It has been five days since Apple launched macOS Sonoma 14.4, which, in addition to bug fixes, also offers a new bug.
First published March 13.
Updated, March 25, 6:16 p.m.:
macOS 14.4.1 (23E224) has been released and fixes the USB hub and Oracle Java bug. The Music application bug is also fixed: “Copy-protected Audio Unit plug-ins designed for professional music apps cannot open or fail validation,” explains Apple.
Updated, March 19, 12:19 p.m.:
Amazingly enough, another serious bug has been discovered in macOS 14.4, the fourth in a row. There is now a warning about an error in the “Optimize Mac Storage” system when used with iCloud Drive. The Eclectic Light Company summarizes the bug not found in 14.3:
“In previous versions of macOS, when a file is thrown it is deleted from local storage in iCloud Drive [ved å bruke alternativet Fjern nedlasting i høyreklikkmenyen], all previously saved versions are preserved. Download the file again from iCloud Drive, and versions stored on that Mac (but not other Macs or devices) will be fully accessible. Do it in 14.4 and all previous versions are deleted and lost forever.”
The Eclectic Light Company recommends two solutions: either you don’t save your documents in iCloud Drive from now on, or you have to disable Optimized Mac Storage.
Updated, March 17, 09:52:
It has been discovered three other issues causing problems after updating to macOS 14.4. First, Oracle warns users not to update to 14.4:
“An issue introduced in macOS 14.4 causes Java processes to terminate unexpectedly, affecting all versions from Java 8 to the early access versions of JDK 22. There is no workaround available, and since there is no easy way to roll back on a macOS update, affected users may not be able to revert to a stable configuration unless they have a full backup of their systems prior to the OS update.”
But even though 14.4 fixes 64 bugs, it has also brought others with it. Another problem relates to printers where the drivers can end up broken. There is currently no comprehensive fix for the bug. There is also another error that affects far fewer people, and basically only those involved in music production:
“As you may know, Apple recently rolled out macOS 14.4 Sonoma. There have been reports of compatibility issues affecting plug-ins from various manufacturers that are protected by PACE / iLok with audio devices that host DAWs such as Logic Pro on Apple silicon Macs. Consequently, if you are using audio devices on an Apple M machine, it is recommended to delay the update until more is known. We are contacting PACE and will update you once we have found a solution,” reports Universal Audio.
Destroys USB hubs for several
“14.4 definitely ruins the USB hub display functionality. Things worked fine until my work MBP upgraded to 14.4 but now no devices are detected. On my personal MBP which is still on 14.3 everything works without problems. Definitely an OS-related issue,” reports MacRumors forum member “mjodotcom.”
Other setups also struggle, like this one: “My MacBook Pro 16 M2 Pro is connected to Gigabyte’s M34WQ 34 inch via a Thunderbolt 3 cable. I have the keyboard and mouse connected to the USB ports on the monitor. After updating, the keyboard and mouse are not detected on my MacBook. Before the update it was working fine,” explains “Nobodys10” on Reddit.
You can try this
Apple hasn’t mentioned the problem, but we’re guessing they’ve also noticed (at the office) that things aren’t working as they should. MacRumors reports that some users have resolved the issue by changing from “allow accessories to connect” to “ask when new devices are connected.” You can find the setting under privacy and security in macOS’s settings.
If you have a portable Mac with an Apple chip, you must authorize new USB or Thunderbolt devices and SD cards that you plug into your Mac. If you select Allow, the accessory allows the transmission of both power and data. If you select Do not allow, the accessory can still be charged, but no data will be transferred.
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