My Studio Display is bricked after 16.4 update!

So this just happened to me and I was able to fix it!

I have two Studio Displays connected to my 16" MacBook Pro (2021, M1) and saw that there was a new firmware update for my Studio Display(s). (Sry, I dont remember which one it was, but the most recent update available)

One of my displays restored with no problems, but the second one was stuck in a loop between the support/warning message and three loading dots...

I tried to run through the basic troubleshooting steps in this article -- but nothing worked.

Contacted Apple Support via chat, but unfortunately the agent wasnt much help. She tried to walk me through the same article, then went immediately to me booking a Genius Bar appointment because "it must be hardware-related." I've worked in IT for years and repaired dozens of machines/displays, so I decided to keep troubleshooting on my own.

After some research, I came across a forum that mentioned four critical things that could be stopping the update :

1. You have the display connected to a computer that is not plugged into power. (Basically your display is powering the laptop) So I plugged my laptop into a power outlet.
2. Ensure that FileVault is not enabled (so turn it off or use another computer)
3. Ensure you dont have a hard-drive plugged into the display or machine
4. If you can - try to use the thunderbolt cable that came in the box with your display

This is when I had the 'ah-ha' moment because I literally had my G-Drive backup plugged into my display. So I unplugged the display from everything, plugged it back in, and the minute I saw that "support.apple.com" screen, I plugged the thunderbolt cable back into my laptop. Waited for about 4 minutes, it switched to the 3 dots, a blank screen, then I saw my desktop picture! (There was also a pop-up on my laptop that asked if it was ok to connect to the accessory -- so I knew the display was trying to make a connection)

I truly hope this helps someone and you don't get talked into taking this huge display to a store for no reason. I knew it wasn't hardware based on my previous experiences and this display was only a week old.

Best of luck everyone!! ;)

After hours of trying, this comment worked for me! Thank you so much.

I have an M2 Max MacBook Pro on Sonoma 14.3. I opened the Studio Display today (fresh from Apple's factory) and went to install the latest Studio Display update and got in a forever loop. I made sure the laptop was powered by an external brick, disconnected everything, and turned off FileVault. Unplugged the display from power and Thunderbolt for about a minute, and replugged it in. Within 3 minutes the display updated and turned on! Wahoo.

I have done 2 firmware updates in the past for the Studio Display and both were a nightmare with support. They wanted me to take to apple Store for repair which may take forever, so I wanted and unplugged and tried many things and it finally started working. I will not do any more firmware updates for the Studio Display There is a new one right now and I refuse to install it because of previous problems. Good Luck...

Not sure I understand your note - are you saying you had to revert to Monterey to get things working again on your home computer or that they somehow fixed your Studio Display and you are now able to use it with Ventura? (Mine is in for repair now as well).

Thanks!

This happened to me too. The store said it was a problem with my monitor that would require new parts and hundreds of dollars. I’m still waiting to get it back. It worked perfectly until I did the firmware update.

It turned out that the problem with my Studio Display was software, not hardware, which is what I had suspected from the beginning. The Apple store called me 12 days after I had left the Display to tell me that another technician had figured that out, and so they ended up charging me nothing. Hooray!

Schedule Apple in-store repair.

Great! Thanks for updating.

Yep. Just happened to me, too. Had to take it to the Apple Store to unbrick.