Apple server issue caused app install, macOS update failures, runtime problems

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited November 2020
For a few hours on Thursday, a problem with an Apple certificate checking function was causing apps to hang on launch, and as good portion of the macOS Big Sur update failures.

Credit: Apple
Credit: Apple


Specifically, a process called "trustd" is failing when attempting to connect to Apple's Online Certificate Status Protocol website (oscp.apple.com), according to developer Jeff Johnson. A number of reports indicate sluggish app performance, with some believing a crush of users upgrading to macOS Big Sur is to blame.

Johnson discovered the root of the issue using Little Snitch after he experienced apps hanging on launch in macOS Mojave. Johnson points out that denying the connection between "trustd" and oscp.apple.com fixes the issue, as does disabling a Mac's connection to the internet.

Hey Apple users:

If you're now experiencing hangs launching apps on the Mac, I figured out the problem using Little Snitch.

It's trustd connecting to https://t.co/FzIGwbGRan

Denying that connection fixes it, because OCSP is a soft failure.

(Disconnect internet also fixes.) pic.twitter.com/w9YciFltrb

-- Jeff Johnson (@lapcatsoftware)


As Johnson points out in subsequent tweets, users must deny the connection for both system and user.

Apple's system status page as of 4:50 p.m. Eastern.
Apple's system status page as of 4:50 p.m. Eastern.


It isn't clear what the specific problem is with Apple's OSCP mechanism, but Apple notes that it is having performance issues with its Developer ID Notary Service and other functions. That's in addition to a number of other outages affecting Apple Maps, Apple Card, and iMessage as of 4:50 p.m. Eastern (1:52 p.m. Pacific).

Update, 5 p.m. Eastern: Apple's server outage has seemingly spread to Apple Card, Apple Pay, Maps and Messages, which are all experiencing issues.

Update, 5:30 p.m. Eastern: Certain issues have been resolved, including the app install problem, though Maps and Messages are still down.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    First YouTube has a 2 or so outage last night, now Apple...
    edited November 2020
  • Reply 2 of 11
    dustin91dustin91 Posts: 2member
    CRUD!!! I installed the latest Mojave update and thought that's what was causing all the issues, so I'm in the process now of restoring from a Carbon Copy clone. Might have all been for naught... GRRRR.
    dysamoria
  • Reply 3 of 11
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,871member
    docno42 said:
    First YouTube has a 2 or so outage last night, now Apple...
    It's almost like keeping complex global systems working 24/7 involves massively complex systems engineering and a million moving pieces. 
    dysamoriaJWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    zmaxmanzmaxman Posts: 15member
    Having trouble downloading Big Sur as well - think the system is overloaded 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 11
    gmgravytraingmgravytrain Posts: 882member
    I was so anxious to download Big Sur to my 2018 6-core i7 Mac Mini running Catalina but I started to download Big Sur and it stopped cold at 42B(ytes), so I said to myself, "Nope, I'm going to wait a couple of more days and see if there are any problems with Big Sur."  I figured the servers might be overloaded and there was no actual need for me to rush to download it.

    My other computer started to act all strangely when I booted it up and startup applications took forever to launch.  It was working fine earlier in the morning when I shut it down.  I could find nothing wrong with it.  Eventually, applications started moving faster, and then everything was back to normal speed.  I thought it was so weird.  I guess it was the certificate problem as it cleared itself up.  I was also on the latest version of Mojave OS.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    christopher126christopher126 Posts: 4,366member
    I have 2017 MacBook, 150 gigs of available storage and not able to download Big Sur!
  • Reply 7 of 11
    christopher126christopher126 Posts: 4,366member
    Here is the Apple page link...
    https://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/

    It was yellow on "MacOS Software updates" earlier now is green. 
    edited November 2020 watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 11
    firelockfirelock Posts: 238member
    I have two MacBook Pros side by side, one work-issued, one personal, and they both basically seized up at exactly the same time, roughly 2:30 PM CST. I tried rebooting and both systems were running so slowly that I could barely launch apps. About this time I got multiple reports from co-workers that their Macs were unresponsive. I was also on a Zoom call with a vendor who had a Mac and we both had to switch to our iPhones to complete the call. I looked at activity monitor and there were no runaway processes but I noticed that Adobe CC processes were unresponsive. I then checked Downdetector and saw that Adobe CC was having an outage. As soon as the outage was over both of my computers started working normally again, as did my coworker’s Macs.
    JWSC
  • Reply 9 of 11
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    StrangeDays said:
    docno42 said:
    First YouTube has a 2 or so outage last night, now Apple...
    It's almost like keeping complex global systems working 24/7 involves massively complex systems engineering and a million moving pieces. 
    They keep making all this crap more and more complicated, too... Relying on it as much as we do is kinda crazy, and we don’t have much choice.
    elijahg
  • Reply 10 of 11
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member

    firelock said:
    I have two MacBook Pros side by side, one work-issued, one personal, and they both basically seized up at exactly the same time, roughly 2:30 PM CST. I tried rebooting and both systems were running so slowly that I could barely launch apps. About this time I got multiple reports from co-workers that their Macs were unresponsive. I was also on a Zoom call with a vendor who had a Mac and we both had to switch to our iPhones to complete the call. I looked at activity monitor and there were no runaway processes but I noticed that Adobe CC processes were unresponsive. I then checked Downdetector and saw that Adobe CC was having an outage. As soon as the outage was over both of my computers started working normally again, as did my coworker’s Macs.
    ...remember when there wasn’t one central point of failure for the entire tech world...?
    elijahg
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