Apple Fixes macOS Monterey Bug That Bricked Macs After Update

It is now apparently safe for all Mac users to update to macOS Monterey without the new software paralyzing their computers.

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that some older Macs were bricking after updating to the company’s new operating system. As if that wasn’t bad enough, some users said updating had also messed up their device’s ports, which means they couldn’t even turn them on to try to troubleshoot the problem. At the time, some users thought the issue could be related to the firmware on the devices, a theory the company confirmed on Friday.

Apple told YouTuber Rene Ritchie that it had identified and fixed an issue with the firmware on the Apple T2 security chip, which is used on 16 Mac models released in the last three years.

These include the 13, 15, and 16-inch MacBook Pros models released from 2018 to 2020; the 13-inch MacBook Air with a Retina display released from 2018 to 2020; the Mac mini from 2018; the Mac Pro from 2019; the Mac Pro Rack from 2019; the iMac Pro; and the iMac from 2020.

“We have identified and fixed an issue with the firmware on the Apple T2 security chip that prevented a very small number of users from booting up their Mac after updating macOS,” Apple said, according to Ritchie. “The updated firmware is now included with the existing macOS updates. Any users impacted by this issue can contact Apple Support for assistance.”

Gizmodo reached out to Apple on Friday for comment on the matter, but we did not receive a response by the time of publication. We’ll make sure to update this blog if we hear back.

As pointed out by 9to5Mac, this unfortunately doesn’t mean that users who were already affected by the issue can breathe a sigh of relief. (After all, the poor people can’t even turn on their computers). These users have to contact Apple Support to get their devices fixed. However, Apple’s update to the firmware means that users who have computers with the Apple T2 security chip—such as yours truly, who has not updated out of paranoia—don’t have to worry about their computers dying when they download Monterey.

By all means, this is great news. Monterey is packed with cool new features, which I have been itching to try! Just, you know, not enough to potentially leave me without a computer for days. It really seems like affected users got the short end of the stick here, especially if they end up having to go to the Apple Store to fix their computers. I mean, all they did was update.

For those who were affected, I feel for you, and hope you are able to turn on your Mac soon.