Can connect to Windows SMB server via Finder but not within apps ie Outlook or Chrome

Years ago I had a somewhat similar issue when using Linux to connect to an SMB share on a Linux server. I could work with the files just fine in the file explorer apps, but an app like VLC would not always play the videos from that share even though it saw the files. I believe the problem was with how the connection to the SMB share was made. I believe I was using KDE at the time. Using KDE's Dolphin (file explorer app) to connect to share versus connecting via command line would was the reason for the failure. Unfortunately that was so many years ago I don't recall what was different between how those mounts were made although one of the posts I found at the time did explain it.

FYI, I know macOS dropped the open source SMB implementation used for years in macOS and developed their own custom SMB implementation at some point. So a lot of older information online may no longer apply to more recent versions of macOS as regards to configuration files and settings. Here are some posts I found....maybe they will spark an idea.

Seems like this other forum post shows the issue from a few years ago with Catalina:

https://superuser.com/questions/1515899/smb-access-issues-server-2016-from-mac-catalina

Maybe this will give you some clues as well even though it references Big Sur accessing SMB shares on a TrueNAS server:

https://www.truenas.com/community/threads/what-are-the-optimal-macos-settings.93986/

Here is another forum post about Catalina and some SMB shares:

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/362739/what-causes-some-network-drives-using-smb-no-longer-connect-to-macos-catalina/363648#363648

I believe Catalina will use SMBv3 by default and connect using SMBv3 if possible and goes backwards from there if necessary. You must be using some very old Linux system if it only supports SMBv1. Any Linux since 2015 I believe should support SMBv2. I think I would find another way to share files instead of having SMBv1 enabled at all.

Hello Fozzy_Bear,

You may find some info that can help with connecting to the Windows PC from the Mac here: Connect to a Windows computer from a Mac - Apple Support

If the steps there aren't able to help, this page will help to go over a handful of things that may be able to help further: If you can’t connect Mac and Windows computers - Apple Support

Cheers.

Hi Fozzy_Bear,

If you're able to access the SMB share with Finder, but not with those third-party app, then it's time to check with the app developers.

First, verify that those third-party apps are uo to date, as that can make a difference.

How to manually update apps on your Apple device - Apple Support

How to manually update apps on your Mac

1. Open the App Store.

2. In the sidebar, click Updates.

3. Click Update next to an app to update only that app, or click Update All.

If you didn’t get the app from the App Store on your Mac, contact the app developer to get help with updates.

If still an issue, contact the owner or the IT department for the SMB share and the app developers, to verify compatibility with macOS Catalina.

How to contact an app developer - Apple Support

Take care!

I think you will find it easier to figure out your SMB issues by getting Ubuntu working with a Win10 SMBv3 share. Once you figure out the issue here, then you may find macOS connecting properly.

FYI, macOS Ventura has not been publicly released yet as it is still in Beta. macOS Ventura is expected to be released later this year around Oct. if Apple follows their previous trend of OS releases.