MacBook Pro M2 random restarts

MacBook Pro M2 Max, macOS Tahoe 26.1, restarts randomly while I'm using it. Just using Firefox for the most part when this happens. Avast Coordinator, Avast Security, Google LLC, LOGINserver (in Brother printer folder tree), Stocks.app, and Zoom Video are running things on startup.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 26.1

Posted on Dec 5, 2025 3:20 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 5, 2025 3:42 PM

Random restarts can come from software conflicts. Since you have Avast and other apps starting up automatically, try removing Avast first — it’s known to cause issues on macOS.


Things to try:

  1. Remove or disable Avast and see if the restarts stop.
  2. Start in Safe Mode (restart → hold power → choose disk → hold Shift → Continue). If it doesn’t restart there, it’s likely an app causing the problem.
  3. Check Analytics Data under System Settings > General > Analytics & Improvements for any “panic” reports.
  4. Make sure macOS and all apps are updated.


If it still restarts after these steps, it may be worth having Apple Support check the hardware.

Hope this helps!

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 5, 2025 3:42 PM in response to Bri Guy

Random restarts can come from software conflicts. Since you have Avast and other apps starting up automatically, try removing Avast first — it’s known to cause issues on macOS.


Things to try:

  1. Remove or disable Avast and see if the restarts stop.
  2. Start in Safe Mode (restart → hold power → choose disk → hold Shift → Continue). If it doesn’t restart there, it’s likely an app causing the problem.
  3. Check Analytics Data under System Settings > General > Analytics & Improvements for any “panic” reports.
  4. Make sure macOS and all apps are updated.


If it still restarts after these steps, it may be worth having Apple Support check the hardware.

Hope this helps!

Dec 5, 2025 4:13 PM in response to Bri Guy

Boot macOS Safe Mode: hhttps://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/start-up-your-mac-in-safe-mode-mh21245/mac


This will not start 3rd party software, such as Avast, etc...


See if the problem continues. If it does not, then it is most likely one of the 3rd party additions.


NOTE: A lot of us long time Mac users do not care for A/V software, and depend on the protections built into macOS.

MacBook Pro M2 random restarts

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