PSA: macOS 14 Sonoma Beta 4 Not Installing Properly for Some Users - MacRumors
Skip to Content

PSA: macOS 14 Sonoma Beta 4 Not Installing Properly for Some Users

by

Apple today released the fourth beta of macOS 14 Sonoma, but it might be wise to hold off on installing the new software right now due to issues that some Mac users have reported.

macos sonoma feature green brown
A handful of people have downloaded and installed the beta only to be greeted with an entirely black screen and a non-functional device. The mouse pointer is visible, but nothing shows up on the display. Affected Macs include an M2 14-inch MacBook Pro, an M1 MacBook Air, and an M1 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌, but not all users are having installation troubles.

There are multiple reports from people who have had no issues installing the beta, so it is not clear where the problem lies. On Reddit, one user was able to fix the issue by going into recovery mode and reinstalling the beta, and another had luck with multiple reboots, but that does not seem to solve the problem for everyone.

On the MacRumors forums, there are also reports of issues with widgets not showing up properly and the Music app not opening, which were fixed by restarting. Given the number of problems with the software, those who are using macOS Sonoma on a main machine might want to wait to upgrade to the fourth beta.

Related Forum: macOS Sonoma

Popular Stories

Apple Acquires Award Winning App Play Feature

Apple Acquires Award-Winning App 'Play'

Monday June 29, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
In February, Apple notified the European Commission that it would be acquiring certain assets from and have the right to hire certain employees from Rabbit 3 Times, the company behind the award-winning app design tool Play. The notification was published on the European Commission's website this week, following a four-month waiting period. Play was a Mac and iPhone app that allowed designers ...
Read Full Article • 12 comments
iphone 17 ceramic shield

2027 iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e to Get 9GB RAM and A20 Chip

Friday June 26, 2026 9:57 am PDT by
The lower-end iPhone 18 models set to launch in spring 2027 will feature 9GB DRAM, up from 8GB, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says the A20 chip Apple plans to use for the devices will have 1.5GB x 6 dies for a total of 9GB RAM, instead of 2GB x 4 dies as the current lower-end iPhone 17 models use. By lower-end iPhones, Kuo is likely referencing the iPhone 18 and the iPhone...
Read Full Article • 152 comments
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

Apple 'Concerned' Over iPhone 18 Pro Data Leak From Supplier Tata

Monday June 29, 2026 11:46 am PDT by
Apple is "concerned" about a recent data leak from Tata Electronics, one of its manufacturing partners in India, reports Reuters. Tata Electronics was the target of a cyberattack, with confidential Apple documents stolen and shared on the dark web. Hackers were able to steal information about the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, including a list of suppliers, parts, and images of the...
Read Full Article • 55 comments

Top Rated Comments

P
posguy99
38 months ago
Zero sympathy. You don't install beta software on production devices.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
jdclifford
38 months ago
All good here. M1 MBA, M1 iMac, M2 MBA and M1 14"MBP 🤞
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
nutmac
38 months ago

Jason Snell, I don't think this aged well:
WHY YOU SHOULD INSTALL APPLE’S PUBLIC BETAS ('https://www.macworld.com/article/2000748/')
To be fair, Jason was talking about the public betas, which tend to be released a day or two after developer beta. While public betas are far from very stable, they tend to at least not cause the device to brick nor have major issues.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
dantracht
38 months ago
Thus, beta.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R
rettro
38 months ago

Zero sympathy. You don't install beta software on production devices.
Didn't see anyone looking for sympathy. Just people discussing issues.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
Mr. Dee
38 months ago

I'm not sure I understand your point here. As the other commenter said, the public betas "tend to be released a day or two after developer beta" so that the public beta users aren't exposed to issues like today's.

I mean, this article is about the dev beta release, right? Not the public beta release which will be "based on" today's dev beta release once this issue is understood and resolved.

There is no public seed of DB4 yet, so that should not be at issue.
The point is, its still a beta and it should not be installed on a production computer, especially one that would be mission critical. Jason gives the impression that Apple betas have become harmless these days that anyone can install them because they are not like the rough and tumble days of Rhapsody and OS X betas. Sure, if you have a spare Mac, have it, but this is a reminder, don't rush to install, dev or public betas on your one and only machine.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments