Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes after waking up.

[Ant]

Hello.

Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes after waking up.

First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up, relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for a few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.

Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze hard right away.

When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond. Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its internal 2 TB SSD is OK.

I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020) 13" 2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core 10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.

Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose and fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

[Ant]

Disk Utility app found no issues in all of SSD's APFS default three
partitions. Also, I found out it is 90 days warranty and not a year.
Oops. :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up, relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for a few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond. Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020) 13" 2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core 10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose and fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

[David Brooks]

Post by Ant
Disk Utility app found no issues in all of SSD's APFS default three
partitions. Also, I found out it is 90 days warranty and not a year.
Oops. :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up, relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for a few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond. Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020) 13" 2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core 10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose and fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

Remove the battery
Press and hold down the power key for 20 seconds.
Insert the battery
Hold down the 'shift' key and press the power-on button
If lucky, your machine will start in Safe Boot mode!
Restart and hoefully you'll be back up-and-running again!

HTH

Happy New Year!

[YK]

Post by David Brooks

Post by Ant
Disk Utility app found no issues in all of SSD's APFS default three
partitions. Also, I found out it is 90 days warranty and not a year.
Oops. :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice
minutes after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were
still connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its
lid up, relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account,
and used it for a few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours
from its idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same
standard account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And
then, it froze hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal
trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't
respond. Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and
reconnecting external powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even
tried to reproduce this hard lock ups from what I remember. I doubt
it is temperature related since it had been in the 60-70 degrees(F)
indoor from the outdoor cold weather and rain. Right now, I'm running
Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old
(12/29/2020) 13" 2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core
i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core 10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost
up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD,
Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB
C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's
HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to
diagnose and fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from
12/29/2020. :( Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

Remove the battery
Press and hold down the power key for 20 seconds.
Insert the battery
Hold down the 'shift' key and press the power-on button
If lucky, your machine will start in Safe Boot mode!
Restart and hoefully you'll be back up-and-running again!
HTH
Happy New Year!

David,

You are aware that removing the battery in a 13" MBP is not an easy
task? They started gluing the battery in when they designed the first
13" retina in 2012. 9 plus years and you still are thinking about the
2012 non-Retina units are the the same as the new ones.

YK

[gtr]

Post by David Brooks

Post by Ant
Disk Utility app found no issues in all of SSD's APFS default three
partitions. Also, I found out it is 90 days warranty and not a year.
Oops. :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes
after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still
connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up,
relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for a
few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its
idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard
account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze
hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal
trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond.
Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external
powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard
lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it
had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and
rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its
internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020) 13"
2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core
10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of
3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big
Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS
VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose and
fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank you
for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

Remove the battery
Press and hold down the power key for 20 seconds.
Insert the battery
Hold down the 'shift' key and press the power-on button
If lucky, your machine will start in Safe Boot mode!
Restart and hoefully you'll be back up-and-running again!

Close, but I think the following was the intent. If not, consider it new
recommendations:

Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Unplug the MagSafe from your computer.
3. Using the built-in keyboard, press Shift-Control-Option on the left
side of the keyboard, then press the power button. Hold these keys AND the
power button for 10 seconds.
4. Release all keys.
5. Reconnect the power adapter.
6. Press the power button again to boot.

Follow with this:

Start in safe mode:
1. Start or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift
key. The white Apple logo appears on your display. If you don't see the Apple
logo, learn what to do.
2. Release the shift key when you see the login window. If your startup
disk is encrypted with FileVault, you might be asked to log in twice: once to
unlock the startup disk, and again to log in to the Finder.
3. To leave safe mode, restart your Mac without pressing any keys during
startup.

[David Brooks]

Post by gtr

Post by David Brooks

Post by Ant
Disk Utility app found no issues in all of SSD's APFS default three
partitions. Also, I found out it is 90 days warranty and not a year.
Oops. :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes
after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still
connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up,
relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for a
few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its
idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard
account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze
hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal
trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond.
Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external
powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard
lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it
had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and
rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its
internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020) 13"
2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core
10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of
3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big
Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS
VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose and
fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank you
for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

Remove the battery
Press and hold down the power key for 20 seconds.
Insert the battery
Hold down the 'shift' key and press the power-on button
If lucky, your machine will start in Safe Boot mode!
Restart and hoefully you'll be back up-and-running again!

Close, but I think the following was the intent. If not, consider it new

Thank you! :-)

Post by gtr
Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Unplug the MagSafe from your computer.
3. Using the built-in keyboard, press Shift-Control-Option on the left
side of the keyboard, then press the power button. Hold these keys AND the
power button for 10 seconds.
4. Release all keys.
5. Reconnect the power adapter.
6. Press the power button again to boot.
1. Start or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift
key. The white Apple logo appears on your display. If you don't see the Apple
logo, learn what to do.
2. Release the shift key when you see the login window. If your startup
disk is encrypted with FileVault, you might be asked to log in twice: once to
unlock the startup disk, and again to log in to the Finder.
3. To leave safe mode, restart your Mac without pressing any keys during
startup.

You've given splendid advice.

Well done! :-D

[YK]

Post by Ant
Disk Utility app found no issues in all of SSD's APFS default three
partitions. Also, I found out it is 90 days warranty and not a year.
Oops. :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up, relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for a few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond. Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020) 13" 2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core 10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose and fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

Have you tried:
Resetting the SMC?
Zapping the PRAM
Reinstalling the OS?

You are late as the one year warranty has expired for a few days. The 90
days was for phone support.

YK

[gtr]

Post by YK

Post by Ant
Disk Utility app found no issues in all of SSD's APFS default three
partitions. Also, I found out it is 90 days warranty and not a year.
Oops. :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes
after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still
connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up,
relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for a
few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its
idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard
account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze
hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal
trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond.
Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external
powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard
lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it
had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and
rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its
internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020) 13"
2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core
10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of
3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big
Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS
VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose and
fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank you
for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

Resetting the SMC?
Zapping the PRAM
Reinstalling the OS?
You are late as the one year warranty has expired for a few days. The 90
days was for phone support.

Apple does phone support regardless of warranty date. The last 3 times I've
called over the past 2 years were about a 2015 Macbook pro. I called once
about my iPad and it was 4 years old at the time. They don't care. I've even
talked to them about it. They say it's in their own interests to maintain
loyalty to provide phone support for most anyone anytime. Still, I'd be
polite.

[Wolffan]

Post by Ant
Disk Utility app found no issues in all of SSD's APFS default three
partitions. Also, I found out it is 90 days warranty and not a year.
Oops. :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes
after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still
connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up,
relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for
a few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its
idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard
account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze
hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal
trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond.
Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external
powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard
lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it
had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and
rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its
internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020)
13" 2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz;
quad-core 10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32
GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic,
macOS Big Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter
for ASUS VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose
and fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank
you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

1 try booting to a different account. In fact, try booting to an admin
account. Unplug all external devices, just use the built-in monitor,
keyboard, trackpad.

2 try reinstalling the system from the emergency boot partition

3 try resetting the SMC and the PRAM

4 you had a year’s warranty. That’s gone as of 28 Dec, but Apple is
usually pretty good about not cutting things off at the exact date. Call in
and make an appointment with the local Apple Store.

[Ant]

...

Post by Wolffan
1 try booting to a different account. In fact, try booting to an admin
account. Unplug all external devices, just use the built-in monitor,
keyboard, trackpad.

The incident #2, from a couple days ago, froze after logging out of a macOS
account to the login screen.

Post by Wolffan
2 try reinstalling the system from the emergency boot partition

That will be a last item if below ideas don't work.

Post by Wolffan
3 try resetting the SMC and the PRAM

OK if it happens again. Or should I try them soon even if I haven't had any
new incidents since my last post (two lock ups)?

Since it's still a slow weekend, I decided to try reseting MBP's NVRAM
first. So I told its macOS Big Sur v11.6.2 to shut down MBP, but it got
stuck during its shutdown for like a minute with admin account's desktop
background (no icons and menu) for about a minute. Mouse cursor was still
movable. And then, it finally shut down. Weird lag. I booted it up, logged in, and then retried its shutdown. No long lags (only a second).

Anyways, I continued on to reset VRAM from
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html's
instructions, I did:

"Intel Macs

To reset your NVRAM, you use exactly the same procedure you once used to reset PRAM.

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press the power button, and as soon as you power up the laptop, hold down Command-Option-P-R.
3. Keep holding down those keys for about 20 seconds. Then let go and allow your Mac to continue starting normally..."

Step #3 took a while to start up again after pressing all keys down for
about 20 seconds. I thought I messed up since my four fingers hands,
without thumbs, had a hard time pressing all. And then, about ten seconds later, MBP booted by itself. I hope that's normal.

Also, does "nvram ???-c" trick not work? It shows:
% nvram -c
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-computer-name: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM-BridgeHasAccount: (iokit/common) not permitted
I even tried with sudo.

I'll try SMC reset if that doesn't fix it.

[Ant]

In comp.sys.mac.system Ant <***@zimage.comant> wrote:
...

Since it's still a slow weekend, I decided to try resetting MBP's NVRAM
first. So I told its macOS Big Sur v11.6.2 to shut down MBP, but it got
stuck during its shutdown for like a minute with admin account's desktop
background (no icons and menu) for about a minute. Mouse cursor was still
movable. And then, it finally shut down. Weird lag. I booted it up, logged in, and then retried its shutdown. No long lags (only a second).
Anyways, I continued on to reset VRAM from
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html's
"Intel Macs
To reset your NVRAM, you use exactly the same procedure you once used to reset PRAM.
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press the power button, and as soon as you power up the laptop, hold down Command-Option-P-R.
3. Keep holding down those keys for about 20 seconds. Then let go and allow your Mac to continue starting normally..."
Step #3 took a while to start up again after pressing all keys down for
about 20 seconds. I thought I messed up since my four fingers hands,
without thumbs, had a hard time pressing all. And then, about ten seconds later, MBP booted by itself. I hope that's normal.
% nvram -c
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-computer-name: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM-BridgeHasAccount: (iokit/common) not permitted
I even tried with sudo.

...

FYI. No new incidents so far. I hope it stays that way! :)

[Ant]

Post by Ant
...

Since it's still a slow weekend, I decided to try resetting MBP's NVRAM
first. So I told its macOS Big Sur v11.6.2 to shut down MBP, but it got
stuck during its shutdown for like a minute with admin account's desktop
background (no icons and menu) for about a minute. Mouse cursor was still
movable. And then, it finally shut down. Weird lag. I booted it up, logged in, and then retried its shutdown. No long lags (only a second).
Anyways, I continued on to reset VRAM from
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html's
"Intel Macs
To reset your NVRAM, you use exactly the same procedure you once used to reset PRAM.
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press the power button, and as soon as you power up the laptop, hold down Command-Option-P-R.
3. Keep holding down those keys for about 20 seconds. Then let go and allow your Mac to continue starting normally..."
Step #3 took a while to start up again after pressing all keys down for
about 20 seconds. I thought I messed up since my four fingers hands,
without thumbs, had a hard time pressing all. And then, about ten seconds later, MBP booted by itself. I hope that's normal.
% nvram -c
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-computer-name: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM-BridgeHasAccount: (iokit/common) not permitted
I even tried with sudo.

...
FYI. No new incidents so far. I hope it stays that way! :)

MBP was doing well until this morning, and then it wouldn't wake up this
morning after sleeping since late last night. And then, it powered on by
itself when I clicked on its trackpad. After logging in, it restored
previous sessions from the crash. :(

[Ant]

Post by Ant

Post by Ant
...

Since it's still a slow weekend, I decided to try resetting MBP's NVRAM
first. So I told its macOS Big Sur v11.6.2 to shut down MBP, but it got
stuck during its shutdown for like a minute with admin account's desktop
background (no icons and menu) for about a minute. Mouse cursor was still
movable. And then, it finally shut down. Weird lag. I booted it up, logged in, and then retried its shutdown. No long lags (only a second).
Anyways, I continued on to reset VRAM from
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html's
"Intel Macs
To reset your NVRAM, you use exactly the same procedure you once used to reset PRAM.
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press the power button, and as soon as you power up the laptop, hold down Command-Option-P-R.
3. Keep holding down those keys for about 20 seconds. Then let go and allow your Mac to continue starting normally..."
Step #3 took a while to start up again after pressing all keys down for
about 20 seconds. I thought I messed up since my four fingers hands,
without thumbs, had a hard time pressing all. And then, about ten seconds later, MBP booted by itself. I hope that's normal.
% nvram -c
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-computer-name: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM-BridgeHasAccount: (iokit/common) not permitted
I even tried with sudo.

...
FYI. No new incidents so far. I hope it stays that way! :)

MBP was doing well until this morning, and then it wouldn't wake up this
morning after sleeping since late last night. And then, it powered on by
itself when I clicked on its trackpad. After logging in, it restored
previous sessions from the crash. :(

Again, it wouldn't wake up correctly this evening like this morning. It
powered on by itself with its Apple logo chime after I clicked on the
old external USB mouse's button. After logging in back into the standard
level account, Chrome said to restore previous sessions from the crash. I
tried to reproduce it manually, but no luck. Its console's logs are
confusing and so long. :( When I logged out and logged into the
admin-level account, then I saw its crash report that popped up for me
to to share to Apple and you guys:
http://zimage.com/~ant/temp/MBP2020crashWhenWakingUp.txt.

[Jolly Roger]

Post by Ant

Post by Ant

Post by Ant
...

Since it's still a slow weekend, I decided to try resetting MBP's NVRAM
first. So I told its macOS Big Sur v11.6.2 to shut down MBP, but it got
stuck during its shutdown for like a minute with admin account's desktop
background (no icons and menu) for about a minute. Mouse cursor was still
movable. And then, it finally shut down. Weird lag. I booted it up, logged in, and then retried its shutdown. No long lags (only a second).
Anyways, I continued on to reset VRAM from
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html's
"Intel Macs
To reset your NVRAM, you use exactly the same procedure you once used to reset PRAM.
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press the power button, and as soon as you power up the laptop, hold down Command-Option-P-R.
3. Keep holding down those keys for about 20 seconds. Then let go and allow your Mac to continue starting normally..."
Step #3 took a while to start up again after pressing all keys down for
about 20 seconds. I thought I messed up since my four fingers hands,
without thumbs, had a hard time pressing all. And then, about ten seconds later, MBP booted by itself. I hope that's normal.
% nvram -c
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-computer-name: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM-BridgeHasAccount: (iokit/common) not permitted
I even tried with sudo.

...
FYI. No new incidents so far. I hope it stays that way! :)

MBP was doing well until this morning, and then it wouldn't wake up this
morning after sleeping since late last night. And then, it powered on by
itself when I clicked on its trackpad. After logging in, it restored
previous sessions from the crash. :(

Again, it wouldn't wake up correctly this evening like this morning. It
powered on by itself with its Apple logo chime after I clicked on the
old external USB mouse's button. After logging in back into the standard
level account, Chrome said to restore previous sessions from the crash. I
tried to reproduce it manually, but no luck. Its console's logs are
confusing and so long. :( When I logged out and logged into the
admin-level account, then I saw its crash report that popped up for me
http://zimage.com/~ant/temp/MBP2020crashWhenWakingUp.txt.

I particularly like how you are doing everything you can to avoid
contacting Apple while the computer is in this problem state, so as to
avoid actually allowing anyone to diagnose and resolve the issue.
Instead, you fumble around until it's up and running again, so that
nobody on the planet can tell what was actually wrong. Good work, and
may you continue to "struggle" so that you can endlessly complain
without actually allowing anyone to help.

Mission accomplished! ; )

[Ant]

In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <***@pobox.com> wrote:
...

Post by Jolly Roger
I particularly like how you are doing everything you can to avoid
contacting Apple while the computer is in this problem state, so as to
avoid actually allowing anyone to diagnose and resolve the issue.
Instead, you fumble around until it's up and running again, so that
nobody on the planet can tell what was actually wrong. Good work, and
may you continue to "struggle" so that you can endlessly complain
without actually allowing anyone to help.
Mission accomplished! ; )

Apple's guy told me to try disabling macOS' power nap. I don't see how
that will fix it, but we'll see. Also, I wasn't able to reproduce the
symptoms after last night and before this idea.

[Ant]

Post by Ant
...

Post by Jolly Roger
I particularly like how you are doing everything you can to avoid
contacting Apple while the computer is in this problem state, so as to
avoid actually allowing anyone to diagnose and resolve the issue.
Instead, you fumble around until it's up and running again, so that
nobody on the planet can tell what was actually wrong. Good work, and
may you continue to "struggle" so that you can endlessly complain
without actually allowing anyone to help.
Mission accomplished! ; )

Apple's guy told me to try disabling macOS' power nap. I don't see how
that will fix it, but we'll see. Also, I wasn't able to reproduce the
symptoms after last night and before this idea.

Nope, it happened again with disabled power nap. :(

[Ant]

Post by Ant

Post by Ant

Post by Ant
...

Since it's still a slow weekend, I decided to try resetting MBP's NVRAM
first. So I told its macOS Big Sur v11.6.2 to shut down MBP, but it got
stuck during its shutdown for like a minute with admin account's desktop
background (no icons and menu) for about a minute. Mouse cursor was still
movable. And then, it finally shut down. Weird lag. I booted it up, logged in, and then retried its shutdown. No long lags (only a second).
Anyways, I continued on to reset VRAM from
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html's
"Intel Macs
To reset your NVRAM, you use exactly the same procedure you once used to reset PRAM.
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press the power button, and as soon as you power up the laptop, hold down Command-Option-P-R.
3. Keep holding down those keys for about 20 seconds. Then let go and allow your Mac to continue starting normally..."
Step #3 took a while to start up again after pressing all keys down for
about 20 seconds. I thought I messed up since my four fingers hands,
without thumbs, had a hard time pressing all. And then, about ten seconds later, MBP booted by itself. I hope that's normal.
% nvram -c
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-computer-name: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM-BridgeHasAccount: (iokit/common) not permitted
I even tried with sudo.

...
FYI. No new incidents so far. I hope it stays that way! :)

MBP was doing well until this morning, and then it wouldn't wake up this
morning after sleeping since late last night. And then, it powered on by
itself when I clicked on its trackpad. After logging in, it restored
previous sessions from the crash. :(

Again, it wouldn't wake up correctly this evening like this morning. It
powered on by itself with its Apple logo chime after I clicked on the
old external USB mouse's button. After logging in back into the standard
level account, Chrome said to restore previous sessions from the crash. I
tried to reproduce it manually, but no luck. Its console's logs are
confusing and so long. :( When I logged out and logged into the
admin-level account, then I saw its crash report that popped up for me
http://zimage.com/~ant/temp/MBP2020crashWhenWakingUp.txt.

Part of
http://zimage.com/~ant/temp/MBP2020consoleSystemLogCrashWhenWakingUp.txt
from macOS Big Sur v11.6.3's console's system log.

[Ant]

Post by Ant

Post by Ant

Post by Ant

Post by Ant
...

Since it's still a slow weekend, I decided to try resetting MBP's NVRAM
first. So I told its macOS Big Sur v11.6.2 to shut down MBP, but it got
stuck during its shutdown for like a minute with admin account's desktop
background (no icons and menu) for about a minute. Mouse cursor was still
movable. And then, it finally shut down. Weird lag. I booted it up, logged in, and then retried its shutdown. No long lags (only a second).
Anyways, I continued on to reset VRAM from
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html's
"Intel Macs
To reset your NVRAM, you use exactly the same procedure you once used to reset PRAM.
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press the power button, and as soon as you power up the laptop, hold down Command-Option-P-R.
3. Keep holding down those keys for about 20 seconds. Then let go and allow your Mac to continue starting normally..."
Step #3 took a while to start up again after pressing all keys down for
about 20 seconds. I thought I messed up since my four fingers hands,
without thumbs, had a hard time pressing all. And then, about ten seconds later, MBP booted by itself. I hope that's normal.
% nvram -c
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-computer-name: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM: (iokit/common) not permitted
nvram: Error clearing firmware variable fmm-mobileme-token-FMM-BridgeHasAccount: (iokit/common) not permitted
I even tried with sudo.

...
FYI. No new incidents so far. I hope it stays that way! :)

MBP was doing well until this morning, and then it wouldn't wake up this
morning after sleeping since late last night. And then, it powered on by
itself when I clicked on its trackpad. After logging in, it restored
previous sessions from the crash. :(

Again, it wouldn't wake up correctly this evening like this morning. It
powered on by itself with its Apple logo chime after I clicked on the
old external USB mouse's button. After logging in back into the standard
level account, Chrome said to restore previous sessions from the crash. I
tried to reproduce it manually, but no luck. Its console's logs are
confusing and so long. :( When I logged out and logged into the
admin-level account, then I saw its crash report that popped up for me
http://zimage.com/~ant/temp/MBP2020crashWhenWakingUp.txt.

Part of
http://zimage.com/~ant/temp/MBP2020consoleSystemLogCrashWhenWakingUp.txt
from macOS Big Sur v11.6.3's console's system log.

I updated the linked logs again with new datas due to another crash this
evening (a pattern now it happens at evening PST?). Before that, I
noticed lack of Messages screen saver before going to sleep. Or maybe I
missed it. When I noticed MBP wasn't waking up, I disconnected external
AUSKEY hub and then MBP powered up with its Apple logo and audio chime.
I guess it's not the hub?

I also retried NVRAM and SMC hotkeys (hope I did them right since I have
small hands with four fingers and no thumbs) to see if that helps again like last month.

[gtr]

I started having issues in the end of December with Catalina 11.6.2. Found
some disk errors and that wouldn't clean so I did this:

Wiped the internal SSD.
Reinstalled the OS.
Restored from Time Machine.

Sadly the crashes I was having continued. I think they were related to
external software and 3rd party software that were making "suddenly illegal"
attempt to get to Keychain Access or some such. I don't know, but they were
SecurityAgent related, so I called Apple, got a novice, who knew *nothing*, a
rare occurence. She was quick to see I was behind on the OS, so she wouldn't
bump me to 2nd tier and recommended I move to Monterrey and was glad to be
done with me.

What the hell, I did. It works great now, no issues at all.

I was having some kind of issues a year or two ago, mostly with midi, audio
recording and Logic Pro X; I forget the details. I got to 2nd tier support and
they guy was really into home audio production so I learned a lot as we slowly
went about addressing my issues. He recommended I reinstall the OS, which I
was reluctant to do. He was really blithe about the whole thing, while I was
generally nervous. He told me he reinstalled the OS frequently "every month or
two", he said. What the hell for? It just keeps things neat and tidy.

Honestly. Since then I've run into a few inscrutable issues, reinstalled the
OS and was surprised to see them vaporize.

[Ant]

Post by gtr
I started having issues in the end of December with Catalina 11.6.2. Found

Wait. Big Sur is v11.6. Catalina is v10.5.

Post by gtr
Wiped the internal SSD.
Reinstalled the OS.
Restored from Time Machine.
Sadly the crashes I was having continued. I think they were related to
external software and 3rd party software that were making "suddenly illegal"
attempt to get to Keychain Access or some such. I don't know, but they were
SecurityAgent related, so I called Apple, got a novice, who knew *nothing*, a
rare occurence. She was quick to see I was behind on the OS, so she wouldn't
bump me to 2nd tier and recommended I move to Monterrey and was glad to be
done with me.
What the hell, I did. It works great now, no issues at all.
I was having some kind of issues a year or two ago, mostly with midi, audio
recording and Logic Pro X; I forget the details. I got to 2nd tier support and
they guy was really into home audio production so I learned a lot as we slowly
went about addressing my issues. He recommended I reinstall the OS, which I
was reluctant to do. He was really blithe about the whole thing, while I was
generally nervous. He told me he reinstalled the OS frequently "every month or
two", he said. What the hell for? It just keeps things neat and tidy.
Honestly. Since then I've run into a few inscrutable issues, reinstalled the
OS and was surprised to see them vaporize.

Weird. You could had tried a clean OS reinstall before migrating your
datas back into it first.

[gtr]

Post by Ant

Post by gtr
I started having issues in the end of December with Catalina 11.6.2. Found

Wait. Big Sur is v11.6. Catalina is v10.5.

Post by gtr
Wiped the internal SSD.
Reinstalled the OS.
Restored from Time Machine.
Sadly the crashes I was having continued. I think they were related to
external software and 3rd party software that were making "suddenly illegal"
attempt to get to Keychain Access or some such. I don't know, but they were
SecurityAgent related, so I called Apple, got a novice, who knew *nothing*, a
rare occurence. She was quick to see I was behind on the OS, so she wouldn't
bump me to 2nd tier and recommended I move to Monterrey and was glad to be
done with me.
What the hell, I did. It works great now, no issues at all.
I was having some kind of issues a year or two ago, mostly with midi, audio
recording and Logic Pro X; I forget the details. I got to 2nd tier support and
they guy was really into home audio production so I learned a lot as we slowly
went about addressing my issues. He recommended I reinstall the OS, which I
was reluctant to do. He was really blithe about the whole thing, while I was
generally nervous. He told me he reinstalled the OS frequently "every month or
two", he said. What the hell for? It just keeps things neat and tidy.
Honestly. Since then I've run into a few inscrutable issues, reinstalled the
OS and was surprised to see them vaporize.

Weird. You could had tried a clean OS reinstall before migrating your
datas back into it first.

I did. It didn't solve my issues. My basic punchline is that a clean OS
reinstall isn't so fearful a thing, and that it can address a lot of issues.
In fact, with my first attempt it did seem to knock down the errors I was
getting but a lot. But not enough.

[Ant]

Post by gtr

Post by Ant

Post by gtr
Honestly. Since then I've run into a few inscrutable issues, reinstalled the
OS and was surprised to see them vaporize.

Weird. You could had tried a clean OS reinstall before migrating your
datas back into it first.

I did. It didn't solve my issues. My basic punchline is that a clean OS
reinstall isn't so fearful a thing, and that it can address a lot of issues.
In fact, with my first attempt it did seem to knock down the errors I was
getting but a lot. But not enough.

Ah. That's bad then. At least, you know it's not your datas causing the errors.

[gtr]

Post by Ant

Post by gtr
I started having issues in the end of December with Catalina 11.6.2. Found

Wait. Big Sur is v11.6. Catalina is v10.5.

Sorry--it was 11.6.2, but was indeed Big Sur.

Post by Ant

Post by gtr
Wiped the internal SSD.
Reinstalled the OS.
Restored from Time Machine.
Sadly the crashes I was having continued. I think they were related to
external software and 3rd party software that were making "suddenly illegal"
attempt to get to Keychain Access or some such. I don't know, but they were
SecurityAgent related, so I called Apple, got a novice, who knew *nothing*, a
rare occurence. She was quick to see I was behind on the OS, so she wouldn't
bump me to 2nd tier and recommended I move to Monterrey and was glad to be
done with me.
What the hell, I did. It works great now, no issues at all.
I was having some kind of issues a year or two ago, mostly with midi, audio
recording and Logic Pro X; I forget the details. I got to 2nd tier support and
they guy was really into home audio production so I learned a lot as we slowly
went about addressing my issues. He recommended I reinstall the OS, which I
was reluctant to do. He was really blithe about the whole thing, while I was
generally nervous. He told me he reinstalled the OS frequently "every month or
two", he said. What the hell for? It just keeps things neat and tidy.
Honestly. Since then I've run into a few inscrutable issues, reinstalled the
OS and was surprised to see them vaporize.

Weird. You could had tried a clean OS reinstall before migrating your
datas back into it first.

[Ant]

Post by gtr

Post by Ant

Post by gtr
I started having issues in the end of December with Catalina 11.6.2. Found

Wait. Big Sur is v11.6. Catalina is v10.5.

Sorry--it was 11.6.2, but was indeed Big Sur.

Thanks for the clarification. Yes, names and version numbers can be
confusing! :(

[Jolly Roger]

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were
still connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its
lid up, relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and
used it for a few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours
from its idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same
standard account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And
then, it froze hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal
trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't
respond. Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting
external powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to
reproduce this hard lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is
temperature related since it had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor
from the outdoor cold weather and rain. Right now, I'm running Disk
Utility app's first aid to see if its internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old
(12/29/2020) 13" 2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core
i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core 10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost
up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD,
Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C
Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's
HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to
diagnose and fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from
12/29/2020. :( Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)

You should give a detailed list of which USB (and other) devices are
connected when the machine freezes. It's possible a driver related to
one of those devices is experiencing issues when waking from sleep.

As others have mentioned already, regardless of warranty status, Apple
support, will happily work with you for free over chat, phone, or in
person at your local Apple retail store to resolve your issue. Just
start here and follow the prompts: <https://support.apple.com/contact>

[Ant]

Post by Jolly Roger
You should give a detailed list of which USB (and other) devices are
connected when the machine freezes. It's possible a driver related to
one of those devices is experiencing issues when waking from sleep.

I did in my "Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS
VA27DQSB 27" 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse."

Okay. I'm wondering if the HDMI adapter / display may be the cause when
waking from sleep.

Maybe? If I disconnect the whole AUSKEY hub during the lock up, wouldn't MBP
come back to life?

Have you tried pinging and connecting to the machine (with SSH, for
instance) from another computer on the network when it is in this
"frozen" state? What happens when you try?

Ooh, good idea. I will have to try that if it happens again after finding
its DHCP IP address from the router.

Although, I forgot to mention the wireless AirPrint HP OfficeJet Pro
8600 N911g.

I don't see how wireless devices would be related to a hard freeze.

Yeah me too when logged out all macOS user accounts.

Post by Jolly Roger
As others have mentioned already, regardless of warranty status, Apple
support, will happily work with you for free over chat, phone, or in
person at your local Apple retail store to resolve your issue. Just
start here and follow the prompts: <https://support.apple.com/contact>

Thanks for the tip. If it does get worse and need to meet in person,
then I will have to wait for its local stores to reopen thanks to the
dang COVID-19 again. :(

If it happens again, I would immediately contact Apple support through
phone or chat, and let them do some diagnostics remotely before bringing
it into a store. Let them do their thing and then they can tell you the
next steps to take. It's important to contact them while the computer is
frozen to give them the best chance of diagnosing the issue. If they
then tell you to bring it in, you'll have a case # already established
with their notes for the next representative to look at in advance.

OK.

Anyways, so far no new incidents. :)

It's possible it was just a temporary thing...

I hope so! It's slightly over a year old. :/

[Jolly Roger]

Post by Ant

Post by Jolly Roger
You should give a detailed list of which USB (and other) devices
are connected when the machine freezes. It's possible a driver
related to one of those devices is experiencing issues when waking
from sleep.

I did in my "Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS
VA27DQSB 27" 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse."

Okay. I'm wondering if the HDMI adapter / display may be the cause
when waking from sleep.

Maybe? If I disconnect the whole AUSKEY hub during the lock up,
wouldn't MBP come back to life?

Not necessarily, no. It depends on the nature of the freeze.

Post by Ant

Have you tried pinging and connecting to the machine (with SSH, for
instance) from another computer on the network when it is in this
"frozen" state? What happens when you try?

Ooh, good idea. I will have to try that if it happens again after
finding its DHCP IP address from the router.

I would, because it's possible it's not actually completely frozen,
which would be a good thing to know for diagnostic purposes.

[Ant]

I have no idea if this new symptom is related to the earlier/previous
lock/freeze issue. I connected a year old 5 TB ext. USB HDD to AUSKEY
hub to do a Time Machine back up into its encrypted APFS partition. It
prompted me its password and failed so I had to re-enter it (used the
touchbar's unlock button instead of enter key and mouse click), and then
it never mounted. I tried to force mount it in macOS Big Sur v11.6.2's
Disk Utilty app, but nothing. Not even an error.

I ran First Aid on the drive and its partitions (also have exFAT and old
macOS extended journal (HFS+). No isssues. I disconnected and
reconnected the drive for APFS partition. No password prompt this time
even though the other Time Machine drive/partition did which was fine. I
told Disk Utility to mount that same APFS drive/partition and then
finally got an error -- "Could not mount ???APFS (Encrypted) Black Seagate
HD???. (com.apple.DiskManagement.disenter error 49218.)". That's not good.

So, I decided to unplug the HDD with all drives unmounted again and
rebooted. The shut down took like a minute and then finally rebooted by
itself. I logged in and retried the external USB HDD with its APFS
drive/partition. It worked fine this time. Hmm, weird/odd. I'm seeing
lots of random (weir/od)ness these days! :(

Post by Ant
Hello.
Since 12/29/2021 afternoon PST, MacBook Pro (MBP) froze hard twice minutes after waking up.
First one was when MBP was asleep (lid closed) and moved (cables were still connected) from the desk due to cleaning the room. Opened its lid up, relogged in the current standard(not admin)-level account, and used it for a few minutes. It was fine and then it froze hard.
Second one was about 30 minutes ago after MBP was asleep for hours from its idle time. Logged in just fine and then log out of this same standard account back to the login screen with multiple accounts. And then, it froze hard right away.
When MBP was frozen, its cursor (both external USB mouse and internal trackpad) and keyboard navigations (including LED lights) didn't respond. Closing and reopening lid, and disconnecting and reconnecting external powered USB devices didn't help at all. I even tried to reproduce this hard lock ups from what I remember. I doubt it is temperature related since it had been in the 60-70 degrees(F) indoor from the outdoor cold weather and rain. Right now, I'm running Disk Utility app's first aid to see if its internal 2 TB SSD is OK.
I'm wondering if there is a hardware issue in this year old (12/29/2020) 13" 2020 A2251 model (MWP62LL/A) MBP. It has Intel Core i7 (2.3 GHz; quad-core 10th gen. i7 CPU; 8 MB; L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)), 32 GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X RAM, 2 TB PCIe-based SSD, Intel Iris Plus graphic, macOS Big Sur v11.6.2, etc. Using AUKEY USB C Hub 12-in-1 Type C Adapter for ASUS VA27DQSB 27??? 1080P monitor's HDMI and a very old MS USB mouse.
Is there anything else to try before going to an Apple store to diagnose and fix? I assume warranty extended since it was from 12/29/2020. :( Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. :)