MacBook M3 Pro Max freezing after macOS Sequoia 15.2 update

Hello!

I understand how frustrating it can be to have problems like this on such a powerful Mac. Since these blocks started with the update to macOS Sequoia 15.2, there is a good chance that there are bugs or software incompatibilities. Here are some tips to try and solve the problem:

1. NVRAM and SMC Reboot and Reset

• Restart your Mac: Simple but often effective.

• Reset NVRAM: Turn off your Mac, then turn it on and hold down Option + Command + P + R for about 20 seconds.

• Reset SMC: If you have performance issues, you may want to try resetting the System Management Controller (SMC). On your Mac with an Apple Silicon (M3 Pro Max) chip, just turn it off and wait 30 seconds before turning it back on.

2. Check for Software Updates

• Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and check for updates. Apple may have already released a patch.

3. Start in Safe Mode

• Turn off your Mac, then turn it on by holding down Shift until the login screen appears.

• This helps to isolate software problems, disabling third-party extensions and emptying some caches.

4. Check the Disk and RAM

• Open Disk Utility and run "First Aid" on the disk to see if there are any errors.

• Open Activity Monitor (from Spotlight) and check CPU and memory usage. If you see abnormal processes, they could be the cause of the blocks.

5. Problems with Finder and Safari

• If Finder crashes frequently, try deleting the preferences file using this line in the Terminal:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.plist.

Then restart your Mac.

• For Safari, clear the cache:

• Open Safari, go to Safari > Settings > Advanced and enable the Developer menu.

• Then go to Development > Clear cache.

6. Create a New User

• Go to System Settings > Users & Groups and create a new user. Log in with that and see if the problem persists. If it works well, the problem may be related to your main profile files.

7. Restore macOS Sequoia

If nothing works and the problem is unbearable, you might consider a clean installation of macOS.

1. Back up with Time Machine.

2. Restart in Recovery Mode (+R on startup).

3. Select "Reinstall macOS" and follow the instructions.

8. Report the Bug to Apple

• Open Feedback Assistant (already installed on macOS) and report issues to Apple.

• You can also visit the official Apple Feedback site to submit reports.

If the issue is caused by a bug in macOS 15.2, a future update may fix it. In the meantime, try these solutions and let me know if anything helps!

I can now say that my issue is related to Universal Control, and that the system is not really freezing, but it loses its WIFI connection, and most of the time, all input devices and/or the USB bus. It appears to freeze, but responds do the TouchId button and I can login/logout with it.

I am almost 100% certain that this is a software (OS) issue and not a hardware issue.

I started tailing all logs in order to see what is taking place around the time of the issue, and this is what I typically see:

/var/log/wifi.log:

Wed Feb 19 09:36:47.055 [airport] @[683805.308694] (airportProcessCommand.m:1667) Processed events, count[ 19], @[683805.305560], took 0.003121
Wed Feb 19 09:36:47.058 [airport] @[683805.310890] (airportProcessCommand.m:1381) Processing event, count[  0]
Wed Feb 19 09:36:47.071 [airport] @[683805.324493] (airportProcessCommand.m:1667) Processed events, count[  0], @[683805.310877], took 0.013594
Wed Feb 19 09:37:09.462 Usb Host Notification hostNotificationUSBDeviceRemoved USB2.0 Hub seqNum 3016 Total 1
Wed Feb 19 09:37:09.463 Usb Host Notification hostNotificationUSBDeviceRemoved Matias Keyboard seqNum 3016 Total 0
Wed Feb 19 09:37:09.475 Usb Host Notification Apple80211Set: seqNum 3016 Total 0 chg 0 en0At first I was looking at 

At first I was thinking USB was the issue, and blaming my Keyboard and/or cable. I replaced the cable, and eventually got a wireless Apple keyboard yet the issue remained. After some time I noticed that it is specifically the "Processed events, count[ 19]" line, and specifically the count being 19, and that the surrounding USB events win the wifi log are most likely also affected by what ever this issue is.

My setup was to use my personal 2024 M4-Max MBP to control my work M3 MBP. Since losing control of work MBP is disruptive, I connected the wireless keyboard and mouse to it, and started using Universal Control in the other direction, controlling my personal MBP.

Can you guess what happened? The work MBP started freezing up the same way my personal one had been. The "Processed events, count[ 19]" line started showing up in its logs as well, and no longer appeared in the logs of my personal MBP.

I have opened a Feedback Assistant issue with Apple, and will try to jump through all the Apple support hoops to get this to someone who can actually look into it.

Hope this helps someone else.

To update, I am no longer having the issue. I also had a problem with Spotlight indexing not completing, and Apple support said it was an issue with Time Machine. They had me forget my backup destination, restart indexing, and wait for the indexing to finish before enabling Time Machine again. I haven't had an issue with my computer locking up since I did this but it's impossible to say that this is what fixed the problem for me.

Finder continually freezes with a brand new Macbook Pro 2024 M4 with tons of RAM (On two brand new MacBook M4 Pros). This never happened on my 2015 Macbook Pro... With Monterey. It happens with Sequoia. The issue is in Sequoia. It's not a "RAM" problem.

The freeze often (if not always) occurs when using Brave Browser. There is something within the operating system that is causing the freeze. When I close Brave Browser, Finder comes back to life most of the time, otherwise I have to do a restart. This problem occurs from a brand new computer with a clean installation of the O.S.

The freeze has also occurred when using icloud.

It's annoying and should not be happening.

Same issue using Macbook Air M2(Sequoia 15.3.2). My problem solved by DISABLE Universal Control and restart.

Reference:

https://chatgpt.com/share/67fca8b4-d9c8-8007-b7e6-b059717dbedf

Where applicable and if applicable

There are 3 Categories of Third Party Software / Services that are baffling.

Why some users insist on installing and using the below software. 

In no special order 

Commercial VPNs 

They may not be what one believes they are doing for the computer and what they actually are doing behind the scenes 

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

Third Party Security Software 

There are no known Windows-like Viruses in the wild that self replicate and affect macOS, because of the underling UNIX  Foundation and Permission Limitation. 

The Operating System resides in a Sealed and Read Only Volume that cannot be opened by the User nor by Third Party Applications.

The Only thing this Antivirus software is protecting is the Bank Account of the Developers and for zero return to the User aside from the problems this software creates.

Security. Built right in

Mac app security enhancements

The Built in Security  is all that is required to protect the computer.

Protecting against malware in macOS

Third Party Disk Cleaners / Optimizer 

Any Third Party Applications that will interfere with the normal operation of the OS,  is an invitation for disaster. 

Certain Applications maybe available on the Apple Apps Store - this only means the Developer is prepared to pay Apple a percentage on each sale. 

What the Application may do to the computer is up to the User to check this out before purchase

To put the Third Party Disk Cleaner / Optimizer in context and the damages it may have or has already done.

This type of applications can or will Muck Up your User Account ( Home Folder ) of this machine.

It does not touch the Operating System itself unless you consider your User Account ( Home Folder ) as part of the Operating System.

The Operating System is hosed

That folder on you Desktop is probably part of iCloud if you didn't create it.

Have you tried a different browser other than Safari, like Brave or Opera? Safari isn't the only browser. I use Brave and much prefer it to Safari.

I am on an M3 Max with 36gb and sequoia 15.3. This is still happening. Messages sync randomly and usually hours later. It used to be instant.

Sending messages from my mac rarely work. Sending an imessage freezes at around 90% on the progress bar. Then the app beachballs.

I have tried:

1. imessage on and off
2. turning off icloud
3. logging out of Apple ID
4. force syncing
5. etc
6. repeating

Something is broken.

This shouldn't be happening with a computer that costs >$5000 AUD. Ridiculous!

I don't have hours to spend each day trying to fix basic stuff. This is why I originally migrated from windows.

Let's forget about Apple glasses, AI and all this fancy stuff and just get back to the basics and make a machine that works.

We have a 2 MacOS Sequoia 15.2 network and both have problems we have never had with our Brother printer. The Mac's print to it but on subsequent print jobs has forgotten the printer. We can add on the same one, and it becomes the 2nd printer. Now we have 2. And so on... 3, 4...

Also, I run Chrome with Duckduckgo as a web browser. Many of the sites that worked perfectly with OS 15.1 now are broken. MacOS Sequoia 15.1 seemed flawless 2 weeks ago, but the update isn't very good.

We have a 2 MacOS Sequoia 15.2 network and both have problems we have never had with our Brother printer. The Mac's print to it but on subsequent print jobs has forgotten the printer. We can add on the same one, and it becomes the 2nd printer. Now we have 2. And so on... 3, 4...

Also, I run Chrome with Duckduckgo as a web browser. Many of the sites that worked perfectly with OS 15.1 now are broken. MacOS Sequoia 15.1 seemed flawless 2 weeks ago, but the update isn't very good.

Not quite completely related but I've noticed lag on my M4 MacBook Pro when it comes to opening apps like System Settings. Most of the time it takes 2 to 3 seconds to open, (while for some strange reason every other app opens super fast.) It varies quite a lot, and I hope this is fixed in an update.

I’m having the exact same issue—and it didn’t start happening until I did the software update. I have cleaned out memory and storage and done a million things, but I really think it’s an issue with the newest update. I hope this gets resolved soon; it has been super disruptive to my work.

Same problems here. M3 Max MacBook Pro, 36GB memory, 1TB SSD. iMessages won't receive any messages or MFA codes, then when I try to open Messages manually, it just bounces in the dock. The only way to fix it is to restart the machine. Right now I can't even get "About This Mac" to open. Nothing happens. There are so many bugs in MacOS lately that I'll never pay this much for Apple hardware again. I like Apple....a lot...but they're extremely disappointing lately, giving us new features no one asked for, while never fixing basic bugs that are littered all over multiple OS's. Time to restart the machine I guess...and for Apple to make a "Snow Leopard" version of the next Mac OS.

Since downloading the Sequoia update on my Mac Pro I often can't type in Email (outlook), Work, or on other apps.

The Mac will no longer let me move the mouse to certain words, highlight words, delete them, etc.

Very strange; NEVER had this before.

Apple please fix this ASAP!