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About macOS 14 "Sonoma"

macOS 14 ("Sonoma") became available on September 26th, 2023.

Since the release of macOS 14 in September, subsequent updates have addressed the initial issues typically associated with new operating system versions. We recommend users with compatible hardware to upgrade their devices to the latest version of macOS 14 (Sonoma).

With the release of Sonoma, Apple stopped delivering updates for macOS versions below 12, therefore all macOS versions below 12 are now unsupported. If your Mac still runs a macOS version below 12 you should upgrade to a supported version of macOS as soon as possible!

For an overview of new features in macOS 14 see https://www.apple.com/macos/sonoma-preview/.

There are some important actions to take before you install it:

  • Take note of the information on https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212735.
  • Ensure that all the software you are using is compatible with macOS 14. See below for a list of known issues (be aware that the list is far from complete).
  • Make sure to update all the third party software you are using BEFORE upgrading to macOS 14. Expect that many updaters of older software may NOT WORK any more under macOS 14.
  • Uninstall outdated software and all software you don't use anymore BEFORE upgrading to macOS 14. Expect that most uninstallers for outdated software may NOT WORK any more under macOS 14.
  • Verify your hard-disk or SSD before doing the install.
  • Make sure you have stored your data in CERNbox or have a recent backup, allowing you to recover your data in case of problems. We generally recommend to store all your data in CERNbox.
  • Make sure you have enough free disk space for the install image AND the installation process. The macOS 12 installer did start even if you didn't have enough free space, it will fail and stubbornly try again after a restart. You will need to re-install your OS if this happens, data loss is quite likely...

In case you migrate from a macOS version older than 12: You should also read the 'About macOS ...' articles concerning ALL intermediate versions of macOS, in particular the warnings about 32bit applications!

Note that if you still use the old (HFS+) Mac file system, the upgrade will most likely convert it to APFS, carefully read https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208018.

Known Issues:

First release manifests occasional graphical glitches/delays in UI elements, desktop widgets, screen savers and lock screens.

Brew

Many packages didn't have the Sonoma compatible version at the moment of release. To see which versions of macOS your package supports you can check e.g. https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/wget. Please note that we do not support brew or any tools installed through it.

Calendar

Notifications about upcoming events sometimes may not show. Synchronization of events can be unstable. We recommend to use Microsoft Outlook as mail and calendar client - available in Self Service.app.

Mail.app

macOS Sonoma drops the support legacy Mail.app plugins. You need to switch to Mailkit-based extensions of the same functionality.

GPGTools

GPGTools was not supported during the initial release of Sonoma. Since then a new GPG Mail Extension was released that is compatible with the new APIs. See https://gpgtools.org/sonoma for more details.

Parallels Desktop

macOS Sonoma requires at least Parallels 19.

Not the limitation of Sonoma itself, but on Apple Silicon (ARM64) the following limitations apply to virtual machines hosting macOS:

  • As per EULA, only 2 additional copies of macOS can be run on your Mac. Therefore you can run only up to 2 macOS VMs.
  • It is impossible to login to iCloud or with Apple ID in System Settings. Therefore it is not possible e.g. to enroll to Beta Program.
  • S/N, Hardware Model and Board ID are not changable.
  • It is impossible to suspend the VM.

Preview

The support for .ps and .eps was dropped: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213250.

USB Hubs

If you have a USB hub connected to you Mac with some devices (e.g. keyboard/mouse) connected to it and your Mac goes into sleep mode, after waking up the connected devices may not be detected. This applies also to devices connected through external USB-C screens.