Stuck at “critical software update is required” screen during startup

I sh*t you not....a couple hours after posting this, my 2017 MacBook Pro 15 (A1707) booted up just fine, and the touchbar was working again. This is after 3 days of banging my head on the desk trying to figure out a way around it. I'm thinking the macOS 10.15.3 update had something to do with it, since it just came out and my system updated to it while in Safe Mode.

I do know for a fact what killed it was me wiping the entire drive (all partitions, including the one specifically set aside for the touchbar). It worked perfectly fine until I did this and then re-installed the OS. Why did I do this you ask? I just bought this MBP from someone on Facebook and I wanted to be sure I was starting from a completely clean slate.

Everything I read online says you should not wipe all the partitions on the MBPs with the touchbar, only the main OS partition. This totally smells like a software issue to me and not a hardware issue. Especially since mine was fine until I nuked all the partitions. Also, this site gave me a lot of insight into what I potentially did to create the issue. See the author's 6th attempt (Workflow 6):

The Untouchables - Apples New OS Activation for Touch Bar MacBook Pros

Hey guys,

I had exactly the same problem. This is what I did. I rarely shut down my computer, this time I thought I'll give it a rest. I had Samsung SSD and a WD MyBook Duo both plugged into the USB C ports. Although I have booted with the SSD before no worries, this was the first time with the MyBook Duo. I had the message come up on the boot up screen, I pressed shut down. Booted up again in Safe Boot (hold left shift until Apple logo had loaded half way, release) Got an access to the homescreen. Disabled Wifi and unplugged the MyBook Duo from USB C. Pressed restart and it booted up no worries. I think the culprit here might have been the external hdd. I'm not saying that this is the fix for everyone but if you're having a similar issue and have something plugged into USB C that you've never have before on a boot up, might be helpful to go through the process I did.

Hope somebody finds this useful

I got similar problem on 06 -01-2021. My macbook pro is 15 inch with touchbar. after a lot of research I was disheartened by reading many blogs where the logic board replacement solution was provided by apple and for many they had replaced their laptops which were covered under warranty.

However after a little bit of research I could conclude that the problem lies in the firmwere update for touchbar which is not in sync with the latest catalina update so when the laptop restarts it cannot find the firmwere for touchbar.

I believe some of the apple OS updates are not synched with the touchbar firmwere thats why this problem occurs.

And the supported firmwere patch is not reachable or is not available for the update.

I addressed this problem by logging in safe mode by pressing Left Shift Key during restart and then signing in to my apple account again and then installing the latest OS mac OS Big Sur version 11.1 which has enabled my touch bar again and also is not giving me any problems after reinstall.

I believe this OS comes with updated Touchbar Firmwere and thats how the problem is resolved.

Hope you guys find this solution helpful cheers.

I changed the screen for a MBP 2017 with touchbar and afterward it get this problem, clean install and get this message at the end, solved by remove the screen cable from motherboard, since the t1 chip recognized the not original screen, then on the hdmi external, I got to the setup thing to finish my installation. Once done I plug back the cable lcd and now the Mac work normally, also I installed Sierra. Not latest osx

After exhausted all recovery method, I went to App Genius. Straight away they ask me to change logic board. I refused and I saw your post.

Tried bootable Mojave method.

Immediately after reinstallation able to boot into MacOS. Touch bar working.

Installed all system updates (besides Catalina), and it auto restart while installing system updates, whamp! Hit with critical software update.

So it's a loop again.

(I did replace my screen with a third party repairman due to the 2016 MBP touch bar encountered backlight failed issue). Not sure if this is related.

-Additional update. After 'Try Again' and showing Apple logo, the Touch Bar flashed/blinks around 3 times. Each time less than a second.

-Tried disabled my router firewall, no vail.

After reading the TS that he disconnected the display cable, I figured I do the same since my display is not original anymore.

Before dismantling, I figured I performed a SMC reset and connected my Mac to my TV. And somehow it works! I restarted once, and shut down once before power on. No connection to tv is needed now. Touch bar working. Weird.

(Apparently I wrote too soon. 5 mins in mscOS Mojave, the middle of the screen came out something weird and it goes into the boot loop again). Nothing works now.

I found a way for fixing it by my self.

The Touchbar Controlboard is attached to a flex cable under the Logicboard and for some reason the Touchbar Controller broke due to a clean install maybe? So i bought a new one from AliExpress for 8€ and changed it the replacement was super easy. Only the logicboard has to be removed you dont need a new Touchbar for this. After that all it needs is a reboot with a wired internet connection.

Hi Everyone,

The integrated SSD in my macbook pro 15" A1707 was broken and can't be used anymore, so I did install Catalina into external SSD and stuck with this kind of problem ( A critical software update is required for your Mac….).

Is it even possible to install these firmware updates on an external drive? …If no, a device with a broken internal SSD would no longer be usable/ trash.

I have to agree that this problem should not have been marked as "Solved", and I think the definitive conclusion -- "Yes, you have a logic board failure" -- is not justified by the facts as presented. The Catalina upgrade clearly broke the OP's TouchBar, a pattern of causation that is seen in many other posts around the 'net. The OP was exhaustive in his efforts, so the next logical step was perhaps to resort to Apple, but that's a very different thing from knowing categorically that the mainboard had failed. Also, your "solution" as marked solved nothing.

I had two A1706 units with Touch issues. I battled away for over a week on both of them, trying all sorts of voodoo. I really started to believe that both machines had a hardware problem, or at the very least, an EFI firmware problem that only Apple could resolve. One of them sprang to life when I re-seated the flex cable. The other only resolved when I fresh-installed High Sierra. OP's issue was more likely to be a software one.

It was actually the very same problem on my first machine -- "Critical software update is required." I grouped them together only because TouchID issues are morphologically the same i.e. misleading, non-descript error messages generated by inaccessible firmware corruption. I've posted my own "fix" three times in the discussion here, so that should be enough.

You did duck the main point of my reply though, which was one of basic epistemology. You did not *know* that this was a logic board failure. You *believed* it was, because you could not imagine what was left to change/do. No shame in that -- I reached the same point after more than a week of constant trying. But I am contributing here, as someone with a minor expertise in this particular issue, to say that software can and does break the Touch Bar, and the OP's description of events pointed to the same.

If Apple provided a better error message, and/or better software tools to fix it, then more people could fix it themselves. We do a disservice to people when we casually deem anything a "logic board failure", because that is tantamount to saying, "Don't bother trying to fix it yourself", which goes against the very spirit of this website and its manifesto of self-repair.

My 2017 MacBook Pro 15” is literally destroyed after updating to Catalina. The Touch Bar issue made the computer get stuck in the critical software update loop. After bringing my laptop to a local repairman, they tried everything and suggested replacing the logic board. 1.5 years ago this computer was worth $3k now it’s complete trash. Can Apple be held responsible? Anything else I can do to fix it?

So battling this issue on 10-20 machines. 15in 2016-17 Pro’s and We have tried everything excluding the LCD to fix the issue. One unit has a brand new Logic Board and Top Case and still got the critical update error. Have a whole lot of paperweights over here..

It is def the touchbar. I have installed windows on my machine and because it doesn’t recognize the Touch Bar it works flawlessly.

I can boot into recovery mode on the mac, safe mode on the mac, but as soon as regular boot up begins, the touchbar is supposed to light up and that’s when the whole computer reboots and goes to the critical message. I have even booted this system onto another mac through target mode and the OS boots up fine.

I just plan to use this as a windows/linux backup machine for now.

I have replaced the touchbar, the top case, tested a new Display Assembly, and the worst one of all I even replaced the logic board on one with the update error. Still got the update error. All software related to when you erase the onboard storage via disk utility and it erases the “hidden” touchbar OS

Wow. This thread is still going on. Well, latest news on my MBP late 2016, A1706.

It suffered all sorts of problems and 2 trips to Apple service center were quoted around $1k for logic board replacement.

I tried all sorts of software related troubleshoot, to no vail.

There is a 1% chance that my MBP can boot into MacOS where the TouchBar was able to light up. This lead me to think it’s either a capacitor or chip that powers the touchbar failed.

I bought a new touchbar however it failed to lit up.

This means the failed capacitor or chip is one attached on the logic board. Sent it to my local repair shop. They confirmed one of the chip, powering the touch bar was burnt. They quoted $200 for chip replacement.

I have sent my MBP in and it should be back in a couple of days. Will update again.

Edward from Singapore

had the same issue,

Turns out if I unplug my USB-C Monitor it boots just fine. Then I plug it in after the computer is on and it’s fine.

But can’t boot with the USB-C Monitor plugged in.

Does anyone have any idea if there is a fix for this?

Hey, Recently In Big Sur I mount the EFI partition and DELETED the embedded OS folder just to check the HORROR back again. I was stuck at “Critical Software Update Needed You cant use this……..bla bla” After deleting EFI partition I knew I had to re-install the OS which will rebuild the EFI but some how after Few tries with downloading the critical update I booted in to “ Option+Command+R” combo and for some reason It booted straight in to My Login Screen. Anyone ELSE can try this?

Hello, this error happened to me 3 days ago on my Macbook Pro 2016 with touch bar.

My Macbook was in sleep mode but when I opened it up it was crashed. When I restarted it I had this error. After a few reboot and some try in safe mode I actually managed to get back to my session once and my touch bar was working, but then my computer crashed again. Since then I never managed to get passed this error.

I also tried to unplug the touch bar and totaly erase my SSD but no luck. Did someone tried to disconnect it? Is it supposed to work?

I want to get a new logic board but I want to be sure it’s the logic board and not a faulty touch bar which is way less expensive.

Thank you for your help

MBP 2016 Catalina.

(The issue started when I attempted to upgrade to the most current Catalina version. I even erased my entire drive and upgraded to Monterey. But nothing helped. Restoring my backup didn’t help.)

Had the same issue and honestly been pulling my hair out for over 2 weeks. I spoke to Apple support for hours, they apparently even connected me to senior support staff. And time and again the same error “Critical Software Update…” message.

I did everything over and over, trying different steps as I kept finding suggested solutions.

But this afternoon, I kept trying and restoring my old backup (Catalina), and this time after it restored and went into “completing restore..” I had selected no internet connection to this MacBook and also removed my USB and lo and behold it worked. I was back and working.

But I must admit this software related and Apple needs to address it. Cause how does it end up working after so many days?

Perhaps my HD was not configured correctly before, not sure.

I am not techy enough when it comes to Apple. Have been on Windows all my life, so this is a learning curve.

All I know is that I did respond to Retry a couple of times, then waited and clicked on Retry again (3rd time) and also removed my backup USB. next thing up and running.

I wish I could share the exact steps I took to make it easy for others to follow, but this is the best I can do for the moment.

liquid spilled intel 2017 MBP.

detach the webcam cable. it's the one to the right side of screen cable, under the shield. and see how it goes. in my case everything now works but webcam. its absence not caused a single problem in the system. i taped the webcam cable and now happy with my laptop.

i thought it was but embeddedOS wasn’t my problem.

SOLVED

I can fully say that if you have changed your screen with a "replacement" from an unknown source then its the screen causing the issue. unplug the screen connector and plug in an external display and the critical update error will disappear and the TouchBar will work. It boots perfectly. plug the display connector in again and the error pops up again.

If you unplug the webcam connector on the display board attached to the screen then this will fix the problem with the error but you'll have no webcam unfortunately but the brightness control will work.

Check your Wi-Fi connection.

Try 'Other Network Options'

Is your router working?

Unplug peripherals.

Boot your Mac in Safe Mode.

Reset the SMC.

Reinstall macOS.

Hope This Works,
Peter

So guys, after more than 2,5 as I faced this problem and absolutely nothing helped to make it working again I finally found a solution.

This method will not get you fully working mac, everything that works with T1 security chip (camera, mic, Touch Bar, touchid sensor, keyboard light) won't work. But you will get working macOS, so if devices I mentioned are not critical for you than you should try this.

For this method you will need a second Mac and external drive to create macOS installer and you will need a program called "open core legacy patcher". You can find different guides how to install macOS with that program, but there is one thing that you should do while installing. In opencore legacy patcher settings you should go to "SMBIOS" tab and choose "spoofing level" as moderate, get checked "allow spoofing native Macs, and then choose the model for spoofing. In my case I got MacBookPro14,3 and it didn't work without spoofing so I selected MacBookPro14,1 (the same year model, but 13' instead of 15' and no touchbar). Firstly I tried to install Sonoma and it worked but iCloud wasn't working correctly, so I installed Ventura. Before installation I also wiped the whole drive through Disk Utility in recovery mode.

Hope I helped someone with this

Uhm I have  a 2016 MBP and have been getting that “error” message on and off for YEARS. I even got it when the laptop was like 3 days old. Had the laptop replaced by Apple entirely once still getting same critical update screen. Think why would Apple have a critical update that is not listed on the official support Apple com website where ALL downloads are available particularly for OS. As of right now there are no updates for Catalina other than .2 .3 .4 .5 and the combo updates. Previous OSs all have some security updates available. But why would this update not be listed there. I’m still getting it after fresh install and install of the newest available 10.15.5. It makes no sense that Apple would have a critical security update immediately following a OS update. It’s because it’s not Apple—it’s a sign of malware in the efi aka firmware. This type of malware is both well documented and real and has been around since at least 2016