Be careful MacBook users: This update can brick up your machine, don’t install it

A supplemental Catalina update 10.15.4 was supposed to fix problems, but has just ended up creating more

A new macOS update was supposed to fix problems, instead it has been causing more. Mac users have been reporting a host of problems including bricked MacBooks after installing the update. And the timing could not be worse. (Apple)

A new macOS update was supposed to fix problems, instead it has been causing more. Mac users have been reporting a host of problems including bricked MacBooks after installing the update. And the timing could not be worse.

With almost the entire world working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, bricked up MacBooks are no less than nightmares.

"The 8 April 2020 Supplemental Update for Catalina 10.15.4 brought the system down for a few hours," said MacBook user on Apple's discussion forums.

"WARNING macOS Catalina 10.15.4 Supplemental Update BRICKED my 13 inch Macbook 2018!" posted another user on MacRumors' forums.

"This bricked my 2019 MBP. Not providing power to devices either. Needs an SMC reset but won't accept it," posted a third.

"Be afraid, be very afraid. Timing couldn't be more brutal."

Some other users reported that the download didn't work at all through the App Store.

This supplemental update for macOS 10.15.4 Catalina, which was released Wednesday (April 8), was meant to resolve issues created by the 10.15.4 update that was released in late March.

The older update created issues with systems crashing during large file transfers, failures to wake up from sleep mode, unresponsive USB-C ports, random restarts and even kernel panics.

What to do now?

The new update is creating more issues than it is fixing. So until Apple manages to sort this out, do not install the Supplemental Update for Catalina 10.15.4.

However, if you have already installed it and your machine bricks up or hangs - there is one way around it. This comes from a user on the Apple discussion forum.

"I went to Recovery Mode, ran the Disk Utilities First Aid and then rebooted again," tim01 posted. "My screen came up and I was able to sign in," tim01 added.