macOS Monterey is reportedly bricking old Macs

Apple released macOS Monterey last week as part of its annual update. However, many users reported that their Macs got bricked and weren't able to turn on after updating to the latest version of the macOS.

Users fled to Apple Support Communities, Twitter, and Reddit to report the issue after the update. Here are some of the tweets as reported by users:

@AppleSupport hello, I really need assistance, was updating my macbook pro and it shut off and I can’t turn it back on
— Taltos 🇨🇦🇮🇹🇪🇺🏳️‍🌈 (@taltos_mi) October 25, 2021

@AppleSupport @Apple this is not the way a simple OS update should go on a Mac. On my 50th restart with some sort of incremental install of #Monterey and a dead iMac. Can’t even restore from TM because I can’t even get to the migration app. Crazy
— Ken Lyons (@kenlyons) October 31, 2021

Don't update to Monterey until it's fully stable!!! My MBA (early 2015) will automatically turn off after 5min or sometimes even while it's booting. Now it's not usable... 😟😥@AppleSupport @Apple #Apple #MacBookAir #Monterey pic.twitter.com/H10DFi9uWT
— Akhil NJ (@nj10_Akhil) October 30, 2021

A probable solution has come up on the Apple Support Communities which uses the Apple Configurator 2. The software essentially revives or restores the computer's firmware. Apple mentions "In very rare circumstances, such as a power failure during a macOS update or upgrade, a Mac may become unresponsive and so the firmware must be revived or restored" in the support document.

Apple has not officially acknowledged the issue. However, we recommend users follow the steps and restore the firmware on their Mac if their machine is affected.