Appalling experience with MacBook Pro 2016

Question

Level 1

18 points

Appalling experience with MacBook Pro 2016

I switched to a MacBook Pro with Touchbar, top-of-the-line configuration (2.9 Ghz, Radeon 4 Gb, 1 Tb disk) from a late 2014 model.

My previous Macs were working flawlessly. I did a clean install (no migration) on this one, and did not add any software that wasn't in the previous one. Yet am encountering quite a few issues:

- Need to restart at least 2 times a day. Sometimes it just hangs when opening.

- Sometimes no sound at all. Restart again

- Pinch-to-zoom stops working, about once every 2 days. Restart!

- Battery life is dreadful. When I had 4 hours with the previous Mac, this one gives me 2 1/2 h top, and it's brand new...

- I'm rendering 3d with Blender. With the GPU, the rendering is very, very slow. It's ok with the CPU, but... even with the Apple charger, the computer consumes so much energy the Apple power adapter can't keep up! So I have about 2 hours of runtime, then it shuts down.

- When connecting an external monitor through USB-C then HDMI, it doesn't recall the settings and the monitor stays blank. I created an Applescript to automate switching resolution, since I plug / unplug my Mac about 5 times a day, but still.

On a positive note, the space gray color looks nice, and the touch ID works flawlessly.

Switching back to my previous computer is not an option, since I don't have it anymore. Any suggestion???

MacBook Pro with Retina display, iOS 10.1.1, null

Posted on Nov 23, 2016 11:36 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 8, 2017 2:04 AM in response to Marotte

Hello guys, my 15" touchbar MacBook Pro is super slow on all operations.

even browsing, I right click and the menu pops up after seconds. horrible experience so far.

I'm in the latest version 10.12.3 which fixed A LOT of issues but still so frustrating to use. Coming from 2012 (first retina) macbook which still runs flawlessly.

I have CleanMyMac which I run every week to clean out unwanted stuff, works great, don't think this is causing any issue since I've used it on all my computer, even the iMac.
Right now with just Safari open and a VPN service, its clocking my RAM at 2.95GB free out of 16GB available space. THIS IS HORRIBLE!

help?

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Answer 2

Jul 24, 2017 7:38 AM in response to Marotte

I am having the same problem with the same MacBook Pro A1707. I just tried to update to the general release 10.12.6. The computer wouldn't start. After all of the boot options, it appeared drivers might be the problem. Regardless, this is the experience that I had with Windows, before I bought MS Surface style laptops. It's sad that I have to use my Surface Pro when a $3,000+ Macbook Pro fails.

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Answer 3

Jul 24, 2017 8:54 AM in response to felixge

felixge--

Safe Mode:

The "screen anomalies" in your last youtube video about Safe Mode are completely NORMAL. They are a side-effect of Not loading the accelerated graphics driver when in Safe Mode. If other things behave as expected, but slower, you do not have a problem with Safe Mode operation -- it is operating as designed.

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Answer 4

felixge

Level 1

4 points

Nov 24, 2016 12:33 AM in response to Marotte

- Need to restart at least 2 times a day. Sometimes it just hangs when opening.

Hi there, I feel your pain. I ordered the same config, and even went for the 2TB SSD, but I'm experiencing the same issue on a fresh install (no migration).

I'm wondering if my machine and yours are suffering from a shared hardware defect. Can you have a look at this video and let me know if your hanging issue looks similar?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWewmzlL_gk

In particular, do you sometimes have the touch bar come alive, but the rest of the system remain frozen? I've also had issues where not even the touchbar turns on, but in most cases it does.

Additionally, can you run the following command in your terminal?

pmset -g log | grep Failure

My output from this command indicates some issues with either the graphics card and/or the wifi module: https://gist.github.com/felixge/793a9ffd8ce991f4ce02710e5e2de2af

Last but not least, can you try booting into safe mode (hold shift keep during restart) and see if your machine also experiences graphics glitches like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0EIlHDtQAg

At this point I'm pretty sure I'll very likely return this machine (bought it online) and try my luck with a new order. However, I'm still curious about finding the root cause of the problem, so your response could really help!

Thanks

Felix

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Answer 5

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Nov 24, 2016 12:44 PM in response to Marotte

If you are within the 14 day from purchase date period, you may return the MBP for an exchange or refund if you purchased it directly from Apple. A reseller may have a different policy.

Ciao.

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Answer 6

Nov 24, 2016 12:44 PM in response to felixge

I have the same configuration (with 1TB storage) and have not encountered any issues. I also did a clean install (i.e. manual migration from a Late 2008 MacBook - still runs like a charm).

From your description, I would definitely return the machine for a replacement.

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Answer 7

Marotte Author

Level 1

18 points

Nov 24, 2016 10:58 AM in response to felixge

Thanks.

The terminal command doesn't show any issue with the graphical card.

But booting in safe mode, I have the same issue than shown in the youtube video.

Time for a refund / replacement, I guess....

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Answer 8

Marotte Author

Level 1

18 points

Nov 24, 2016 12:43 PM in response to felixge

When I run a hardware diagnostic (booting with 'D' pressed'), it says 'No issues found'.

Does it indicate any issue on yours?

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Answer 9

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,726 points

Nov 24, 2016 1:26 PM in response to Marotte

Did you install and anti-virus, internet security, or so-called "cleaning/optimizing/tune-up" apps? They are basically scamware too commonly pitched to switchers from Windows. They can cause the problems you describe.

If you are not sure what is installed, you can safely post a snapshot of your software config using EtreCheck, a utility written by one of our most respected ASC members that creates that "snapshot" without revealing any personal or sensitive information. You can download it here:

http://etrecheck.com

Once you run the program, it will give you the option to "Paste to Clipboard" from its "Share" menu. Paste the full report into a response to this thread. That will help us spot any "known-bad" installations that could be causing your problem.

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Answer 10

Marotte Author

Level 1

18 points

Nov 24, 2016 2:21 PM in response to Allan Jones

I didn't install any crappy 'tune-up' apps. Nothing more than what was on my previous Macs.

Here's what etrecheck outputs:

EtreCheck version: 3.1.3 (337)

Report generated 2016-11-24 14:16:03

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 2:09

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Apps are crashing

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro13,3

1 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-6920HQ) CPU: 4-core

16 GB RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

8 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

8 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 13

Video Information: ⓘ

AMD Radeon Pro 460 - VRAM: 4096 MB

Intel HD Graphics 530

Color LCD 3360 x 2100

System Software: ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12.1 (16B2659) - Time since boot: about one hour

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE SSD SM1024L disk0 : (1 TB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 315 MB

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

[redacted]acintosh HD (disk1) / [Startup]: 999.23 GB (749.19 GB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 999.59 GB Online

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. iBridge

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus_1

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus_0

Configuration files: ⓘ

System Integrity Protection status: disabled

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Library/Extensions

[loaded] at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (3.7 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-11-17) [Support]

[not loaded] com.FTDI.driver.D2XXHelper (1.0 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-11-17) [Support]

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (Wacom Tablet 6.3.18-4 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-11-17) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 172 Apple tasks

[running] 100 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 42 Apple tasks

[loaded] 161 Apple tasks

[running] 108 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[running] at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist (2016-11-14) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusagent.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusnotifications.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusstatus.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

[running] com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[running] at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist (2016-11-14) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (2015-09-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.soma-zone.LaunchControl.Helper.plist (2016-11-22) [Support]

[loaded] com.surteesstudios.Bartender.BartenderInstallHelper.plist (2016-11-15) [Support]

[running] com.wacom.TabletHelper.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.wacom.displayhelper.plist (2016-11-04)

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-11-14) [Support]

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

iTunesHelper Application

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/[redacted]acOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Alfred 3 Application (2016-11-08)

(/Applications/Alfred 3.app)

Dropbox Application (2016-11-14)

(/Applications/Dropbox.app)

[redacted]oom Application

(/Applications/[redacted]oom.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

WacomTabletPlugin: WacomTabletPlugin 2.1.0.6 - SDK 10.9 (2016-10-10) [Support]

AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 (2016-11-14) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-11-04)

Audio Plug-ins: ⓘ

BartenderAudioPlugIn: 1.0.0 - SDK 10.10 (2016-09-14) [Support]

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

PrintOptionPane (2014-06-10) [Support]

WacomTablet (2016-10-10) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

12% Google Chrome

10% Google Chrome Helper(15)

9% kernel_task

7% WindowServer

6% hidd

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

2.26 GB Google Chrome Helper(16)

1.08 GB kernel_task

459 MB WindowServer

410 MB mdworker(10)

377 MB Ulysses

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

8.99 GB Available RAM

3.81 GB Free RAM

7.01 GB Used RAM

5.18 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Nov 24, 2016, 12:41:36 PM Self test - passed

Nov 23, 2016, 06:19:19 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181919_[redacted].crash

com.adobe.CCLibrary - /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Creative Cloud/*/CCLibrary.app/Contents/[redacted]acOS/CCLibrary

Nov 23, 2016, 06:19:04 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181904_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:18:59 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181859_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:18:49 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181849_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:18:44 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181844_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:18:34 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181834_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:18:29 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181829_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:18:24 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181824_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:18:14 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181814_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:18:04 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181804_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:17:59 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181759_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:17:49 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181749_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:17:44 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181744_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:17:34 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181734_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:17:24 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181724_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:17:19 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181719_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:17:14 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181714_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:17:04 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181704_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:16:54 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181654_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 06:16:29 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/node_2016-11-23-181629_[redacted].crash

Nov 23, 2016, 10:58:34 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/blender_2016-11-23-105834_[redacted].cpu_resour ce.diag [Details]

/Applications/blender.app/Contents/[redacted]acOS/blender

Nov 22, 2016, 04:32:53 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/CEPHtmlEngine_2016-11-22-163253_[redacted].cra sh

com.adobe.cep.CEPHtmlEngine - /Applications/Adobe Photoshop CC 2017/Adobe Photoshop CC 2017.app/Contents/[redacted]acOS/CEPHtmlEngine.app/Contents/[redacted]acOS/CEPH tmlEngine

Nov 22, 2016, 04:18:28 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/blender_2016-11-22-161828_[redacted].cpu_resour ce.diag [Details]

Nov 22, 2016, 01:52:51 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/[redacted]icrosoft Excel_2016-11-22-135251_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Details]

/Applications/[redacted]icrosoft Excel.app/Contents/[redacted]acOS/[redacted]icrosoft Excel

Nov 22, 2016, 01:24:13 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Slack Helper_2016-11-22-132413_[redacted].crash

/Applications/Slack.app/Contents/Frameworks/Slack Helper.app/Contents/[redacted]acOS/Slack Helper

Nov 22, 2016, 01:24:03 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Slack Helper_2016-11-22-132403_[redacted].crash

Nov 22, 2016, 01:23:03 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Slack Helper_2016-11-22-132303_[redacted].crash

Nov 22, 2016, 10:17:57 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mdworker_2016-11-22-101757_[redacted].cpu_resou rce.diag [Details]

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/[redacted]etadata. framework/Versions/A/Support/mdworker

Nov 17, 2016, 03:02:55 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Kernel_2016-11-17-150255_[redacted].panic [Details]

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Answer 11

Marotte Author

Level 1

18 points

Nov 28, 2016 4:26 PM in response to felixge

Felix,

I went to an Apple Store to check the booting in safe mode on one of their MacBook Pro w/ touch bar, and the same kind of flickering happens. So at this point I'm not sure it indicates there's some hardware problem. My MacBook may as well as fully working components, as I don't see any of the glitches reported by others.

I was contacted by Apple Support this week-end to discuss the issue, and they were supposed to call me a few hours ago. Of course they failed to do so... Maybe the entire company needs a reboot ;-)

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Answer 12

BanditoB

Level 1

82 points

Nov 28, 2016 4:55 PM in response to felixge

Thanks both of you, Marotte and Felix, for sharing your experiences. I have essentially the same configuration that you two do, 2.9 GHz i7 with 1TB SSD and AMD 460 4GB VRAM.

Here's what I've noted so far. I originally set my machine up as new from scratch as well. I set all my preferences, added my printers and then loaded a few apps from the App Store and Office 365. Once done, I left the system alone for a while and that's when it locked up like in the first video. The only thing that would work was the animation of the arrow pointing to the Touch ID button. Everything else did nothing. I then experienced a few more issues where the system would lock up and get very hot, so I reformatted the SSD and reinstalled macOS thinking that something I had installed had caused the problems, but even with a fresh clean install, it did the same things.

In my case, the sleep issue seems to be related to being on AC-adapter power. If it's hooked up to the wall and the computer tries to sleep, it only wakes up the Touch Bar briefly before locking up again. It takes a forced reboot to get it back up and running again. If it's on battery power, it will sleep and wake as expected, but if if attempts to hibernate, something seems to fire up the processor as the system will get very hot, but will be locked up at the same time. It then rapidly depletes the battery and then dies. If I leave the system on AC power, and close the display, it does the same thing, but doesn't deplete the battery. It does charge, but also gets very hot while doing this and, once again, a hard reset is needed to bring it back to life.

Other than these issues, it has worked well and when on battery power as lasted a very long time, right around the rated hours.

I'm rather frustrated at this point as I'm coming off a Microsoft Surface Book that I had the bright idea to try and have had nothing but problem after problem with. It also has never reliably slept or hibernated, so I never knew what I'd come back to when opening up the screen. I assumed that all of this would be history when switching back to a new MacBook Pro, but that is decidedly not the case with this one. This is the first time I've experienced this type of issue with a Mac. Hopefully Apple can correct it and get it sorted out quickly.

I've only seen one other report so far that another 2.9Ghz user has been having kernel panics that lock up his machine, so perhaps it's something limited to this particular processor. Who knows?

I tried the pmset command, but for now it is returning nothing. I'll try it again immediately after a lock up to see if anything comes back then, but in going through the Console Logs after a crash, it also indicated a graphics card driver may be at fault.

I will try the safe mode stuff when I get home tonight.

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Answer 13

Marotte Author

Level 1

18 points

Nov 28, 2016 5:04 PM in response to BanditoB

Your install sounds pretty clean, but maybe it would be worth checking with Launch Control (http://www.soma-zone.com) if there's a wacky process loading at startup and disabling it?

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Answer 14

felixge

Level 1

4 points

Nov 28, 2016 11:02 PM in response to Marotte

I would like to provide a few more updates:

My machine would experience the sleep-wake-freeze issue being connected to power as well as on battery.
I reformatted my disk, and the problem was gone. However, it reappeared once I enabled FileVault, and FileVault finished encrypting the disk. The only other "customisation" was iCloud enabled. Otherwise the system was completely clean - nothing installed.
I was able to make the problem disappear by disabling WiFi.
I ended up returning the machine, but I have reason to believe that I was able to get the attention of the right people at Apple, and that the machine will be analysed by them.
I agree with Marotte that the GFX issues in safe mode are probably normal. Every 2016 MBP I've seen seems to have them.
BanditoB's freeze issue sounds the like the same, but I'm very surprised that pmset -g log | grep Failure isn't showing anything. There should be no need to do it right after the issue, as the log file should keep this information between restarts. Any chance you're running a language other than English? Maybe the log is translated in those cases.

Anyway, the sleep-wake-freeze issue is certainly not normal, so I recommend everybody experiencing it to have their unit exchanged if possible.

I can't comment on other issues about battery life and the computer getting hot. Those may be entirely different problems. However, some of this might be normal on new machines due to iCloud Photo sync, FileVault encryption, Spotlight indexing, etc. that will put a lot of load on a new system until they've done their initial work.

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Answer 15

Nov 29, 2016 7:30 AM in response to felixge

This was odd but I thought I would put it out there. After a shutdown yesterday when I opened my new 15 inch MacBook Pro (with touchbar) it would not turn on until I inserted the charging cable. The cable was not connected to the adapter or any power source but it seemed to trigger the startup which was not working by simply opening the MacBook. Anyone else have this experience?

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