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                Support for FireWire Removed from macOS 26 Tahoe

   Adam Engst

   Early in the macOS 26 Tahoe beta cycle, reports emerged that Apple had
   removed support for FireWire, the once-ubiquitous peripheral connection
   technology that took over from SCSI around 1999 and powered high-speed
   Mac accessories until USB 3.0 largely superseded it around 2012. Also
   known by its technical standard name of IEEE 1394, FireWire operated
   first at 400 and later at 800 megabits per second, compared to 40
   megabits for SCSI and 5 gigabits per second for USB 3.0.

   [1]Stephen Hackett confirmed the removal back in July 2025, writing:

     The reports are true: FireWire's run on the Mac has ended after 26
     years. RIP, my once-fast friend.

   Nothing changed between the betas and the official release of macOS 26,
   and you can see that FireWire no longer appears in System Information.

   Although no Mac has had FireWire ports since the 13-inch MacBook Pro
   that Apple released in mid-2012 and sold until October 2016, the
   technology's software support has remained in macOS until now. Many
   users have relied on the Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter to
   connect FireWire-based hard drives, scanners, audio interfaces,
   camcorders, and other peripherals, including the original iPod.

   Some of those devices may have alternative interfaces, most likely USB
   or Thunderbolt, but if not, you'll need to keep a Mac running macOS 15
   Sequoia or earlier to use them.

   While there's no question that USB has taken over from FireWire in
   every way that matters, I'll miss FireWire's evocative name, which so
   aptly described it. It's a shame that its successor's branding falls so
   short in comparison. Between its name (Universal Serial Bus), acronym
   (USB), and hodgepodge of versioning identifiers (USB 2.0, USB 3.2,
   USB4, and we won't even get into connector types), USB's branding is a
   stultifying combination of confusing and tedious (also see
   '[2]USBefuddled: Untangling the Rat's Nest of USB-C Standards and
   Cables,' 3 December 2021, and '[3]USB Simplifies Branding but
   Reintroduces Active Cables,' 29 September 2022).

References

   Visible links
   1. https://512pixels.net/2025/07/tahoe-no-firewire/
   2. https://tidbits.com/2021/12/03/usbefuddled-untangling-the-rats-nest-of-usb-c-standards-and-cables/
   3. https://tidbits.com/2022/09/29/usb-simplifies-branding/

   Hidden links:
   4. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2025/09/System-Information-Firewire-missing.png

.