There are times when Apple’s significant operating system updates go just fine, there are few if any problems, and things generally continue apace with the company’s user base.
And then there are updates like macOS Sonoma 14.4, which appears to have created a new bug that wipes saved versions of files stored on iCloud Drive.
A fair number of software applications on the market offer the ability to save earlier versions of files that the user can revert back to if need be. Apple’s update appears to have broken this functionality for users saving their documents to their iCloud Drive accounts.
Per a post on Monday, the Eclectic Light Company warns that users of macOS Sonoma 14.4 who save files to iCloud Drive and have Optimize Mac Storage enabled are in particular danger.
Generally, if a file is removed from the local version of iCloud Drive using the contextual menu’s “Remove Download” option, the file is deleted locally but saved versions are preserved. When the file is downloaded again from iCloud Drive, the versions saved on that Mac were still accessible.
This doesn’t seem to be the case following the macOS Sonoma 14.4 update, and versions are deleted along with the main file. These versions cannot be recovered after a redownload from iCloud Drive as before. While no official fix has been issued from Apple, it’s recommended that users disable Optimize Mac Storage, so that documents stored in the local iCloud Drive aren’t automatically removed, causing the bug to occur.
Other issues with the macOS Sonoma 14.4 update include a bug wherein USB hubs embedded in monitors were no longer working following the update. Two days later on March 14, issues with printers were uncovered, including the corruption of drivers. Finally, Oracle stepped in on March 16, advising users who need to run Java to avoid updating to macOS Sonoma 14.4, since it causes Java to terminate unexpectedly.
Apple has yet to comment as to when a patch or update might be expected.
If you’ve seen these or other issues on your Mac since the macOS Sonoma 14.4 update, please let us know about your experience in the comments.
Via AppleInsider and Eclectic Light Company