Macbook pro keeps shutting down randomly

I’m having the same problem! MacBook Pro 15” Retina late 2013. It’s been doing this for almost 6 months and it is driving me crazy. I use my laptop for work!! I too have found when plugged into an external monitor, the laptop stays on. Interestingly, I can also have an external hard drive plugged in and transferring data, or have an external disc drive plugged in and watch dvds for hours without a shut down. The only time it will shut down (if at all) is if it’s paused. Hours of Minecraft played without shut downs, though is has happened a few times. Shuts down when saving large files on photoshop, and when it’s not plugged in the shut downs are much more frequent. (If it’s at full battery, I’m more apt to have some time before it starts the shut downs but there’s really no telling when it will happen because it happens so often and so randomly). Normally the shut downs happen when browsing the web, and it’s sure to happen if there’s a YouTube video playing or maybe several tabs no matter what they are.

The solutions provided in the comments did not work for me. I did download a program that let me adjust the fan speed and only two times did I see the temperature get up to 110°C (I shut it down myself when that happened). I’m outside of my warranty but through Best Buy’s Geek Squad I’ve sent my laptop to Apple twice. Both times they ran diagnostics and, “found nothing”, though the first time they reapplied thermal paste which worked really well for a few hours. I tried doing all of the things I knew would make it shut down and thought it actually worked- until it shut down again. After sending it back a second time they did a factory reset. Though I had a backup, I’ve yet to find out if my boss is able to give me another code for Photoshop to work on my laptop, so that’s wonderful. Though I guess it’s pointless if I can’t figure out how to use the thing without it shutting down. This is ridiculous, I spent over two grand on a laptop that lasted me three good years. I have an HP that’s still holding on NINE YEARS LATER. After the first time they sent my MacBook back, the screen would go black and the fan would blast until I forced a shut down with the power button. The volume was also out on the left side but by the time I got it back to Best Buy, the left was working and the right was out. That’s the only thing they fixed. I’m about ready to pull my hair out.

Please let us know if there are any solutions!

Same problem here. mid-2014 mbp 15 inch. After doing a factory reset, negative diagnostics of all kind, time machine and everything you guys did still shutting down...

My next move is to apply new non conductive thermal paste all over the GPU.

I’ll let you know if it works.

One thing a russian tech guy does on youtube is he puts 2mm thick foam tape between the heat sink and the back cover, says the design doesnt apply enough pressure on the heat sink. The foam presses on the heat sink when you close up the back in place. If there is a gap between the heat sink and the CPU/GPU the thermal paste is useless.

If someone finds out what is happening please help.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)

Processor 2.2 GHz intel core

Memory 16GB

Graphics Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

Mac OS High Sierra Version 10.13.2

I've also had the exact same problem as this since May 2017. My screen had become damaged and Apple replaced it free as it was a faulty batch. Shortly after the repair it started to happen. It was at times infrequent but gradually started happening more and more. Over the last three months it has been happening very regularly. I've done everything everyone has said to do, been to the Genius Bar twice, and have now just booked it in for a repair. Will update you with my findings!

These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

In the Console window, select

DIAGNOSTIC AND USAGE INFORMATION ▹ System Diagnostic Reports

(not Diagnostic and Usage Messages) from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select

View ▹ Show Log List

from the menu bar.

There is a disclosure triangle to the left of the list item. If the triangle is pointing to the right, click it so that it points down. You'll see a list of reports. A panic report has a name that begins with "Kernel" and ends in ".panic". Select the most recent one. The contents of the report will appear on the right. Use copy and paste to post the entire contents—the text, not a screenshot.

If you don't see any reports listed, but you know there was a panic, you may have chosen Diagnostic and Usage Messages from the log list. Choose DIAGNOSTIC AND USAGE INFORMATION instead.

In the interest of privacy, I suggest that, before posting, you edit out the “Anonymous UUID,” a long string of letters, numbers, and dashes in the header of the report, if it’s present (it may not be.)

Please don’t post other kinds of diagnostic report.

I know the report is long, maybe several hundred lines. Please post all of it anyway.

When you post the report, you might see an error message on the web page: "You have included content in your post that is not permitted," or "The message contains invalid characters." That's a bug in the forum software. Please post the text on Pastebin, then post a link here to the page you created.

These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It makes no changes to your data.

Please triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

syslog -k Sender kernel -k Message CSeq 'n Cause: -' | tail | awk '/:/{$4=""; print}' | pbcopy

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.

Paste into the Terminal window by pressing the key combination command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.

Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear below what you entered.

The output of the command will be automatically copied to the Clipboard. If the command produced no output, the Clipboard will be empty. Paste into a reply to this message.

The Terminal window doesn't show the output. Please don't copy anything from there.

A negative shutdown code may indicate a hardware problem. The precise meaning of the codes is not publicly documented.

If you haven't already done so, you can try resetting the System Management Controller. Otherwise, or if the reset has no effect, see below.

Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider. You may have to leave the machine there for several days.

Back up all data on the internal drive(s) before you hand over your computer to anyone. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional—ask if you need guidance.

If privacy is a concern, erase the data partition(s) with the option to write zeros* (do this only if you have at least two complete, independent backups, and you know how to restore to an empty drive from any of them.) Don’t erase the recovery partition, if present.

Keeping your confidential data secure during hardware repair

Apple also recommends that you deauthorize a device in the iTunes Store before having it serviced.

*An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.

I have the same problem with you. Could you tell me how to solve it?

Did you ever get this resolved? I am having the same issue.

Exact same problem I have. Exact same response I got (Nov 16 21:51:19 kernel[0] <Notice>: Previous shutdown cause: -128). Would love to know if you have found a solution. Seems to be a hardware problem, but I'm not sure what is causing it.

could this graphics card problem be related?

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

If it's a possibility you need to act quickly. The recall program ends soon.

"The program covers affected MacBook Pro models until December 31, 2016 or four years from its original date of sale, whichever provides longer coverage for you."

w r glendon

got the same problem! If the Macbook is connected with an external display it works fine. Did a clean install of sierra. Still the same problem. Macbook pro Retina 15 late 2013 keeps randomly shut down