Apple Improves Networking in OS X 10.10.4
If you’ve been plagued by networking problems since updating to OS X 10.10 Yosemite, your salvation may be at hand with the OS X 10.10.4 update, which ditches the unreliable discoveryd service for the trusty old mDNSResponder. In plain English, that should mean the return of stable networking in OS X (see “Apple’s Networking Kerfuffle,” 7 May 2015).
You can install 10.10.4 via Software Update, or from Apple Software Downloads as delta (1.09 GB) and combo (2.02 GB) installers. As always, it’s smart to wait a few days to see if any major issues crop up, but if you’ve been nagged by networking problems, an immediate upgrade may be advisable. Be sure to back up first!
In the world of Photos, we’re hoping OS X 10.10.4 addresses the sync issues brought up by Adam Engst in “How to Throttle iCloud Photo Library Uploads” (20 May 2015) and “More Problems with iCloud Photo Library Uploads” (19 June 2015). Apple mentions fixes like “improves reliability when syncing photos and videos to iCloud Photo Library,” and “improves the reliability of upgrading iPhoto and Aperture libraries to Photos.” Also, 10.10.4 fixes an issue that could cause Photos to crash after importing some Leica DNG files.
Additionally, OS X 10.10.4 improves the reliability of Migration Assistant and addresses an issue that prevented some external displays from functioning properly. There are also fixes for delayed outgoing messages in Mail and an issue that allowed Web sites to prevent users from navigating away in Safari by presenting repeating JavaScript alerts.
For enterprise customers, OS X 10.10.4 has a fix for an issue where Macs bound to directory services could stop responding under certain conditions. Also, the update grants the capability to create mobile accounts with the createmobileaccount
command-line tool and fixes an issue in Profile Manager that could allow users to install pre-release software even when the setting was disabled.
As always, OS X 10.10.4 also includes numerous security fixes.
I'm looking forward to trying this out. My networking has been a shambles. iMac 1 can't see iMac 2 or the MBP. The MBP can see iMac1 but not always iMac2. iTunes on iMac 1 occasionally loses track of the Apple TV and Airport Expresses in AirPlay. I'll give it a couple days to let any major issues surface, though. I'm not that desperate.
I still cannot share an ethernet internet connection via WiFi. Have tried on two different computers, both on 10.10.4.
It creates the network to share through, but I cannot connect to that - perpetual 'connecting' state.
Am I alone?
I'm still using Yosemite on a test partition. I won't trust it on my main system until, well, maybe never. I look forward to seeing if Apple's fixes really fixed anything this time around. Sometimes they only make things worse. So I'll be coming back here to see what users have to say. I'd appreciate a TidBITS report on what was actually solved and what else remains to be addressed with the 10.10.4 update. If I don't see something like a clean bill of health somewhere on a reliable blog (like this one) I may skip Yosemite altogether. Maybe, perhaps, it could be that Apple won't get it right till El Capitan comes out – if then.
Color me pessimistic. Since Yosemite came out Apple hasn't managed to do much of anything right when it comes to software. They dumped Aperture and cut off iPhoto updates prematurely. Photos has been problematic; the latest iTunes update trashed a significant number of customers' music libraries. Frankly, when it comes to software, Apple has few laurels left to rest on. Surprisingly, their reputation has not caught up with the reality of the ongoing decline in software quality control. In my opinion, though, Apple is living on borrowed time. If Tim Cook doesn't wake up and get things straightened out, sooner or later Apple will reach a tipping point where past glamor and glory will not hide the present state of neglect and incompetence. Apple is rotting from the inside and Cook seems altogether oblivious. His lack of attention to detail is showing – and it's not a pretty sight.
I second Jefferson's observations. The latest iTunes is a mess due to trying to be all about streaming and the cloud. All of my playlists carefully created over many years were gone this morning due to the latest update. It was not an easy fix! I just want my music on my devices and I will manage the music and the devices myself. I do not want Apple to reach into those devices and decide anything for me. I do not want their suggestions regarding music or anything else. I do not want changes in the interface unless they are announced and fully explained so that I can decide if I want to update at all. I want the software and hardware that I paid for to work as they promised it would. I would really like prompt correction of these errors as well. Apple has been silent about this issue. If not for other users posting the solutions they found by themselves, I would not have my playlists back.
I fear that OS X has become too complex for such a bill of health. We've all been using Yosemite since it shipped, largely without significant problems (for several of us, a clean install was necessary). But obviously, lots of people are seeing problems, and whether those problems could be easily solved by a clean install or by elimination of some flaky hardware device is impossible to know. And whether "lots" is a large percentage or just a large number is equally impossible to know.
To me, it thus feels like a situation where one can say that on a new Mac in a controlled situation, Yosemite should experience no problems. But with the myriad variables that come into play in the real world, there's just no telling. And note that there's nothing really new about this - it isn't as though Mavericks or Mountain Lion or Lion was any better (and frankly, Lion was worse). Whether or not Snow Leopard was really better is a question, or if it was just so much better than Lion that everyone decided it must be a paragon of virtue.
I wish I had more conclusive things to say!
If you think Apple's stuff is bad, you should see what the other guys are coming out with. I've been playing with the Windows 10 preview, and it's a mess.
As far as the updates go, I've had no luck connecting. The App store keeps telling me "Checking for updates" with the circling dots, and that's as far as it goes.
I have been hearing reports from more than one person here in the UK that this update stops people accessing their Googlemail accounts. Because of this I haven't applied the update yet, so I have no idea if I will get this problem as well.
Any comments tidbits?
I installed 10.10.4 on the day it was released because my WiFi connections had been so bad since Yosemite was released. The installation went without obvious hitch or delay. I have a 2014 MacBook Pro. For the first day or two it seemed to have done the job but several days later the problem returned and is now worse than before. It takes ages to connect on start up from cold or from sleep mode and seems to freeze every so often. The fix for freezing seems to be to turn WiFi off then on again, but what a pain to have to do that often. What a let down Yosemite is
Since I installed 10.10.4 on my Mac Mini I, the computer has shut itself down several times for no apparent rhyme or reason and as a result of any perceptible series of events. Sometimes it restarted on its own, other times I had to restart it. Yesterday I saw this happen on a friend's MacBook Pro. I will not be upgrading my MacBook Pro and am seriously considering down grading my Mac Mini to 10.10.3. (Yes, Joe and Adam I make regular cloned backups. CCC rocks!)
Unfortunately, comments are from those who have problems with 10.10.4. It would be very helpful to have a more rounded view of how well it works.