Sequoia on Intel 16" MacBook Pro (2019)? Has anyone tried it, and does it fix network and battery charge and drainage issues?

Hi. I just heard from apple support that 14.7 will be the last update for Sonoma. Unfortunately, I updated today and it caused major problems charging my 2019 16" Macbook... Troubleshooting, I turned all battery management options in my settings and can charge again, but not the best option... (so be careful if you plan to upgrade in intel based MacBooks). Also, for the last few months, in multiple MacBooks, multiple operating systems and both from home and office ISP (Office is an expensive plan, with a router within 10 feet), I have had issues with bars showing in my network, but MacBooks disconnect. From doing some research, I believe iPhone attempts to hand-off, run blue tooth, network etc overwhelms the bandwidth if Safari or Chrome are trying to connect to a new web address or trying to refresh a page... I turned off every connectivity I could find, and the problem appears to be better (less frequent) but still present. (Wifi icon will go dark, but network icon still has bars). It will go offline, then come back. It comes back more quickly since I purged networking/bluetooth/bonjour etc on the phone and the Mac, but still happening. Apple support suggests upgrading to Sequoia, but I worry that my intel won't do as well as the M1/M2 in the new OS...and that my problems might worsen rather than improve.


So... if anyone has experienced network or battery issues, and had them improve with Sequoia, please send some encouragement. And especially if anyone on an Intel based system is using Sequoia without a hitch, I'd love to hear that as well!

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.7

Posted on Oct 6, 2024 6:14 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 6, 2024 6:22 AM

I am using 15.0.1 and it is working fine on my 2019 intel macbook pro. I had no particular problems with Sonoma.

13 replies

Oct 7, 2024 11:54 AM in response to sarirap7

I have the same MBP and a series of kernel panics that forced an expensive repair, replacing the logic board and touch sensor at the local Mac store. They installed Sequoia 15.0 and I took it home to restore from a time machine backup. It all seemed to go smoothly but files were unable to open or showed a cloud icon when they were in fact local or eventually opened after much delay. I was able to use most options in system preferences but the iCould panel would not open.


After many failed efforts to improve the responsiveness, I tried to reinstall the OS so I could restore from a Carbon Copy backup. Reinstalling failed 3 times, each eventually hanging on the login screen.


Back to the Apple store where the diagnostic worked and they downgraded me to 14.5. Time Machine backup restored fine to that and an upgrade to 14.7 went equally well. I'm planning to wait for several updates of Sequoia before I try that again.

Oct 6, 2024 10:26 AM in response to CT

Sonoma seemed okay for me when I updated the OS. It was specifically the last security update ( Sonoma 14.7) that totally messed with charging. The network issues were not Sonoma specific for me, and likely due to an iPhone update in combo with the way Apple is doing handoff type stuff in the past year. If you choose to update to Sequoia at some point would you mind posting back how it went for you?

Oct 6, 2024 10:38 AM in response to CT

Thank you, that's heartening. Maybe switching to Sequoia can help me. The Sonoma security update (14.7) was released on the same day as Sequoia became available so maybe you jumped ship to the new OS before it affected your Mac, or maybe I had some specific conflicts due to orphaned files or older software/extensions or settings when I first migrated into Sonoma... Glad you didn't have any problems!

Oct 6, 2024 2:31 PM in response to CT

well hopefully something with my set up...or a corrupted update process. I wouldn't want anyone else to deal with this... it was frightening. As soon as my computer restarted after the update, my Mac began to flicker and the charger began to chime and say not charging and didn't stop until I clicked off all battery saving options. Apple support couldn't say why, just that I should update to Sequoia for a chance of a fix.

Oct 7, 2024 1:50 PM in response to Teramac

I will be waiting as well and stay with 14.7 for now. As long as I turn off all battery management options, I am charging fine. (turn them on, and battery won't charge until I turn them off and restart). Network is still sketchy, but better with bluetooth, analytics, air drop etc shut down. Still intermittent disconnects, but not as frequent as before. I found another user with the same MBP posted concerns with network access on Sequoia. I am honestly afraid that something in these updates may be challenging the logic boards (maybe to do with charging errors and shorts...) but I have no evidence of this, just concerns. Hope all continues to go well for you.

Oct 21, 2024 9:33 AM in response to sarirap7

Yes, since my update to 15.0.1, I am having big issues with my 2019 MBP Intel while running any Adobe CC programs, I am unable to save files to external drive and Disk First Aid constantly crashes, locking up drive and requiring a hard reboot. On my 2019 MBP an iCloud error seems to be the consistent message. I would wait for a few fixes before moving to Sequoia 15.0.1. On my 2023 M3 MBP everything seems to be stable, finger crossed, because I am in the middle of a huge movie edit.

Nov 1, 2024 4:59 PM in response to Teramac

Update Nov 1:

Sonoma 14.7 was operating fine but the new logic board only lasted 3 weeks before quietly dying in its sleep one night. Apple replaced it under warranty and returned it yesterday, this time with Sequoia 15.1 installed. Restoring from my Time Machine backup went fine and only two issues were noted. For some reason the desktop files did not get restored until the iCloud backup of those was turned back on. Unfortunately, that then duplicated the desktop files requiring a bit of cleanup. The other issue was that a Canon driver, EWCservice was running at 100% of CPU which forced the fan to run continuously. Uninstalling the Canon application cured that.


Fan now normal, charging is normal, Adobe apps behave normal, and all seems well at this point.

Sequoia on Intel 16" MacBook Pro (2019)? Has anyone tried it, and does it fix network and battery charge and drainage issues?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.