In October, Apple announced its new lineup of MacBook Pros and released its latest macOS, Monterey. However, a macOS Monterey bug ”bricked” certain Macs. Some unfortunate users had their Macs fail to come on after updating to Monterey due to an Apple T2 chip bug. While this is not the first time Apple’s new software is hazardously buggy, this is quite embarrassing.
Apple has since announced that they are rolling out a firmware update to correct the macOS Monterey bug and avoid the problem from happening in future.
Apple says that the issue stemmed from a buggy firmware concerned with the T2 security chip:
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. The updated firmware is now included with the existing macOS updates. Any users impacted by this issue can contact Apple Support for assistance,”
The Macs which feature an Apple T2 chip are the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020), iMac Pro, Mac Pro (2019), Mac Pro (Rack, 2019), Mac mini (2018), MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020), MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019), MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports), MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018), and finally, MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports).
macOS Monterey bug does not affect the latest MacBook Pros
This is not the first time Apple’s security chip on its Mac products is causing complicated problems. Alongside this, the controversial chip was exposed in October last year for having an ”unfixable” security flaw.
As anyone familiar with bricking knows, there aren’t many ways to ”undo” the damage (asides from resetting your SMC and your computer’s NVRAM). However, users affected by the macOS Monterey bug have been told to contact Apple Support for assistance.
Perhaps you are reading this from your Mac, which you had been so afraid of updating because of the reports; well, the coast seems to be clear now. Apple’s fixed it now, so you’re fine. However, it’s always good to wait a couple of weeks or more after an update rollout to see what’s happening with the releases, even if it isn’t a beta release. Do this especially if you are installing it on your primary device.
