Apple Releases macOS Catalina 10.15.4 Supplemental Update With FaceTime Bug Fix

by

Apple today released a supplemental update to macOS Catalina 10.15.4, two weeks after releasing the macOS Catalina 10.15.4 update with Screen Time Communication Limits and Real-Time Apple Music lyrics.

macos catalina wallpaper
The macOS Catalina 10.15.4 Supplemental Update can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for free using the Update feature in the System Preferences app.

The new software introduces a fix that caused Mac computers running macOS Catalina 10.15.4 to be unable to participate in FaceTime calls with devices running iOS 9.3.6 and earlier or OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 and earlier.

Apple says it also addresses an issue with Office 365 accounts, fixes a bug that could cause a USB-C port to become unresponsive, and addresses a problem that caused the 2020 MacBook Air to hang during Setup Assistant or when connecting or disconnecting a 4K or 5K display. Full release notes for the update are below:

macOS Catalina 10.15.4 supplemental update improves the stability and security of your Mac.

- Fixes an issue where Mac computers running macOS Catalina 10.15.4 could not participate in FaceTime calls with devices running iOS 9.3.6 and earlier or OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 and earlier
- Resolves an issue where you may repeatedly receive a password prompt for an Office 365 account
- Fixes an issue where MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) may hang in Setup Assistant or when disconnecting and reconnecting a 4K or 5K external display
- Resolves an issue where a USB-C port in your Mac may become unresponsive

macOS Catalina 10.15.4 could be one of the last updates to the macOS Catalina operating system as Apple transitions to working on macOS 10.16, which is unnamed as of yet.

Related Forum: macOS Catalina

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Read Full Article • 102 comments
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
Read Full Article • 159 comments
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
Read Full Article • 92 comments
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
Read Full Article • 99 comments
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Read Full Article • 105 comments
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
Read Full Article • 91 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Read Full Article

Top Rated Comments

eji Avatar
eji
66 months ago
I was notified of this update right after my machine kernel panicked for the third time this week. It's a regular occurrence since the .4 update.

Admittedly, I was doing some pretty intense word processing at the time, so I can see why macOS would flake out.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5097842 Avatar
5097842
66 months ago
I really wish Apple would push out a supplemental update for the kernel panic issue. I haven’t had any issues with Catalina until 10.15.4, now regular kernel panics during sleep. This is on a clean install of 10.15.4 as I thought it would be stable by now.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DesertNomad Avatar
DesertNomad
66 months ago
They really need a two year cycle on major OS versions - Catalina is still broken in many ways and they will simply move on instead of fixing it. I have been using Macs since System 6.0.3 on a Mac IIcx in 1989 and the current OS cycle is a mess. I miss Steve Jobs every day.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cericsmith Avatar
cericsmith
66 months ago
I'm shocked and frustrated that Apple doesn't address this in the 10.15.4 Supplemental Update... This has got to be impacting many professional users!

I jumped through huge hoops to reinstall with 10.15.3 today to fix the kernel-panic/lockup that strikes when accessing external storage (ThunderBay 6, SoftRaid XT). I was getting hard locks randomly when hitting disks, even if it wasn't the RAID-5 TB6 -- just moving files from the MBP 15" SSD to an external SSD, both APFS formatted.

It's been a HUGE pain... first I thought it was the RAID -- took days chasing that down, multiple wipe/restores/verification passes... then I saw the original bug report on MacRumors re: KP's with 10.15.4... I moved the TB6 to a Mac mini also running 10.15.4 to verify the problem was also striking there (without any MBP-related power/nap/sleep complications), and it was indeed...

Apple didn't have 10.15.3 available to grab via Terminal, either...

The good news is that (if you can "track down" a working 10.15.3 full installer), installing over either 10.15.4 OR 10.15.5b1 works fine. Both of my Macs are back and running w/o problem on the same set of discs... I've moved many TB's of data in the last 5 hours since I rolled it back with no issues.

I will not be applying this or any other Catalina updates until this issue has been confirmed to be fixed.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
loby Avatar
loby
66 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/04/08/apple-releases-macos-10-15-4-supplemental-update/')

Apple today released a supplemental update to macOS Catalina 10.15.4, two weeks after releasing the macOS Catalina 10.15.4 update ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/24/apple-releases-macos-catalina-10-15-4/') with Screen Time Communication Limits and Real-Time Apple Music lyrics.



The macOS Catalina 10.15.4 Supplemental Update can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for free using the Update feature in the System Preferences app.

The new software introduces a fix that caused Mac computers running macOS Catalina 10.15.4 to be unable to participate in FaceTime calls with devices running iOS 9.3.6 and earlier or OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 and earlier.

Apple says it also addresses an issue with Office 365 accounts, fixes a bug that could cause a USB-C port to become unresponsive, and addresses a problem that caused the 2020 MacBook Air to hang during Setup Assistant or when connecting or disconnecting a 4K or 5K display. Full release notes for the update are below:macOS Catalina 10.15.4 could be one of the last updates to the macOS Catalina operating system as Apple transitions to working on macOS 10.16, which is unnamed as of yet.

Article Link: Apple Releases macOS Catalina 10.15.4 Supplemental Update With FaceTime Bug Fix ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/04/08/apple-releases-macos-10-15-4-supplemental-update/')
I hope Apple makes the decision to just "camp" on the island for another year instead of going somewhere else so they can just get this OS stable instead of introducing 10.16. Social distancing on Catalina island might be good for the OS.. :)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
sw1tcher
66 months ago

I was notified of this update right after my machine kernel panicked for the third time this week. It's a regular occurrence since the .4 update.

Admittedly, I was doing some pretty intense word processing at the time, so I can see why macOS would flake out.
I was writing a paper on the Mac and it was like beep beep beep beep beep and then like half my paper was gone. And I was like "Huh?" It devoured my paper. It was a really good paper. And then I had to write it again and I had to do it fast so it wasn't as good. It's kind of... a bummer.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments