A new macOS update released last week is reportedly bricking older MacBook Pro laptops, according to a number of dissatisfied Apple customers.
Big Sur, which was first unveiled during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) last June, is rendering some devices unresponsive, causing them to display a static black screen without any way of bypassing or resolving the issue.
The problem with Apple’s latest operating system update is said to be affecting mostly 13-inch MacBook Pros released between late 2013 and mid-2014, according to MacRumors. However, the models have been listed as compatible with the update.
Apple’s engineering team is reportedly aware of the issue and Big Sur has become a popular topic of discussion on the Apple Support forum, with users describing how their MacBooks are stuck on a black screen with keyboards “completely disabled”.
Apple is reportedly telling users to bring their laptops in for repair, according to a discussion on forum site Reddit. However, this might not be possible for many living in regions under government-imposed lockdowns, such as England.
Swindon-based web developer Ross Wintle tweeted that “the last few MacOS updates have been fine”.
“They had regained my trust. But Big Sur not going so well,” he added, before asking fellow Twitter users for advice.
This is not the only issue facing Big Sur. On 14 November, when the macOS update was released, Apple users reported server outages that caused iMessage and Apple Pay to go down and performance issues for users running macOS Catalina and earlier, according to 9to5Mac. The issue also caused Big Sur downloads and installations to fail, as well as security and privacy concerns.
IT Pro has contacted Apple for comment but has yet to hear back from the company.
Last week, the Cupertino-based tech giant announced a new lineup of its flagship laptops powered by its all-new M1 chip. Nearly one month after launching the iPhone 12, the company held another “One More Thing” event to show off the new hardware, which includes updates to the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini.
The Apple-built M1 chip is the first-ever personal computer chip built by the company in-house, and the announcement marks the first time since 2006 that new Macs will be powered by anything other than Intel processors.
