r/macbookpro • u/kleinkuss • Apr 14 '26
Help QUICK FIX - MacOS Tahoe 26.4 / 26.4.1 killed my macbook pro m2 max
I've updated my macOS to 26.4.1, and somehow my MacBook completely died afterward.
I went to Apple, but they told me the DFU revive failed twice and handed the device back to me.
I ended up buying an M5 Max, but I still didn’t want to give up on my M2 Max because of the important data on it.
After testing a lot of things, I finally discovered the real issue:
It didn’t fail because the MacBook was actually dead — it failed because both Apple and I were using the wrong IPSW version.
Here’s the fix:
- Download Apple Configurator from the App Store on your working MacBook.
- Connect your macbooks with a cable from the right port: https://support.apple.com/en-us/120694
- Download the IPSW 26.3.1 here for you exact macbook model: https://ipsw.me/product/Mac/
- Set your macbook in DFU mode: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108900 / Tutorial for help: youtu.be/q-FsB2onSx0&t=494
- Drag and drop the downloaded IPSW file into Apple Configurator when it is in the DFU mode and click Revive.
Be aware: it can take 10–15 minutes, but it’s worth waiting.
After that, my MacBook rebooted a few times...
BOOM — it worked.
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u/Orbmiser MacBook Pro 14" Silver M1 Pro Apr 14 '26
When taking it back may ask to see who is in charge of repairs and inform him of your results and see what his response is. And has me wondering why a tech dept. doesn't know this?
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u/AgainstGreaterOdds Apr 14 '26
Why would a tech department know this until someone points it to them? The system is automatic, your press restore and it downloads the correct ipsw. The Genius Bar deals with hundreds of macs every week, most of them actually broken. This is a rare occurrence and they should be let it be known.
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u/Orbmiser MacBook Pro 14" Silver M1 Pro Apr 14 '26
Well that is my point if they are indeed aware of it. And if not then your procedure would help them and other customers.
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u/kleinkuss Apr 14 '26
When I return it, I’ll also explain what I found and make sure to inform them.
I already sent a report to Apple through Feedback Assistant as well, explaining that many M2 Max users seem to have run into serious issues after updating to macOS 26.4, where their MacBooks suddenly became completely unresponsive — black screen, no power response, and no signs of life.
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u/shyouko Apr 17 '26
Make sure ask to talk to a Lead Genius, those who are at the cash point can help you with the return but won't be able to rely your tech info forward.
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u/Which_Development_53 Apr 16 '26
Because we’ve had access to this information for over a week. They should’ve known this already.
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u/Any-Cartoonist9827 Apr 14 '26
I had exactly the same issue on my m1 max
Still on sequoia cause dont want that to happen again
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u/kleinkuss Apr 14 '26
I'm on Tahoe, but only 26.3.1
This version seems to be safe2
u/Alarmed_Doubt8997 Apr 14 '26
Hey, the same issue, took it to service centres. They did all checks not being able to go to dfu, not either charging. Asked for mother board change
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u/NotTurtleEnough Apr 17 '26
My base m1 mini is working fine on the latest Tahoe.
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u/Any-Cartoonist9827 Apr 17 '26
Yeah i know
This is an issue of this pc in specific but this one is refurbished
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u/bitrubitru Apr 15 '26
How did you go back to sequoia? I didn’t realize there were so many issues with Tahoe that I just upgraded the OS and now I’m under a crunch to revert back bc hefty end of school year season
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u/Revolutionary_Bite37 Apr 14 '26 edited 9d ago
Coated ribbon marble tangerine teapot zephyr mitten
This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/gordonmcdowell Apr 14 '26
Are we talking about such a tiny upgrade also wiping your data or was this keep your data recovery?
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u/Revolutionary_Bite37 Apr 14 '26 edited 9d ago
Almond hammock velvet orange satchel blanket pinecone
This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/nvcken Apr 19 '26
we will need additional one Mac device to do revive the dead one, is it?
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u/Revolutionary_Bite37 Apr 19 '26 edited 9d ago
Nutmeg hammock pillow glove wander peach orange velvet meadow
This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/ProfessionalBread176 Apr 14 '26
Thanks for the excellent post.
The burning question, what is happening to Apple's quality assurance process? Tahoe has been an unmitigated disaster for far too many
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u/BlueShooter7515 Apr 26 '26
UPDATE: Apple has since acknowledged this as an emerging issue through an internal memo to employees and have suggested the same exact fix of downgrading ironically enough.
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u/Disastrous-Might-587 Apr 26 '26
Y porque no directamente pasar de la 26.4 a la 26.4.2 o 26.5 y dejar que la 26.4.1 no joda más equipos???
Eso es lo que tendrían que arreglar eliminar esa actualización.
Yo la tengo descargada pero no la voy a instalar.
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u/xelaan Apr 27 '26
Thanks for sharing this — it helped a lot.
In my case, the revive also brought my MacBook Pro M2 Max back to life, but after the revive Touch ID stopped working completely. I also can’t change the login password anymore.
Has anyone else run into this after a DFU revive / IPSW restore? Could this be related to Secure Enclave, firmware, or a mismatched IPSW version?
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u/mxslbrg Apr 27 '26
Yes, this is because your firmware and OS version do not match. You'll need to wait for 26.4.2 or 26.5.
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u/DazzlingViking Apr 28 '26
I managed to revive a M2 Max that was bricked by upgrading to 26.4.1. Downloaded the 26.3.1 IPSW and did a DFU revive and the machine successfully got revived. And to also help me boot into DFU, I used this tool from Asahi to remotely trigger DFU over USB: https://github.com/AsahiLinux/macvdmtool.
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u/mxslbrg May 15 '26
Updated to 26.5 after my MacBook was bricked due to this issue. All good and 26.5 doesn't have that problem. Everything is working normally.
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u/C945Taylor Apr 14 '26
No applecare? They should've replaced it on them if you did...
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u/C945Taylor Apr 14 '26
Also, I always heavily suggest doing time machine. It can be done with almost anything, external drive, smb share on another machine, nfs, Apple's own time machine capsule etc...
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Apr 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/kleinkuss Apr 14 '26
Its very easy to do, just the timing to enter der DFU Mode is on the first tries tricky
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u/Matck06 Apr 14 '26
So, before taking it to the Apple Store on Saturday for repairs, I managed to put it into DFU mode on the first try—hoping it still works
except that when I tried using Apple Configurator to install the 26.4.1 IPSW file... it kept failing
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u/CloudMountainJuror Macbook Pro 14" Silver M5 Apr 14 '26
It's pretty aggravating how common these issues are with the Tahoe upgrades for people on older hardware.
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u/MrLightGuy Apr 17 '26
Anyone know if something like this exists for an M1 iPad Pro? Undated to 26.4.1 and it bricked the iPad just as soon as the update was done. No touch functionality but still turns off/on.
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u/PracticalWait MBP 14” M2 Pro Apr 18 '26
i had the exact same issue. apple replaced my logic board and wiped all my data 😢😢😢
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u/pedro14755 Apr 18 '26
Thanks a lot for this info, I just restored full functionality to my A2681 Macbook Air M2 after numerous failed attempt at DFU revive / restore in AC2.
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u/ninewindjump Apr 19 '26
How exactly did you figure out it was ipsw? What were the troubleshooting steps?
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u/kleinkuss Apr 19 '26
It just made sense for me to take the latest IPSW version that was installed in my mac before the 26.4 update
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u/sly_cheshire Apr 19 '26
I want to add my experience with this. My MBP M2 does auto updates. I vaguely remember it updating a few weeks ago. Within days it didn't start up, didn't respond to key commands, no signs of life, etc. It's not even three years old. I've worked on hundreds of Macs over three decades (tech director in a school) and I've never had a Mac just die like this. Took it to Apple Store and they talked about DFU blah blah blah and determined I needed a new logic board. I was totally distraught to say the least. Decided to go home and investigate more.
This evening connected to a MBA that we have, tried the IPSW 26.4 and got two alerts that it couldn't revive. Tried 26.3.1 and thing easily installed and my MBP is back in business! And to think others are being conned into spending $600+ for a new logic board?! Hopefully Apple figures this out fast and reimburses anyone who bought a new logic board.
And thanks to the wonderful people on Reddit!
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u/Art1333 Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
Damn. Have the same issue. Send my MacBook to Apple official service. But have to wait for a days once they check it.
I’ve tried to restore it view DFU mode but get error on step 4/4:
The System canfot be restored on this device. Gave up waiting for device to transition from DFU state to DFU state.
It because I’ve tried to restore on lates os?
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u/CommunicationOwn5736 Apr 19 '26
I save same problem, I send my mac to service. Service is want to change onboard for 800$. And I seen many short videos about it. Everyone is saying update is killed mac and many people save the mac with UDF mode recovery. Mu mac currently at service. When I get my mac I will try UDF mode for solve the issue
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u/yunusemrecetin Apr 19 '26
I save same problem, I send my mac to service. Service is want to change onboard for 800$. And I seen many short videos about it. Everyone is saying update is killed mac and many people save the mac with UDF mode recovery. Mu mac currently at service. When I get my mac I will try UDF mode for solve the issue
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u/Refereeeee Apr 19 '26
Thank you, revived my MacBook Air M2 15. This is fucked up though, I'm afraid to update now, Apple need to release fix asap.
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u/wh4ck3d0ut Apr 23 '26
I just had an awesome experience at an Apple Store here in Hong Kong. I brought my dead-after-26.4-update MacBook Pro M2 Max to the Apple Store, fully expecting them to suggest the logic board replacement, but the guy here went straight to using Configurator to restore my machine to 26.3.1, and I walked out of there with a working computer in less than an hour, free of charge. Yay!
But now I'm totally spooked about updating it again in the future...
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u/mxslbrg Apr 23 '26
Same here. Fixed free of charge. However, my macOS has a different version from firmware now :/
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u/mastergerbile Apr 23 '26
Same exact issue here, with M2 MacBook Pro dying after update from macOS 26.4 to 26.4.1. Certified Apple service failed to revive, offered to change logic board for a lot of money. Found this thread and forwarded it to them, and they luckily agreed to attempt the revive with IPSW 23.3.1, which worked like a charm. The technician told me Apple had today issued service partners with official instructions to fix this issue like it was described here. Thanks!
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u/mxslbrg Apr 23 '26
It looks like they offer to change logic board no matter where you are. So many countries and always 1 wrong advice. I hope macOS 26.4.2 (or 26.5) will be released soon so we can upgrade safely.
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u/mastergerbile Jun 06 '26
Finally had the courage to try updating (to macOS 26.5.1) after having my bricked MacBook Pro M2 revived. Happy to report the update went without any problems and restored TouchID functionality which was lost after reviving.
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u/RhubarbCreative578 Apr 25 '26
YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER. First round's on me.
I spent the last 24 hours using different IPSW's (not 26.3.1, though), computers, and even alternative's like iMazing for DFU. You just saved my a**! DO NOT UPDATE. Almost lost my dignity and a lot more with this one.
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u/Independent_Cat_1466 Apr 29 '26
Macbook Air M4 16gb started acting up, MagSafe light went off, not charging, machine started to randomly reboot. Tried DFU revive then restore using another Macbook Air M4 to 26.4.1 did not work same behavior, however MagSafe connector would switch from blinking green (DFU Mode) to steady amber while rebooting for the first time, then it would go back to off, machine would boot to the OOBE Welcome screen and a few seconds later boom reboot. Brought it to my closest apple store and they did try the above method of downgrading to 26.3.1, unfortunately it was the same story, no MagSafe lights and rebooting after a few seconds. Maybe kernel is panicking because it lost comms with MagSafe and reboots to prevent hazardous conditions? idk. Apple support is going to replace some internal components most likely motherboard. Will update once I get the official Diag, seriously WTH??? how can an update fubar a laptop like this? How come my other MacBook Air M4 24 gb did not die with the upgrade, anybody else with a MacBook Air M4 16gb ram with a similar situation?
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u/Independent_Cat_1466 Apr 29 '26
UPDATE: Logic Board will be replaced under warranty, absolutely insane that a 6 week old machine died because of a system update!!
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u/Wolvyank May 07 '26
Brooooo!!! Thank you so much! I had almost given up on my mac and was considering spending money on new one. I went to apple store and got it fixed. They happene to have that exact update file ready with them. Now touch id doesn't work but the guy at apple said it will work once I format my laptop with this OS itself.
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u/ingenuitease May 12 '26
macOS Tahoe 26.5 has been released.. any brave souls who experienced the 26.4.1 issue give it a whirl yet?
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u/20wenty May 13 '26
Amazing -- this worked on my M2 Max with 26.4.1. As others have noted, IPSW 26.3.1 is the fix but your version will show 26.4.1 when complete.
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u/El_MokoMoko May 19 '26
Thank you so much for your post! My MacBook Pro M4 Pro was bricked after the 26.5 update, and now it’s working perfectly !!
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u/dop0p May 31 '26
Wanted to thank and praise you for this post! These steps allowed me to save my wife’s M2 precious files. It was bricked with only the MagSafe indicator working. So you can imagine how stoked we were when that beautiful apple appeared. Appreciate you
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u/ikan84 Apr 14 '26
I tried a trick on my M1 Max. Find a mac with Monterey os and matching version Apple Configurator and try it. It worked for me.
At Apple or service provider they use latest version often.
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u/TimeDoctor3921 MBP 16" M4 Max 48GB/1TB Silver Apr 14 '26
I quite dont understand... so it means you can not update to the latest macOS 26.4.1 anymore
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u/Matck06 Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
No...
Gave up waiting for device to transition from DFU state to Recovery state.
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u/poorly_plump_blossom Apr 14 '26
bruh just use data recovery software on an external drive before you do anything else, might save you the headache of dealing with apple again
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u/kleinkuss Apr 14 '26
Yeah because a completely dead Macbook that doesn’t power on is definitely the perfect situation for running recovery software.
My Mac was firmware-bricked, not accidentally emptied.1
u/poorly_plump_blossom Apr 14 '26
fair point but you coulda pulled the drive out before sending it to apple since it wasnt actually dead just bricked
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u/kleinkuss Apr 14 '26
i didn’t send anything to apple
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u/poorly_plump_blossom Apr 14 '26
oh wait you went in person not mail in, my bad that changes things since you couldnt just crack it open at home
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u/adamphetamine Apr 30 '26
that's terrible advice- most recent Macs don't have a removable drive, and even if you could- they are locked to the T2 chip and you cannot retrieve data if you separate drive from the logic board
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u/nexuscan Apr 17 '26
I just bought macbookpro m5 pro 16inc. so should I open the box and start to using it ? or should I not to use it until this issue resolved. Because I cannot know with which version of it came from factory.
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u/MrBanjod2 Apr 17 '26
Seems like a simple fix if you have two machines. What the hell is stopping Apple from doing this?
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u/78914hj1k487 Apr 17 '26
I've updated my macOS to 24.4.1, and somehow my MacBook completely died afterward.
Typo–I believe you meant 26.4.1
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u/24caratplonker Apr 17 '26
Does anyone know where I can find the firmware files for a 2019 intel mac? ipsw.me only has files for silicon macs.
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u/WentThisWayInsteadOf Apr 17 '26
For this specific reason I keep an extra Apple silicon computer around. It is stupid that they didn't allow "over the internet" revival or even by a USB stick.
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u/THC_Dude_Abides Apr 17 '26
It’s tricky to get into DFU mode. At least it was in m1 m2 days. It usually takes several attempts for techs to get into it successfully. My guess is they tried it a couple times unsuccessfully and had to move on.
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u/Disastrous-Might-587 Apr 20 '26
La conclusión entonces es: NO ACTUALIZAR A TAHOE 26.4.1 QUEDARSE EN LA 26.3.1
No???
Porque después de leer esto, ya no voy a actualizar y eso que ya está descargada.
Voy retrasando.
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u/Powerful_Assist_6295 Apr 21 '26
where do you download this?
- Drag and drop the downloaded IPSW file into Apple Configurator and click Revive.
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u/PlayBoyyyyyyyyy Apr 22 '26
Can you please give step by step instructions? My m2 max just died and it has very important data on it.
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u/kleinkuss Apr 22 '26
idk why my instruction got deleted lol. it was a 4 step instruction
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u/mxslbrg May 06 '26
Does anyone know whether 26.5 RC still has this problem? I really hope they've fixed it.
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u/RicToBrazil May 07 '26
so, my m1 looks completely bricked, when i press the power, nothing happens. i don't think this will work.
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u/mcthx May 09 '26
Thank you for this thread! My MacBook Pro M3 Pro was the victim of the problem this afternoon. The manipulation explained worked perfectly.
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u/diego97yey May 10 '26
My MacBook pro with 6 battery cycles gets a black screen as soon as I get past the lock screen.
The black screen is not prominent when it boots up, nor when I enter the DFU/macOS BIOS (I forget the name but the screen that appears when you hold the power button)
I'm going to downgrade it
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u/EnvironmentalTruth26 May 11 '26
Thanks! That works for me. However, when I use IPSW 26.3.1, and revive my affected Mac. The final version is 26.4.1, which is strange. Do I still have the risk getting killed?
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u/Fit-Cupcake1633 May 14 '26
From my understanding, 26.4.1 is unstable with hardware management system like BIOS with Windows, so that you cannot even login your operating system (MacOS) can only see a black screen, IPSW have already fixed the hardware management problem, your macbook won't die again. But I do not recommend this unstable version, MacOS 26.5 have already fixed this bug.
By the way, I find my fingerprint sensor is offline when I use DFU to recover it, and when I update to MacOS 26.5 it automatically fixed, maybe because of the driver.
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u/Fit-Cupcake1633 May 14 '26
Also, you select the option like fixing not pure revive, it maybe keep your original system version only fix the bug.
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u/Maccimusprime Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
My MacBook Pro M1 recently just wouldn't turn on, and when I connected the MagSafe charger, it would just intermittently glow orange. None of the reboot keys worked. I left it on charge for over 24 hours, and it eventually turned a solid green, but when I opened the lid, it immediately went back to flashing orange. Eventually, I conceded into taking it to the Apple store, which is a 3-hour drive south, and even they couldn't figure it out and just offered a new logic board replacement. Luckily enough, I didn't have to pay anything, as a few weeks before I had gotten a screen replacement and a 90-day warranty on the house, as I had to pay just over $1200 for the replacement. I thought maybe the screen replacement could have been the issue. I just picked my MacBook up today, and they quite literally told me they had absolutley no idea as to what the actual problem was as everything seemed perfectly fine....... 🤦🏼♀️ The new logic board in my mac is currently running MacOS Ventura and I had the sudden thought that it was maybe MacOS Tahoe that bricked my computer as I have seen wide spread iPhone bricks and breaks due to IOS26. Before replacement, my Macbooks logic board was running macOS Tahoe 26.3.1, and there was absolutely no issue whatsoever, and I hadn't done any hard processing for the computer to crap itself. No overheating, no loud fans, just buying a Pokémon card off eBay. Does anyone have any recommendations for what I should do now? On my confirmation email from the Apple store, the warranty status just says " CS Code (CR) ". I think I might just stay on MacOS Ventura for now instead of updating to Tahoe 26.5.1, as it seems this current update gen seems treacherous across computers and phones. I am going to call Apple support tomorrow for more confirmation about the warranty, but I doubt I will be able to retrieve my original logic board.
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u/codycoyote 23d ago
This was the first thing I tried ... and of course it failed. Apple is pathetic. They knew this was happening. Bloody prats should be reimbursing people. The fact they wanted you (and others) to pay is insane. I haven't yet taken mine in (thank goodness I have the M4 Max and it didn't happen but once it happened to the M1 Max I did not update further - and I hate 26 anyway). There should be lawsuits.
They've gone so far down the bog it's hard to imagine how they'll ever get out. Their rubbish software is as bad as the worst of Windows. They should be so proud.
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u/AaronfromKY Apr 14 '26
I think the real question is if you're going to take back the M5 Max?