Black screen is being displayed when I set a wallpaper on macOS Sonoma

the black wall paper problem is happening with a BRAND NEW M3 Air. Trying the suggested "fiddles" with the appearance does work for a time. I have turned off any cross device activities as well. I also have a separate photo file. Surely this is fixable by now?

Same here

Yep. Apple has not fixed it as of 14.2.1. Some people have given work arounds but those work arounds didn't really fix it. The error comes back.

Upgrade to Sonoma 14.1 on a 2022 MacBook Air with M2 chip and 16 GB memory has several glitches. One is that wallpaper no longer cycles through photos, though I can make it use a single photo from my files. That wasn't a problem with the last - what? - five OS upgrades?

Second is that downloading from Chrome puts the files in invisible mode, and you can't open them on the desktop or anywhere else. There's a workaround using the Chrome Download files tab where you can select the file in the Finder, open it with the appropriate app, and then save it to the desktop. It says it's overwriting the old file, but wow, suddenly it's visible and accessible. Seriously?

Yep, me too! It look like Mac really has fouled things up this time.

It seems to me that t is a major bug. Whether I ask for an Apple wallpaper image - a very poor range - and try to get rid of the black/blank screen, it shows my selection correctly in its window, but will not transfer to the Screen.

I then find a roving image.

Reading this page is not good. Apple is nowhere near resolving.

I have two large websites, each followed by 104 countries. So, even if it is only 104 people, I am saying to 104 people, have nothing to do with Apple. I fully understand how glitches can occur, but an inability to repair a glitch - any glitch - means custom and footfall rapidly find other routes.

It is not good to read Apple's recommendation:

you can try a SafeBoot Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support will sort many anomalies.

In every case, the respondent is fair and reasonable in their response, and also in their politely informing Apple that the glitch/issue/problem is not fixed.

In this 21st century everyone thinks in terms of "issues" rather than problems. Apple, sidestep the correct-speak and acknowledge the fact that you have a problem that is potentially torpedoing your intenrational client base.

I remember when you were at your zenith, your pinnacle, now, sadly, a very long time ago. You've allowed a gentle glide-descent to become a dive-down.

I've been using Apple OS systems for 20 years, and never had a problem with putting up wallpaper. Sonoma doesn't work. Please stop with useless workarounds and just fix it. You have dozen of OS's to look back at for excellent wallpaper accessibility.

Everytime I start up my mac mini, it opens with the wallpaper I want, then immediately stops and goes black for a second, then comes back with the Sonoma Horizon photo from Landscape on the screen (Landscape is not selected), and the Picture box is blank. So again I add a photo, and it holds that photo until I close the computer. Then the same thing the next day. I have tried many of the workarounds that I've found online, and none work. I don't want a workaround. As for the past 20 years, I want to select a photo (or whatever) and have that be my wallpaper, until I change it.

2020 iMac, huge wallpaper glitch after Sonoma upgrade. Worked fine for a week or so, then, turned black with an occasional wallpaper showing up. So irritating. The much touted new and fancy wallpapers that are offered simply don't work. The excuse that they take time to load is beside the point. Apple needs to do better. Fix it.

Me too!

It has been a very disappointing 2 weeks and continues to be so, because of this glitch. My screen saver works fine by going to a photos folder I created and it cycles through the images I collate there. No such luck with my desktop wallpaper which worked fine before this operating system upgrade. You would think that this basic feature would have been tested and double checked before the upgrade was released. After all the images are all in a photos folder ie an Apple software folder not a 3rd party location. And we are 2+ weeks into this upgrade and no fix from Apple???? This is very poor customer service.

miama999 wrote:

It's crazy that Apple either can't or simply won't fix this. Been using an Apple computer for over 20 years. This may just put an end to it.

+1 from another lang time early adopter here. Steve is dead. Long live Steve!

Tip tip...

We need to flood Apple with feedback about this appalling glitch. The more we complain, then perhaps they might fix the lacking ability to chose a self collated collection of wallpaper images. A feature that has worked seamlessly for years and one that works fine in Sonoma for screen savers. Surely this is an easy fix - so what is Apple’s problem. Apple hardware and software has always been ‘sold’ on its simple, straightforward, no problems approach. They appear to have lost the plot!

We are reading...and following...issue is with your expectations...the challenge is that you are asking us non techie folks...to do what you are suggesting...that requires (speaking for myself) that I/we trust you and that your "command" will work and not blow up our macs. It's that simple...at least for me.

Im not that much of a tech guy, but have enough experience to know cleaning out a memory area with a Hot key will not ruin anything, I found the solution on youtube here,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0txQIxttkhs

That doesn't work reliably either. Some version of this problem has been around since Catalina, I think, so they haven't fixed it in any of the four major OS releases since then. I do not know why Apple can't fix this problem.

What worked? A fix? If so what is it? Sonoma 14.3 wallpaper self chosen image folder contents isn’t working for me. No Sonoma versions have had self selection wallpaper image folder that works. Apple please fix this.

The problem continues with Sonoma 14.3. I wonder how many complaints it will take for apple to git revert. My use case is much like other posts on this thread - Wallpaper settings for large group of photo albums does not work correctly - default background of rolling hills (sonoma horizon) is replaced periodically. Using jpegs from a folder is so Microsofty.

@Apple, you need some house cleaning in the design department and beef up your bug fixing staff. Bring in some management that can drive your workforce to see this issue from your customer's perspective. Hire integration testers that catch these sort of problems - this problem is easy to detect - this problem is consistently reproducible.

This issue should not have lasted thru three dot releases.