MBA mid 2011 2.9 Firmware update just killed by Air

Exactly the same for me, I think it is better to wait for the correction of this bug from Apple.

Hello,

I'm experiencing a very similar situation with a Mid-2011 11" MacBook Air (MacBookAir4,1)... The unit has just had the SSD formatted and OS X 10.9.4 has been freshly loaded. There are NO OTHER APPS OR FILES on this machine at present. It is an i5, 4GB, 128GB version.

First thing I did upon booting into OS X was go to Software Updates to apply any updates waiting for me. The system proceeded to download all updates, and then prompted for a restart when it came time to install the EFI firmware update.

Like most people reporting here, the system showed the Installing Update dialog after the desktop vanished, and then the screen went dark for about 60 seconds. It did not display the customary grey background with the Apple logo and a progress bar when firmware updates are being applied.

After this delay, the MBA rebooted on it's own accord and presented me with a login dialog. When I went back into System Information, the EFI had not been updated, and the App Store is again showing the EFI update being ready to install.

Before making a second attempt at installing the update, I also reset the MBA's SMC, and performed a SMC default reset. Unfortunately this still didn't allow the firmware to update.

If an AppleCare representative or Engineer is monitoring this thread and see's this post, I am willing to provide full remote access to this machine for testing, or a log dump, as it currently contains no user data.

Cheers

I am facing the same issue.

Same issue happen on my MacAir 11 with the same boot ROM.

To all who are having problems, there may be a bit of self-help which may provide some more insight.

Under Applications -> Utilities -> Console there is a directory that shows up in the left hand pane.

Look for the directory /var/log and look at messages in appstore.log and install.log which may be related to the firmware update(s). (I do not have an MBA handy to test it myself).

The update may or may not have succeeded for some MB Airs.

NB: Please do not post them here as they may have personal information, and this is a public forum.

@Loner T - Thanks for all the help you give here, but your last suggestion really doesn't apply to "ALL" those who are having problems. Remember, we have two problems being discussed in this thread:

1. Macbook Airs being perpetually prompted to do a firmware update

2. Macbook Airs that won't power on at all thanks to a firmware update.

Unfortunately, my son is stuck with #2: A Macbook Brick.

Loner T wrote:

To all who are having problems, there may be a bit of self-help which may provide some more insight.

Under Applications -> Utilities -> Console there is a directory that shows up in the left hand pane.

Look for the directory /var/log and look at messages in appstore.log and install.log which may be related to the firmware update(s). (I do not have an MBA handy to test it myself).

The update may or may not have succeeded for some MB Airs.

NB: Please do not post them here as they may have personal information, and this is a public forum.

As I've screened the logs, there is no user-sensitive information to be posted from my logs as this machine is a vanilla install.

Here is the copy and paste from "install.log" under /var/log:

-----

Jul 22 15:34:35 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: Adding client SUUpdateServiceClient pid=355, uid=501, installAuth=NO rights=(), transactions=0 (/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/WebKit2.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com .apple.WebKit.WebContent.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent)

Jul 22 15:34:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: Scan for changed products with previous 1 updates: 031-04971 (plus 94 predicate-only)

Jul 22 15:34:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: Scan for client pid 215 (/System/Library/CoreServices/Software Update.app/Contents/Resources/softwareupdated)

Jul 22 15:34:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: Catalog Not Modified since last scan ("12ea8-4fecb152e1380")

Jul 22 15:34:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: Using catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.9-mountainlion-lion-sn owleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog.gz

Jul 22 15:34:42 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: Reusing previous package sources (SUCatalogPackageSource, SUContentLocatorPackageSource) for partial scan

Jul 22 15:34:42 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: elapsed scan time = 0.2

Jul 22 15:34:42 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

customize = never;

hostArchitectures = i386;

rootVolumeOnly = true;

type = firmware;

})

Jul 22 15:34:42 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: Scan (f=0, d=0) found 1 updates: 031-04971 (plus 94 predicate-only)

Jul 22 15:34:42 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: Ramped updates marked

Jul 22 15:34:42 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

customize = never;

hostArchitectures = i386;

rootVolumeOnly = true;

type = firmware;

})

-----

And here is the dump of everything related to EFI from the same log file (this is a large dump):

-----

Volumes/Image Volume/.IABootFiles/boot.efi -options config="\.IABootFiles\com.apple.Boot" -label OS X Installer

Dec 31 18:15:56 dhcp-206-87-96-133.ubcvisitor.wifi.ubc.ca Unknown[373]: objc[385]: Class SleepTimerCallback is implemented in both /System/Installation/CDIS/OS X Installer.app/Contents/MacOS/OS X Installer and /System/Installation/CDIS/OS X Installer.app/Contents/Resources/OSXInstallAssistant.bundle/Contents/MacOS/OSXI nstallAssistant. One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined.

Jul 22 14:30:44 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[217]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 14:30:44 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[217]: SoftwareUpdate: Added background transaction [0x1] for MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9, iBooksDelta-1.0.1, iTunesX-11.3, kdrl-8, XProtectPlistConfigData-1.0, Chinese Word List Update-2.13

Jul 22 14:30:44 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[217]: SoftwareUpdate: starting download of 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9)

Jul 22 14:30:44 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[217]: Starting download operation for MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 14:30:48 Drs-MacBook-Air.local suhelperd (0)[219]: Verifying package at path: /Library/Updates/031-04971/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 14:30:48 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[217]: Finished download operation for MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 14:31:50 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[217]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 14:31:51 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[217]: SoftwareUpdate: Added background transaction [0x3] for MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9, iBooksDelta-1.0.1, iTunesX-11.3

Jul 22 14:37:37 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[217]: SoftwareUpdate: Added foreground transaction [0x4] for MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9

"PKLeopardPackage <file:///Library/Updates/031-04971/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg>"

Jul 22 14:37:37 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: PackageKit: Extracting file:///Library/Updates/031-04971/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg (destination=/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/C/PKInstallSandboxM anager/E3FD89C8-018C-40CC-B0A7-9EA385C68C02.activeSandbox/Root, uid=0)

Jul 22 14:37:40 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: PackageKit: Executing script "preinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.rBr0XA/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. gGENk5

Jul 22 14:37:40 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: PackageKit: Executing script "postinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.rBr0XA/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. gGENk5

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _securityagent[681]: Begin script: blessEFI

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: EFI found at IODeviceTree:/efi

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: Deleting contents of EFI cache directory

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: Creating /Volumes/bless.Vxb1/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE if needed

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: Deleting previous contents of /Volumes/bless.Vxb1/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: Opened dest at /Volumes/bless.Vxb1/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap for writing

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: preallocation not supported on this filesystem for /Volumes/bless.Vxb1/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: /Volumes/bless.Vxb1/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap created successfully

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: Relative path of /Volumes/bless.Vxb1/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap is \EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: Setting EFI NVRAM:

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: postinstall: 2 : <CFString 0x10553ceb0 [0x7fff7657af00]>{contents = "efi-apple-recovery"} = <CFString 0x7fe863d00b40 [0x7fff7657af00]>{contents = "<array><dict><key>IOMatch</key><dict><key>IOProviderClass</key><string>IOMedia </string><key>IOPropertyMatch</key><dict><key>UUID</key><string>3D4CFE9E-2731-47 43-940F-4B8AD73DDC1A</string></dict></dict><key>BLLastBSDName</key><string>disk0 s1</string></dict><dict><key>IOEFIDevicePathType</key><string>MediaFilePath</str ing><key>Path</key><string>\EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap</strin g></dict></array>"}

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _securityagent[689]: End script: blessEFI

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: PackageKit: Writing receipt for com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate to /private/var/db/receipts

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: Installed "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update" (2.9)

Jul 22 14:47:46 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: Proceed with full scan based on intervening install (including MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update at 2014-07-22 21:37:41 +0000) (last scan: 2014-07-22 21:30:15 +0000)

Jul 22 14:47:55 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 14:47:55 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 14:48:06 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: SoftwareUpdate: Added foreground transaction [0x1] for MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9

Jul 22 14:48:06 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: SoftwareUpdate: starting download of 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9)

Jul 22 14:48:06 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: Starting download operation for MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 14:48:07 Drs-MacBook-Air.local suhelperd (0)[149]: Verifying package at path: /Library/Updates/031-04971/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 14:48:07 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: Finished download operation for MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 14:48:11 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: SoftwareUpdate: Added foreground transaction [0x2] for MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9

"PKLeopardPackage <file:///Library/Updates/031-04971/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg>"

Jul 22 14:48:11 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: PackageKit: Will do receipt-based obsoleting for package identifier com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate (prefix path=/)

Jul 22 14:48:11 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: PackageKit: Extracting file:///Library/Updates/031-04971/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg (destination=/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/C/PKInstallSandboxM anager/A5A9A942-6C6F-4A27-B7A1-43A529BA7F0D.activeSandbox/Root, uid=0)

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: PackageKit: Executing script "preinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.q7Wicq/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. grzIPZ

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: PackageKit: Executing script "postinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.q7Wicq/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. grzIPZ

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[352]: Begin script: blessEFI

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: EFI found at IODeviceTree:/efi

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: Deleting contents of EFI cache directory

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: Creating /Volumes/bless.Q7yc/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE if needed

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: Deleting previous contents of /Volumes/bless.Q7yc/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: Deleting /Volumes/bless.Q7yc/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE/MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap (8454768 bytes)

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: Opened dest at /Volumes/bless.Q7yc/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap for writing

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: preallocation not supported on this filesystem for /Volumes/bless.Q7yc/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: /Volumes/bless.Q7yc/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap created successfully

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: Relative path of /Volumes/bless.Q7yc/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap is \EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: Setting EFI NVRAM:

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: postinstall: 2 : <CFString 0x10b800eb0 [0x7fff78191f00]>{contents = "efi-apple-recovery"} = <CFString 0x7fc7c2c0b8b0 [0x7fff78191f00]>{contents = "<array><dict><key>IOMatch</key><dict><key>IOProviderClass</key><string>IOMedia </string><key>IOPropertyMatch</key><dict><key>UUID</key><string>3D4CFE9E-2731-47 43-940F-4B8AD73DDC1A</string></dict></dict><key>BLLastBSDName</key><string>disk0 s1</string></dict><dict><key>IOEFIDevicePathType</key><string>MediaFilePath</str ing><key>Path</key><string>\EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap</strin g></dict></array>"}

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[360]: End script: blessEFI

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: PackageKit: Writing receipt for com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate to /private/var/db/receipts

Jul 22 14:48:14 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[315]: Installed "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update" (2.9)

Jul 22 14:51:56 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[143]: Proceed with full scan based on intervening install (including MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update at 2014-07-22 21:48:14 +0000) (last scan: 2014-07-22 21:47:46 +0000)

Jul 22 14:52:04 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[143]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 14:52:04 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[143]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 14:52:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[294]: Begin script: zzz_deleteObsoleteFiles.pl

Jul 22 14:52:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[298]: End script: zzz_deleteObsoleteFiles.pl

Jul 22 14:52:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[304]: Begin script: deleteObsoleteFiles.pl

Jul 22 14:52:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[308]: End script: deleteObsoleteFiles.pl

Jul 22 14:52:18 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[143]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 14:55:24 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[400]: Begin script: deleteObsoleteFiles.pl

Jul 22 14:55:25 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[405]: End script: deleteObsoleteFiles.pl

Jul 22 14:56:02 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[143]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 14:57:50 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[594]: MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update Installation Log

Jul 22 14:57:50 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[594]: Opened from: /Volumes/MacBookAir EFI Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 14:57:50 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[594]: Product archive /Volumes/MacBookAir EFI Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg trustLevel=501

Jul 22 14:58:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[594]: Upgrade: "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update"

Jul 22 14:58:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[594]: MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg : MacBookAir : 2.9.0.0.1.1355452227

Jul 22 14:58:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[594]: -[IFDInstallController(Private) _buildInstallPlan]: file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacB ookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

"PKLeopardPackage <file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#Mac BookAirEFIUpdate.pkg>"

Jul 22 14:58:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: PackageKit: Will do receipt-based obsoleting for package identifier com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate (prefix path=/)

Jul 22 14:58:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: PackageKit: Extracting file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacB ookAirEFIUpdate.pkg (destination=/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/C/PKInstallSandboxM anager/1F5AADEE-9683-4BEA-B1C7-F50D041E02D5.activeSandbox/Root, uid=0)

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: PackageKit: Executing script "preinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.aNkqKk/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. oU9n9u

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: PackageKit: Executing script "postinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.aNkqKk/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. oU9n9u

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[618]: Begin script: blessEFI

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: EFI found at IODeviceTree:/efi

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: Deleting contents of EFI cache directory

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: Creating /Volumes/bless.9T7x/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE if needed

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: Deleting previous contents of /Volumes/bless.9T7x/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: Deleting /Volumes/bless.9T7x/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE/MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap (8454768 bytes)

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: Opened dest at /Volumes/bless.9T7x/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap for writing

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: preallocation not supported on this filesystem for /Volumes/bless.9T7x/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: /Volumes/bless.9T7x/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap created successfully

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: Relative path of /Volumes/bless.9T7x/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap is \EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: Setting EFI NVRAM:

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: postinstall: 2 : <CFString 0x10ef08eb0 [0x7fff7937ff00]>{contents = "efi-apple-recovery"} = <CFString 0x7fdda9600310 [0x7fff7937ff00]>{contents = "<array><dict><key>IOMatch</key><dict><key>IOProviderClass</key><string>IOMedia </string><key>IOPropertyMatch</key><dict><key>UUID</key><string>3D4CFE9E-2731-47 43-940F-4B8AD73DDC1A</string></dict></dict><key>BLLastBSDName</key><string>disk0 s1</string></dict><dict><key>IOEFIDevicePathType</key><string>MediaFilePath</str ing><key>Path</key><string>\EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap</strin g></dict></array>"}

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _atsserver[626]: End script: blessEFI

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: PackageKit: Writing receipt for com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate to /private/var/db/receipts

Jul 22 14:58:03 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[269]: Installed "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update" ()

Jul 22 15:00:09 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[143]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:08:05 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[143]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:09:55 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[211]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:10:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update Installation Log

Jul 22 15:10:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: Opened from: /Volumes/MacBookAir EFI Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 15:10:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: Product archive /Volumes/MacBookAir EFI Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg trustLevel=501

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: Upgrade: "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update"

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg : MacBookAir : 2.9.0.0.1.1355452227

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: -[IFDInstallController(Private) _buildInstallPlan]: file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacB ookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

"PKLeopardPackage <file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#Mac BookAirEFIUpdate.pkg>"

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Will do receipt-based obsoleting for package identifier com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate (prefix path=/)

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Extracting file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacB ookAirEFIUpdate.pkg (destination=/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/C/PKInstallSandboxM anager/C018E4DE-3F3F-45CD-AB13-728BF72D1C67.activeSandbox/Root, uid=0)

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Executing script "preinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.lZbWeS/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. PWiVLE

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Executing script "postinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.lZbWeS/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. PWiVLE

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _securityagent[271]: Begin script: blessEFI

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: EFI found at IODeviceTree:/efi

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Deleting contents of EFI cache directory

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Creating /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE if needed

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Deleting previous contents of /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Deleting /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE/MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap (8454768 bytes)

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Opened dest at /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap for writing

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: preallocation not supported on this filesystem for /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap created successfully

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Relative path of /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap is \EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Setting EFI NVRAM:

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: 2 : <CFString 0x10af4deb0 [0x7fff711c4f00]>{contents = "efi-apple-recovery"} = <CFString 0x7fb1a940b8c0 [0x7fff711c4f00]>{contents = "<array><dict><key>IOMatch</key><dict><key>IOProviderClass</key><string>IOMedia </string><key>IOPropertyMatch</key><dict><key>UUID</key><string>3D4CFE9E-2731-47 43-940F-4B8AD73DDC1A</string></dict></dict><key>BLLastBSDName</key><string>disk0 s1</string></dict><dict><key>IOEFIDevicePathType</key><string>MediaFilePath</str ing><key>Path</key><string>\EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap</strin g></dict></array>"}

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _securityagent[279]: End script: blessEFI

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Writing receipt for com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate to /private/var/db/receipts

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: Installed "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update" ()

Jul 22 15:12:18 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:14:12 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: Proceed with full scan based on intervening install (including MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update at 2014-07-22 22:10:17 +0000) (last scan: 2014-07-22 21:51:56 +0000)

Jul 22 15:14:21 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:14:21 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:34:34 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:34:34 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:34:42 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Jul 22 15:34:42 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[215]: SoftwareUpdate: 031-04971 (MacBookAirEFIUpdate2.9-2.9): install-later not supported for restart-required update (options={

Hope this helps the engineers!

The two logs may not address either problem, but

1. for problem #1, the appstore.log may indicate the scenario where firmware was successfully updated for some, but the App Store is unwilling to acknowledge it. Quite a few posters have have posted there current firmware version, which is still theold version. For such candidates, the App Store will continue to prompt for update. I am looking to establish how many posters have successfully shown an updated version AND are still being prompted by App Store.

2. for problem #2, the install.log may provide information on what actually happened to the firmware update. Powering up has been slow for some who have reported success, but have taken several hours in some cases. The log may show what the new firmware is doing. It is possible, that it is actually conducting a 'full' Apple Hardware Test before it will allow the machine to come back. The keys to force start the MBA may actually cause more problems than solve it.

My omission, perhaps, is not putting this line of reasoning in the previous post. 😉

I logged in and rescheduled the call. I scheduled it for 3:15pm today. It's now 4:15 and no call yet. I don't know what's going on over there at Apple lately, but this is not acceptable.

This is a fascinating log (at least for me - even if no apple engineers look at this).

First, a suggestion, if you have an Apple ID, go to the Support Profile I posted earlier and if there is not related case, create one and setup a call back. The more people call, the quicker the response should be.

Second, this is absolutely marvelous, it puts the firmware in the EFI directory, there is 10 minute gap, which indicates a reboot, which should load the new firmware, but your previous post (which incidentally has your MBA serial number) indicates that you are at the older version. And this update happens more than once to the EFI partition. The EFI firmware has failed. For folks that the update has failed, it may be a blessing in disguise. Anyone who gets notified may want to ignore the App Store notifications for this specific update. Your machine is still usable.

Jul 22 14:37:41 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[541]: Installed "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update" (2.9)

Jul 22 14:47:46 Drs-MacBook-Air.local softwareupdated (200)[147]: Proceed with full scan based on intervening install (including MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update at 2014-07-22 21:37:41 +0000) (last scan: 2014-07-22 21:30:15 +0000)

For folks that the update has succeeded for, it is almost a curse, trying to power the MBA back on (AlaskaTom's #2 issue).

My suspicion is that a script that checks if the file was moved successfully and verifies via (probably) a md5sum at the destination fails and it loops and tries a 'rollback'. The same script has a retry limit, so it eventually stops and leaves the old firmware. If this succeeds, the first use of the firmware may be triggering additional hardware checks leaving the MBA unable to boot, even when forced. Forcing it may actually cause the same checks again delaying it further. (I am thinking like an engineer who writes such software and provides updates. 👿)

I would try again, and track the confirmation emails, which should be mentioned eventually when you do get through.

Isn't the Software Update Utility supposed to figure that out automatically? Maybe that specific utility isn't used anymore, but the Mac App Store app should, right?

Software update utility is a wrapper that follows a pre-, install- and post- phase.

Download the Firmware package...

Jul 22 15:10:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update Installation Log

Jul 22 15:10:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: Opened from: /Volumes/MacBookAir EFI Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

Jul 22 15:10:01 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: Product archive /Volumes/MacBookAir EFI Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg trustLevel=501

Start the update...

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: Upgrade: "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update"

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg : MacBookAir : 2.9.0.0.1.1355452227

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local Installer[241]: -[IFDInstallController(Private) _buildInstallPlan]: file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacB ookAirEFIUpdate.pkg

"PKLeopardPackage <file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#Mac BookAirEFIUpdate.pkg>"

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Will do receipt-based obsoleting for package identifier com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate (prefix path=/)

Extract the package...

Jul 22 15:10:13 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Extracting file://localhost/Volumes/MacBookAir%20EFI%20Update/MacBookAirEFIUpdate.pkg#MacB ookAirEFIUpdate.pkg (destination=/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/C/PKInstallSandboxM anager/C018E4DE-3F3F-45CD-AB13-728BF72D1C67.activeSandbox/Root, uid=0)

Run pre- and post- preparation...

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Executing script "preinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.lZbWeS/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. PWiVLE

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Executing script "postinstall" in /private/tmp/PKInstallSandbox.lZbWeS/Scripts/com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate. PWiVLE

Bless so this device can boot...

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _securityagent[271]: Begin script: blessEFI

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: EFI found at IODeviceTree:/efi

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Deleting contents of EFI cache directory

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Creating /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE if needed

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Deleting previous contents of /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE

Save the old firmware...

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Deleting /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE/MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap (8454768 bytes)

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Opened dest at /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap for writing

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: preallocation not supported on this filesystem for /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap created successfully

Jul 22 15:10:16 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Relative path of /Volumes/bless.IFLo/EFI/APPLE/FIRMWARE//MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap is \EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap

Finish update and set NVRAM...

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: Setting EFI NVRAM:

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: postinstall: 2 : <CFString 0x10af4deb0 [0x7fff711c4f00]>{contents = "efi-apple-recovery"} = <CFString 0x7fb1a940b8c0 [0x7fff711c4f00]>{contents = "<array><dict><key>IOMatch</key><dict><key>IOProviderClass</key><string>IOMedia </string><key>IOPropertyMatch</key><dict><key>UUID</key><string>3D4CFE9E-2731-4 7 43-940F-4B8AD73DDC1A</string></dict></dict><key>BLLastBSDName</key><string>disk 0 s1</string></dict><dict><key>IOEFIDevicePathType</key><string>MediaFilePath</st r ing><key>Path</key><string>\EFI\APPLE\FIRMWARE\MBA41_0077_B11_LOCKED.scap</stri n g></dict></array>"}

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local _securityagent[279]: End script: blessEFI

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: PackageKit: Writing receipt for com.apple.pkg.MacBookAirEFIUpdate to /private/var/db/receipts

Jul 22 15:10:17 Drs-MacBook-Air.local installd[258]: Installed "MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update" ()

As you can see it does finish but never seems to successfully show up in System Report...

App Store provides the front-end, but the Software Updater (softwareupdated) has not changed much. You can even see the references to Leopard. 😉

Also had an issue on my 2011 13" MBA.

It shutdown after installing the update and didn't came back on. I did 3 SMC reset (keyboard trick) and it booted after 1-2 minute.

The 3 SMC resets did the trick on mine also.