Apple pulls iPadOS 18 update bricking M4 iPad Pro devices

Apple has paused the rollout of iPadOS 18 on iPad Pro tablets with the M4 chip after numerous owners reported the update is "bricking" their devices, with no way to turn them on after performing the update.

Attempts to overcome the problem using standard recovery methods such as force restart or entering recovery mode have not worked, leaving impacted users with no choice but to visit an Apple store for evaluation.

These reports have flooded both Apple's support forums and also Reddit, where users have attempted to find a pattern pointing to the problem's source.

"At some point during the update my iPad turned off, and would no longer turn on. I walked away during the update so I’m not sure when it broke. I tried all of the reset options but nothing worked," reported an impacted user on Reddit.

"I just took it to the Apple Store who confirmed it’s completely bricked, but they said they had to send it out to their engineers before they can give me a replacement even though I have Apple care."

Some reported that their iPads got bricked after they upgraded straight to iPadOS 18 from 17.6.1 without moving to 17.7 first, yet others dismissed this as the potential cause, reporting that this update route worked fine for them.

Speculation also includes the possibility of a failure in the final iBoot phase, leading to a corrupted boot sector or system files and preventing the device from starting up.

Apple pulls the update

In a statement to MacRumors, Apple confirmed the problem with the iPadOS 18 update and paused its rollout until the issue was resolved.

The consumer tech giant noted that the problem appears to impact only a small number of devices. However, no figures or percentages were provided, and no information on what exactly is causing the problem was shared.

"We have temporarily removed the ‌iPadOS 18‌ update for M4 ‌iPad Pro‌ models as we work to resolve an issue that is impacting a small number of devices," Apple told MacRumors.

The iPad Pro is a flagship device that starts at $999, so an update rendering those devices unusable constitutes a dent in Apple's reputation for delivering high-quality and thoroughly tested software with attention to detail.

If you're an iPad Pro user and still see the iPadOS 18 upgrade option on the Settings app, it would be prudent not to perform the update until the situation clears up and Apple confirms it's safe to proceed.

BleepingComputer has contacted Apple with a request for more information on the cause of the problem and the estimated fix time, but a comment wasn't immediately available.