Same issue here. After replacing a relative's 13" 2017 Touch Bar MacBook Pro battery, not only is the soldered internal SSD not working now, but after getting an external one and installing mac OS, it wont let me past the wifi screen saying that it needs a critical software update and fails to do said update. After doing some research, i think that something with the touchbar's firmware is wrong, but I can't find any instructions on how to reset it. I am really disappointed right now because when I booted an Ubuntu live installer, it worked without asking me for any update, however, the neither the touchbar and the camera are working. I have tried to install Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, and even High Sierra, but they all lead to the same error. Guess my relative will be using linux from now on.