Understanding the Latest MacOS Sonoma Patch v14.4 - Essential Info Pre-Update

macOS Sonoma 14.4 update

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Since Apple released the MacOS Sonoma 14.4 update earlier this month, users have reported numerous bugs, ranging from printers and hubs disappearing to iCloud Drive trashing saved versions of files.

The list of bugs being reported is a long and diverse one, and includes the following:

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Printers – in particular HP printers accessed over networks – are disappearing due to missing printer drivers.
Connectivity issues with USB hubs and monitor ports.
Termination of Java processes.
iLok License Manager DRM failures, blocking access to protected software.
iCloud Drive erasing previous file versions for users with “Optimize Mac Storage” enabled.
Miscellaneous reports of system crashes and instability.

It’s important to note that we don’t yet have a clear picture of just how widespread these issues are. Comments in the support forums and on social media suggest that the printer issue is causing the most mayhem with Mac owners who have upgraded.

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The issues with iLok DRM are impacting users of audio plugins protected by this technology, but that’s a rather small and specialized segment of Mac users.

The downside to putting off upgrading because of these bugs is that this update patches a long list of security issues , 64 in total, including at least two which Apple believes may have already been exploited by hackers.

You’ll also be missing out on new emojis, such as the new mushroom emoji.