INFO Common Problems in macOS Tahoe (26.0) and Workarounds

Common Problems in macOS Tahoe (26.0) and Workarounds​

This thread is for common problems in macOS Tahoe (26.0). The problems listed here are likely to be experienced by users who attempt to install macOS Tahoe 26.0. Possible solutions are available for most of the issues at the moment.

This is not a troubleshooting thread. Please do not ask questions regarding your specific issue in this thread. If you're having an issue, create a separate thread. If you're having a problem to report or have a workaround to resolve the problems listed here, regarding the installation or function in macOS Tahoe, you can reply to this thread.

Special Notes​

macOS Tahoe requires the following:

• OpenCore v1.5.0 or later and Clover (v5158) or later.
• Updated Kexts (Lilu, VSMC, and WEG).
• Mapped USB Ports (either via ACPI (native ports) or mapped kext).

If you're not aware of building kexts from the source, use the latest kexts from the installation guide.

In addition, please ensure your ports are mapped properly. If you're using a clean install, make sure to use a USB 2.0 Flash Drive.

SMBIOS Support​

With the release of macOS Tahoe, Apple has dropped support for SMBIOS up to 2019 (with a few exception). macOS Tahoe requires 2019 or later SMBIOS. See Setting Up SMBIOS for more info.

Limited Hardware Support​

Most of the existing hardware that were supported prior to macOS Tahoe, may have limited supported and have partial functionalities and some may not function completely at all currently. Please note that macOS Tahoe is in Developer Beta phase, the existing third party community based drivers needs an update and potential fix might be required for the compatibility with macOS Tahoe. Its strongly not advised to install macOS Tahoe on your non-Apple computer or even on your real Mac as its not ready for production environment yet. If your system lacks function you require for your daily driver, stick to prior macOS version(s) or rollback if you have already installed macOS Tahoe. However, if you would like to try and experience how macOS Tahoe is, you can do it on a spare system or simply on a separate disk so that your original installation remains intact.

GPU​

Apple dropped all the IGPU Graphics support up to Skylake since macOS Sonoma and support for SB was dropped in High Sierra and IB, HW, BW were dropped in macOS Ventura. Users with Skylake and prior would not be able to use their IGPU, until there is a development from OCLP team. Unfortunately, the bad news is that you won't be able to install macOS Tahoe without a compatible and supported Graphics card as it causes black screen when booting off the installer and even if you manage to install it, Windows Server crashes during the macOS setup page. -igfxvesa flag makes no difference either. Fortunately, the KBL drivers are still present in macOS Tahoe Beta. It may be removed in the final release like NVIDIA drivers at the time of Monterey. However, SKL can be spoofed as KBL and acceleration can be achieved.

For Skylake Users

GUIDE - How to Enable Intel Skylake Graphics (Intel HD Graphics 515, 520, 530, 540, 550 and 580) on macOS Sonoma and Later

How to Enable Intel Skylake Graphics (Intel HD Graphics 515, 520, 530, 540, 550 and 580) on macOS Sonoma and Later An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - This guide covers fixing Intel Skylake Graphics on Desktops and Laptops for macOS Sonoma and Later. By following this guide, you'll be able to...

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Although Polaris Framebuffers are present in the macOS Tahoe, it does not work as intended. This might be due to the functions broken in WEG for macOS Tahoe. It could be possible that Apple might remove support for Polaris GPUs in the final release eventually, coming this fall. However, that's less likely to happen as the MacPro7,1 is still supported and was shipped with RX580.

Beside this, AMD Ryzen APUs and Navi GPUs (Navi 22) does not work as intended. Both, NootedRed and NootRX needs an update to fix the compatibility with macOS Tahoe.

Support for NVIDA GPUs were removed by Apple completely in macOS Monterey and since then, only experimental patch is available using OCLP which still lacks metal support and has only OpenCL. Although not advised, but you have one or using one, you'll have to wait for an update from OCLP if you plan to use macOS Tahoe.

WiFi/BT​

Currently, Broadcom, Intel and Atheros based cards will not function under macOS Tahoe as the third party kexts are not updated for macOS Tahoe yet. However, an exception is with Intel Bluetooth which can be fully enabled using the itlwm+Heliport method, as described here. Until there is an update from OCLP, this is not going to be easy fix and there is no ETA at the moment. To utilize internet, use Ethernet or USB to Ethernet as a workaround for now.

Unsupported Hardware and workarounds​

Like always, Apple has removed support for some older machines. This includes Desktops and Laptops on macOS Tahoe. However, the current beta release is almost similar to macOS Sequoia.


GPUs that does not support Metal. This include IGPUs as well.

There are ways to install macOS Tahoe on unsupported hardware. This isn't a problem on the Desktop side, as long as you have a compatible Graphics Card installed. However, on the Laptop, as the hardware such as CPU and GPU cannot be upgraded, you're left with a very few options: (i) either use the supported macOS on that particular system, (ii) bypass the compatibility check to boot and install (iii) change the SMBIOS to latest to boot and install (iv) root patch if certain hardware or function is not functional.

You can add -no_compat_check boot arg to your config.plist to bypass the compatibility check and continue with the installation. However, you won't have Graphics acceleration, broken WiFi and several other hardware functions. Recent macOS versions do allow to boot the installer, but the installation cannot proceed due to this skip. To combat this, the easiest way is to change the SMBIOS to a supported Mac model and that will let you boot the installer and then you can complete the installation. For example, iMac17,1 is ideal SMBIOS for SKL i5-6500 but that won't let you even boot the installer. Changing the SMBIOS to iMac20,1 or iMac20,2 will fix the issue. Still, the Graphics won't work and you'll have to root patch the system volume using OCLP. Another example is and luckily, you can spoof the SKL Graphics to KBL Graphics and that will serve the purpose. See the guides linked below for more information.

Stuck at AHCI booting the installer or Still Waiting for Root Device/Waiting for DSMOS/Prohibited Symbol​

This is one of the common issue, when booting the macOS Tahoe installer. The root cause of this issue is due to the USB ports not being functional and is the USB issue for most of the time. Despite the ports being mapped, the installer halts during boot. This is due to the change in USB stack. This can be fixed by the following:

- Ensure you're running OpenCore v1.5.0 or later and Clover (v5158).
- Ensure you're using the latest Lilu and VSMC.
- Mapped USB ports (either via ACPI (native ports) or mapped kext (USBPorts.kext or USBMap.kext).
- If you're using the latter one (a majority of the case), update the keys to match the new implementation for the ports detection. See Fixing USB Ports on macOS Tahoe for more information.
- Some system may require RTC fix. See patching RTC for more information.

Grey Screen after installer boots​

With the release of macOS Tahoe, one of the major issues is a grey screen followed by a white screen, when booting the installer. This can be fixed by the following:

- Ensure you're running OpenCore v1.5.0 or later and Clover (v5158).
- Ensure you're using the latest Lilu and VSMC.
- Ensure your system is connected to the internet.
- Do not inject (Disable) Whatevergreen.kext even if your system has a supported Graphics Card installed. The Whatevergreen.kext is currently broken on macOS Tahoe and does not work properly for some reasons.

White Screen after installer boots​

Although not limited to macOS Tahoe, this issue can be fixed by the following:

- Ensure you're running OpenCore v1.5.0 or later and Clover (v5158).
- Ensure you're using the latest Lilu and VSMC.
- Ensure your system is connected to the internet.
- Do not inject (Disable) Whatevergreen.kext even if your system has a supported Graphics Card installed. The Whatevergreen.kext is currently broken on macOS Tahoe and does not work properly for some reasons.
- Ensure prev-lang:kbd is set as DATA type.

Progress bar stuck during installation or upgrade​

During the installation phase or when upgrading to macOS Tahoe, the progress bar might get stuck for several hours. This can be fixed by the following:

- Ensure you're running OpenCore v1.5.0 or later and Clover (v5158).
- Ensure you're using the latest Lilu, VSMC, and WEG kexts
- Set SecureBootModel to Disabled
- Ensure your system is connected to the internet.
- Disable NootedRed until the installation is complete if you're using an AMD APU.

Black Screen after boot
With the release of macOS Tahoe, one of the major issues is a black screen when booting the installer or after the installation. This can be fixed by the following:

- Ensure you're running OpenCore v1.5.0 or later and Clover (v5152).
- Ensure you're using the latest Lilu, VSMC, and WEG kexts
- Ensure your system is connected to the internet.
- Disable NootedRed if you're using AMD APU to prevent a black screen.
- Certain CML CPUs with IGPU support may tend to have black screen when using 500 series Motherboard. Ensure you have patched the framebuffer properly and if it does not work, EDID injection might be required in your case. Although, this problem is not only on macOS Tahoe but on prior macOS versions as well.

Beachball during first installation stage​

With the release of macOS Tahoe Beta 2 (25A5295e), there is a beachball issue as soon as the OS starts installing in first stage, after erasure of the target disk.

Kernel Panic on AMD Platforms​

If you're trying to boot macOS Tahoe on AMD platforms, there are chances that you'll end up getting Kernel Panic. This can be fixed by updating the new Kernel Patches for AMD based systems from the beta branch.

No Keyboard/Mouse/Trackpad at installer​

Ensure that your USB Ports are properly mapped. See Fixing USB ports on macOS Tahoe for more information.

Unable to select the language and continue​

When booting the macOS Tahoe installer, there are chances that you might not be able to select the language and continue with the installation further. Although, the language can be selected, but the installation will not continue. This can be fixed by the following:

- Ensure you're running OpenCore v1.5.0 or later and Clover (v5152).
- Ensure you're using the latest Lilu, VSMC, and WEG kexts
- Ensure your system is connected to the internet.
- Ensure no language is set in config.plist.

No Disk in Disk Utility​

Some SATA Controllers were removed since macOS Ventura. The solution is to use CtlnaAHCIPort.kext

Crash/Random Reboot during macOS Setup​

A compatible supported GPU is required for the installer to boot and to setup the account and reach desktop. Even if you manage somehow to install macOS Tahoe, it will crash during right before the account creation page followed by Data and Privacy page. The crash is due to Windows Server which requires a compatible GPU.

No Ethernet​

On macOS Tahoe, there are chances that your Ethernet won't work, including built-in, and any PCIe based such as AQuantia. To fix this issue, you'll need to enable VT-d on your System. Note that some systems may require memory mapping (fixing DMAR Table). macOS Tahoe has more strict requirements for VT-d as Apple is shifting towards the DEXT drivers (DriverKit).

GUIDE - How to Enable Apple VTD on macOS [Clover/OpenCore]

How to Enable Apple VTD on macOS [Clover/OpenCore] An EliteMacx86 Exclusive Guide - This guide covers the implementation of the Apple VTD function on macOS for Desktops and Laptops. By following this guide, you'll be able to enable VT-d on macOS using Clover or OpenCore Bootloader. Overview...

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GUIDE - How to Fix DMAR Table on macOS | Memory Mapping

How to Fix DMAR Table on macOS | Memory Mapping Overview On some systems, when you enable VT-d which is required for some major functioning of a few particular devices such as Antelope Audio Interface and other Thunderbolt capable Devices, the system starts acting weird and all of the sudden...

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- I219/I225/I226-V based Ethernet chips may require a firmware update from the vendor. If the firmware has not been updated or does not work as intended after the update, use IntelMausi.kext (1GbE) and AppleIGC.kext (2.5GbE, I225/I226V particularly) and ensure you have the correct VT-d implementation.
- RTL8125 based Ethernet chips may cause panic on some systems as Apple now itself ships the native kext with macOS Tahoe. RTL8125 has different IDs and there has been several reports for that. Forum user @svan71 also discussed the issue with his X870 Motherboard. The issue is not only with the Tahoe but prior macOS versions as well. Although, RTL8125 has a native support now, it requires the correct VT-d implementation to utilize the native DriverKit based drivers shipped by Apple.

Random Kernel Panics​

- Ensure you have VT-d enabled and have the DMAR Table corrected if you're having an Intel based system.
- Some systems may require disabling DisableIoMapperMapping quirk to prevent Ethernet/WiFi bootloop and to drive WiFi.
- IntelBTPatcher may cause panic. If you're using it, ensure to disable it.
- Ensure you have AppleMCEReporterDisabler.kext injected in your config.plist if you're using AMD based systems. This is already mentioned in the EFI Creation Guide.

Reboot Loop while installing or updating​

If you're installing or updating to macOS Sequoia, the system might enter a reboot loop state. Originally discovered on a few HEDT platforms and mostly on macOS Sonoma 14.4. A guide already exist to fix the issue.

See the guide linked below for more information:

GUIDE - How to Fix Reboot Loop when installing or Updating to macOS Sonoma 14.4 and Later

How to Fix Reboot Loop when installing or Updating to macOS Sonoma 14.4 and Later This guide covers fixing the reboot loop when performing a clean installation of macOS Sonoma 14.4 or updating an existing version of macOS to macOS Sonoma 14.4. By following this guide, you'll be able to do a...

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No Updates in System Settings​

If you're not getting OTA updates in System Settings, you'll need to use RestrictEvents to fix the issue. The solution has been included in the guide linked below:

GUIDE - How to Fix macOS Updates Not Showing in System Settings - Update Not Found on macOS [Clover/OpenCore]

How to Fix macOS Updates Not Showing in System Settings - Your Mac is up to Date This guide describes how to fix macOS updates not showing in System Settings. By following this guide, you'll be able to update your macOS version to the latest available version. The guide works for both, Intel and...

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Applications​

With the release of macOS Tahoe, there could be a number of applications, audio plugins, and extensions which may not work at the moment, like it has always been for each macOS release. With macOS Tahoe, this is no different.