macOS Tahoe FireWire Fix: Revive Legacy Audio Gear
ASFireWire restores FireWire on macOS Tahoe. Open-source driver lets you use legacy audio gear—Apogee, MOTU, RME—on Apple Silicon Macs without SIP hacks.
Apple’s release of macOS 26 "Tahoe" officially severed ties with IEEE 1394, leaving many studios and archivists stranded with unsupported FireWire hardware. To solve this, independent developer mrmidi created ASFireWire, an open-source DriverKit OHCI FireWire Host Controller that restores full FireWire functionality on modern Apple Silicon Macs.
How ASFireWire Saves Your Studio Rig
For engineers who have spent decades relying on Mac-based recording setups, FireWire's deprecation threatened to turn reliable legacy audio gear into expensive doorstops. ASFireWire rebuilds the hardware stack entirely using Apple's modern user-space frameworks—specifically DriverKit, AudioDriverKit, and PCIDriverKit.
Crucially for tracking live bands and managing studio sessions, the driver explicitly supports:
- Audio streaming: AV/C, DICE/TCAT, MOTU, and RME device protocols.
- Video capture: DV capture to
.dvfiles and AV/C tape transport control for MiniDV camcorders. - Storage and scanning: SBP-2/SCSI integration for older drives and film scanners like the Nikon Coolscan series.
I have an old Mackie Onyx 1620i that I still use in the studio, and I have successfully run it on an older Apple Silicon M1 machine on an older OS because I didn't want to lose the mixer's functionality, since it handles all audio over FireWire.
This new ASFireWire has allowed me to run the same desk on my MacBook Air M5 running Tahoe in Logic Pro and UA LUNA, etc. So it works well for me, and they are currently asking users to help test the 'fix' on their machines, so they can use the feedback to make it even better for more users.
You'll also need the Apple adapters to make it work and plug into your machine (I already own these and have listed them below), so if you're starting from scratch, it requires more than just this software patch.
System Requirements and Adapter Chains
ASFireWire is engineered specifically for the newer Apple ecosystem. To get your legacy interfaces talking to your DAW, you will need:
- An Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 26 (Tahoe) or newer, including Golden Gate.
- An officially supported Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter chain. The documented method is linking an Apple Thunderbolt 3 adapter to a Thunderbolt 2 adapter, and finally into a FireWire 800 cable.
- The latest signed ASFW release (currently v0.6.0-33).
A SIP-Friendly Installation
Unlike older kernel-level workarounds that required compromising your Mac's security, ASFireWire operates entirely in user space.
The hosted version provides a signed and Apple-notarized build, meaning you can install the system extension natively through System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions without needing to disable System Integrity Protection (SIP).
While the software is free and open-source under the Apache 2.0 license, the developer relies on community sponsorships to maintain this highly specialized low-level driver.
For professionals using this fix to keep their tracking rooms running, supporting the project via GitHub Sponsors or Buy Me a Coffee ensures ongoing updates as macOS continues to evolve.
- +Restores full FireWire support on Apple Silicon Macs
- +Runs entirely in user space—no SIP compromise required
- +Free and open-source under Apache 2.0 license
- +Supports multiple audio protocols: AV/C, DICE/TCAT, MOTU, RME
- +Also handles legacy video capture and storage devices
- +Apple-notarized for native system extension installation
- −Requires adapter chain (Thunderbolt 3→2→FireWire 800) for connection
- −Needs macOS 26 Tahoe or newer on Apple Silicon
- −Community-dependent maintenance via sponsorships
Will ASFireWire work with my legacy FireWire audio interface on macOS Tahoe?
Yes, if your interface uses supported protocols like AV/C, DICE/TCAT, MOTU, or RME. You'll need an Apple Silicon Mac running Tahoe or newer, plus an adapter chain: Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 to FireWire 800. The signed driver installs without compromising System Integrity Protection.
Do I need to disable System Integrity Protection to use ASFireWire?
No. ASFireWire runs entirely in user space via DriverKit and AudioDriverKit, so installation through System Settings > Login Items & Extensions works natively without disabling SIP. This is a major security advantage over older kernel-level workarounds.
What audio interfaces and gear does ASFireWire support?
It explicitly supports AV/C, DICE/TCAT, MOTU, and RME device protocols for audio streaming. The driver also handles DV video capture, MiniDV camcorder control, and legacy storage via SBP-2/SCSI, such as older Nikon film scanners and FireWire drives.
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