Overcoming Security Restrictions for Presonus Universal Control Installation on Mac

With the release of macOS High Sierra (10.13) and later, Apple has introduced a new security feature that requires user approval before loading newly-installed third-party kernel extensions (KEXTs). This feature can cause issues when installing Presonus Universal Control, particularly with USB, Thunderbolt, and FireWire interface drivers. In this article, we'll walk you through the steps to overcome these security restrictions and successfully install Presonus Universal Control on your Mac.

Step 1: Allow Exception for Presonus Application

To begin, open System Preferences and navigate to the Security & Privacy icon (looks like a Combination Lock in House). At the bottom of this menu, you'll find an exception for the last application that was blocked from installing. Click 'Allow' to grant permission.

Step 2: Access System Preferences

After clicking OK, you can navigate back to your System Preferences by clicking on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your desktop. Notice how the default is the blue OK button; if you click this, nothing will be installed. Instead, click 'Open Security Preferences' to proceed.

Step 3: Approve Kernel Extension

The first screen you'll encounter after installing Presonus Universal Control may indicate that Apple's heightened security restrictions have blocked our Kernel Extension (i.e., the driver). With some careful navigation, you should be able to get an UC 1.7.6 (Presonus FireWire Devices) / UC 2.x (Presonus USB, ThunderBolt Devices) release not already installed on your system to install your PreSonus devices.

Step 4: Load Kernel Extension

When a request is made to load a KEXT that the user has not yet approved, the load request is denied. To overcome this issue, you may need to check off some boxes and possibly go through a reboot or two to get older installs of Universal Control to work correctly.

Additional Tips and Resources

For more information on macOS High Sierra's new feature requiring user approval for loading newly-installed third-party KEXTs, refer to the Apple Technical Note TN-2459. Additionally, please note that this issue also affects OS X 10.15 Catalina and OS X 11 Big Sur.

By following these steps and taking note of the additional tips and resources provided, you should be able to successfully install Presonus Universal Control on your Mac despite the security restrictions introduced by Apple in macOS High Sierra and later versions.

Presonus universal control mac