MacOS Big Sur update breaking some MacBook Pro models

A lot of late 2013 and mid-2014 13-inch MacBook Pro owners report that the macOS Big Sur update is breaking their machines. A MacRumors The forum thread has a significant number of users reporting the issue, and similar issues are being reported in Reddit and Apple’s support communities, suggesting the issue is widespread.

Users report that while updating to “macOS Big Sur” their machines are stuck with a black screen. The key reset combinations including NVRAM, SMC, Safe Mode, and Internet Recovery would all be inaccessible after attempting to install the update, leaving no way to bypass the static black screen.

It appears that the overwhelming number of users experiencing issues are the owners of the 13-inch MacBook Pro in late 2013 and mid-2014, but it’s unclear how many users of these models were affected. It should also be noted that these are the oldest models supported by ‌macOS Big Sur‌.

A commenter on Reddit said that Apple Support asked him to reserve his MacBook Pro for a repair. Another on an Apple Support thread said the issue had been forwarded to Apple’s engineering team, so Apple should now be aware of the issue.

Until the cause of the problem is clear and Apple releases a fix, the 13-inch MacBook Pro in late 2013 and mid-2014 may wish to pause the installation of “macOS Big Sur”.