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macOS 15 Sequoia firewall breaks network connection

Updated

Product: Synergy (all versions)
Operating system: macOS

Fixed: Please update to macOS 15.5 to solve the firewall and security issues.

 

Background

macOS 15 Sequoia was launched on September 16, 2024 and included some breaking changes in the Sequoia firewall and security features. According to TechCrunch and The Register many apps were experiencing issues (such as security apps and apps that use networking).

Apple quickly released a patch (15.0.1) for macOS Sequoia which attempted to fix some of these issues, but some customers were still reporting problems related to network disconnects.

Apple later released a new minor update (15.1) which has been reported by some customers as fully resolving the firewall and security issues.

There were still issues in the 15.3 patch, but most have now been resolved since the 15.4 update.

 

Recommendations

If you're still on macOS 14 Sonoma

Now that Apple have fixed the macOS 15 Sequoia firewall and security features in their 15.4 update, you may be safe to upgrade to that version and it is likely that you will not encounter issues. However, the fix is new so if you want to be extra cautious, you could remain on macOS 14 Sonoma for the time being.

If you already installed macOS 15 Sequoia

If you are already on macOS 15 Sequoia then please try updating your system to 15.4 or higher. The Sequoia firewall and security feature issues was less severe with 15.0.1 but has apparently been fully resolved in the later Sequoia minor updates.

You may need to update your permissions in the Privacy & Security settings (note: there is a new permission requirement in Sequoia). To enable Synergy for local network access:

  1. Open the Apple menu‍
  2. Select System Settings‍
  3. Go to Privacy & Security
  4. ‍Find Local Network
  5. Locate Synergy in the list
  6. Toggle it to On to grant access

If you're updating to a new version of Synergy

There is a bug in macOS 15 Sequoia where the local network access settings (in Privacy & Security) do not apply to updated app bundles, so you may need to toggle the Local Network setting off then back on again:

  1. Open the Apple menu‍
  2. Select System Settings‍
  3. Go to Privacy & Security
  4. ‍Find Local Network
  5. Locate Synergy in the list
  6. Toggle it to Off temporarily
  7. Toggle it back On to fix the problem

There is also another bug that can appear on macOS 15 Sequoia - where the Local network setting is silently ignored after reboot. If you have connection issues with Synergy after a reboot, please try the steps above.

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