Hi everybody, With the availability of Apple Silicon hardware today, we are very excited to also provide a first experimental version of Boxcryptor with native support for Apple's new processor architecture for maximized performance and battery life. While this experimental version is available for early access, we plan to release a stable version by the end of November after we ironed out the last missing pieces and made sure that it runs smooth on the final Apple Silicon M1 chip. If you are one of the first with Apple Silicon hardware, you can download the experimental--- version v2.38.1060 here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k4rkgxgniyqveg9/Boxcryptor_v2.38.1060_Installer.dmg?dl=0 EDIT: The latest experimental version for Apple Silicon Macs can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l13a4cb4sr0wx1p/Boxcryptor_v2.38.1067_Installer.dmg?dl=0 EDIT: The latest experimental version for Apple Silicon Macs can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/h993aosacn0bfro/Boxcryptor_v2.39.1101_Installer.dmg?dl=0 EDIT: The latest experimental version for Apple Silicon Macs can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/capkjj2zf1txcmq/Boxcryptor_v2.39.1110_Installer.dmg?dl=0 EDIT: The official version for Apple Silicon Macs can be downloaded here: https://www.boxcryptor.com/l/download-macosx In order to install the required Boxcryptor kernel extension, you must first allow the loading of kernel extensions from identified developers which is disallowed by default on Apple Silicon Macs. To change this, please follow these steps: Reboot your Mac into Recovery Mode Open Utilities -> Startup Security Utility Select your system volume, unlock it if required and click the Security Policy... button Choose Reduced Security Enable Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers Click OK Confirm the action by entering your administrator credentials Restart your Mac You only need to perform these steps once for any kernel extension which might be part of other apps (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive File Stream, etc.). Learn more about this change here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/kernel/installing_a_custom_kernel_extension NOTE: Despite the dramatic name, your Mac is just as secure using Reduced Security as with Full Security. While Full Security only allows to install the very latest Apple approved version of macOS, Reduced Security also allows you to install older Apple approved versions of macOS and to load 3rd party kernel extensions from Apple identified developers. HINT: Apple changed the procedure to boot into Recovery Mode on Apple Silicon Macs. Instead of pressing & holding Cmd+R after pressing the power button, you must press & hold the power button and then choose Options As with any experimental version, we're looking forward to your feedback - either here or directly via support@boxcryptor.com . Best regards, Robert

Thankyou @Florian . Will you also be providing an experimental version for Windows 10 on ARM (i.e. Surface Pro X devices)? Support have not been very helpful in providing anything regarding ARM-based Windows support apart from "the underlying software library we reuse doesn't support it": pingudownunder The installation routine fails at the CBFS (Call-Back File System) installation phase and rolls back. Boxcryptor support have confirmed that CBFS is incompatible but have not provided a roadmap or plan for getting full compatibiality in place.

pingudownunder I'm sorry, we currently to not have plans to support Windows 10 on ARM. While the processor architecture might be same now with Apple Silicon, the operating systems are still vastly different. For the virtual Boxcryptor drive, we use kernel drivers provided by 3rd party vendors. We use a custom version of OSXFUSE ( https://osxfuse.github.io ) on macOS and CBFS Connect ( https://www.callback.com/cbfsconnect ) on Windows. As kernel drivers are a very low-level piece of software, adapting them for different CPU architectures is not an easy task but thankfully, OSXFUSE - which we're also sponsoring - was ready in time. CBFS Connect, however, is only available for x86 and the vendor does not offer a version for ARM which we could use in Boxcryptor and thus, it is simply not possible for us to provide Boxcryptor for ARM-based Windows at the moment - even if we'd like to. Best regards, Robert

Hi Robert, what does "This first experimental version has known issues when renaming files..." mean. Can we at least open and read files savely? I have to say I'm underwhelmed by the state of Boxcryptor regarding Apple Silicon. The DTKs have been out for month. You are stating "Boxcryptor runs on Big Sur as well as on Macs with the new processors." when you have an unsafe experimental version? And do not get me started on the non-existant support for Spotlight... Boxcryptor should be working seamlessly in the background when it is interfering with Mac user's workflows. BR, Boris

Robert I asked them (callback.com) about their port for CBFSConnect to Win 10 ARM and they said... “ Thank you for contacting us. Probably there was some misunderstanding on the Boxcryptor side – ARM64 is fully supported by our products. You might want to contact them and ask them to contact us directly if they have any questions with such support.”

Hi everybody, We have finished a new experimental version for Apple Silicon Macs which you can download here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l13a4cb4sr0wx1p/Boxcryptor_v2.38.1067_Installer.dmg?dl=0 In this version, the known issues with renaming files have been resolved and save operations in apps like Word, Excel or PowerPoint will succeed as expected. Nevertheless, it is still an experimental version which did not complete final QA. Please use it with caution. Best regards, Robert

Boris777 Hi Boris, Thank for very much your feedback. Yes, as the known issue was isolated to file or folder renames, files could be safely opened and read. Saving files was error prone because many applications write to temporary files which are renamed to the target file name on success file writes. With the latest experimental version (1067), this issue was resolved. Please bear in mind that adapting software to such a major hardware architecture change is not trivial. While we indeed had a DTK since a few months, it does not represent the final hardware which we also only have access to since Tuesday. Additionally, the stable version of Big Sur is only available since about a week. The DTK as well as the macOS Betas were only previews. They were under active development themselves and especially Big Sur was a moving target always subject to change in the beta. I'm sorry if we didn't meet your expectations. Best regards, Robert

scomil Thank you for the information. I will discuss it with the team and we might re-evaluate what we can do for Windows on ARM in the future.

beta 11.1 appears to mess things up again (sorry)

and 11.0.1 also - endless authorize extension/reboot loop [ticked updated]

Same here, Version 11.1 Beta (20C5048k) endless authorize extension/reboot loop

Apple Silicon

NBruns

NBruns
I also tried 11.1 RC, but had no luck. Removing the kernel extension also did not work.

Robert

NBruns Thank you for your feedback. The kernel extension loading is very likely caused by a confusion of the macOS kernel management which version to load. Boxcryptor comes with different versions of the kernel extension for the different macOS versions (e.g. 10.14, 10.15, 11.0) and macOS sometimes seems to try to load the wrong version for an older macOS version which obviously fails on Big Sur.

Can you try to manually delete the non-Big Sur kernel extension versions and see if this improves the situation? To delete them, please execute the following command in the Terminal app:

sudo rm -rf /Applications/Boxcryptor.app/Contents/Frameworks/BoxcryptorFoundation.framework/Versions/A/Filesystems/bcfs.fs/Contents/Resources/mount_bcfs.app/Contents/Extensions/10*

Robert

Hi everybody,

We're pretty confident that the kernel extension loading problem is caused by the kernel extension manager being confused which version of the kernel extension to load and trying to load one for a different, wrong macOS version. While we're continuing our efforts to provide a single app for all supported macOS versions, here's an experimental version which contains only the kernel extension for macOS 11 Big Sur:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/capkjj2zf1txcmq/Boxcryptor_v2.39.1110_Installer.dmg?dl=0

If you experience any problem loading the kernel extension (and thus mounting the Boxcryptor disk) with Apple Silicon Macs, please use this version and I'd be happy to hear your feedback.

Note: If you already upgraded to Big Sur 11.1, you might have to reset the kernel extension management so that any wrong kernel extension is properly removed from the system after you updated Boxcryptor:

Uninstall Boxcryptor (Move it to the Trash and empty it)
Boot to macOS Recovery by pressing & holding the power button for startup
Open Utilities -> 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)
Verify that the command output includes the following content:
All third party kexts have been unapproved and uninstalled from /Volumes/Macintosh HD
Restart your Mac
Verify that macOS shows the "Panic Medic Boot" alert as shown below
Install the latest Boxcryptor version and run it
Allow the Boxcryptor system extension in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy
Restart your Mac

Best regards,
Robert

Johndavidson9

Robert thank you for providing useful information

NBruns

You will get feedback ASAP, on Friday I will be back in home office.

SAL

Did get Boxcryptor to work with Big Sur 11.0.1 with M1, but after update to 11.1, and trying your advice from yesterday, the restart problem occurred again.

flakingbiscuit

I'm also experiencing the same issue as SAL with the most recent update. Let me know if there are any logs or information I can send along to help.

Robert

flakingbiscuit SAL

Thank you for the feedback. I'd have two questions:

a) Is it correct that you upgraded from macOS 11.0.1 with Boxcryptor pre-2.39.1110 (e.g. 2.39.1101) to macOS 11.1 with Boxcryptor 2.39.1110 ?
b) Did you try the kmutil trigger-panic-medic command in Recovery Mode?

Additionally, the following steps would be very helpful:
1) Open Console app and start streaming (Start button in the toolbar)
2) Open Terminal app and execute the following commands:

sudo kextutil -v 6 /Applications/Boxcryptor.app/Contents/Frameworks/BoxcryptorFoundation.framework/Versions/A/Filesystems/bcfs.fs/Contents/Resources/mount_bcfs.app/Contents/Extensions/11/bcfs.kext
kmutil diagnose

3) Stop Console streaming, search for kernelmanagerd and export the output (Select all -> Copy -> Paste in TextEdit)
4) Send the Console and Terminal outputs to support@boxcryptor.com

Thank you for your help,
Robert

Robert

FYI: Based on current feedback (maybe not so much here, but in direct contact in our support), the latest experimental version 2.39.1110 seems to work great on macOS 11.1.

The only source for problems is when a user updated macOS from 11.0.1 to 11.1 and did not already have 2.39.1110 installed. In this case, macOS fails to unload the old kernel extension. Resetting the kernel extension management using kmutil trigger-panic-medic as described above resolves this issue.

Kyle

Robert I'm one of those folks who upgraded to 11.1 (yesterday) without the latest version of Boxcryptor., which I've now installed.

I've tried the kmutil trigger-panic-medic fix, but no success. I also tried the manual delete extension terminal command above, but that didn't work. Just an error saying the sudo command wasn't recognised or something similar.

Robert

Kyle All cases we saw could be resolved using kmutil trigger-panic-medic. If you'd like, please contact us via support@boxcryptor.com and we'll try to resolve the issue with you.

aknight Thanks for the update. The current macOS and Boxcryptor build numbers definitely have to many ones ("1") and that's a crazy coincidence. 🤷‍♂️

aknight

part of the problem appears to be that the approvals of the kext aren't persisting from boot to boot. I got it working and then on the next reboot (no other changes/updates) it went back to the problem. Even after the kmutil attempt a couple of times. Will attempt to further diagnose.

aknight

Nevermind. This one was total user error. I updated to BC 2.39.1101 somehow vs .1110. Update app to .1110, kmutil flush and then auth and reboot seems to work.

Kyle

Robert Got it working. I was referring to your post from 8 December, not the more recent one on 15 December. Followed that one precisely, and it is now working correctly. I'll see if it works with SIP turned back on.

SAL

Installation worked with Big Sur 11.1, Boxcryptor pre-2.39.1110 and the kmutil trigger command.
Thx

Robert

Hi everybody,

Thank you all for your feedback and assistance on our way to stable Apple Silicon support. It sometimes was a little bit rough, but we finally have been able to resolve the kernel extension loading problem. As a result, we have released the first stable version of Boxcryptor with Apple Silicon support yesterday and you can download version 2.39.1119 here:

https://www.boxcryptor.com/l/download-macosx

If you did have an experimental version (or a version without Apple Silicon support) installed on your M1 Mac before, you might have to reset the kernel extension management as described here:

https://boxcryptor.community/d/17031-apple-silicon/27

In all known cases, resetting the kernel extension management and then installing the new stable version resolved the issues. If you still experience them, please double check the you executed the kmutil trigger-panic-medic command correctly (double dashes prefix for --volume-root and space between --volume-root and /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD) and maybe try it again.

Thanks again and best regards,
Robert

NBruns

Perfect!
It worked for me!

Boris777

I had never installed Boxcryptor on my M1 Mac. Used the official release. Nevertheless I got an error stating that the extension could not be or had to be updated (do not remember). Did the steps (allow extension, reboot) but after every reboot I got the same error. So I had to do the kmutil trigger-panic-medic stuff. Now it seems to work.

I was alreay on Big Sur 11.1, maybe that is why.

Kyle

Robert, the latest stable release works a treat. I've just finished uninstalling the most recent experimental version, and resetting the kernel extension management. I re-enabled SIP while I was at it. On reboot, I had to authorise the extension, which required a re-boot, but on the re-start, no never-ending cycle seeking extension approval. I can navigate to files encrypted with Boxcryptor and de-crypt them without any hiccups.

Looks like you have all nailed the solution! Thanks for your work.

markbyrn

Kudos to the devs for getting Boxcryptor working on the M1. Like others, I needed to to reset the kernel extensions but didn't need to disable SIP. Perhaps down the road, Boxcryptor can be revised to not be solely reliant on that Fleischer osxfuse extension.

Robert

Hi everybody,

Thanks for the positive feedback - I'm really happy that it turned out well. In the end the major blocker was really "only" that the new macOS kernel extension management is confused by multiple included kernel extensions for the different macOS versions (which was never an issue in the past). Once we removed the kernel extensions for the older macOS versions, everything turned green again 🙂

markbyrn A major priority for Boxcryptor for macOS in 2021 will be to evaluate alternatives to the kernel extension, e.g. the new File Provider extension which was first introduced in macOS 10.15 and further extended in macOS 11. A Boxcryptor version without requiring a kernel extension will definitely be the future.

Best regards,
Robert

Micheal

Great stuff. Thanks for sorting this out for my M1 MacBook. Kernel reset worked out fine once I followed instructions. Kudos for devs and in particular to your support team "YK" :-)