A Mac Studio M3 Ultra bricked during a macOS 26 Tahoe upgrade last month, joining a pattern of Neural Engine-related installation failures that Apple has yet to fix. The machine - a $3,700 96GB model - hit a black screen mid-install and wouldn't boot into recovery mode.
The failure happens when Tahoe's installer loads the Apple Neural Engine driver, then aborts on a hardware validation check. Most M3 Ultra users report the install rolls back to Sequoia. This one didn't. The OS wouldn't load.
The fix that worked
Recovery required DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode via Apple Configurator on a second Mac. You connect a USB-C cable to the Mac Studio's rightmost back port (the DFU port, not Thunderbolt), hold the power button while plugging in power, and wait for Configurator to detect it. Two options appear: Revive (preserves data, updates firmware) or Restore (erases everything). In this case, Revive worked after a cold power cycle.
It's not a process for casual users. You need a second Mac, the right cable, and some nerve.
The broader context
This isn't new. September 2025 posts on TidBITS and AppleInsider documented the same M3 Ultra install failures. Apple support reps confirm they're aware; a fix might land in 26.0.1 or 26.1. No timeline.
One Apple Community post claims an M1 Ultra (not M3) bricked on 26.1, suggesting the scope might be wider than M3 Ultra. Some attribute failures to specific installer builds. Nobody's confirming a fix yet.
What this means
For enterprise: Apple Silicon's tight firmware-OS integration creates single points of failure on pro hardware. A bricked $8,000 workstation in a creative or engineering pipeline isn't theoretical anymore. TidBITS advises M3 Ultra owners skip Tahoe entirely and stay on 15.7.
The Mac installed base exceeds 100 million units. Even rare failure rates hit hard when they target pro desktop silicon. If you're deploying Mac Studios at scale, test Tahoe on non-critical hardware first. And know where your DFU ports are.