6 ms·

Not sure if related, but my 2020 M1 macbook air bricked a week or so after upgrading to Sonoma. I was suspicious if this was related to the update. Luckily the

Not sure if related, but my 2020 M1 macbook air bricked a week or so after upgrading to Sonoma. I was suspicious if this was related to the update. Luckily the logic board was replaced for free under warranty laws here, though it put me off switching to iphone which I was a day away from doing.

bscphil 3y ago
Upgrades bricking hardware seems to be a common failure mode for macOS. For example Big Sur bricked a bunch of 2013 and 2014 MBPs: https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/15/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-macbook-pros/ https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/15/macos-big-sur-update-br... I was affected by this and like many users the problem was fixed after replacing the I/O board. In my case, I did it myself using a $10 part from Ebay since the machine was well out of warranty at that point.
- miles 3y ago
  From comments #736 and #747 attached to the forum post you kindly shared, it sounds like simply disconnecting and reconnecting the I/O board may be sufficient (found those comments linked in #831): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/post-29398435 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-br... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/post-29403412 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-br... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/post-30087839 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-br...
  - fifteen1506 3y ago
    And this is why there will never be a Year of the Linux Desktop -- no-one wants to have to depend on forum posts to fix these kind of issues. /troll
    - coldtea 3y ago
      Why the "/troll"? You're 100% right non-ironically: the problem being that on Linux the need to consult forum posts to fix these kind of issues is way more frequent than in macOS.
      - fsflover 3y ago
        On Linux it's as rare as on MacOS, if you buy preinstalled.
        coldtea 3y ago
        As long as you don't do anything with it on your own.
        kelnos 3y ago
        So essentially, the situation you'd have if you'd bought a Mac? If we want to compare apples to apples, then we compare: Mac with macOS updates installed regularly, and only those provided by Apple. Non-Apple apps get dropped in /Applications like they should be. If there's an installer that asks for root access, you might get boned. Linux preinstalled with OS updates installed regularly, and only those provided by the vendor. Apps that don't come with the OS's package manager should be installed somewhere under $HOME, and never installed systemwide as root. Sure, if you have a Mac and disable SIP (or whatever it's called nowadays) and start mucking around with files in /System or whatever, because you want to install some mod that does something cool, you might have a bad time. Same as if you decide that screwing around in /lib on a Linux machine is a good idea. But if we actually compare these two apples, I suspect the Linux one would have fewer problems.
        coldtea 3y ago
        >So essentially, the situation you'd have if you'd bought a Mac? No, worse, with more device incompatibilities, manual fiddling, arcane settings, and so on to make things work. >Sure, if you have a Mac and disable SIP (or whatever it's called nowadays) and start mucking around with files in /System or whatever, because you want to install some mod that does something cool, you might have a bad time. Sure, but I'm not talking about that. With Linux you often have a bad time trying to make basic, but not distro configured, functionality to work.
teaearlgraycold 3y ago
Seems like a weird rationale. Any manufacturer is going to have its share of software and hardware issues.
windowsrookie 3y ago
The logic Board failed in my 2020 M1 Air as well. Opened the lid one day, and it wouldn't power on. I have AppleCare on it, otherwise it would have been a $500 repair. About two weeks ago I'm sitting in a hotel room with the air on bed with the lid open. I grab it by the screen to slide it closer to me and the screen shatters from the light pressure of my finger. There are instances of both these things happening to the Air all over the internet. At first I really liked the M1 Air, but it has now proven too unreliable for me.
- theodric 3y ago
  My 2020 M1 Air generally requires a hard reboot if left closed and on a charger overnight, but that's been the worst of it until now (besides the rapidly degrading battery that seems calibrated to hit 79% a month after my AppleCare+ expires, while my 2015 Air's is still going strong). Premium™
- VagabundoP 3y ago
  My wife is still rocking a 2012 Mac air and uses it regularly. Apart from never rebooting it - WHAT ABUT MY TABS - its a sturdy little fellow. Shame to hear the build quality in the latest is so poor.
aetherspawn 3y ago
FWIW I have been using iPhones for 10+ years and not once has an update ever failed or had any issues. But my Google Pixel phone used to brick itself all the time, I think twice in the two years I had it.
- kelnos 3y ago
  I've never had an Android phone brick itself in 13 years of owning them. I have friends whose iPhones have gotten bad updates. Not sure if they were bricked, though, or if they "only" needed a factory reset to get things going again.
- Kuinox 3y ago
  In the same period, 10-12 years ago, both androids and iPhones bricked themselves if there was no storage left on the device. Both needed somes bytes on boot and if they couldn't write on disk, they failed to boot.
- dehrmann 3y ago
  Phones are Apple's main business. At this point, Macs are second-tier. With Google, I suspect it's their engineering practice. Google doesn't like to make engineering mistakes.

bscphil 3y ago

Upgrades bricking hardware seems to be a common failure mode for macOS. For example Big Sur bricked a bunch of 2013 and 2014 MBPs: https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/15/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-macbook-pros/ https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/15/macos-big-sur-update-br... I was affected by this and like many users the problem was fixed after replacing the I/O board. In my case, I did it myself using a $10 part from Ebay since the machine was well out of warranty at that point.

miles 3y ago
From comments #736 and #747 attached to the forum post you kindly shared, it sounds like simply disconnecting and reconnecting the I/O board may be sufficient (found those comments linked in #831): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/post-29398435 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-br... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/post-29403412 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-br... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/post-30087839 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-br...
- fifteen1506 3y ago
  And this is why there will never be a Year of the Linux Desktop -- no-one wants to have to depend on forum posts to fix these kind of issues. /troll
  - coldtea 3y ago
    Why the "/troll"? You're 100% right non-ironically: the problem being that on Linux the need to consult forum posts to fix these kind of issues is way more frequent than in macOS.
    - fsflover 3y ago
      On Linux it's as rare as on MacOS, if you buy preinstalled.
      - coldtea 3y ago
        As long as you don't do anything with it on your own.
        kelnos 3y ago
        So essentially, the situation you'd have if you'd bought a Mac? If we want to compare apples to apples, then we compare: Mac with macOS updates installed regularly, and only those provided by Apple. Non-Apple apps get dropped in /Applications like they should be. If there's an installer that asks for root access, you might get boned. Linux preinstalled with OS updates installed regularly, and only those provided by the vendor. Apps that don't come with the OS's package manager should be installed somewhere under $HOME, and never installed systemwide as root. Sure, if you have a Mac and disable SIP (or whatever it's called nowadays) and start mucking around with files in /System or whatever, because you want to install some mod that does something cool, you might have a bad time. Same as if you decide that screwing around in /lib on a Linux machine is a good idea. But if we actually compare these two apples, I suspect the Linux one would have fewer problems.
        coldtea 3y ago
        >So essentially, the situation you'd have if you'd bought a Mac? No, worse, with more device incompatibilities, manual fiddling, arcane settings, and so on to make things work. >Sure, if you have a Mac and disable SIP (or whatever it's called nowadays) and start mucking around with files in /System or whatever, because you want to install some mod that does something cool, you might have a bad time. Sure, but I'm not talking about that. With Linux you often have a bad time trying to make basic, but not distro configured, functionality to work.

teaearlgraycold 3y ago

Seems like a weird rationale. Any manufacturer is going to have its share of software and hardware issues.

windowsrookie 3y ago

The logic Board failed in my 2020 M1 Air as well. Opened the lid one day, and it wouldn't power on. I have AppleCare on it, otherwise it would have been a $500 repair. About two weeks ago I'm sitting in a hotel room with the air on bed with the lid open. I grab it by the screen to slide it closer to me and the screen shatters from the light pressure of my finger. There are instances of both these things happening to the Air all over the internet. At first I really liked the M1 Air, but it has now proven too unreliable for me.

theodric 3y ago
My 2020 M1 Air generally requires a hard reboot if left closed and on a charger overnight, but that's been the worst of it until now (besides the rapidly degrading battery that seems calibrated to hit 79% a month after my AppleCare+ expires, while my 2015 Air's is still going strong). Premium™
VagabundoP 3y ago
My wife is still rocking a 2012 Mac air and uses it regularly. Apart from never rebooting it - WHAT ABUT MY TABS - its a sturdy little fellow. Shame to hear the build quality in the latest is so poor.

aetherspawn 3y ago

FWIW I have been using iPhones for 10+ years and not once has an update ever failed or had any issues. But my Google Pixel phone used to brick itself all the time, I think twice in the two years I had it.

kelnos 3y ago
I've never had an Android phone brick itself in 13 years of owning them. I have friends whose iPhones have gotten bad updates. Not sure if they were bricked, though, or if they "only" needed a factory reset to get things going again.
Kuinox 3y ago
In the same period, 10-12 years ago, both androids and iPhones bricked themselves if there was no storage left on the device. Both needed somes bytes on boot and if they couldn't write on disk, they failed to boot.
dehrmann 3y ago
Phones are Apple's main business. At this point, Macs are second-tier. With Google, I suspect it's their engineering practice. Google doesn't like to make engineering mistakes.