iMac Pro Ventura 13.5.2 kills Intel iMac Pro

[MrSqueamish]

My 2017 iMac Pro was happily running 13.5.1 until I tried updating to 13.5.2. The machine is now dead. NVRAM, PRAM & SMC resets are ineffective. Apple are telling me to take the machine for repair at cost to me even though the issue stems from me carrying out their recommendation - i.e., it’s their fault. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement.

 

[chrfr]

My 2017 iMac Pro was happily running 13.5.1 until I tried updating to 13.5.2. The machine is now dead. NVRAM, PRAM & SMC resets are ineffective. Apple are telling me to take the machine for repair at cost to me even though the issue stems from me carrying out their recommendation - i.e., it’s their fault. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement.

I have one at work that updated all the way through to 13.6 without any problem.
Ultimately, it’s a 6 year old computer. Sometimes things fail, and it’s unfortunately impossible to say with certainty that it was the OS update which did it.

 

[MrSqueamish]

I have one at work that updated all the way through to 13.6 without any problem.
Ultimately, it’s a 6 year old computer. Sometimes things fail, and it’s unfortunately impossible to say with certainty that it was the OS update which did it.

Of course it's true that my machine's untimely demise could have been coincidental but I find it highly suspicious that 13.6 became available so soon after 13.5.2

 

[chrfr]

Of course it's true that my machine's untimely demise could have been coincidental but I find it highly suspicious that 13.6 became available so soon after 13.5.2

Why would you be suspicious? It’s an update for a newly disclosed and actively exploited, security vulnerability.

 

[MrSqueamish]

Why would you be suspicious? It’s an update for a newly disclosed and actively exploited, security vulnerability.

It's generally understood that Apple don't reveal everything that's included in one of their updates

 

[chrfr]

It's generally understood that Apple don't reveal everything that's included in one of their updates

If the 13.5.2 update had been killing off computers on more than a one-off basis, you can be sure that others here, as well as many tech sites, would be reporting the problem.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Any chance you could try reviving it by using another (m-series) Mac running Apple Configurator II? Connecting via USBc?

I'm not sure if it's possible, but might be worth looking into.

Personal experience:
I have a 2018 Mini, which runs Mojave as its "daily boot OS".
But I keep Ventura on an external USB3 SSD.

When I did a recent software update to Ventura -- not sure whether it was 13.5.2 or something later -- it messed with the firmware in the Mini.

Now the Mini won't engage the screen saver any longer without immediately going to a screen lock which requires the administrative password to "get back in".

Not a machine killer, but it's the first time I EVER recall a firmware update affecting "usability" when running an earlier version of the OS...

 

[chrfr]

OP:

Any chance you could try reviving it by using another (m-series) Mac running Apple Configurator II? Connecting via USBc?

Trying to revive the T2 using Configurator is a good idea. It does not require an Apple Silicon equipped Mac, however.

 

[MrScratchHook]

My 2017 iMac Pro was happily running 13.5.1 until I tried updating to 13.5.2. The machine is now dead. NVRAM, PRAM & SMC resets are ineffective. Apple are telling me to take the machine for repair at cost to me even though the issue stems from me carrying out their recommendation - i.e., it’s their fault. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement.

so what is the mac doing? does it chime and blue screen? does it even power on? is there anything happening? maybe its the power supply? maybe its the gpu? maybe bad ram? could be numerous different issues..

 

[suburbia]

Any updates?

Was the suggestion to take it in for repairs done by Apple Support, or at the store? Diagnostics by phone can only recommend so much (along with depending on the experience of whom you're speaking to).

Take the machine in to Apple or an authorized service provider for diagnostics. I get your frustration, but unfortunately components fail after 6 years— more so nowadays where quality control isn’t what it was 20 years ago, regardless of the supposed premium product. As mentioned, it really could be a number of issues. These things happen: I’ve had every model of iMac starting from 1999, and except for the 2002 lampshade, every single one has had some kind of hardware failure. My 2019 iMac was supposedly fine, then one day it wouldn’t boot after a routine Restart. The good people on this board gave an educated diagnosis of dead drive. Took it in and it was (apparently) a dead drive and bad RAM. Had both replaced (faster drive and more RAM) and the machine is back to its usual reliable workhorse-self again (fingers cross).

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

The worst thing will happen if you bring your iMac to an Apple Service center.
They will do nothing to repair your iMac, or quote you a repair price high enough to persuade you to buy a new one.

 

[AlexMaximus]

Of course it's true that my machine's untimely demise could have been coincidental but I find it highly suspicious that 13.6 became available so soon after 13.5.2

From your forwarded information, I would recommend to put the latest OSX time-capsule-backup on it.
If your OSX update was disturbed during the update process, chances are high that your boot record is shot.
Since you have a T1/T2 chip on it, the start-up process is most likely disrupted in a way to let you think the iMac is dead now. Most likely its a software / boot record issue and not hardware related. Spend some time on google regarding reset & install this particular typ of iMac Pro, and you have a high chance to succeed. Good luck, I hope you have proper time capsule backup.