8 ms·

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/202

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.
        3y ago
  - Wowfunhappy 3y ago
    This issue in GP is unrelated to Linux, it happens on single-boot macOS.
    - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
      That's the point, I think - Linux gets derided because people say it just breaks at random and you have to wade through forums to find arcane incantations to fix it, either implying or outright stating that their favorite proprietary OS would never just blow up in your face and force you to resort to exotic troubleshooting steps. So when macos, the poster child for "user friendly", proceeds to brick the machine and require elaborate rituals to fix, it invites a certain level of snark from users pointing out that the high and mighty proprietary OSs might be just as bad as Linux after all. Of course, whether that's valid is at minimum a question of actual frequency of problems and relative impact and effort to fix, but from a perspective of optics and emotions I understand the reaction.
      - m45t3r 3y ago
        I concur, the amount of times I had to Google dozens of minutes for issues happening in my work-issued Macbook Pro, and never finding answers because things are supposed to "just work" is maddening. For one example on top of my head, sometimes I can't adjust the brightness of the monitor in the Macbook using the Notification Center (it is grayed out), but if I open the "Settings -> Displays" I can do it. Never found a solution for it after searching for a while, so I just gave up. Or the fact that I can't enable retina or font smoothing in my 1440p monitor, so the fonts looks ugly (I got used eventually, but they still looks worse than Windows or Linux in the same monitor). I used a workaround in the past using "Better Display" to create a 4k framebuffer that was downscaled to 1440p, but this was so slow and also prone of other issues so eventually I just got used to the ugly fonts. Another one: I have a TouchBar Macbook (again, this is a work-issued laptop), but I just want it to work as a normal keyboard: show the Function keys, if I press Fn show the shortcuts. Yep, doesn't work: while you can do this, pressing Fn while pressing some of the shortcuts in the TouchBar doesn't work. This is especially infuriating because one of the shortcuts that doesn't work is the brightness one. Go back to the first issue and you can see why this drive me mad sometimes.

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.
        3y ago
- Wowfunhappy 3y ago
  This issue in GP is unrelated to Linux, it happens on single-boot macOS.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
    That's the point, I think - Linux gets derided because people say it just breaks at random and you have to wade through forums to find arcane incantations to fix it, either implying or outright stating that their favorite proprietary OS would never just blow up in your face and force you to resort to exotic troubleshooting steps. So when macos, the poster child for "user friendly", proceeds to brick the machine and require elaborate rituals to fix, it invites a certain level of snark from users pointing out that the high and mighty proprietary OSs might be just as bad as Linux after all. Of course, whether that's valid is at minimum a question of actual frequency of problems and relative impact and effort to fix, but from a perspective of optics and emotions I understand the reaction.
    - m45t3r 3y ago
      I concur, the amount of times I had to Google dozens of minutes for issues happening in my work-issued Macbook Pro, and never finding answers because things are supposed to "just work" is maddening. For one example on top of my head, sometimes I can't adjust the brightness of the monitor in the Macbook using the Notification Center (it is grayed out), but if I open the "Settings -> Displays" I can do it. Never found a solution for it after searching for a while, so I just gave up. Or the fact that I can't enable retina or font smoothing in my 1440p monitor, so the fonts looks ugly (I got used eventually, but they still looks worse than Windows or Linux in the same monitor). I used a workaround in the past using "Better Display" to create a 4k framebuffer that was downscaled to 1440p, but this was so slow and also prone of other issues so eventually I just got used to the ugly fonts. Another one: I have a TouchBar Macbook (again, this is a work-issued laptop), but I just want it to work as a normal keyboard: show the Function keys, if I press Fn show the shortcuts. Yep, doesn't work: while you can do this, pressing Fn while pressing some of the shortcuts in the TouchBar doesn't work. This is especially infuriating because one of the shortcuts that doesn't work is the brightness one. Go back to the first issue and you can see why this drive me mad sometimes.