P: Direct Camera Connect fails on Mac App Store but works from Adobe.com install

[Ulrich Kortenkamp]

Hi,

I was able to import photos from my Canon R7 connecting with a USB-C cable to my MacBook Pro – but after upgrading to macOS 15 Sequoia it no longer appears in the import menu and I can only import via "browse". The camera connects fine and shows up in the Image Capture app. Workaround is to plug the SD card into the MacBook, but I prefer the way it worked before over USB-C. 

Any ideas what could be wrong and how I could possibly restore that functionality?

Thanks!

[Ulrich Kortenkamp]

Forgot to mention the Lightroom version – it says

Version 7.5 aus dem Mac App Store

Build 20240801-2320-5b173a1

[Jao vdL]

Go to the system preferences app -> Privacy & Security. Look in Files & Folders. Make sure that "Removable Volumes" is checked for Lightroom. You can also go to "Full DIsk Access" and give Lightroom Full Disk Access there which is simpler and faster. 

[Ulrich Kortenkamp]

Thank you – but this does not help. LR already had access to removable volumes, and it did not help to increase this to Full Disk Access. I can rule out connection issues, as it works fine with Image Capture and the same cable, so I really believed that your suggestion could solve the problem. However, it does not.

Any other ideas? Or a place where I could find more information, like logs?

[Jao vdL]

Searching around apparently Sequioa broke something related to directly connected Canon mirrorless cameras. Might need to wait until another update: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-upgrading-to-sequoia-breaks-tethering...

[Ulrich Kortenkamp]

Well, the problem reported there is a bit different, as it is LR classic.

My problem still persists, even with the new 8.0 version of Lightroom. Can anybody confirm that their R7 is connecting via USB-C to Lightroom on macOS 15 Sequoia? It would be great to know at least whether it is a problem with my setup or a general issus.

[Ulrich Kortenkamp]

Here is an update – I still hope someone can help. This still does not work for me with LR 8.1, the latest version.

I managed to see some info in the System log:

23:53:35.265175+0100 mscamerad-xpc      !Entitlements! ! App Sandbox Capability / Hardware / USB ('com.apple.security.device.usb') is required to access external devices

This message shows up when I try to import – so it seems to be a permissions/entitlements problem. 

Any help out there?

[Jao vdL]

You might need to give Lightroom access to removable volumes. This is done in System Settings->Privacy&Security->Files&Folders. Look for the app and use the checkboxes in the disclosure triangle to give access. You can also give Full Disk access in the same Settings screen. You might also need to in Lightroom click back and forth between Local and Cloud (left top of window) while the camera is connected. This will throw up a permission dialog in some cases if the permission was never given. AlsoWhen you connect the camera, has it ever shown a dialog asking whether you will allow the device to connect to the computer? There is a preference in the same Privacy & Security dialog all the way at the bottom that governs this behavior. It normally should be set to "Ask for New Accessories"  

[Ulrich Kortenkamp]

Jao, thank you for your answer. As I wrote already in my answer to your first reply, LR does have full disk access. When I plug in the SD card to the computer it will show up as a source for import in LR. Also, the camera does connect to Image Capture, which means that I allowed the device to connect to the computer, it is only LR that seems to have a problem. The log message I posted shows that there is definitely some access restriction and LR is not entitled to access USB devices, however, I cannot find any more restrictions that I could loosen. Also, the entitlement is missing, which is related to what entitlements are requested for the software when being distributed via the Mac App Store.

So, thank you again, but there is something else going wrong...

[Ulrich Kortenkamp]

So here is my solution – I removed the Mac App Store version of Lightroom and replaced it with the CC version downloaded directly from Adobe. That reinstall solved the issue, connecting a camera automatically opened the dialogue asking for permission to connect to removable devices. All other ways to give Lightroom permission to access the camera did not work, although I agree with @Jao vdL that his proposed way should work – I tried, and it did not.

I did not try whether a reinstall of the Mac App Store version would have also done the trick. Right now I am just happy that importing images directly works again, and I don't feel like messing around with it.  

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

Thank you for the report @Ulrich Kortenkamp  We are investigating. 

[Jao vdL]

Ooh good catch! Apps from the app store typically have much more strict sandbox restrictions than directly installed apps so it might make sense that the app store version simply does not or cannot request the access it needs. Also these sandboxing restrictions changed considerably when Sequioa came out so this might be a side effect of that. SOrry for not looking up at  previous comments before answering 😉

[Ulrich Kortenkamp]

No problem – thanks for answering at all!