Tried Sequoia, Stuck with Sonoma
Back in the 90s, home computer users didn’t think much about system updates. Operating systems and software, now called ‘apps,’ weren’t constantly pushing notifications at us. Even if there were updates, most of us ignored them, especially with slow, expensive dial-up internet. Fast-forward to 2024, and updates are no longer optional—they’ve become a ‘necessary evil,’ constantly making their way onto our devices. They’re essential to protect against new security threats, keep our apps fresh with new features, and fix bugs. But they’re also a pain—interrupting our routines and, often, slowing us down when we least expect it. Technology is such a big part of our daily lives now that even the smallest disruption can feel like a huge setback. While updates are necessary, they often come at the cost of time and productivity.
The recent CrowdStrike bug, which hit 8.5 million Microsoft devices, causing the biggest global IT outage so far, is a perfect example of how one faulty update can create chaos. Daniel Ives, Managing Director at Wedbush Securities, weighed in on the incident, saying, ‘Apple may not face such an outage because it’s less likely to partner with third-party companies like CrowdStrike, leaving it less exposed in the enterprise space.’ To Apple’s credit, I haven’t had any issues since buying my first MacBook Air with macOS Big Sur in 2020, and I’ve been updating ever since—until now. However, my experience with macOS Sequoia highlighted a compatibility issue: Sequoia isn’t fully compatible with some of the apps I already had installed. This caused significant disruptions to my workflow. As a result, I had to downgrade back to Sonoma, where everything worked smoothly. [Image Credit: Mayur Roshen]
The Pull of Sequoia
I’m a firm believer in keeping my devices updated, mainly for security reasons, but also because I enjoy the added features. Sequoia may not address any major security vulnerabilities, but it packs plenty of enticing new features, including the integration of ‘Apple Intelligence.’ Among the updates are two notable improvements: the ability to automatically download and install apps and games to an external drive, and a streamlined process for sending Game Center friend invites directly from the Contacts app. The Friend Suggestions feature is also more intuitive, allowing recipients to see the invites in their Settings inbox. These upgrades aren’t just about functionality—they promise to enhance the overall experience and convenience for users like me. Sounds great! Right? Unfortunately, right after logging back in and completing the upgrade, I was greeted with an unpleasant warning.
The Push to Sonoma
I don’t recall the exact wording, but the error message indicated that the printer driver for my Epson L130 was removed because it’s incompatible with Sequoia. After searching the manufacturer’s website, I found no updated driver since macOS El Capitan. This was frustrating, as I rely on the printer for daily tasks, and the sudden incompatibility rendered it useless for the time being. The second issue I noticed was with ‘Linear Mouse,’ a utility I use for pointer acceleration, which stopped working after the update. The developer later announced that a known issue exists where pointer speed settings don’t work on built-in trackpads from M2 models and the Magic Trackpad starting with macOS Sequoia. Apparently, this is tough to fix due to macOS removing higher-level support, requiring the developer to explore low-level solutions, and pushing me back to Sonoma.
The Downgrade Hit
So, there I was, dealing with another issue: the app ‘Pure Paste’ also started misbehaving after the upgrade, but that wasn’t a major problem. My real concerns were that I couldn’t print to my shared printer or customize the pointer acceleration. I quickly realized I couldn’t roll back to Sonoma using my ‘Time Machine’ backup. The only alternative was to create a bootable USB stick. Downloading Sonoma took over an hour, and to make things worse, my fiber connection was down, forcing me to use the much slower 4G connection. The situation got even more frustrating with inaccurate instructions from the MacPaw Blog. It suggested formatting the USB stick in APFS format, renaming it ‘macOS Sonoma installer,’ and running the following command in Terminal:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/macOS Sonoma installerHowever, the correct method was to format the USB stick as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and rename it to “MyVolume.” It seems that the writer at MacPaw didn’t test their own instructions, which ended up wasting both my time and effort. In the end, it took me eight hours to set up the MacBook Air after the update. Meanwhile, my Mac Mini was also waiting for an upgrade, so I had to put all my work on hold until the MacBook Air was ready to use again. I am finally up and running again but I cannot claim my lost time. I’m glad I never had to update both of my devices at the same time, because if I had, I would have ended up downgrading both devices back to Sonoma, which would have doubled the time I wasted. I had never reinstalled macOS from scratch before, and that lack of experience led to complications.
Wrap Up
The process of upgrading to macOS Sequoia turned out to be a frustrating experience. While the appeal of new features like Apple Intelligence and enhanced functionality with external drives and Game Center invites was tempting, the compatibility issues quickly became overwhelming. Apps I relied on, such as the printer driver for my Epson L130 and the Linear Mouse utility, ceased to work, disrupting my workflow significantly. Worse, I found no solutions from the manufacturers or developers. With the lack of support for these critical functions, I had no choice but to downgrade to macOS Sonoma. This downgrade process was not as straightforward as I had hoped, involving hours of effort and confusion with inaccurate instructions. It wasn’t just about the time lost but also the frustration of not being able to use my device properly during the upgrade.
In hindsight, the decision to downgrade was the right one, though it came with its own set of challenges. The need to restore functionality to key applications meant spending precious hours on a process that should have been seamless. I had never reinstalled macOS from scratch, and that inexperience added another layer of complexity. Despite the setbacks, I learned valuable lessons about system compatibility and the potential pitfalls of upgrading too hastily. I’m glad I didn’t update both of my devices simultaneously, as that would have only doubled the time and effort spent resolving issues. While Sequoia promised new features, Sonoma was the more reliable and practical choice for my needs. The entire experience reinforced the importance of thoroughly vetting updates and weighing the trade-offs before leaping. In conclusion, I tried Sequoia but stuck with Sonoma.
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