The macOS Sonoma 14.4 update is breaking printers for some users

AppleInsider

The Sonoma 14.4 update is causing more problems, this time with printers by removing or corrupting the drivers needed to print, and there is not yet a comprehensive solution to the issue.

The latest macOS Sonoma update is breaking printers

We recently learned of an issue where updating macOS to Sonoma 14.4 caused some USB hubs embedded in monitors to stop working. Now, it looks like macOS Sonoma 14.4 is breaking printers, too.

Reports have begun rolling in on Reddit and the Apple Community forums, where users note that after updating their Macs, they no longer could print.

According to a post on Reddit, it seems that macOS Sonoma 14.4 removes the core CUPS software, leaving no way for the printer and Mac to interface.

Redditor nicover84 says that, according to some JAMF discussion groups, the issue could be caused by Microsoft Defender. Some users say that granting full disk access to com.microsoft.dlp.daemon in Privacy & Security settings either locally or with a JAMF config profile fixes the problem.

Initial reports seem focused on users with HP printers. Commonalities between the reports aren't clear -- Microsoft Defender isn't the only cause, nor is the use of JAMF mobile device management software.

For the time being, if you print routinely from your Mac it may be wise to wait to update if you haven't already. The update in question was released on March 7.



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coolfactor

There you go using the "break" word again.

Are the printers themselves actually broken, or just the functionality to make them work? That's an important distinction.

We love you, but let's stop with the clickbait headlines, eh? 

Sonoma 14.4 is off to a rocky start.... I hope my printer still works!

edited March 2024

coolfactor

Microsoft Defender is available for macOS, and people are actually installing it? 

bluelightning

No problem with an Epson WF-3620 attached via a 10 year old USB hub to a MBP 14" M2 Pro, using macOS 14.4 (downloaded early this morning).  No problems with a 24" Lenovo monitor attached by HDMI.  No problems with two iPod Classics (attached via a USB hub).  Update from 14.3.1 seemed to take longer than several previous updates, but otherwise, nothing to complain about.  

edited March 2024

bobolicious

... I had to delete & reload my HP & Brother printers with Ventura 13.6.5 ...

citpeks

First, it's important to note that in general CUPS printer drivers have been deprecated in favor of IPP, and for Apple in particular that means AirPrint.

However, CUPS is still present in Sonoma, and hasn't been removed.  Yet.  It is still possible to install CUPS drivers from older OSes in Sonoma, and they will still function.  I just verified this with my Brother AIO laser printer, for which I installed the CUPS drivers meant for Catalina, which was the last version of Mac OS supported by Brother for my printer model.  It does not support AirPrint.

The "core CUPS software" has not been removed, at least from my 14.4 installation, and my printer still functions, albeit in unsupported fashion.

It would be a d!ck move for Apple to completely remove a framework in a point release.  That said, I wouldn't bet against that happening in Mac OS 15.x, or another future version, so users should be prepared for that inevitability.  Personally, I will rue that move because my decade+ old printer would become obsolete for no reason other than OS support.  It has been dependable, durable, and economical to operate.  And I have little desire to buy a new printer just to accommodate a new OS.

Whatever issues those users are having probably result from a cocktail of MDM, MS software, and a deprecated framework, but, they are not universal.

kdupuis77

Well, considering I have a Xerox multifunction... EVERY MacOS update "breaks" the ability to print lol. Seriously, Xerox sucks the big one for keeping up with Apple updates and new drivers (Usually lagging 9-10 months after each major release, at least back when my model was still "supported"). Oh well, other than the bimonthly working around to get this stupid thing printing normally again, it has been rock solid and I still have 34 years of generic toner in stock... So someday I'll be able to get that sweet sweet Canon-Mac love lol. Best solution for the last 2 years has been connecting it to wifi and using IPP w/ a manually assigned IP address and generic PCL drivers for both my wife and my MacBooks... Any combination of AirPrint/Bonjour/Xerox Drivers (Right?!) and I get 85 sheets of alien script every time I print a shipping label or a document lol.

And I wouldn't touch an HP printer with a 39.5 foot pole after the last two I had to setup for family members (internet REQUIRED just to print w/ USB?? & Ink Subscription jammed up your arsenal lol no thank you!)

Seriously though, just setup a Canon multifunction for my mother-in-law and the print and scan install so easily w/ their software and does everything 100% perfectly via wifi, ethernet and USB. Big fan of these and Brother to a slightly lesser extent. Just have to remember: ALL printers suck lol.

"PC LOAD LETTER?!, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!?!?!"

edited March 2024

eightzero

Confirmed. 14.4 got my Dell and my Canon. Right in the middle of US tax season. Nice.

mdw

My HP Envy 5530 prints fine and it's 14 years old.

cia

I can't believe Tim Cook has gone back on yet another promise.  Shocking.

victormortimer

citpeks said:

First, it's important to note that in general CUPS printer drivers have been deprecated in favor of IPP, and for Apple in particular that means AirPrint.

However, CUPS is still present in Sonoma, and hasn't been removed.  Yet.  It is still possible to install CUPS drivers from older OSes in Sonoma, and they will still function.  I just verified this with my Brother AIO laser printer, for which I installed the CUPS drivers meant for Catalina, which was the last version of Mac OS supported by Brother for my printer model.  It does not support AirPrint.

The "core CUPS software" has not been removed, at least from my 14.4 installation, and my printer still functions, albeit in unsupported fashion.

It would be a d!ck move for Apple to completely remove a framework in a point release.  That said, I wouldn't bet against that happening in Mac OS 15.x, or another future version, so users should be prepared for that inevitability.  Personally, I will rue that move because my decade+ old printer would become obsolete for no reason other than OS support.  It has been dependable, durable, and economical to operate.  And I have little desire to buy a new printer just to accommodate a new OS.

Whatever issues those users are having probably result from a cocktail of MDM, MS software, and a deprecated framework, but, they are not universal.

CUPS is open source, and has been forked out of Apple's clutches as OpenPrinting CUPS.  So we'll be able to install it in the future if Apple removes it.

victormortimer

Printing has always been a disaster.

It was a disaster in 1980 when we had to play games with serial pinouts and parallel cards.

It was a disaster in 1990 when we had to play games with postscript printer definition files, and printing would regularly crash the whole computer.

It was a disaster in 2000 when we were still doing that.

It was a disaster in 2010 when we had to install Ghostscript to keep printers functional.

It was a disaster in 2020 when printers would still randomly stop working.

And it's still a disaster in 2024.

On the surface, printing would seem to be such a simple thing to get right.  But it never has worked out like that.  It's always been a huge mess.  JUST LAST WEEK I had to troubleshoot yet another fucking Fiery, and now I'm betting I'll get a call this week about it breaking again.

victormortimer

Printing has always been a disaster.

It was a disaster in 1980 when we had to play games with serial pinouts and parallel cards.

It was a disaster in 1990 when we had to play games with postscript printer definition files, and printing would regularly crash the whole computer.

It was a disaster in 2000 when we were still doing that.

It was a disaster in 2010 when we had to install Ghostscript to keep printers functional.

It was a disaster in 2020 when printers would still randomly stop working.

And it's still a disaster in 2024.

On the surface, printing would seem to be such a simple thing to get right.  But it never has worked out like that.  It's always been a huge mess.  JUST LAST WEEK I had to troubleshoot yet another fucking Fiery, and now I'm betting I'll get a call this week about it breaking again.