Latest security update to macOS 14.3 - big mess

[OldCorpse]

Just a PSA for anyone considering updating their system setup with the latest security update from Apple - for me at least, things got somewhat screwed up, so caveat emptor, perhaps it will work for you, but it might not.

Ever since a few days ago I installed the latest security update to macOS 14.3 on both my MBA and MM, the whole setup went haywire. My Topping E50 DAC connected to the MM randomly turns itself on and off, with random symbols flashing on and off. Usually the pattern is - it's turned off, then spontaneously it'll turn on for about 20 minutes, with "USB" sign flashing on the panel, then it'll turn off, stay off for maybe 30 mintues, turn on again, but this time the "USB" is steady, not flashing, then after another 30 minutes it'll turn itself off and so on. Utterly bizarre. I disconnected the DAC from the MM, reconnected, disconnected the DAC from power, reconnected. Nothing helps. Finally, I've just diconnected the power to the DAC to stop the cycling, and if I want to listen to music, I connect it to power - otherwise it seems to work fine.

Meanwhile, I used to be able to just sleep my MBA and wake it and it would still be connected to the MM through screen sharing. Now, the MM immediately disconnects itself. Worse, it used to be that when the MM would get disconnected from the MBA, I could just reconnect it directly. Now I no longer can - I must input my administrator password repeatedly, for "keychain access", "network", and some other things and finally get to the MM and there I must input the admin password for the MM to unlock the screen. Never used to have to jump through hoops like this.

It's hard enough to get everything set up so you can just have the MM act as a music streamer accessed through the MBA and my iPad 10. Now it looks like every time there's a security or some other kind of update, the whole system goes haywire. I better and better understand why people leave their media streamers with whatever OS version they set it up and don't bother updating, as more often then not, it'll screw things up. If you don't need the OS to do anything else than stream (as is the case for my MM), then there really is no point in updating... until Apple makes it impossible to access it from another Apple device because the device has been updated. YMMV.

 

[MajorFubar]

Thanks for the warning, and reality check. One of my tasks for this weekend was updating the Mac Studio in my home studio to MacOS14. I never upgrade immediately. I have third-party plugins and hardware whose developers have better things to do with their time than meeting the annual demands of a minority audience, and I respect that. The launch of x.3 is usually my signal that mostly all the rough water has passed. Think I might wait until the inevitable 14.4

 

[BrianBaughn]

I'm still on Ventura, also. I have a history of skipping entire macOS levels and Sonoma may be on that list.

 

[gwhizkids]

No issues for me on Sonoma.

 

[OldCorpse]

Even if you have no issues on a particular edition of the macOS, issues may develop in one of the point versions, or even as is the case for me here, a mere security update. In this security update, Apple addressed problems with a malicious actor being able to control your files if they have access to the device. So to prevent that, they implemented measures the result of which is that now you have to input passwords all over the place. It's inconvenient. That's the problem with such "fixes", they take care of one thing at the cost of breaking workflows for the user in a variety of scenarios. I understand that it's hard for Apple to anticipate all unintended consequences of their fixes and they're most concerned with taking care of possible threats. Priorities. But the result is, that you're always at risk with your setup, particularly if it involves something outside of bog standard use cases. Apple doesn't care about my kind of setup - too few users affected. The same may, or may not be true for you. YMMV.

 

[Ben J.]

OldCorpse. FWIW, I ran 14.2.1 for two weeks on my brand new Mini M2 Pro when I got it in december, and had none of the issues you describe. Pro Tools, my Topping E30 and audio was fine. But I had some other issues, didn't much care for the new features, so I rolled back to Ventura with a bootable installer, and used Migration assistant. All ok.

One thing you might try is to connect the Topping to a different port. I always used the regular USB-A port and avoided to go via docks. Just a thought.

I've had the E50 also. Great sounding DACs!

 

[gwhizkids]

Even if you have no issues on a particular edition of the macOS, issues may develop in one of the point versions, or even as is the case for me here, a mere security update. In this security update, Apple addressed problems with a malicious actor being able to control your files if they have access to the device. So to prevent that, they implemented measures the result of which is that now you have to input passwords all over the place. It's inconvenient. That's the problem with such "fixes", they take care of one thing at the cost of breaking workflows for the user in a variety of scenarios. I understand that it's hard for Apple to anticipate all unintended consequences of their fixes and they're most concerned with taking care of possible threats. Priorities. But the result is, that you're always at risk with your setup, particularly if it involves something outside of bog standard use cases. Apple doesn't care about my kind of setup - too few users affected. The same may, or may not be true for you. YMMV.

Issues may always occur. That’s the nature of software. But I’m not going to get all worked up about it now. And I’ll accept some inconveniences like having to reset passwords in exchange for a more secure experience.

 

[OldCorpse]

Issues may always occur. That’s the nature of software. But I’m not going to get all worked up about it now. And I’ll accept some inconveniences like having to reset passwords in exchange for a more secure experience.

Of course. One frequently has to accept tradeoffs. Everyone makes their own assessment as to what's worth what kind of inconvenience. I guess I'm one of those naive guys who dreams that there is such a thing as "progress" - even in operating systems and security, where greater security can actually co-exist with greater convenience. I like software that gets better with time, rather than continuing on a path of ever greater compromises. But that's my fault, I guess I'm so old that I come from the time where technological optimism was taken for granted, in that as time goes on, you expect technology to get better. Used to be a refrigerator, washing machine, stove and other appliences could last decades; these days, there's chips in everything and supposedly you should not expect more than seven years from a refrigerator, and frequently less. It does make interesting noises though, chiptunes and bluetooth, all wonderful opportunities for breakdowns. On another tangent, I'm in the market for a new car - and being a dumb old guy, I was looking for something that had physical buttons, switches and levers and didn't rely on a screen with complex menus I have to dig through while driving in order to control the air conditioning or whatnot, and something that regularly collapses with all sorts of faults. After the automatic window stopped working on the passanger side I dreamt of the shockingly advanced devices from back in the 30's, 40's and 50's where there was a crank you could use to open the window. However, I know better than to get my hopes up for such primitive technology and I should get on with the times and accept that progress has its price in less convenience more hassle and general degradation. So I'll meekly accept this security update and when there's another hassle of putting in a password for the 4th time, I'll just smile and say "progress, so happy things are getting better! Can't expect more! What a wonderful solution!".