Apple releases firmware to fix crashing with unibody MacBooks

***AppleInsider*** · 12-10-2008, 05:45 PM

On Wednesday night, Apple released equal pairs of EFI and SMC firmware fixes for all of the new, late 2008 MacBook models to tackle problems with their reliability and power indicators.

The updates for the regular 13-inch MacBook (EFI, SMC), MacBook Air (EFI, SMC) and 15-inch MacBook Pro (EFI, SMC) all share virtually identical release notes, indicating solutions common to their platform rather than model-specific glitches.

The EFI updates all address "several issues" with the stability of the systems, though what these are isn't made clear: a large number of users in Apple's support discussions have been noting random freezing when systems have more than the base amount of memory, however.

In turn, the SMC fixes improve the accuracy and detection response of the MagSafe power connector's indicator light, which lets users know whether the system has reached a full charge. Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro systems have also had the reliability improved for their button-activated battery indicator lights.

Each of the updates requires Mac OS X 10.5.5 or later.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

Ireland · 12-10-2008, 06:02 PM

Get some issues, get a MacBook

sdfisher · 12-10-2008, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Each of the updates requires Mac OS X 10.5.5 or later.

Uh. Don't all of these systems come with Mac OS X 10.5.5?

nikon133 · 12-10-2008, 07:28 PM

I thought Macs just work..?

Cbswe · 12-10-2008, 08:33 PM

Strange.. the fix didn't add the missing four-finger gestures to the MBAs.. kinda disappointing

desides · 12-10-2008, 08:41 PM

Just installed both updates. I hope this fixes an issue I've been having where putting my MacBook to sleep for an extended period (say, overnight) will result in the battery meter reporting a "full" charge of 99%.

sennen · 12-10-2008, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikon133

I thought Macs just work..?

they do.

hezekiahb · 12-10-2008, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sennen

they do.

agreed, in-spite of some reported issues my MB Pro has been doing great.

arbitrage · 12-10-2008, 11:54 PM

I'd like to give everyone a warning about these updates. After I did the first update my light on the power adaptor (orange and green dot) is now always staying green even as the battery loses charge and when connected the batter status says its connected to the power source but says the "battery is not charging". I then did the second update and that did not fix the problem (funny as my light system and % was all working fine before these updates that were designed to fix a problem that I didn't have and now have a really big problem. I'm still trying to see if it is actually charging and will update this post soon with my findings. But if I were you, I'd stay clear of this shitty update! I have a new Macbook 2.4ghz, 4GB ram, 250GB hard drive. Worked great up until this update.

hezekiahb · 12-11-2008, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arbitrage

I'd like to give everyone a warning about these updates. After I did the first update my light on the power adaptor (orange and green dot) is now always staying green even as the battery loses charge and when connected the batter status says its connected to the power source but says the "battery is not charging". I then did the second update and that did not fix the problem (funny as my light system and % was all working fine before these updates that were designed to fix a problem that I didn't have and now have a really big problem. I'm still trying to see if it is actually charging and will update this post soon with my findings. But if I were you, I'd stay clear of this shitty update! I have a new Macbook 2.4ghz, 4GB ram, 250GB hard drive. Worked great up until this update.

I'd try these 2 tricks & see if it fixes your issue.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

I personally can't really tell that there is any change in power management & behavior, but am hopeful it will fix a weird issue I had where my screen would randomly go black & not come back on until I put the it to sleep & brought it back up. Strangely, it only appeared to occur when plugged to an external monitor & when left sitting for some time.

varnent · 12-11-2008, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hezekiahb

I personally can't really tell that there is any change in power management & behavior, but am hopeful it will fix a weird issue I had where my screen would randomly go black & not come back on until I put the it to sleep & brought it back up. Strangely, it only appeared to occur when plugged to an external monitor & when left sitting for some time.

I've been having this same problem. It's not a huge one, but annoying enough that I hope they get around to it soon. =-)

ascii · 12-11-2008, 01:26 AM

I hope it fixes the problems!

Londor · 12-11-2008, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desides

Just installed both updates. I hope this fixes an issue I've been having where putting my MacBook to sleep for an extended period (say, overnight) will result in the battery meter reporting a "full" charge of 99%.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arbitrage

After I did the first update my light on the power adaptor (orange and green dot) is now always staying green even as the battery loses charge and when connected the batter status says its connected to the power source but says the "battery is not charging".

Once your battery is fully charged the computer will report a "full" charge (green MagSafe) until the battery drops to 96% at which point it will start charging it again to 100% and repeat the process.

Lorre · 12-11-2008, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Londor

Once your battery is fully charged the computer will report a "full" charge (green MagSafe) until the battery drops to 96% at which point it will start charging it again to 100% and repeat the process.

Indeed, all Macbooks have been doing this. It's what's best for the battery.

robb01 · 12-11-2008, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ascii

I hope it fixes the problems!

as do I

____________

Mighuel · 12-11-2008, 11:59 AM

It seems Apple has done nothing about high temperatures with late 08 macbook pro. I'm still getting 90C or more before fanspeed increases. This is with 9600GT. I mean my computer works perfectly fine but I'm just wondering if such high temps are okay in the long run. And have you guys notice is it some particular temp sensor that triggers fans? Like CPU or GPU or their combination?

funkyp56 · 12-11-2008, 02:16 PM

My 2.8 4gb unibody never even got the updates

then again it literally got here yesterday and was shipped from china on friday

arbitrage · 12-11-2008, 10:19 PM

Well, I need to report that after plugging in and out my power adaptor a few times it started to work again properly. It was at 95 % when I typed my message last night. So maybe it does have to do with how the battery charges. But now it stays orange all the way up till it is fully charged. This is my first mac and I'm loving it, just got a little scared last night as I need to travel with it very soon and if this had been a major problem, I would have been hooped!

I'm not sure what was going on last night with my mac but now it is working flawlessly again! Hope this may reassure people if I scared anyone away from the updates last night.

Cheers!

Edit: So I ran a test and yes, I was a fool, or at least just a noob. As the macbook loses charge from 100 down to 96% if you plug it back in it reads a green light and says "fully charged". Then at 95% it reads green and says "battery is not charging". Then at 94% it goes to orange and starts to calculate the time to reach full charge. I guess just doing the update made me pick up on this peculiar behavior and I freaked out! Oh well....lesson learned!

DoogH · 12-11-2008, 10:39 PM

According to Apple's site, hot temperatures caused by the GPU will not damage the computer. It does say however, the computer may become unstable if run on soft surfaces.

I am sure Apple will make other adjustments. There were quite a few firmware updates for the previous MacBook Pro line. It is also possible that fan speeds are governed by the OS (which would be odd) and may be included in the 10.5.6 update.

rhowarth · 12-12-2008, 06:47 PM

Excellent, I hope it does fix the freezing issue mentioned in the Apple support forum thread, which my machine suffered from. Basically, every few days it would completely freeze, usually while I was moving the mouse around viewing a web page. I installed the update this morning without problems so am waiting with baited breath for it not to crash again!

-Rolf

12-10-2008, 05:45 PM	#1
*AppleInsider* Kasper's Automated Slave Join Date: Nov 1997 Posts: 6,151	Apple releases stability fixes for latest MacBook lines On Wednesday night, Apple released equal pairs of EFI and SMC firmware fixes for all of the new, late 2008 MacBook models to tackle problems with their reliability and power indicators. The updates for the regular 13-inch MacBook (EFI, SMC), MacBook Air (EFI, SMC) and 15-inch MacBook Pro (EFI, SMC) all share virtually identical release notes, indicating solutions common to their platform rather than model-specific glitches. The EFI updates all address "several issues" with the stability of the systems, though what these are isn't made clear: a large number of users in Apple's support discussions have been noting random freezing when systems have more than the base amount of memory, however. In turn, the SMC fixes improve the accuracy and detection response of the MagSafe power connector's indicator light, which lets users know whether the system has reached a full charge. Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro systems have also had the reliability improved for their button-activated battery indicator lights. Each of the updates requires Mac OS X 10.5.5 or later. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

12-10-2008, 06:02 PM	#2
Ireland Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Ireland Posts: 8,557	Get some issues, get a MacBook Collecting my SSD iMac Fry-die. :D

12-11-2008, 01:26 AM	#12
ascii Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 791	I hope it fixes the problems! Last edited by ascii; 12-11-2008 at 05:14 AM..

12-11-2008, 11:59 AM	#16
Mighuel Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 8	It seems Apple has done nothing about high temperatures with late 08 macbook pro. I'm still getting 90C or more before fanspeed increases. This is with 9600GT. I mean my computer works perfectly fine but I'm just wondering if such high temps are okay in the long run. And have you guys notice is it some particular temp sensor that triggers fans? Like CPU or GPU or their combination? "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

12-11-2008, 10:19 PM	#18
arbitrage Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5	Well, I need to report that after plugging in and out my power adaptor a few times it started to work again properly. It was at 95 % when I typed my message last night. So maybe it does have to do with how the battery charges. But now it stays orange all the way up till it is fully charged. This is my first mac and I'm loving it, just got a little scared last night as I need to travel with it very soon and if this had been a major problem, I would have been hooped! I'm not sure what was going on last night with my mac but now it is working flawlessly again! Hope this may reassure people if I scared anyone away from the updates last night. Cheers! Edit: So I ran a test and yes, I was a fool, or at least just a noob. As the macbook loses charge from 100 down to 96% if you plug it back in it reads a green light and says "fully charged". Then at 95% it reads green and says "battery is not charging". Then at 94% it goes to orange and starts to calculate the time to reach full charge. I guess just doing the update made me pick up on this peculiar behavior and I freaked out! Oh well....lesson learned! Last edited by arbitrage; 12-11-2008 at 10:32 PM..

12-10-2008, 07:28 PM	#4
nikon133 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 658	I thought Macs just work..?

12-10-2008, 08:33 PM	#5
Cbswe Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 59	Strange.. the fix didn't add the missing four-finger gestures to the MBAs.. kinda disappointing

12-10-2008, 08:41 PM	#6
desides Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 39	Just installed both updates. I hope this fixes an issue I've been having where putting my MacBook to sleep for an extended period (say, overnight) will result in the battery meter reporting a "full" charge of 99%.

12-10-2008, 11:54 PM	#9
arbitrage Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5	I'd like to give everyone a warning about these updates. After I did the first update my light on the power adaptor (orange and green dot) is now always staying green even as the battery loses charge and when connected the batter status says its connected to the power source but says the "battery is not charging". I then did the second update and that did not fix the problem (funny as my light system and % was all working fine before these updates that were designed to fix a problem that I didn't have and now have a really big problem. I'm still trying to see if it is actually charging and will update this post soon with my findings. But if I were you, I'd stay clear of this shitty update! I have a new Macbook 2.4ghz, 4GB ram, 250GB hard drive. Worked great up until this update.

12-11-2008, 02:16 PM	#17
funkyp56 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10	My 2.8 4gb unibody never even got the updates then again it literally got here yesterday and was shipped from china on friday

12-11-2008, 10:39 PM	#19
DoogH Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 4	According to Apple's site, hot temperatures caused by the GPU will not damage the computer. It does say however, the computer may become unstable if run on soft surfaces. I am sure Apple will make other adjustments. There were quite a few firmware updates for the previous MacBook Pro line. It is also possible that fan speeds are governed by the OS (which would be odd) and may be included in the 10.5.6 update.

12-12-2008, 06:47 PM	#20
rhowarth Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 101	Freezes Excellent, I hope it does fix the freezing issue mentioned in the Apple support forum thread, which my machine suffered from. Basically, every few days it would completely freeze, usually while I was moving the mouse around viewing a web page. I installed the update this morning without problems so am waiting with baited breath for it not to crash again! -Rolf

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