macOS Monterey update is bricking some Macs

Microsoft may have stolen a lot of the attention with the launch of Windows 11, but Apple has also released the latest update to its own operating system -- macOS 12.

The rollout of macOS Monterey started last week, and as the update spreads, users are experiencing serious issues when performing the upgrade. More and more reports are emerging of Mac owners ending up with computers that are very unstable, or won't even power up.

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The release of Monterey is no different to previous macOS updates in that the number of officially supported devices is wide. Unlike Microsoft's relatively restrictive system requirements for Windows 11, which cuts off people with PCs that are just a few years old in some cases, Apple's list of compatible Macs includes some devices which are as much as eight years old. The people reporting problems are not trying to install Monterey on unsupported hardware, and this is what is causing the greatest frustration.

As reported by MacRumors, there are complaints on Twitter and Reddit as well as the Apple Support Communities from numerous disgruntled users. The complaints cover various Mac models including iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, but the common thread seems to be that it is older machines that are affected.

The complaints range from people who've experienced problems getting the update to install without multiple restarts, through those who have problems such as ports no longer working, to people whose devices won’t turn on at all.

Apple is yet to acknowledge bricked Macs as a known issue, but the number of reports is such that it warrants taking it seriously -- it is clearly more than just a handful of isolated incidents.

Until Apple works out what is going on and releases an update, fix or workaround, one suggestion that has helped some people is to restore the firmware of their Mac.

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