Librealsense needs sudo on macOS Monterey and Ventura

[jackjansen]

I am opening this issue because #9916 has become unwieldy and has an awful lot of information that is beside the point.

Maintainers: feel free to close-as-duplicate if you think this is a bad idea.

My hope is that there are some people out there who have an idea which MacOS change is the cause of this issue, then we should be able to come up with a fix or workaround.

I presume the root cause is the continuous effort by Apple to harden MacOS against malware, that started with MacOS 10.8 with signed applications, System Integrity Protection, and all that. But I have no idea which specific feature has caused this behaviour.

Issue Description

Since MacOS Monterey any program that uses librealsense needs sudo rights. The error differs depending on the program, but it will often say something like "failed to set power state" or "failed to claim usb interface" or both:

 17/05 21:52:52,400 INFO [0x1f8359b40] (context.cpp:382) Found 1 RealSense devices (mask 0xff)
 17/05 21:52:52,416 ERROR [0x16e0df000] (handle-libusb.h:125) failed to claim usb interface: 0, error: RS2_USB_STATUS_ACCESS
 17/05 21:52:52,416 ERROR [0x16df3b000] (sensor.cpp:664) acquire_power failed: failed to set power state

There are 1 connected RealSense devices.
rs_error was raised when calling rs2_create_device(info_list:0x6000024b7360, index:0):
    failed to set power state

Requiring superuser rights is always inconvenient, but sometimes impossible (for example when trying to use librealsense from within Unity).

[MartyG-RealSense]

Hi @jackjansen Whilst I do not have advice that I can offer on this subject, let's keep the case open for a couple of weeks to give other Mac users the opportunity to comment. You could also post a message at #9916 inviting the Mac users in that discussion to comment with advice here.

[jackjansen]

I have been searching through the libusb issues, and a few seem promising as they discuss a problem similar to ours (unable to open USB devices on Monterey or later). Also: these issues are often with "camera-like" devices (which the Realsense also is: it shows up in Apple applications like Photo Booth).

The central issue in the libusb repo seems to be libusb/libusb#1014

A potential workaround seems to be in libusb/libusb#972 (comment)

That references Apple documentation https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coremediaio/overriding_the_default_usb_video_class_extension?language=objc
which states:

Starting in macOS 12.3, the operating system provides a class-compliant Core Media I/O (CMIO) extension that enables the use of USB cameras and other video capture devices. When you connect a USB camera, the system finds its default driver and connects it with the camera.

This could be the smoking gun: if Apple has handed the Realsense camera (or one of its sensors) off to its own driver then libusb (and therefore librealsense) can no longer access it.

[jackjansen]

Searching a bit further has finally led me to a libusb FAQ entry that seems to indicate the issue is unsolvable:

https://github.com/libusb/libusb/wiki/FAQ#how-can-i-run-libusb-applications-under-mac-os-x-if-there-is-already-a-kernel-extension-installed-for-the-device-and-claim-exclusive-access

I have tried unloading the KEXT that handles USB video cameras, by doing

sudo kmutil unload -b com.apple.UVCService

but it fails with

Error Domain=KMErrorDomain Code=71 "Kernel request failed: (libkern/kext) kext is in use or retained (cannot unload) (-603946984)" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Kernel request failed: (libkern/kext) kext is in use or retained (cannot unload) (-603946984)}

[timprepscius]

As I understand it, Apple started requiring elevated authority to draw more power than "normal."

Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT if it knew of any work arounds. I wonder if the powered USB hub would have any result.

USB devices that require more power than what is typically provided by a USB port may require higher privileges, such as root access, to establish the necessary processes and enable their functionality. This restriction is in place for security reasons and to prevent unauthorized devices from drawing excessive power, potentially causing damage to the system or compromising its stability.

By default, macOS enforces power limits on USB ports to ensure the safe operation of connected devices. When a USB device exceeds these limits, the operating system will prevent it from fully functioning unless appropriate authorization is granted. This authorization can be obtained by running the process with root privileges.

However, there are potential workarounds you can try:

Use a powered USB hub: If your USB device requires additional power, connecting it through a powered USB hub that has its own power supply can provide the necessary power without triggering the system's power restrictions.

Adjust power settings: In some cases, adjusting the power settings of your USB ports may help. You can try accessing the Energy Saver preferences in System Preferences and disabling any power-saving options related to USB devices. Keep in mind that altering these settings may affect the overall power management of your system.

Utilize third-party software: There are third-party applications available that may allow you to adjust power settings or bypass certain restrictions on USB devices. However, be cautious when using such software, as it may have compatibility issues or security implications.

It's important to note that modifying power settings or bypassing security measures can have unintended consequences and may potentially compromise the stability or security of your system. Therefore, exercise caution and ensure that any modifications you make align with your specific needs and are in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations for the USB device in question.

[cansik]

@jackjansen I just started looking into this issue again and I would agree with you. RealSense cameras are shown as UVC cameras, which means they are already accessed by the kext (com.apple.UVCService). So the idea would be to create a custom USB video class extension for the realsense cameras, which runs in user space and can be detached by libusb, right?

Otherwise, if it would be possible to disable UVC in the FW, macOS would maybe not attach the device.

[jen-co]

Thanks for opening this fresh new issue @jackjansen - the spam from the previous one was getting annoying.

While I don't have any insights on how to fix the root issue I noticed you mentioned that you weren't able to access the camera from Unity. In case you haven't tried it already if you open the Unity editor with root privileges from the command line then camera access is possible.

Thanks also for all the digging so far to try get to the bottom of this issue!

[MartyG-RealSense]

Thanks very much @timprepscius @jen-co and @cansik for your advice on this issue!

[jackjansen]

Thank you @timprepscius for that note on USB power draw. My feeling is that this is a completely different issue from the UVC issue. Also: it seems this power-draw issue cannot be worked around by running with sudo. At least: not always.

I've been doing a couple of experiments with a D415 on two machines running Ventura 13.3 or Ventura 13.4: Mac mini M1 and an Intel MacBook Pro 2019.

The Mac mini M1 does worst: nothing works. I always get

 06/06 13:11:39,221 ERROR [0x16fbbf000] (sensor.cpp:664) acquire_power failed: failed to set power state

Tried with and without sudo. Tried a USB-A to USB-C cable. Tried a USB-C to USB-C cable connected to the USB4 port. Tried USB-A cable connected to powered USB3 hub (RSHTECH RSH-516) and another USB-A to C cable to the D415.

I have not been able to find the Energy Saver settings that ChatGPT came up with, so it must have hallucinated those (at least for Ventura).

The Intel MacBook does a bit better, but in a very weird way:

• USB-C to USB-C cable: sudo real sense-viewer fails with failed to set power state.
• USB-C from front port on the MacBook(the one far from the screen) to Satechi Type C Multiport Adapter, then USB-A to C cable to D415: does not work. It makes no difference if I connect the power supply to the Satechi or not.
• USB-C from back port on the MacBook(the one near to the screen) to Satechi Type C Multiport Adapter, then USB-A to C cable to D415: Works??!?!? Only with sudo, but it works. It does not matter whether I connect the power supply to the Satechi or not.

My current theory is that there is something with the USB port on the computer (maybe having PD enabled?) that makes a difference. If other people could experiment and report that would be helpful.

(I have checked with System Report and there is absolutely no difference in what is reported under USB for connecting to the front or back USB-C port....)

[MartyG-RealSense]

Hi @jackjansen Do you have an update about this case that you can provide, please? Thanks!

[MartyG-RealSense]

Hi @jackjansen Do you require further assistance with this case, please? Thanks!

[MMYoloCoding]

Thank you everyone for the support on this issue. I am a little confused, however. The depth camera can still be opened and used, but it requires an annoying sudo everytime, is this the problem or the camera simply doesn't work on Mac Ventura? I just bought a D435f and a D435if online but I have only a M2 macbook, i'm hoping to help solve this issue before my cameras arrive.

[MMYoloCoding]

Has any Mac user tried to use parallel windows to open the camera? I hope someone can test try this method since my cameras haven't arrived.

[yugasun]

Has any Mac user tried to use parallel windows to open the camera? I hope someone can test try this method since my cameras haven't arrived.

@MMYoloCoding I have run librealsense successfully, below is my system environment:

Required Info
Camera Model	D435
Firmware Version	N/A
Operating System & Version	MacOS M2, Ventura (13.2)
SDK Version	2.51.1
Language	python3.10

Refer to my repo: https://github.com/yugasun/pyrealsense2-mac

[cansik]

@yugasun It would be more interesting to hear more about how you solved it, instead of just posting a link to your repository? And what does solve mean? Does it run without sudo, without any problems?

Looking at your repository, it seems that you translated the powershell script to bash. Are there changes fixing the libusb kext problem?

[yugasun]

@yugasun It would be more interesting to hear more about how you solved it, instead of just posting a link to your repository? And what does solve mean? Does it run without sudo, without any problems?

Looking at your repository, it seems that you translated the powershell script to bash. Are there changes fixing the libusb kext problem?

@cansik Just run sucessfully with sudo.

[jackjansen]

@cansik Do you have any idea why your pyrealsense2-mac fixes the issue? (Unfortunately I cannot try it myself at the moment)

[cansik]

@jackjansen My build script uses the most recent libusb version, which allowed it to support M1 chips. But other than that the main reason for the repository was to create macOS releases, because Intel is not publishing wheels for macOS on pypi.

[jackjansen]

@cansik I have no success with your https://github.com/yugasun/pyrealsense2-mac repository. I finally got it to build realsense-viewer and the resulting executable behaved exactly like the brew-installed one. Works with sudo but not without.

But I had to make various changes to your build script before it built realsense-viewer at all:

• Changed cmake options to build examples and graphical examples
• Build only single-architecture
• brew install glfw

[cansik]

@jackjansen Ok, I guess there is a misunderstanding and this is exactly what I was worried about: The confusion between @yugasun's fork and the one I was working on for over two years (https://github.com/cansik/pyrealsense2-macosx/). But regarding your question: Yes, the pyrealsense-macosx version needs sudo as well. There is no workaround at the moment.

@yugasun Could you please explain the purpose behind launching your own version instead of contributing to the existing project through a pull request? Now we have pyrealsense2-macosx and pyrealsense2-mac on github and pypi, which seems a bit confusing for the users and even myself.

[yugasun]

@jackjansen Ok, I guess there is a misunderstanding and this is exactly what I was worried about: The confusion between @yugasun's fork and the one I was working on for over two years (https://github.com/cansik/pyrealsense2-macosx/). But regarding your question: Yes, the pyrealsense-macosx version needs sudo as well. There is no workaround at the moment.

@yugasun Could you please explain the purpose behind launching your own version instead of contributing to the existing project through a pull request? Now we have pyrealsense2-macosx and pyrealsense2-mac on github and pypi, which seems a bit confusing for the users and even myself.

@cansik Sorry for casing confusing for you, because I can not run successful by using pyrealsense2-macosx, so I recompile it again on my MacOSX 13.2 with Apple Silicon, and I just publish pyrealsense2-mac for personal use, I will unpublish pyrealsense2-mac.

[AkshajGupta]

@yugasun
I am following the instructions and am running into errors
I ran
pip install pyrealsense2-mac
and got

ERROR: Could not find a version that satisfies the requirement pyrealsense2-mac (from versions: none)
ERROR: No matching distribution found for pyrealsense2-mac

[AkshajGupta]

Update: I figured out the issue in the last message I sent

I am running into new error when using sudo realsense-viewer
Error during polling error handler: failed to set power state

[MartyG-RealSense]

Hi @AkshajGupta Were you able to resolve your problem, please? Thanks!

[sidekicktec]

My Solution in TouchDesigner:
https://forum.derivative.ca/t/intel-realsense-with-m1-chips/352284/4?u=sidekicktec

[MartyG-RealSense]

Thanks so much @sidekicktec for sharing the M1 installation solution that worked for you!

[MartyG-RealSense]

Case closed due to no further comments received.

[MartyG-RealSense]

Hi everyone,

The current latest 2.56.1 version of the librealsense SDK contains a fix for SDK compilation on MacOS Apple Silicon 'M' processors and also an update for MacOS 14 (Sonoma).

These changes are confirmed in 2.56.1's release notes.

2.56.1 is currently an 'interim beta' release of the SDK which can only be installed by source code compilation.

https://github.com/IntelRealSense/librealsense/releases/tag/v2.56.1