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Mac keeps restarting on its own with a grey screen

Your Mac is crashing due to a serious software or hardware problem. This is called a kernel panic. The fastest fix is to restart in Safe Mode and let your Mac check and repair itself.

A kernel panic is your Mac's way of shutting down when something goes dangerously wrong. Either hardware is failing or software is corrupted. The repeating restart cycle happens because the problem starts again as soon as your Mac boots up. Safe Mode stops extra apps from loading, which lets you see if it's a software problem or something deeper. If it keeps happening even in Safe Mode, the hard drive or RAM likely needs replacing.

Risk: High ⏱ 20–60 minutes Intermediate
⚡ Before you start
  • Have some time free—troubleshooting this can take 20–60 minutes
  • Note any recently installed apps or software before problems started
  • Keep your Mac plugged in during this process

Fix-IT-Bot will walk you through each step, just tap, no typing needed.

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