 90°, from Portrait to Landscape, will ensure that the image does not coincide with screen defects if present.

Take a screenshot on your iPad – Apple Support

If the test indicates that a hardware fault (as, given your description this is perhaps likely) a visit to the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store is recommended - where the technicians will be able to test and assess your iPad. This will likely inform your next steps:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

iPad Repair – Official Apple Support

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.)

I downgraded mine and save it phew.... no need to get a replacement but it was close...

It wouldn’t let neither… it’s cold stone dead

HermanJr wrote:

If the iPad like mine is completely dead, none of the mentioned steps are working.

So the question is legitimate, how did he get it up again.

An Apple Store may have access to debugging and repair tools that most people don't have at home. E.g. there are scenarios in which reviving an Apple Silicon Mac may require the assistance of a second Mac, running Apple Configurator 2.

In the case of M4 iPad Pros and iPadOS 18, the impression that I get from news reports is that some of the iPad Pros got bricked so thoroughly that Apple had to replace them outright. Reviving them, if possible, was beyond the level of what even Apple Stores were equipped to do.

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.

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…

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.

It's like it has a dead battery. Buttons don't do anything. Plugged it into a thunderbolt dock with a monitor and nothing.

If the iPad like mine is completely dead, none of the mentioned steps are working.

So the question is legitimate, how did he get it up again.

My Ipad pro M1 has flickering multiple black lines after the Ipad os 18 update, seems like the new OS is released without proper testing of the OS which is giving us these problems.

archy999 wrote:

My issue is not that my m4 ipad pro is bricked but rather how Apple is handling this whole mess

What happened when you contacted Apple about it?

See this article.

Apple Pulls iPadOS 18 for M4 iPad Pro After Bricking Complaints

I have an iPad Pro M4 and updated to iPadOS 18 without issue. The above article suggests (but does say for certain) that those iPads previously using iPadOS 17.7 may have this issue.