Wallpapers appearing upside down in macOS Tahoe 26.3

Psych13 wrote:

Hi Steve,

... my external drive is formatted as MS-DOS (FAT32) and I'm not exactly sure why it is, as I don't use Windows computers. I *am* aware that there are better ways of formatting external drives for Apple computers, etc. but as far as I can see from doing my own research-the fact that it is formatted this way should not affect whether it's searchable in Spotlight. I am confident this is not why Spotlight is not working with my external drive, but am open to opinions that may differ:). I realise that I can move all my data elsewhere and reformat the drive, but I'd prefer not to do that.

I agree that FAT-32 drives should be searchable, but keep in mind FAT-32 is an ancient and outmoded format scheme. FAT-32 has a file size limit if 4GB and a max volume size of 2TB. If exceeding those, not sure if the file system will work properly with MacOS. Much better is ExFAT (for Windows compatibility) or APFS/GUID if Windows is not utilized with the drive.

As for your other Q. re-security tools or third party disk tool software-I think the answer to that is no. However, the external drive is password protected, but again, according to Kingston (the manufacturer) this should not impact whether it's searchable. The fact that it *is* searchable within seconds of it being connected—would suggest that this is searchable, correct?

So this might be worth delving into a bit more. It sounds like you are encrypting or password protecting the drive with a third party manufacturer's tools. Unless that encryption scheme is well integrated with Tahoe's MacOS, it might be restricting the access needed by MacOS to properly search the drive. If searching does seem to work for a second or two, that might be the delay before the disk encryption scheme kicks in and prevents access. (I am speculating here a little.) You could try removing the password protection to test (you can reactivate it later), but even so the presence of that third party drive tool software may still impede MacOS functionality.

A better way to protect the drive is to use Apple's OS-built-in FileVault. Then there won't be conflicts that may arise due to third party tools' incompatibilities. With Apple encryption, updating the OS should not be an issue.

Although Kingston says their encryption "should not impact whether it's searchable," there are many past examples of drive manufacturer tools unexpectedly causing major problems. One of the most dramatic dates from 2013, and here is a copy of an email I received from Western Digital in 2013:

Dear WD Registered Customer,

As a valued WD customer we want to make you aware of new reports of Western Digital and other external HDD products experiencing data loss when updating to Apple's OS X Mavericks (10.9). WD is urgently investigating these reports and the possible connection to the WD Drive Manager, WD Raid Manager and WD SmartWare software applications. Until the issue is understood and the cause identified, WD strongly urges our customers to uninstall these software applications before updating to OS X Mavericks (10.9), or delay upgrading. If you have already upgraded to Mavericks, WD recommends that you remove these applications and restart your computer.

The WD Drive Manager, WD Raid Manager, and WD SmartWare software applications are not new and have been available from WD for many years, however solely as a precaution WD has removed these applications from our website as we investigate this issue. .

Sincerely,

Western Digital

That issue back in 2013 (there have been others since then with other companies as well) was that with this third party drive tool software installed, all data on the external drive was lost by some users who simply updated to the latest (then) version of MacOS. A worst nightmare come true. From then on, I have never used third party drive utility software tools for encryption, password protect, or anything else (some of those tools have nice customizable features).

I know you prefer not to do it, but I think the prudent thing here is to copy all files from that external drive to another one, reformat the FAT-32 drive to APFS/GUID with Disk Utility, then copy the files back.

Hi Steve,

Many thanks for your replies-I hear what you're saying re-the external drive and possible impact of it being password protected; I've also read the email from Western Digital-thank you for sharing this. Kingston are a brand that organisations like the police use (in the UK) and due to the nature of my work, I can't compromise the security of my data-I've not had any data losses as a result of OS updates, etc. but take on board what you/Western Digital have written. A lot to digest, and I appreciate the information you've provided. Many thanks again.

I appreciate the helpful answer. However, I guess this means we just have to live with upside down Wallpaper until they get around to fixing the bug. Later in 2026? 2027? I will try to take pictures where it doesn't matter which side is up and use those. Right, it is not a security or performance bug, but it is irritating. Maybe I'll go just back to working on my old right-side up Dell computer.

NOW - - the only things I can choose are the Apple ones and they keep changing! (And, I do know how to set the wallpaper correctly) Something so simple as wallpaper is becoming very challenging to look at!! What is going on?

Sorry, but it is not because the photos were taken with the iPhone upside down. All my photos are taken rightside up, and have displayed perfectly for years, until the last Tahoe update. They only appear upside down, and sideways, when used as wallpaper.

All I reported it but choose to disagree with you to an extent.

Yes security items are top priority, however, what brings my wife joy is the simple functions. Like a wallpaper that changes and shows her grandkids etc. My problem is I expect that apple will learn from past experience and ensure proper testing of all features based on that experience. On virtually all major updates of the OS for the last 4 years, the wallpaper function has had significant issues. Therefore, It seems to me that it should now be on a list of things that are commonly need to be checked carefully as redesigns occur. I believe apple should do better and not ask the customer to rework old files that have worked for years.

Psych13 wrote:

@Jim505 I read your reply before it was modified by Apple and couldn't agree with you more. The onus should not be placed on the customer. Apple should be fixing this issue pronto.

You may not have to wait very long.

Images also appear upside down when dragged from Photos to applications.

[Edited by Moderator]

Same issue here. I submitted a bug report also.

Happens to me on all setting unfortunately.

Tahoe 26.3 is worse than Tahoe 26.2. I couldn't open pages, but at least my photos weren't upside down. They took down my comment about problems with Tahoe, we can't even complain.

I've now reached my limit for giving a thumbs up to helpful responses so I'm replying here just to say "thank you" to all those who have posted on this bug/problem.

Apple knows about all the problems, yet, we hear nothing from them.