ADAM ENGST 19 September 2025
Early in the macOS 26 Tahoe beta cycle, reports emerged that Apple had removed support for FireWire, the once-ubiquitous peripheral connection technology that took over from SCSI around 1999 and powered high-speed Mac accessories until Thunderbolt 1 and USB 3.0 superseded it in 2011 and 2012. Also known by its technical standard name of IEEE 1394, FireWire operated first at 400 Mbps and later at 800 Mbps, much faster than SCSI’s paltry 40 Mbps but far behind USB 3.0’s 5 Gbps and Thunderbolt 1’s 10 Gbps.
Stephen Hackett confirmed the removal back in July 2025, writing:
The reports are true: FireWire’s run on the Mac has ended after 26 years. RIP, my once-fast friend.
Nothing changed between the betas and the official release of macOS 26, and you can see that FireWire no longer appears in System Information.
Although no Mac has had FireWire ports since the 13-inch MacBook Pro that Apple released in mid-2012 and sold until October 2016, the technology’s software support has remained in macOS until now. Many users have relied on the Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter to connect FireWire-based hard drives, scanners, audio interfaces, camcorders, and other peripherals, including the original iPod.
Some of those devices may have alternative interfaces, most likely USB or Thunderbolt, but if not, you’ll need to keep a Mac running macOS 15 Sequoia or earlier to use them.
While there’s no question that USB has taken over from FireWire in every way that matters, I’ll miss FireWire’s evocative name, which so aptly described it. Thunderbolt is nearly as expressive, but it’s a shame that USB falls so short in comparison. Between its name (Universal Serial Bus), acronym (USB), and hodgepodge of versioning identifiers (USB 2.0, USB 3.2, USB4, and we won’t even get into connector types), USB’s branding is a stultifying combination of confusing and tedious (also see “USBefuddled: Untangling the Rat’s Nest of USB-C Standards and Cables,” 3 December 2021, and “USB Simplifies Branding but Reintroduces Active Cables,” 29 September 2022).
