Every night whether I plug my Mac in or not it will reboot completely and say "Your Mac rebooted because of a problem" when it wakes up. I tried checking my energy and security settings to see if a setting was turned on that was shutting my Mac off but I couldn't find any. Does anyone know why this is happening?
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 14.7
Sounds like a Kernel Panic. See if there are any Kernel Panic logs in "/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports" with file names containing "kernel" and/or "panic". If so, then post several of them here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper on the forum editing toolbar.
Run the third party app EtreCheck and post the complete report here so we can examine it for possible clues. If there are any Kernel Panic logs, then the EtreCheck report should contain a summary of them, however, it doesn't always include enough details as the complete Kernel Panic log.
How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting an EtreCheck Report - Apple Community
Unfortunately you did not post the EtreCheck report.
The one Kernel Panic log you posted has:
"panicString" : "panic(cpu 1 caller 0xfffffff016de0fc4): x86 global reset detected
I'm not sure what this is, but it seems to me that it is most likely a hardware issue which would not surprise me at all for a 2018-2020 Intel Mac with T2 chip. In fact the 2018 MBAir at one time had a free repair program for faulty Logic Boards. I recently had to "retire" several of my organization's 2018-2020 MBAirs for Logic Board failures.
Assuming that third party software is not the cause of the Kernel Panic, it would mean the Logic Board is most likely failing. You can try a DFU Firmware Restore which resets the T2 security chip, system firmware, and internal SSD. You will need to reinstall macOS through Internet Recovery Mode. Unfortunately the firmware restore currently requires access to another Mac running macOS 15.x Sequoia.
I don't recommend spending any money on repairs to any of the 2018-2020 Intel Macs with USB-C ports for multiple reasons. The money spent on repairs is better put towards a new laptop. In fact any current M-series Mac will run circles around that 2018 MBAir.
Here are the results:
System-wide power settings:
VACTDisabled 0
Currently in use:
lidwake 1
lowpowermode 0
standbydelayhigh 86400
standbydelaylow 10800
standby 1
proximitywake 0
ttyskeepawake 1
hibernatemode 3
powernap 1
gpuswitch 2
hibernatefile /var/vm/sleepimage
highstandbythreshold 50
displaysleep 10
womp 0
networkoversleep 0
sleep 1 (sleep prevented by Safari, sharingd, coreaudiod, runningboardd, runningboardd, runningboardd)
tcpkeepalive 1
halfdim 1
acwake 0
disksleep 10
I found a panic file in the console and I copied the error my Mac gave me when it restarted but they are very long I have a link to a google doc here that has both files. ***
In there google doc is anther error I found called "sleep wake failure" which I thought might be helpful. I will also attach the Etre Check report and it did mention something in the major issues section about a kernel panic and possibly hardware failure.
EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.9 (68074)
Report generated: 2025-04-01 10:25:27
Runtime: 42:58
Performance: Poor
Problem: No problem - just checking
Major Issues:
Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.
Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed that could be malicious and should be reviewed.
Kernel panics - This system has experienced kernel panics. This could be a sign of hardware failure.
Heavy CPU usage - Some processes are using an unusually high amount of CPU.
Minor Issues:
These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.
SSD too slow - SSD is showing poor performance.
No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.
Configuration profiles found - This computer may have configuration profiles installed.
Heavy RAM usage - Apps are using a large amount of RAM.
Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.
Runaway user process - A user process is using a large percentage of your CPU.
Vintage hardware - This computer may be considered vintage.
Limited permissions - More information may be available with Full Disk Access.
Sharing enabled - This computer has sharing services enabled that could be a security risk.
(The rest of the report linked in this google doc ***)
[Edited by Moderator]
Please read the instructions for properly attaching an EtreCheck report here on the forum with the link I provided previously (or the instructions within the EtreCheck app). You would do something similar for posting the Kernel Panic log (I did provide instructions in my previous post).
FYI, by attaching these reports/logs on this forum using the "Additional Text" icon, those items will still be accessible a year from now so that anyone reading this thread will still be able to understand any replies & discussions about the report/logs. Links to third party sites tend to die very quickly and many contributors will refuse to go to third party sites to access that information.
I used to have this problem with a Mac a couple of years older - it was known as the darkwake problem. This might not be your problem, but I fixed it by setting the standbylow to 86400 using pmset. At the moment your standbylow is 3hrs (10800 secs) which corresponds to your crashes.
Lots of caveats. I don't understand this, I just copied something off the web that worked, this might not be your problem, this might not work, I've no idea what it's implications are. It might be a starting point for some research but please don't just follow my advice without finding out a bit more.
Here are all the relevant diagnostics and crash reports
Long shot, so don't get your hopes up but open Terminal and type
pmset -g
and hit return. Then copy/paste results here
Nothing obvious there, sorry. Someone else might be along who's got some ideas.
All good, it usually restarts somewhere after 1-5 hours of inactivity if that helps troubleshoot
Thank you for the feedback, ill see if there are any tests or programs I can use to help fix this
Ill look into it and see if its as hardware or settings based issue
2018 Intel Mac Air restarting/rebooting every night
