MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) freeze with Yosemite

Yes philab, it is a software issue, so why did you not demonstrate to these Apple Employees what the problem is. None of us have the possibility of demonstrating to Apple where the problem is occurring on more than just our own machines. YOU had the ability to demonstrate the problem to Apple Employees on FOUR new computer systems, definitely providing indisputable proof of the problem and you told them, "No thanks, I'm just looking."? You just missed your best opportunity to prioritize this problem with Apple!

@JWDemon I don't see where @philab stated he told them "no thanks, I'm just looking" nor that he did not prioritize this problem with Apple. In fact, he specified he was in contact with the Geniuses who offered to help, so obviously they saw it's a problem and also learned how to reproduce it.

In marked contrast with your statements, I think that @philab did a great job there, also tipped us on how to reproduce it, and that the majority of us here have the same possibility of demonstrating the problem to Apple, just walk into the nearest Apple Store and do the same thing (granted, that's harder than chastising a stranger on a forum). I for one am quite thankful.

He said he stopped his testing after the employees approached him, that is not engaging them in a discussion of his testing results and that is what is needed. You obviously have misread my posts. I have no problem reproducing the issue and have found a work around that you dispute without trial. Hundreds of people have demonstrated the issue to Apple employees at Apple Stores, Apple is testing and replacing logic boards which do not seem to resolve our issue, specifically. 4 faulty new computers in the Apple Store are indisputable evidence.

Sorry, quick question as I may be missing something within the 38 pages.

If this is a software issue as some state, why are apple replacing hardware?

What have I misunderstood?

I know I'm about to jinx myself here, but ever since I got my MacBook tested at the Apple Store with the new diagnostic software (which it passed and I didn't get anything replaced), I haven't had a single freeze. I have not disabled GPU switching or anything. But it's hard to believe that the diagnostic software itself would discreetly introduce a patch. I'll just keep waiting for my next freeze.

@BRJP People do and say all sort of things, that doesn't mean they are all pertinent. What we describe here is a software (driver) issue. Specifically, if you began experiencing numerous freezes after you moved to Yosemite (but not before) then almost surely you're experiencing the software (driver) bug of the GPU switching and replacing logic/motherboards will likely not help.

Some people have had video issues of different kinds which were actually caused by h/w problems, but that is not the focus of this thread.

A quick test was described by @philab and myself in a previous post: quickly and repeatedly toggle the checkbox "Automatic grpahics switching" in Systems Preferences > Energy Saver

• On Yosemite, my MBP Late 2013 freezes right away after 3-4 toggles, so did a colleague's, and so did 4 other MBP's that @philab tried in the Apple Store recently.
• I just downgraded to Mavericks from a Time Machine backup and did the same test: no freezing whatsoever.
• It's a Yosemite problem.

@Jareer: Try the above test.

The issue of this thread has been traced to the Automatic Graphics Switching routines of Yosemite, as there seems to be no issue in Mavericks, whereas the hardware replacement applies to other graphics issues that have been encountered in Mavericks and Yosemite on 2011-2013 MBPs.

https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

This issue would only affect Retina MBPs with dual switchable GPUs, not single GPU MBPs.

With gfxCardStatus installed to verify, I repeatedly checked and unchecked the "Automatic Graphics Switching", perhaps 30-40 times (and the GPU switched every time per gfxCardStatus), and nothing happened. Two things though: I've never done this repeated switching before; so I don't know what would have happened before running the diagnostic. Also, I recently installed Yosemite 10.10.3 beta. Who knows?

For me sometimes it needs to be switched about 200 times. Please try a little more.

If you will not get freeze, then you are lucky 🙂

I always get this freeze. Even after mainboard replacement

BRJP wrote:

Sorry, quick question as I may be missing something within the 38 pages.

If this is a software issue as some state, why are apple replacing hardware?

What have I misunderstood?

There are multiple problems with similar but distinct symptoms. What's similar is that they show up with greater frequency following Yosemite installation and they often result in the computer resetting itself. Some people are having these issues due primarily to actual hardware issues, and replacing their logic boards can fix those problems. Other people are apparently having these sorts of issues due to a software issue with the Intel GPU driver. For instance:

• I was having an issue where my mid-2012 rMBP would suddenly have the screen go black and eventually restart, and when it restarted I had a GPU Panic report on the Nvidia GPU. I had this both in early 2014 and again in late 2014, and replacing the logic board fixed this in both cases (although in the first case it eventually went bad again after 10 months). Others here have reported fixing the problems by replacing the thermal paste on their GPU or preventing shorting due to contact with the part that sits over the logic board.
• Other people are reporting a case where their mid-2012 rMBP will have the screen stop updating but the mouse can still be moved, and eventually their computer's resets, and when they check their logs afterwards they see a flurry of "GPU Reset" log entries for the integrated Intel GPU. It appears this stems from a case in which the driver is trying to reset the GPU after a fault and is failing to do so properly. For some (but not all) users, this fault appears to happen in conjunction with switching from the integrated GPU to the external GPU, which is why disabling auto-swtiching works around the problem.

If you have 10.10.3 Beta and can't reproduce the issue then maybe they have corrected the issue in 10.10.3, I'm still running 10.10.2.

Other people are reporting a case where their mid-2012 rMBP will have

i have (ant not only me in this thread) late 2013 MBP with the described problems, so please be accurate.

In other i confirm all that you wrote.

@JWDemon - of course I told them - they know me there - numerous logic board replacements, including one brand new computer. They mentioned this problem is raised with Apple and that a resolution is being worked on. No further elaboration though. One of the geniuses also mentioned that switching the Automatic Graphic Switching on / off multiple times does not represent a regular usage pattern. My concern was whether Apple knows about this one - and it seems to be the case. Perhaps check out your nearest AppleStore stock and report back. 🙂 Just make sure the switching is indeed taking place (e.g. after a fresh restart, with no app using the discrete GPU running.)

Impossible to say, I just don't have all the data to make that assumption seeing as I never tried to do the repeated multiple switching in the control panel under 10.10.2. I did reload the http://douglatornell.ca/blog/category/sublime-text/ page a few times under 10.10.2 after the diagnostic test (but not before), and it didn't freeze. I didn't know about this page before I went to the Store for the diagnostic test....

"For some (but not all) users, this fault appears to happen in conjunction with switching from the integrated GPU to the external GPU"

That's exactly it - until it is clear what causes this to happen to some but not all users (what's different about the machines of the afflicted users), it is impossible to determine what's going on precisely.

If the problem is software related, I would think it would be happening to a lot more people. Those who get their motherboard replaced and stop getting the "GPU panics" should still be getting the "GPU resets" (which is what I was seeing when I got the freezes). My freezes/resets were different from what you all are describing in one aspect only: I couldn't move the cursor. Even the caps lock key LED wouldn't toggle.