Q: MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) freeze with Yosemite

You summarize the problem in this message board. Your problem, although similar in nature, has nothing to do with the widespread graphics switching problem others are having. I've used ML and Mavericks since Mid 2012 till Yosemite release and it never happened to me and to many others (BTW my logic board was replaced in Feb 2013 for some other reason). In your case it can be hardware, but we are not sure if it is HW or SW for the widespread case.

I've seen people in this board who got their boards replaced and they fear testing their new hardware with previously mentioned methods to reproduce the crash. And they go about saying it is a hardware issue because it hasn't occurred for them for the last X weeks after the replacement. I guess people just want to feel safe about their MacBooks. This is definitely a driver/kernel/firmware issue unless all/most logic boards (old or new) are faulty.

For those who have an AppleCare, wait for the last month of its expiration and if the problem still persists by then, go get your logic board replaced (that is May/June 2015 for Mid 2012 owners).

Just an update on how Apple "officially" answers to this problem.

I had an appointment at the Genius Bar last friday, with high hopes of getting a solution to my switching GPU problem. When I showed my rMBP to the employee, he told me that he personally has the same machine and the same problem. As an "insider", he would have his Mac replaced if it was a hardware problem; instead, he told me that this is a Yosemite issue, and I have to believe him.

His advice was to downgrade to Mavericks if I can (meaning I have to restore manually all my files & settings), as this OS is much more stable for first generation Retina machines, and wait for a Yosemite update. Apple engineers are working on this problem, and hopefully will release a firmware update soon. But until then, I guess they won't say out loud that 10.10 doesn't work well with some computers ...

So now, after more than a day of reinstalling everything, I have a fully functional computer, running on 10.9.5. Not the best solution, for sure, but it's always better than screaming after these dumb GPU crashes ...

I have the exact same problem. Mid 2012 retina MBP. Everything locks up except the cursor, which you can move but nothing else -- I've taken videos with my phone. End of December, I made an appointment with the Genius Bar, and they took my machine and replaced the logic board (and a couple other things which supposedly threw errors during their tests). Within a week of getting my machine back, it locked up again. I have not yet reduced transparency or locked the GPU on integrated. Two weeks after the first lockup on the new logic board, it just locked up again. I'm lucky that I haven't had any big files open or had any files corrupt because of this, but it's only a matter of time before this Cook-ed Apple destroys some work.

What I have found out is that Yosemite does not like the Intel HD Graphics 4000 (or viceversa) of my MacBook Pro mid 2012: my mac freezes, the fan goes crazy, internet would not work and a few more graphics related issues.

My solution: I have disabled automatic graphics switching in System Preferences / Energy Saver to force my MacBook to use the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB. Since then eveything runs smoothly.

Still not happy with that solution though and, since I'm still covered by the Apple Care I bought with the MacBook, I will contact Apple to have the Intel GPU replaced with another that would work fine with Yosemite.

I just started having the system freeze problem with the "graphics problem" message on reboot.

I've been working a lot in iPhoto this weekend, and that's where it always happens -- for me.

I've never seen it with FF or Safari.

As with others, I have Retina MBP mid-2012 15", Yosemite.

I'm trying the "disable graphics switching" solution.  Thanks!

Hi Pittstown,

Make sure you disable automatic graphics switching when the NVIDIA GPU (I assume you have the same card) is on the PCIe bus (and therefore the Intel is on the integrated one).

You can see that in the Apple menu / Information on this Mac

Let us know if it works for you too.

Thanks!

I have the same issue. Many times, and all when I was opening a website with Safari.

rMBP mid 2012. It's a shame, Apple. This issue has been reported for a long time and I am very very disappointed by your indifference.

Won't buy this kind of expensive piece of **** anymore.

Yeah --- it only happens to me on Safari ):

If you run a program like gfxCardStatus you get a visual indicator every time the graphic cards get switched.  You'll then notice that Safari kind of loses its mind on certain web pages.  It switches back and forth multiple times quickly.  This is similar to what happens when you check and uncheck the Automatic Graphics Switching box rapidly, and is the reason why many lock ups occur using Safari.  I suspect Apple has a bug in their drivers for graphics switching, it's a bug that seems to be timing related, the more frequently you switch graphics cards the higher your chance of freezing, and Safari goes crazy and likes to switch between the two graphics cards frequently making a crash more likely.

I don't think Apple pays attention to these forums and I get the feeling they're not going to deal with the rMBP mid 2012 graphics hardware incompatibilities with Yosemite. Turning off the automatic graphics switching helps some but does not make the problem go away.

For those who have followed this thread, and have read my past posts, I wanted to post this important update.  I just had a crash again, despite the new hardware.  There's no question the crashing is MUCH better than it was with the old motherboard as I have had only a single crash in a like month or two of using this new hardware.  Before, with the old hardware, I was routinely crashing.  I have not reinstalled my OS since getting the new motherboard.  I don't think there's any question this issue is a combination of hardware and software.  I also don't think there is any question that THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED BY APPLE!  I can't believe we paid so much for our computers, and we're dealing with this.  I also have wifi issues on certain networks.  What complete and utter crap. 

Hi to all;

I had the same hard freezes problem with my retina mid 2012 macbook pro since i installed Mountain Lion, then Mavericks and finally Yosemite. Never had any hard freezes problem on Lion. In my opinion the problems are related to an EFI update for Power Nap (only compatible with Mountain Lion or later). So i have return to the original OS X (using Internet recovery) and i am very happy. Regards.

Most of us have this problem with the Mid 2012 Retina MacBook Pro model and a NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphic card. A fresh installation doesn't help

Exactly this. I too have a fresh Yosemite install on a mid 2012 retina MBP with NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M and Intel HD 4000, and I experience frequent freezes. This did not happen in Mavericks, and since I disabled automatic graphics switching I have yet to experience a freeze.

I have to go a few more days to be certain that the graphics switching is the culprit, but so far it seems likely. This is not a solution though, but a workaround. My battery life is now crap, but at least I don't have to force restart my computer.

I'm having a very similar (the same?) issue. I can be browsing the web, using evernote, spotify, or practically any application, and I'll experience a crash. By crash, I mean: All applications are no longer responsive. I can move the mouse, but I can't click on anything. I have to shut down by holding down the power button. When the computer restarts, it prompts me with something like "the computer detected a graphics problem, would you like to report it to apple?". I always report the issue.

I have a Macbook pro, retina, 15", late 2013, 2.3 ghz core i7, 16gb ram, geforce gt 750M 2048 MB. I'm running 10.10.1.

I'm going to disable "automatic graphics switching" under Energy Saver and see if that fixes the issue.

I have an open case, the ID is 735100717.

If Engineering could bump up the priority on the bug reports associated with this thread, that'd be great. Thanks!!

What a relief that it isn't specifically my laptop! I've been experiencing this issue almost on a daily basis for months now and being out of warranty I was gutted! I've just switched off the switch setting but that shouldn't be a solution - It's incredible we've all paid SO much for these machines and Apple hasn't even logged onto their own forums to acknowledge this.

Keep this thread going people and tips for out of warranty users?