Old MacBook Pros bricked by macOS Big Sur

Apple’s new macOS operating system, Big Sur, is making older MacBook Pro laptops – those which were built from late 2013 to mid-2014 – stop working.

A number of users have complained about this issue on the MacRumors forum, while Reddit and Apple Support have also received numerous reports of this issue.

The issue reportedly involves machines getting stuck showing a black screen during the macOS Big Sur update.

Attempts to reset the system – including safe mode, Internet recovery, NVRAM, and SMC, are all unavailable during this situation, effectively rendering the laptop useless.

“During the installation, my MacBook Pro stuck on a blank black screen,” said one user.

“I tried to boot from USB, boot recovery, reset NVRAM, SMC with no luck. Seems like the notebook is bricked. When I press the power button, only the screen turns on and the Apple logo on the lid back. no sound, no Apple logo at the startup screen, nothing.”

The laptops that are being affected by this issue are the oldest MacBook Pro’s that support the Big Sur operating system, whereas the newer MacBook Pro laptops appear to be unaffected by this issue.

Apple has yet to release a fix for this issue, so the best option at the moment is simply not to upgrade your old MacBook Pro to macOS Big Sur.

Big Sur

Apple officially released Big Sur on 13 November, touting its new design and the fact that it is built with Apple’s new M1 chipset in mind.

“The combination of Big Sur and M1 truly takes the Mac to a whole new level with incredible capabilities, efficiency, and more apps than ever before, while maintaining everything users love about macOS,” Apple said.

The operating includes what Apple describes as the biggest update to the Safari browser since its launch, while the Apple Maps on Mac app has been given a full redesign.

This includes several new features, including Guides – which lets you discover new places through user-generated content – and a new 360-degree view of destinations.