macOS 14 Sonoma on Unsupported Macs Thread

[ElSooz]

Hello; I'm currently running Ventura 13.6 on my MBP 11,3 (late 2013) with the Nov. 1 nightly OCLP. All is going reasonably well--not perfect: crash reports are generated when I check for updates, for example, but this is not a serious issue for me. But I intend to install Sonoma in the near future. Can anyone with experience with this machine tell me how stable it seems in Sonoma? Comparable with Ventura?

Much thanks for any replies, and REALLY MUCH THANKS TO OCLP DEVELOPERS!!!

 

[mikelets456]

Hello; I'm currently running Ventura 13.6 on my MBP 11,3 (late 2013) with the Nov. 1 nightly OCLP. All is going reasonably well--not perfect: crash reports are generated when I check for updates, for example, but this is not a serious issue for me. But I intend to install Sonoma in the near future. Can anyone with experience with this machine tell me how stable it seems in Sonoma? Comparable with Ventura?

Much thanks for any replies, and REALLY MUCH THANKS TO OCLP DEVELOPERS!!!

I have an 11,4 and finally Ventura was working good so I went to Sonoma 14.0 (because I always like a new challenge---LOL).....actually, that went well. Very few if any problems. Then I went to 14.1 and install was a problem. I finally got it stable and working well, but it was touch and go for a day or so. If I were you I would wait unless it's not your main machine. Right now, install hangs and you have to boot into safe mode to install OCLP. At least wait until 1.2.0 Open core comes out or install 14.0 and go from there. But if I could do it over I simply would have stayed on Ventura as it was finally stable and responsively quick.

 

[nekton1]

Was given (customer upgrading to M3) an old 2015 MBA (7,2 with 8 GB RAM option) with expanding battery; swapped in new 3rd party battery ($35) and replaced old Apple 128 GB SSD with spare 500 GB 970 Evo M.2 NVMe and Sintech adapter and then fresh installed Sonoma 14.1 from USB booter/installer with OCLP 1.2n (October 30). No install problems and no manual interventions. All functions working as expected. Thanks to devs for keeping this useful laptop out of landfill.

 

[BuffyzDead]

@K two @davidlv
Thank you for the help.

It worked and I was able to successfully update the firmware on
my MacBook Pro 12,1, to v486.0.0.0.0.

Now Running Sonoma v14.2 Beta (23C5030f), under OCLP 1.1.0,
and all is running quite well. Have not spotted any issues whatsoever.

 

[hvds]

MBP11,1 with 14.1 and OCLP 1.2.0n running very well with my full set of user data. Will be my new production machine.

Given the excellent performance of OCLP with this older Metal hardware (Haswell late 2013) I will sell my 2019 MBP16,1 which served me well for 1.5 years. Turned out that I can't sell the MBP11,1 in a meaningful way.
Sure the 2 cores instead of 6, and the 13.3 instead of 16 inches are a step back. But not using the 11,1 anymore would be wasteful and a pity. The machine is good enough for my purposes. Using 1680*1050 resolution.
Still running on an external SSD, tomorrow will buy a bigger (480 GB) internal one, and the machine will serve me well for another 2-3 years. Apple silicon afterwards.

Thank you developers!

 

[DJMeat]

No worries. It may be best for you to wait for OCLP updates.

A valid response, but I'd like to try and dig in to whatever underlying issue may be causing UC to not work. Searching around suggests that no one else with a 7,1 mini is having the same struggles, so I want to rule out whether its wireless card is buggered, or whether I've done something wrong with the install.

Besides, it was working sporadically under 14.0 / 1.0.0, but under 14.1 / 1.1.0 it's pretty much not working at all, so in this instance an update appears to have broken it.

 

[coasterOneEightThree]

I've given up for now on Sonoma and a 2017 MacBookPro14,2 (2017). The machine is now running Ventura again.

Two things annoyed me extremely: When I opened the computer in the morning to continue working where I had left off in the evening, it did not wake up as expected, but started as if it had been switched on, login procedure included. I tried a lot, but could not get this hibernation problem under control.

When the MacBook Pro was fully booted, there was trouble with the WiFi menu in the menu bar. The WiFi icon was grayed out, yet the computer was still connected to the wireless network. Other networks in the neighborhood can no longer be displayed in this menu, instead a login dialog follows when accessed. If you turn off WiFi in the menu bar, nothing happens in the system settings, my wireless network is displayed as connected there.

To fix the WiFi menu in the menu bar, a NVRAM reset after rebooting helps. After that, the WiFi menu works normally again - until the next morning, when the MacBook turns on again instead of just waking up.

Of course, this is not a nagging, just a small report about my experience with Sonoma on a MacBookPro14,2. Because otherwise Sonoma runs really great on this machine. But sometimes it's just little things like those mentioned that spoil the fun 😉 ...

 

[Chiki Piki]

I've given up for now on Sonoma and a 2017 MacBookPro14,2 (2017). The machine is now running Ventura again.

Two things annoyed me extremely: When I opened the computer in the morning to continue working where I had left off in the evening, it did not wake up as expected, but started as if it had been switched on, login procedure included. I tried a lot, but could not get this hibernation problem under control.

When the MacBook Pro was fully booted, there was trouble with the WiFi menu in the menu bar. The WiFi icon was grayed out, yet the computer was still connected to the wireless network. Other networks in the neighborhood can no longer be displayed in this menu, instead a login dialog follows when accessed. If you turn off WiFi in the menu bar, nothing happens in the system settings, my wireless network is displayed as connected there.

To fix the WiFi menu in the menu bar, a NVRAM reset after rebooting helps. After that, the WiFi menu works normally again - until the next morning, when the MacBook turns on again instead of just waking up.

Of course, this is not a nagging, just a small report about my experience with Sonoma on a MacBookPro14,2. Because otherwise Sonoma runs really great on this machine. But sometimes it's just little things like those mentioned that spoil the fun 😉 ...

I had the same hibernation problem on my MacBookPro14.1 (2017 without touchpad)
It was occurring on Sonoma 14.0. Fresh install with OCLP 1.0.
Then continued after upgrading to Sonoma 14.1 and OCLP 1.1.0
I checked the EFI firmware with SilentKnight

Spoiler: before

I did a fresh install of the latest version of Ventura 13.6.1
The EFI firmware was updated.

Spoiler: after

Then installed OCLP 1.1.0 and Sonoma 14.1.
No problem for a few days.

 

[coasterOneEightThree]

Thank you, @Chiki Piki – that's a valuable hint. I also did a clean 13.6.1 install and the EFI firmware ist up to date now. Nevertheless, I am still a little exhausted from the return trip to Ventura . Let's see what I read here about similar machines in the next few weeks ...

 

[deeveedee]

A valid response ...

I don't want to dismiss your request for help and at the same time, I don't want to take this thread off-topic from what, for the most part, treats OCLP as a black box without looking under the hood. For most, that's probably the best approach.

If you are adventurous, figure out how to provide me with your current Open Core config.plist, your specific Wi-Fi card model and the result of 'kextstat | grep -i bluetool' and then PM me with your findings and I will review with you privately. There's no guarantee that we'll find anything, but collecting the info will be a good learning experience.

 

[K two]

GIB is showing a final release of macOS 14.1 -
1. macOS Sonoma 14.1 (23B2077)
- 042-41700 - Added 2023-11-01 17:26:42 - 11.52 GB
2. macOS Ventura 13.6.1 (22G313)
- 042-82952 - Added 2023-10-25 17:41:38 - 11.95 GB
3. macOS Monterey 12.7.1 (21G920)
- 042-82938 - Added 2023-10-25 17:38:55 - 12.41 GB
4. macOS Sonoma 14.1 (23B74)
- 042-86434 - Added 2023-10-25 17:23:33 - 12.92 GB
Compare #1 and 4. Discord reports the same. 🙃

 

[Earl Urley]

Sonoma build 23B2077 is specifically for M3 Macs.

 

[K two]

Sonoma build 23B2077 is specifically for M3 Macs.

Cite the source of your input???? 🤫

 

[Earl Urley]

Cite the source of your input???? 🤫

macOS Sonoma Full Installer Database. Download Directly from Apple! - Mr. Macintosh

Download macOS Sonoma full installer with one click straight from Apple! Every version of Sonoma Beta & Final available all in one place!!

mrmacintosh.com

See the 14.1 release chart

 

[K two]

Cite the source of your input???? 🤫

You are correct. 23B2077 is M3 specific. Weird because the M3s ship w/23B2078. 🧐

 

[NC_Neo]

Hi there,

I’m running a MacBook Pro mid 14. I installed Monterey with open legacy.
After skipping Ventura I wanted to jump to sonoma.

My problem: I updated to oclp 1.1 and installed the update so 14.1.
Everything worked fine. Without the post-Updates it’s possible to log in.

But the moment I install the updates to have WiFi and a proper screen resolution, I always stuck on the login screen. If I try to login there is only the spinning Color wheel and nothing happens.
I also encountered, that’s it’s not the login alone.
If you start in safe mode the system is able to boot up normally with login) and activate auto login, I can use the device with the post update patches. But the moment the screen saver is activated you’ll have the same issue. Trying to get back onto the desktop results in an endless spinning coloured wheel.

Does anyone has the same problem a has a solution?

 

[hvds]

MBP11,1 with 14.1 and OCLP 1.2.0n running very well with my full set of user data. Will be my new production machine.

Given the excellent performance of OCLP with this older Metal hardware (Haswell late 2013) I will sell my 2019 MBP16,1 which served me well for 1.5 years. Turned out that I can't sell the MBP11,1 in a meaningful way.
Sure the 2 cores instead of 6, and the 13.3 instead of 16 inches are a step back. But not using the 11,1 anymore would be wasteful and a pity. The machine is good enough for my purposes. Using 1680*1050 resolution.
Still running on an external SSD, tomorrow will buy a bigger (480 GB) internal one, and the machine will serve me well for another 2-3 years. Apple silicon afterwards.

Thank you developers!

MBP11,1: running from new internal SSD (OWC Aura Pro X2 480 GB).

Before installing the hardware, made sure firmware is up-to-date by re-installing Big Sur 11.7.10 temporarily.
CCC'd external SSD to new internal SSD and wrote OCLP EFI while running from external SSD. Installed 14.1 over new SSD from USB installer.
Boot hangs with WindowServer crash before root patches are installed, safe mode works (Shift when starting the newly installed system in OCLP boot picker), then applied root patches. Rebooting works normal.
After some initialising (mds etc) system is very performant.

I'm already used to this old-new MBP. Great development and implementation by the OCLP team.

 

[hvds]

(deleted)

 

[Kevo]

But the moment I install the updates to have WiFi and a proper screen resolution, I always stuck on the login screen. If I try to login there is only the spinning Color wheel and nothing happens.

Not sure if I had exactly the same symptoms, but it sounds really similar to when I had a memoji for my user pic. Took me a little bit to figure it out, but iCloud sync for contacts was on and even after changing it I still had issues. I had to disable the sync and fix my user pic on my phone and laptop and delete the memoji and then I was good to go. I later turned the sync back on and still no issues.

 

[Ready-for-Apple]

OCLP 1.1.0 + macOS 14,1 Sonoma – massive heat/CPU usage by VTDecoderXPCService​

I'm using a 15" rMBP base model from 2014 (11,2) (2,2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 / Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB). With Ventura + OCLP everytging works fine but with Sonoma 14.0 and also 14.1 I have following problems and hope you could tell me if it's a problem from Sonoma or OCLP?!

Always when the screensaver startet the process VTDecoderXPCService uses massice CPU = massive heat = massive fans speed/noise. VTDecoderXPCService also starts occasionally when my rMBP 11.2 is sleeping, sometimes just like that during operation.

Sometimes when I wake my rMBP from sleep, it freezes. Then all I can do is press the on/off button for a long time to switch off the rMBP and then restart it.

Perhaps one of you has an idea/solution based on the screenshots?

Thanks ins advance and greetings from Germany

 

[deeveedee]

Always when the screensaver startet the process VTDecoderXPCService uses massice CPU = massive heat = massive fans speed/noise. VTDecoderXPCService also starts occasionally when my rMBP 11.2 is sleeping, sometimes just like that during operation.

There will almost certainly be compromises that we need to make in order to continue using our unsupported Mac with newer versions of macOS. Have you experimented with different screen savers?

 

[mikelets456]

OCLP 1.1.0 + macOS 14,1 Sonoma – massive heat/CPU usage by VTDecoderXPCService​

I'm using a 15" rMBP base model from 2014 (11,2) (2,2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 / Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB). With Ventura + OCLP everytging works fine but with Sonoma 14.0 and also 14.1 I have following problems and hope you could tell me if it's a problem from Sonoma or OCLP?!

Always when the screensaver startet the process VTDecoderXPCService uses massice CPU = massive heat = massive fans speed/noise. VTDecoderXPCService also starts occasionally when my rMBP 11.2 is sleeping, sometimes just like that during operation.

Sometimes when I wake my rMBP from sleep, it freezes. Then all I can do is press the on/off button for a long time to switch off the rMBP and then restart it.

Perhaps one of you has an idea/solution based on the screenshots?

Thanks ins advance and greetings from Germany

I have an 11,4 and I don’t know if this is the same problem, but when I enabled the “live wallpaper” everything slowed to a crawl…I had to reboot and reset the wallpaper to a photo I took then everything was fine.

 

[Ready-for-Apple]

There will almost certainly be compromises that we need to make in order to continue using our unsupported Mac with newer versions of macOS. Have you experimented with different screen savers?

I tried div screensavers inkl. Meassge, Hello, Album cover - all 👎🏻 with OCLP 1.1.0 + macOS 14.0/14.1

1. Wanna know if this is actually "normal" then I hops of a solution from the developers or just my user case.
2. Is the issue due to Sonoma or OCLP?
3. If more user have this experience maybe someone found a solution cause the heat is the dead for battery and logic board❗️

@mikelets456
How do you set a pic as wallpaper?
With a fixed image, the purpose of a screen saver is of course no longer given (prevent burn-in)

 

[Pachnes]

Hi, I will try to update a Mac mini 7,1, i7 with 16 GB Ram to 17.2 Beta now. I will report later.

 

[MacinMan]

Hey all, while I was setting up Mojave on a portable Hard drive for use with my iMac for 32-bit support, I noticed a hidden folder named ".PreviousSystemInformation" on my Data partition of my internal drive where Monterey is installed. I haven't been able to turn up any real info on what this is used for, but am curious if it's safe to remove ? I've already removed other junk files left behind without issues, so am curious as to what this folder is for, and if it can be removed. Thanks.