Hi, I am currently beta testing MacOS Big Sur and found out that boxcrypto is not compatible with the new system. Specifically, Boxcrypto cannot mount a drive in this new system. I hope that this issue can be resolved soon. In the meantime, could anyone tell me if there are other ways to decrypt boxcrypto files stored in Dropbox? Thank you!

carl97 you can download the Boxcryptor portable for macOS. it works to be able to access your files. it is a little slower than the normal Boxcryptor but it works. https://www.boxcryptor.com/en/download/?platform=portable

Hello everybody, As mentioned by @trieren1 , you can use Boxcryptor Portable for macOS for basic file access to your encrypted files. In general and as with every macOS (or iOS or Windows or Android) beta release, we do not recommend upgrading to beta versions of operating system on production systems. By the way, this is also Apple's, Microsoft's and Google's recommendation. If you really have to use a new beta version, you should either install it on a separate drive / partition or - even better - on a dedicated second device. As an independent developer, we also only get access to new beta versions when they are released to all developers or the public. And only then can we begin with the work to support it. Depending on the changes in the new operating system version, this can take from a few weeks to a few months. But as always in the past 9 years, we will have support for a new operating system version at the latest when the stable version is released to the public. Nevertheless, we have created a (very) experimental version for macOS 11.0 Big Sur which contains an updated filesystem driver with preliminary support for the new OS. Besides the updated driver, this version does not contain any other adjustments for Big Sur. Therefore, it still shows the "Unsupported macOS version" message and unexpected problems might occur - from simple UI glitches to data loss. Please use at your own risk - it is not a stable version with macOS 11.0 Big Sur support. You can download the experimental version here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5h2a3psk4svctuo/Boxcryptor_v2.36.1025_Installer.dmg?dl=0 In the coming weeks we will also release improved experimental versions for Big Sur. Best regards, Robert

Robert Thank you so much! However, where can I find future updates for experimental versions for Big Sur?

Robert It seems that Boxcryptor portable for macOS is not working correctly. At the page for 2FA verification code, it only accepts five digits. Therefore, I am not able to log in.

carl97 You can always keep an eye on our changelog page here: https://www.boxcryptor.com/en/help/about/macos/#changelog

carl97 Please check your emails, I have already answered yours. Can't reproduce, a login with a 6-digit TOTP code is possible.

Robert Thanks sooo much Robert. Do you want feedback on this driver as would be more than happy if it helps you. Regards Sue

Robert Hi Robert, is there an updated version of the experimental version? And where can I find those updates? Thank you!

Robert Hi Robert - this experimental version has been working great, however seems to have stop working with Big Sur Beta 4 (20A5343)

Mac OS Big Sur

markbyrn

cipherneo you might try deleting the Boxcryptor application support folder as I detailed above. Then install/restart the beta.

cipherneo

markbyrn you might try deleting the Boxcryptor application support folder as I detailed above. Then install/restart the beta.

Nope I tired that technique on the last BC beta and this one and no joy. BC fails attempting to mount the BC disk.

carl97

Robert Thank you so much Robert! Look forward to updated version.

carl97

Robert Hi Robert, it seems that this beta version is still not compatible with Big Sur; the error "disk mounting failed" still exists.

Robert

Hello everybody,

Boxcryptor uses a kernel extension (kext) named "BCFS" to create the virtual Boxcryptor disk. It is a special version of the open source project OSXFUSE. Apple made significant changes to the loading of third party kernel extensions in macOS 11.0 Big Sur - and every big change almost always comes with some problems.

In this case, the macOS 11.0 Big Sur beta itself still contains various kernel extension related bugs, some of which are documented by Apple in the release notes:

Source: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-beta-release-notes

Besides these documented Known Issues, Big Sur beta 4 also contains other kernel extension bugs - e.g. when loading a kernel extension, beta 4 always returns a success even if it actually failed. Despite the great brand and products, Apple is a software development company like many others and Big Sur beta 4 contains bugs just like any other pre-release software.

On "clean" Big Sur systems where Boxcryptor was never installed, the experimental version works mostly as expected. As far as we can tell until now, the "Mount Failed" errors reported here seem to be related to problems in the kernel extension loading mechanism of Big Sur if Boxcryptor was already installed in Catalina before the Big Sur upgrade. If you see this error, you can try the following options:

First of all, make sure that you reboot your Mac and then try if the problem has been resolved. In some cases, a simple reboot was already the solution.
Delete the legacy kernel extension from the Boxcryptor app bundle. Execute in the Terminal app:
sudo rm -rf /Applications/Boxcryptor.app/Contents/Frameworks/BoxcryptorFoundation.framework/Versions/A/Filesystems/bcfs.fs/Contents/Extensions/10.9 sudo rm -rf /Applications/Boxcryptor.app/Contents/Frameworks/BoxcryptorFoundation.framework/Versions/A/Filesystems/bcfs.fs/Contents/Extensions/10.10
Reset third-party kernel extensions as described in Apple's workaround:
- Boot to macOS Recovery
- Run Terminal
- Enter the command kmutil trigger-panic-medic --volume-root /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD
- If your boot volume has a different name than "Macintosh HD", replace it in the command above
- Restart your Mac
- Start Boxcryptor and re-approve the kernel extension by "Benjamin Fleischer" in the Security Preferences
- Restart your Mac (again)
Manually load the kernel extension. Execute in the Terminal app:
sudo kmutil load -v -p /Applications/Boxcryptor.app/Contents/Frameworks/BoxcryptorFoundation.framework/Versions/A/Filesystems/bcfs.fs/Contents/Extensions/11.0/bcfs.kext
If you have Virtual Box installed, there are reports that uninstalling it resolved kernel extension loading problems for other apps:
- Download VirtualBox installer package
- Run VirtualBox_Uninstall.tool from the down right corner

These workarounds can help in some cases, but maybe won't help in some others. Please remember that both macOS Big Sur beta 4 as well as our experimental version are still "work in progress" and are not final or stable versions. As a small anecdote: The first beta of Catalina featured a completely rewritten iCloud component. However, it was so unstable and buggy that Apple decided to completely revert this change and continue to use the "old" code in Catalina beta 7 ff. and the stable release.

Best regards,
Robert

cipherneo

Robert As far as we can tell until now, the "Mount Failed" errors reported here seem to be related to problems in the kernel extension loading mechanism of Big Sur if Boxcryptor was already installed in Catalina before the Big Sur upgrade. If you see this error, you can try the following options:

Hello Robert, First thanks for providing your detailed information concerning the Boxcryptor driver not loading error. I can confirm that following steps 1-6 indeed allowed my BS ßeta 4 system to finally load the Boxcryptor driver. I'm not sure if all the steps were needed, especially step 3, but I followed the steps as listed. Onward to testing...

carl97

Robert Hi Robert, thank you for the instructions. If Apple decides to stick with this new system, will people need to go through these steps when the public stable version is released?

fok

Robert I followed all steps however step 4 wasn't successful:

fklemenz@fokbook ~ % sudo kmutil load -v -p /Applications/Boxcryptor.app/Contents/Frameworks/BoxcryptorFoundation.framework/Versions/A/Filesystems/bcfs.fs/Contents/Extensions/11.0/bcfs.kext Error: Error Domain=KMErrorDomain Code=1 "Kernel request failed: (libkern/kext) not loadable (reason unspecified)" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Kernel request failed: (libkern/kext) not loadable (reason unspecified)}

Still not able to mount on beta 5 with 2.36.1028 :-(

Robert

cipherneo Thank you for the feedback. Great to hear that it resolved your issues. Indeed, not all steps may be required and even a single step can already be the solution - depending on the macOS installation.

rjrosenthal

Robert Just a note to let you know that after following the above instructions I have BC is running well on BS Beta 5354i.

6L6

Good day Robert,

Will Boxcryptor Big Sur test versions be posted here when available? is there a new version to test?

Best regards,
Christopher

Yasmin

6L6 Please see the previous posts, there is an experimental version.

6L6

Yasmin Correct, and that version was released 20 days ago.

fok

Any update here? Since Google has updated "Backup & Sync" BoxCryptor is currently the only application that still blocks me from beta testing Big Sur for production usage.

Seaorc

Same here. Any news on this topic. Would be very helpfull

btrya3y1

I would also prefer a new version. I have bugs when restarting. Drive could not be loaded, then I have to quit and reopen the application. Sometimes it forgets my credentials. 2.36.1028

Robert

Hi everybody,

We plan to post a new experimental version at the beginning of next week. Although we're already in Beta 9, Apple made changes to Big Sur which require ongoing adjustments in Boxcryptor.

Best regards,
Robert

6L6

Thank you for the update Robert.

Robert

Hi everybody,

We have incorporated the latest changes of Beta 9 and created a new experimental version for macOS Big Sur 11.0. You can download it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5oowxvxgivzkajg/Boxcryptor_v2.36.1040_Installer.dmg?dl=0

This version is pretty close to final Big Sur support if Apple does not make any additional last minute changes. I'd be happy to hear your feedback - positive as well as negative if you should encounter any problems - here or directly via support@boxcryptor.com.

Best regards,
Robert

MitchT66

Robert Works, thanks! Only negative comment is that the Boxcryptor icon (the one of the mounted drive) turns into a simple white icon (like the one of a file). Am I the only one experiencing that?
Cheers,
Michael

6L6

Installed and running, no caveats!

Robert

Hi everybody,

If Boxcryptor is not working after you upgraded to macOS Big Sur 11.0, please make sure that you have the latest Boxcryptor version 2.37.1043 installed. In doubt, please download the latest version from our website and install it:

https://www.boxcryptor.com/download

If have version 2.37.1043 installed and still experience problems with Boxcryptor, please do not hesitate to contact us via support@boxcryptor.com - even as Boxcryptor Free user - and we'll be able to help you best there. When contacting us, please include a debug log in your email as described here:

https://www.boxcryptor.com/en/help/faq-and-troubleshooting/macos/#how-to-create-a-debug-log

There are some rare cases for problems on Big Sur due to the system configuration. Until now, the most common problem is a mount failure of the Boxcryptor drive because the required BCFS kernel extension cannot be loaded by macOS. However, the reason is not Boxcryptor itself but rather legacy BlackBerry USB kernel extensions which are not compatible with Big Sur and cause any other kernel extension fail to load. Removing these incompatible - and in all cases unused - kernel extensions fixed the problem in all cases. CCC also has some information about the BlackBerry USB kernel extensions and also a guide how to remove them:

https://bombich.com/kb/ccc5/some-third-party-storage-drivers-may-cause-hardware-misbehavior

Best regards,
Robert