Constant Kernel Panics

[a_panicked_kernel]

Got a 16" M1 Max around mid-December. Didn't have a problem for the first week or so, then the unit began to panic constantly, no matter what I was doing (watching videos, on the phone, on Discord...). After around 20 panics in around 2 weeks, I brought the computer into Apple, who thought it was a motherboard issue, sending it back and replacing it within the week. All well and fine, until 2 weeks after that, when this new unit began to panic in the same way as before. Called support once, and they had me reinstall the OS. This only made things worse. Since it got bad, I've been keeping logs of every single panic and copying the detailed reports, putting them into a notes file. There have been around 6-7 panics in the past 3 days. Apple wants me to go into the Genius Bar again to have them look at it, but I'm really skeptical as it seems that they have no one around in store to read the code and actually tell me what's happening. If anyone has any advice, or can read the logs (can post upon request), it would be greatly appreciated. I've been reading the forums about this, but nothing has seemed to relate to my situation, as most of those seem to be when external drives and the like are plugged into the Mac. My unit crashes with absolutely nothing plugged in. I am updated to the most recent software, as well. Thank you all!

 

[cmaier]

Got a 16" M1 Max around mid-December. Didn't have a problem for the first week or so, then the unit began to panic constantly, no matter what I was doing (watching videos, on the phone, on Discord...). After around 20 panics in around 2 weeks, I brought the computer into Apple, who thought it was a motherboard issue, sending it back and replacing it within the week. All well and fine, until 2 weeks after that, when this new unit began to panic in the same way as before. Called support once, and they had me reinstall the OS. This only made things worse. Since it got bad, I've been keeping logs of every single panic and copying the detailed reports, putting them into a notes file. There have been around 6-7 panics in the past 3 days. Apple wants me to go into the Genius Bar again to have them look at it, but I'm really skeptical as it seems that they have no one around in store to read the code and actually tell me what's happening. If anyone has any advice, or can read the logs (can post upon request), it would be greatly appreciated. I've been reading the forums about this, but nothing has seemed to relate to my situation, as most of those seem to be when external drives and the like are plugged into the Mac. My unit crashes with absolutely nothing plugged in. I am updated to the most recent software, as well. Thank you all!

Go ahead and post the logs and we’ll take a shot

 

[a_panicked_kernel]

Go ahead and post the logs and we’ll take a shot

Posted in a PDF below, just exported from my notes - not positive if this is an appropriate format so please let me know if there is another way I should post. Thank you!

 

[cmaier]

Hmm. You connected to an external monitor by any chance? Anything else plugged in to any of the ports? It looks like maybe an issue with a graphics driver, which could be caused by faulty hardware or by something connected to the machine.

Posted in a PDF below, just exported from my notes - not positive if this is an appropriate format so please let me know if there is another way I should post. Thank you!

 

[crazy dave]

Hmm. You connected to an external monitor by any chance? Anything else plugged in to any of the ports? It looks like maybe an issue with a graphics driver, which could be caused by faulty hardware or by something connected to the machine.

Agreed was just about to comment before refreshing the page that it looks like the graphics driver is going bananas in all of these panics.

 

[a_panicked_kernel]

Hmm. You connected to an external monitor by any chance? Anything else plugged in to any of the ports? It looks like maybe an issue with a graphics driver, which could be caused by faulty hardware or by something connected to the machine.

Agreed was just about to comment before refreshing the page that it looks like the graphics driver is going bananas in all of these panics.

Only thing that is occasionally plugged in is an Apple USBC-USB Adapter with a Logitech USB reciever. From time to time I will use an external monitor through the HDMI port, but none of these panics occurred when that was plugged in (have only used the monitor once or twice since getting this unit, and haven't had a problem when it's plugged in). It seems hardware related, then?

 

[julesme]

Can you guys explain what suggests that it’s a graphics problem (ie, which part of the log are you looking at)? I apologize as I am not experienced in reading these logs.

I’ve had frequent panics on my 14” M1 Max, and I am trying to troubleshoot the logs.

Similar to OP, the panics happen when nothing is plugged in, except sometimes a USB cable going to a 20 watt iPad adapter. Could that cause a panic?

 

[crazy dave]

Only thing that is occasionally plugged in is an Apple USBC-USB Adapter with a Logitech USB reciever. From time to time I will use an external monitor through the HDMI port, but none of these panics occurred when that was plugged in (have only used the monitor once or twice since getting this unit, and haven't had a problem when it's plugged in). It seems hardware related, then?

They already replaced your motherboard right? This definitely seems GPU/graphics related but replacing the motherboard on one of these machines should’ve replaced most of the relevant hardware: CPU, GPU, SSD, etc … it should almost be a new computer! But this doesn’t *seem* like an application you’ve loaded causing your faults either. I see no evidence of that in the logs. Head scratcher for me. Maybe someone else will have an idea other than get everything replaced including the body.

 

[crazy dave]

Can you guys explain what suggests that it’s a graphics problem (ie, which part of the log are you looking at)? I apologize as I am not experienced in reading these logs.

I’ve had frequent panics on my 14” M1 Max, and I am trying to troubleshoot the logs.

Similar to OP, the panics happen when nothing is plugged in, except sometimes a USB cable going to a 20 watt iPad adapter. Could that cause a panic?

In the backtraces of the thread that panicked, the first kernel extension mentioned (the primary one) is:

Kernel Extensions in backtrace: com.apple.iokit.IOGPUFamily(35.11)

It seems consistent across panics.

Edit: actually not all of them, some of them are the file system or general iokit kernel extension. Some are spinlocks, some are modified memory after free (basically something tried to modify memory values that it had already deleted). There may be more variations since there are quite a few of them.

 

[a_panicked_kernel]

They already replaced your motherboard right? This definitely seems GPU/graphics related but replacing the motherboard on one of these machines should’ve replaced most of the relevant hardware: CPU, GPU, SSD, etc … it should almost be a new computer! But this doesn’t *seem* like an application you’ve loaded causing your faults either. I see no evidence of that in the logs. Head scratcher for me. Maybe someone else will have an idea other than get everything replaced including the body.

I believe they replaced the entire unit, this should be an entirely new machine!

 

[exoticSpice]

I believe they replaced the entire unit, this should be an entirely new machine!

So it can't be macOS 12 because I have a 16" MBP 2019 on macOS 12 and I have not kernel panicked since 2020 and that was due to a bug in macOS Catalina later was later fixed.

 

[crazy dave]

I believe they replaced the entire unit, this should be an entirely new machine!

Huh … okay … now that is fun. Either you are very unlucky or this is a software issue. I know you’ve done a clean install - did you add any software to it right away? Did you try running it with just the base software like Safari and so forth for awhile? No user files no nothing?

An easier test now is you can also just try booting your computer in safe mode and seeing if it generates panics.

Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Safe mode can help you to determine whether an issue is caused by software that loads as your Mac starts up.

support.apple.com

 

[a_panicked_kernel]

Huh … okay … now that is fun. Either you are very unlucky or this is a software issue. I know you’ve done a clean install - did you add any software to it right away? Did you try running it with just the base software like Safari and so forth for awhile? No user files no nothing?

An easier test now is you can also just try booting your computer in safe mode and seeing if it generates panics.

Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Safe mode can help you to determine whether an issue is caused by software that loads as your Mac starts up.

support.apple.com

As much of a cop-out as it is, I think I'm just insanely unlucky. I will say that did add all my software right away, but I'm really not running anything crazy (at least I don't think...). Got a Genius Bar appointment soon, guess I gotta cash this one in and be sent another unit...

As of right now, haven't had the USB adapter plugged in since the beginning of the night, and haven't had a panic since around 7 PM. Before, with it plugged in, I had 2-3 back to back restarts.

 

[crazy dave]

As much of a cop-out as it is, I think I'm just insanely unlucky. I will say that did add all my software right away, but I'm really not running anything crazy (at least I don't think...). Got a Genius Bar appointment soon, guess I gotta cash this one in and be sent another unit...

As of right now, haven't had the USB adapter plugged in since the beginning of the night, and haven't had a panic since around 7 PM. Before, with it plugged in, I had 2-3 back to back restarts.

Try safe mode. It’s easy and will help determine if it’s hardware or software. If you’re still getting panics, it’s probably hardware related.

 

[a_panicked_kernel]

Gotcha - thank you so much for your help!

 

[crazy dave]

Good luck!

 

[TracerAnalog]

If you suspect a certain peripheral, take it with you to the Genius Bar!

 

[gimmesomemo]

I had a the same problem with my M1 mini about a month after getting it. I went through all the standard troubleshooting, questions about peripherals etc, but nothing worked. They wanted me to send it in to check, but it was obviously a hardware fault, so I chose to return it and get a new one. I wouldn't risk trying to fix it, just return it. I know it might be annoying with the long delivery times, but, still...

 

[solouki]

As much of a cop-out as it is, I think I'm just insanely unlucky. I will say that did add all my software right away, but I'm really not running anything crazy (at least I don't think...).

Hi a_panicked_kernel:

While it may look like a hardware problem, I think it is highly unusual to have the same panics on two different machines. I'd be surprised if you were that unlucky. You mention that you added all of your software right away on the second machine; it is perhaps more likely that your panics are due to the software you added or the external devices you plugged in?

As others have suggested, try a Safe Mode boot. If this works without panics (or even if it still panics), then I would suggest erasing your drive and reinstalling macOS from the Internet and NOT reinstalling any of your software until you check that the machine runs fine without it -- also, don't initially attach any external devices to the ports until you verify that the machine works fine.

Good luck,
Solouki

 

[crazy dave]

I had a the same problem with my M1 mini about a month after getting it. I went through all the standard troubleshooting, questions about peripherals etc, but nothing worked. They wanted me to send it in to check, but it was obviously a hardware fault, so I chose to return it and get a new one. I wouldn't risk trying to fix it, just return it. I know it might be annoying with the long delivery times, but, still...

Apparently this is already the second machine. Which is why more troubleshooting may be necessary to make sure it isn’t some software he’s adding.

 

[Caluminous]

Any update on this? I'm having the same problem.

 

[junolab]

My M1 Air is also having constant kernel panics. Both when connected to an external screen, but also on its own. Started when I updated to Monterey. Hope the next version will fix it. Went from a smooth fast computer to a slow old computer

 

[5425642]

Try to install public beta 12.3, that what I should do. Then run it without anything connected to it.
Also don’t install any third party stuff outside apple store during the test period

 

[ca$hman]

My M1 Air is also having constant kernel panics. Both when connected to an external screen, but also on its own. Started when I updated to Monterey. Hope the next version will fix it. Went from a smooth fast computer to a slow old computer

Same for me, but an Intel MacbookPro. While unplugging from the thunderbolt dock, it crashes. Having the problem since the latest Monterye update 12.2.1

 

[richardpage]

My MBP 16" M1 MAX 64Gb 8Tb used to freeze, the fan came on full blast and then it rebooted itself. Apple online Support were unable to find a solution. Apple Store took it in.. no fault found after in-depth tests. Came back again this time they wiped drive and installed OS afresh. Asked me to add applications manually. Only installed a few applications. Problem recurred.

One cannot have a laptop that intermittently freezes and reboots. Bad news in midst of a time critical financial transaction (share purchase) or during a business Zoom meeting. Or when using Excel, Word, PowerPoint and you lose all your work.

Returned the MBP and refunded. Apple Store said watch the Forums to see when the issue is sorted! Hence that's what I'm doing and I'm seeing users still reporting issues. Even the same issue when given replacement hardware! Something seriously wrong here. How many users are not reporting it and living with it? Oh! and 12.3 has not solved the problem.