Appalling experience with MacBook Pro 2016

Hello,

Apologies if I'm hijacking this thread, but I'm having similar issues on my brand new 15" MBP with TouchBar. I ran etre check on my machine and have the results posted below. Also, I'm not sure why System Integrity Protection is off? I definitely didn't do that!

I'm not running a single piece of software which was not on my previous laptop (2013 13" MBP), and my previous computer ran much faster and the battery life was more than double this new machine. I've also had a few hard freezes with this computer. I made a Genius Bar apartment on Thursday...will let y'all know what the outcome is of that appointment. But in the meantime, please let me know if there is anything on this report worth investigating.

EtreCheck version: 3.1.3 (337)

Report generated 2016-11-29 12:20:42

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 1:34

Performance: Excellent

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

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

Problem: Computer is too slow

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016)

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

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro13,3

1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-6820HQ) 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 = 15

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 530

Color LCD 3360 x 2100

AMD Radeon Pro 460 - VRAM: 4096 MB

System Software: ⓘ

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

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

BOOTCAMP (disk0s4) /Volumes/BOOTCAMP : 248.23 GB (139.55 GB free)

Macintosh HD (disk1) / [Startup]: 743.00 GB (322.86 GB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 743.36 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: ⓘ

~/Desktop/Misc. Installs/LCC Installer.app

[not loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.9.2 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-07-20) [Support]

[not loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.3.3 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-07-20) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 5 Apple tasks

[loaded] 172 Apple tasks

[running] 102 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 42 Apple tasks

[loaded] 157 Apple tasks

[running] 111 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.Arturia.ArturiaSoftwareCenterAgent.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusagent.plist (2016-11-22) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusnotifications.plist (2016-11-22) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusstatus.plist (2016-11-22) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon.plist (2016-11-22) [Support]

[loaded] com.gobbler.DownstreamProxy.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.gobbler.bsd.HelperTool.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

[running] com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist (2016-11-16) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (2016-11-27) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

iTunesHelper Application (2016-11-16)

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Dropbox Application (2016-11-16)

(/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Alfred 3 Application Hidden (2016-11-08)

(/Applications/Alfred 3.app)

TextExpander Application Hidden (2016-11-18)

(/Applications/TextExpander.app)

Keyboard Maestro Engine Application (2016-11-16)

(/Applications/Keyboard Maestro.app/Contents/Resources/Keyboard Maestro Engine.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-11-05)

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

1Password - AgileBits - https://agilebits.com/onepassword (2016-11-16)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

None

Time Machine: ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

13% WindowServer

3% kernel_task

3% fontd(2)

0% Dropbox

0% Finder

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

1.18 GB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(10)

1.12 GB kernel_task

377 MB Mail

344 MB BusyCal

328 MB WindowServer

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

9.28 GB Available RAM

3.31 GB Free RAM

6.72 GB Used RAM

5.97 GB Cached files

42 MB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Nov 29, 2016, 11:44:39 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/blued_2016-11-29-114439_[redacted].crash

/usr/sbin/blued

Nov 28, 2016, 03:12:22 PM Self test - passed

Nov 28, 2016, 02:00:52 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/blued_2016-11-28-140052_[redacted].crash

Nov 28, 2016, 02:00:28 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/EmojiFunctionRowIM_Extension_2016-11-28-140028 _[redacted].crash

com.apple.inputmethod.EmojiFunctionRowItem - /System/Library/Input Methods/EmojiFunctionRowIM.app/Contents/PlugIns/EmojiFunctionRowIM_Extension.ap pex/Contents/MacOS/EmojiFunctionRowIM_Extension

Nov 28, 2016, 01:33:39 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Quicken 2017_2016-11-28-133339_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Details]

/Applications/Quicken 2017.app/Contents/MacOS/Quicken 2017

Nov 28, 2016, 01:15:38 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/blued_2016-11-28-131538_[redacted].crash

Nov 28, 2016, 02:27:18 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.Networking_2016-11-28-022718_ [redacted].crash

/System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.We bKit.Networking.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.WebKit.Networking

Nov 26, 2016, 12:49:59 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Rocket_2016-11-26-124959_[redacted].crash

com.JulianThayn.Rocket - /private/var/folders/*/Rocket.app/Contents/MacOS/Rocket

Nov 26, 2016, 12:22:06 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/EmojiFunctionRowIM_Extension_2016-11-26-122206 _[redacted].crash

Well, it's nice (sort of) to see that I'm in some good company at least. 🙂

I did a bit more experimenting and I also see the same funny graphics issues in Safe Startup. They must be using an absolute minimum set of drivers in order to get the system to run and they probably offer no special features to keep things pretty. I'm not worried about this one.

I re-ran the pmset command again and must've had a typo in it originally as it gave me all of this:

I'm assuming that it looks pretty much the same as what Felixge was seeing as it's indicating the graphics card and airport card as problems here too. These are also what I concluded from looking around in the Console logs. These are a big problem.

I noticed when I was doing my reinstalls that System Integrity Protection was enabled after a reinstall, so the image the system pulls from the web to reinstall from is correct in that respect.

After reinstalling macOS for the third time, I also didn't enable FileVault, but have not noticed any difference in behavior since doing so.

I highly doubt that these issues are caused by a hardware failure of some sort, but anything's possible I suppose. They feel to me much more like driver issues than anything else though. The real problem is in getting them communicated to the correct people at Apple so that they can work on them for us.

If anyone gets a replacement system right away, it will be interesting to see how it behaves!

I'm assuming that it looks pretty much the same as what Felixge was seeing as it's indicating the graphics card and airport card as problems here too. These are also what I concluded from looking around in the Console logs. These are a big problem.

Yes, your problem looks exactly the same.

I highly doubt that these issues are caused by a hardware failure of some sort, but anything's possible I suppose.

I don't know what makes you say that. If the software was buggy, this should impact almost every MBP owner with the same WiFi and/or GFX chip. However, I don't think the issue impacts a lot of people. So I think a HW problem is more likely than Software.

The real problem is in getting them communicated to the correct people at Apple so that they can work on them for us.

As mentioned before, I think I was successful in getting the right people interested in this problem.

If anyone gets a replacement system right away, it will be interesting to see how it behaves!

Me too.

I also did a system reinstall, but for me System Integrity Protection is off. Just wanted to point that out, because it means the theory that the image its pulling from the web is correct in that respect might not be accurate. Perhaps there are multiple images on different servers? Who knows, really. Just a guess.

Thanks for confirming that you saw the same errors.

I wonder how many people have customized their orders to get both the 2.9 GHz processor and the AMD 460 graphics. Perhaps it is this particular combination that is presenting these problems.

BanditoB wrote:

Thanks for confirming that you saw the same errors.

I wonder how many people have customized their orders to get both the 2.9 GHz processor and the AMD 460 graphics. Perhaps it is this particular combination that is presenting these problems.

No idea. But I'd be surprised if its a process/gfx combo.

I think faulty GFX has a good chance of being the sole root cause. I found people with similar pmset errors on older mac models on the internet that ended up getting their GFX cards replaced by apple support which fixed the issue.

jacobsilver,

That is indeed a very interesting finding.

I had manually enabled the System Integrity Protection on my machine and you have to do it to the recovery image, so it is probably taking its cues from there and then applying them to the installation rather than coming from the installation image itself. It sounds like in order to correct the issue for everyone, Apple will have to send out an update to the recovery image.

I tried turning off WiFi while on battery power to see if the MBP would sleep and hibernate normally and lo and behold, it did! I haven't tried anything else with the power adapter connected to it, but this still leads me to believe that there is a driver issue causing the sleep problems as everything, including the WiFi card work just fine normally, but only have problems with going into and out of sleep.

Once again I called Apple today to report my findings and see what their recommendation is and talked to a Level II technician, but the only thing he would/could offer was to replace the MBP. He feels that it must be a hardware issue, so it must be replaced. The only problem with that is that although I purchased it at a local Apple Store, it is a CTO (Configure to Order) machine. He couldn't tell me how long it will take to get a replacement, but said that I would have to turn it in at the time of service, so I'll be without anything until they can get another one in. Not good! I have a Genius Bar appointment tomorrow afternoon, so I'll see what they can tell me about how long it will take to replace it, but I may just end up returning it if it's going to be very long. Tomorrow is my last day to return it, so it will be a tough call. Especially, because there is nothing wrong with the system that a driver update or two won't fix.

In all of my vast experience with computers, tongue-in-cheek aside, hardware problems don't typically reveal themselves like this. They normally manifest themselves as total failures. I hate to have to go through all of this runaround to replace/exchange the unit just to have the problem fixed in a few weeks with a driver update. I don't much like replacing items as for whatever reason I tend to get attached to the particular one that I have. Silly, I know, but it happens nonetheless. <Sigh>

Yeah, I guess if that's the way that Apple wants to play it, who are we to argue?

It makes me feel bad, though, as it's a waste of time and effort on both our part and Apple's part.

Perhaps we can put a positive spin on it by thinking that we're setting someone up with a very nice and less expensive refurbished MBP in the future. The only issue I have with this is that I'll worry that my MBP won't get a good home! 😢

just a quick update:

I had an appointment at the Genius Bar today. (Similar issues as the OP: performance issues and shorter than expected battery life). When I explained to the tech my issues, he immediately offered to replace it. It seemed like that was because the computer was still within the period where I could return it, not necessarily because this was some sort of known issue or anything.

The only complication was that they didn't have my CTO config in store, and it would have been 3-4 weeks to get my same spec'd replacement. But they did have the version with the slightly bumped processor (2.9 quad i7). So I spent an extra $200 and just traded my "old" machine for this one. But besides the processor, everything else was identical: 15", Radeon R6, 16gb RAM, 1TB HD.

So far I have to say the battery life seems about the same. A bit lower than expected still. Maybe that's just how it is. Who knows. Performance wise it seems a bit better but it's hard to tell right now because software is still installing and spotlight is still indexing. I'll report back in a few days when I've spent more time with this thing.

jacobsilver,

For battery life, one thing you may want to play with is the screen brightness. Most tests are performed with the screen brightness at around 50% and the level the screen is set at will definitely have a significant impact on battery life. Apple ships the machines with the brightness quite high to "show them off", so lowering it a bit will help.

On my original machine, I could watch the expected run time on battery go up quite a bit for each level of brightness that I dropped down in the settings.

I, too, had a Genius Bar appointment last night. I was amazed when they actually had my configuration in stock, 2.9 GHz Core i7, 16 GB RAM, Radeon 460, in Space Gray. They immediately wanted to do an exchange, so I told them I'd give it a whirl and see what happens.

So far, the replacement is not experiencing any issues, but I've only tried it on battery so far. Nonetheless, it's slept and hibernated with WiFi on now several times without incident. I am currently running it on AC power to see how that goes.

I checked the new system to see if System Integrity Protection was enabled or not and it is disabled. For now, I'm leaving it disabled to see if perhaps the bad sleep behavior is related to having SIP enabled. If anyone still has a machine that's experiencing problems, I would try disabling SIP just to see if that has any impact. Per Apple's developer website:

To enable or disable System Integrity Protection, you must boot to Recovery OS and run the

csrutil(1)

1. Boot to Recovery OS by restarting your machine and holding down the Command and R keys at startup.
2. Launch Terminal from the Utilities menu.
3. Enter the following command:

   $ csrutil enable

After enabling or disabling System Integrity Protection on a machine, a reboot is required.

I would assume that a 'csrutil disable' would turn the feature off. At any rate, that's the only thing that I've done differently with this replacement system vs. my original one and so far, so good. Perhaps there was some type of hardware flaw with the original system, but it sure seemed like it was driver related to me. I'll know more after a few more days with this replacement system.

Spotlight/finder indexing may be taking causing the issue trying to index anything you add or open or change.

Particularly if you reload your data.

If your system is automatically connecting to the internet - it may cause the cause of any GPU errors -- if you are offline - disconnected from the internet - and the screen may unfreeze after some point. Online download may still finish even if the screen is frozen -- tricky there -- and this is all from Snow Leopard - on a 2008 Mac Pro.