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Announcement App Store Apple Installation Mac MacBook Air OS X Software

Apple removes MacBook Air firmware updater after reports of problems

appstorelogoAfter a day of user complaints of problems applying the MacBook Air 2.9 EFI firmware update after its release, Apple has finally pulled the update from the App Store. As we reported yesterday, threads like this one, started reporting that attempts to apply the update would run and fail to actually update the firmware, or that it would “brick” their laptop leaving it unusable. Those that weren’t left with a non-working MacBook Air also reported that after attempting the failed update, the App Store app would show the update as installed with an additional entry showing that it still needed to be applied.

Screenshot 2014-07-22 11.54.36

Early this morning (Wednesday), owners started reporting that the update was no longer showing up as needing to be installed, indicating that Apple has acknowledged a problem and removed the update, however, the stand-alone update installer can still be downloaded from Apple’s downloads page (not recommended). The acknowledgement probably comes, in part, as a result of numerous calls to Apple’s help-line (1-800 692-7753) with many promised call-backs for more information failing to occur, possibly due to the number of calls or Apple finding the glitch themselves.

For those whose laptops were unbootable after the update, a number of users have been able to revive their Macbook Airs by performing 3 or more consecutive SMC resets. This can be done by following these steps:

  1. Shut down the computer.
  2. Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
  3. On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
  4. Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
  5. Press the power button to turn on the computer.
    Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

After all that, users report that the procedure still leaves the laptop without updated firmware. For those who were experiencing the wake and fan problems that this update was supposed to address, hopefully Apple will release a fixed updater in the near future. If you see a new updater appear, we recommend you wait a few days for people to test it out and report back that it is working properly.