If the AST 2 test comes back clean, does that definitively mean there is no hardware problem?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: “If AST 2 test is clean, hardware OK?
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.5
The better question might be what issue are you having that led you to run HW diagnostics?
HW tests can be very definitive - or not definitive at all. As John Galt alludes to, it depends on which tests and what they are testing. Certain kinds of HW and their failure modes will absolutely always be triggered by certain tests because of the nature of the HW - like bad RAM modules. Others are much trickier - such as a logic board issues where thermal expansion/contraction is involved in triggering the fault.
So, what is your issue that you are trying to diagnose?
The diagnostics (any diagnostics) are really only useful when they report an issue. A clean diagnostic is rarely useful unless you had a consistent repeatable failure and have made a hardware change....in this case & this case alone a passing diagnostic result may be useful, or it could just be a coincidence....you never know for sure unless the original issue never shows up again.
@g_wolfman's question about the actual issue that has you running the diagnostic is a very good question.
Which diagnostic utility are you referring to please? Please be specific. Are you an authorized Apple Technician, or are you performing a self-service repair, or...?
Does a clean AST 2 test result mean there’s no hardware issue on a Mac?
