Thunderbolt Bridge in macOS 11.3 B… | Apple Developer Forums

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I use a Thunderbolt Bridge setup to direct-connect to my QNAP NAS. Obviously I have a unique IP setup for that connection, which is not conflicting with my Ethernet network.

When I updated from 11.2 to 11.3 Beta 3, and now Beta 4, the Thunderbolt Bridge stopped working entirely. Leaving the Network settings, and leaving the Thunderbolt cable plugged into a Thunderbolt port on my Mac Pro, the boot time increases to 4 minutes, and when in macOS, my HomePod stereo pair cannot be used as default sound for macOS anymore.

The second I reboot without the Thunderbolt cable to my NAS plugged in, all is fine.

My other Thunderbolt devices work just fine, like my Sonnet external PCIe enclosure, my Lacie SSDs, my ATDs, and my Lexar Thunderbolt card reader.

Today I setup a completely fresh install of Big Sur 11.2.3 on an external SSD, and my Thunderbolt Bridge worked fine. The second I upgraded this fresh install to 11.3 Beta 4, the Thunderbolt stopped working again.

Fishy...

Mac
Beta

3.4k

Posted by

KillerBob

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Replies

I can confirm that this is still a problem in Beta 5 (20E5217a)

Basically since Beta 3, through 4, and now into 5, Thunderbolt Bridge is NOT working at all, at least not on a Mac Pro or a MacBook Pro.

I can also confirm it is EXACTLY the same problem on a completely fresh macOS installation on a MacBook Pro. Thunderbolt Bridge works in macOS 11.2.3 Beta 2, but not Beta 3, 4, or 5.

This has been confirmed by another tester on Mac Rumors...

Posted by

KillerBob

I confirm the statement made above by killerbob. Since I installed 11.3 beta 3, the Thunderbolt bridge feature stopped working with my QNAP TVS-872xT connected in "DAS" mode. When I revert to 11.2.3, it works again.

I tested 11.3b4 and b5 - no change unfortunately. I checked this on both my Imac 2020, and on my MBP 2019.

Looking forward to a fix - I re-connected through a standard RJ-45 for now.....

Posted by

Cram13579

Unfortunately this is still an issue in Beta 6 (20E5224a). I deleted the Network settings for my Thunderbolt Bridge, and when I connected the cable and configured the Network settings, it still didn't work...

Posted by

KillerBob

Guys - The Thunderbolt bridge still does not work in Beta 7 (11.3 Beta (20E5229a)), and now I have given up.

I added a Solo10GbE PCIe card to my Sonnet Echo Express III expansion box, and direct connect to my NAS via that solution...

Shame on Apple to not even try to address this issues the last 6 weeks...

Posted by

KillerBob

This is FINALLY sorted out in macOS 11.4 Beta (20F5046g)...

I called Apple last week when the 11.3 RC came out, and this time they actually wanted to listen to what I had to say.

Posted by

KillerBob

I confirm the above issue posted by KillerBob. I updated my iMac 2019 this morning to Big Sur 11.3 official release (20E232). My boot time is now close to 4 minutes, while it used to be 20 to 30 seconds before with Big Sur 11.2. The boot process stalls right in the middle of the progression bar. The Thunderbolt bridge is still present in my Network settings, but it is listed as "not connected" with the red marker, while it's been working flawlessly for the last 3 months with my QNAP NAS, which doesn't states "Thunderbolt device is connected" anymore while my iMac is booting.

Posted by

gr-_-

You should get in contact with Apple, and you should raise a stink! Apple was informed about this issue in late March, and yet they choose to ignore it for a long long time.

There is a fix, but only in 11.4 Beta (20F5046g). That is simply not good enough.

The reason they test is to find these things, yet they didn't even try... I posted about this in Feedback, here in the Apple Developer Forums, on MacRumors, and I called them. They ignored it all until the final RC version, and then only fixed it in the next Beta.

Posted by

KillerBob

Hi, I too have had this issue since public 11.3, I have contacted apple, was on the phone for a while. I need a second Mac with TB3 so I can test that the bridge service actually works. A comment on macrumors suggests that the issue could be related to the fact that the QNAP is using a TB3 - TB2 converter inside, as they said thunderbolt bridge works with a pure TB3 connection.

Posted by

Joemolomo

Exactly the same story here. Using a QNAP TVS-872XT, connected via TB3 to x2 iMacs. Only one of them has the latest update (11.13.1) and I'm no longer able to connect via Thunderbolt bridge on that machine. I'm also getting a 4 minute boot time where the progress bar gets stuck halfway. Deadline day today for clients and have totally run out of options. HELP APPLE!

Posted by

The-Visuals-Team

Upgrade to macOS 11.4 Beta (20F5046g). That sorts it out.

Posted by

KillerBob

I have a fix for 11.3.1 that doesn't require upgrading to beta!

I've been on the phone with Apple support for 2 days, and we ran a diagnostic report on the 'WiFi' and then about halfway through the test, completely randomly, the Thunderbolt Bridge connection was esablished via TB3.

It might not work for you guys but worth a shot!

Firstly, Option+click on the WiFi symbol in the menu bar, then hit "create diagnostic report".

Good luck!

Posted by

The-Visuals-Team

Sound interesting.

But, please confirm that works after a shut-down.

I had the TB Bridge works twice in that month before they sorted it out in the 11.4 Beta, and both times I thought I finally cracked it, for it only to not work next time I rebooted the Mac Pro.

Posted by

KillerBob

I can confirm that it is still working after a shut-down but the boot time hasn't been fixed and is about 5 minutes.

Posted by

The-Visuals-Team

Having the exact same issue with the public build of 11.3.1

On shut down we are experiencing kernel issues too which is slowing the process down. Thanks for the wi-fi diagnostic report trick, praying this helps! Failing that I'm going to have to try downgrading back to 11.2!

Posted by

djjamesholland