Tahoe 26.0.1 (25A362) Screen Saver / Lock Screen Bugs and Issues

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Level 1

13 points

Tahoe 26.0.1 (25A362) Screen Saver / Lock Screen Bugs and Issues

There are lots of bugs that seem related. I'm sure someone else has encountered these, but I'm reporting them here regardless.

Menu bar just disappears… not the hiding menu bar feature… but just goes away sometimes after returning from lock screen. Putting a app into full screen and returning it seems to bring it back.
Returning from screensaver will sometimes display the lock screen, when the computer shouldn't be locked, and it doesn't require you to sign in.
Returning from screensaver when the screen should be locked will sometimes flash the desktop before requiring you to login (probably when the menubar issue happens).
Freeze / stall after trying to log in from lock screen. OS is still running, but can’t logging. Seems like this is caused by missing UI elements on the lock screen. That is, the login button is missing. See attached video. When this issue happens, the time doesn't update. But, the computer still is running (can put it to sleep and can also power it off without a ended because of an issue report)

Going to try to upload video to show issue of login with missing UI elements and time not updated (time is ten minutes stale here).

See the image below. Isn't the login button missing? Time isn't updated on the screen (trust me bro). But, I'm able to interact with the lock screen. I can type into the password box, but I can login.

Running two monitors on M4 Mac mini with Tahoe 26.0.1 (25A362). Cheers!

[Edited by Moderator]

Mac mini, macOS 26.0

Posted on Oct 16, 2025 2:42 AM

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Answer 1

dialabrain

Level 10

135,875 points

Oct 16, 2025 4:11 AM in response to Slipgrid

Install EtreCheck and post the report. Allow Full Disk Access.

https://etrecheck.com/

Use the Additional Text icon to paste in the report.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

The issue may reveal itself in the report.

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Answer 2

DomInman

Level 1

8 points

Oct 30, 2025 4:06 PM in response to Slipgrid

Same issue here. Seems to be a bug with Tahoe. Occurs when screensaver is active for less than the period required to require password. Try to click / keypress to exit screensaver, and Mac displays lockscreen image, but without requiring password. Nothing disruptive, but just annoying as you currently have to exit both screensaver AND lockscreen to access desktop. Only fix is to set screensaver and 'require password' to the same amount of time to prevent the two screens showing up sequentially.

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Answer 3

Slipgrid Author

Level 1

13 points

Oct 16, 2025 5:32 AM in response to Slipgrid

BTW, just happened again. I come back to my computer with the screen saver running, and I just click down on the mouse, and it shows the lock screen, but it shouldn't be displayed yet (screensaver wasn't on long enough... have it set to 15 minutes, which may be different than the report says... never used that software before and thought I'd have to recreate the issue, so I turned that down to one or three minutes when I ran the report). Then, I move my mouse, and it unlocks. I don't have to type anything in... computer shouldn't be locked, and isn't... but it displayed the lock screen, and this time it was just there... it wouldn't have gone away if I didn't move the mouse. So, this time it didn't "flash" as I stated in my report.

This seems like an event driven error / bug. Like, returning to the computer by just pressing a mouse button (using Magic Mouse BTW, just clicking down on it) goes into the lock screen when it shouldn't, or flashes the desktop when it shouldn't, and then I move the mouse around and it unlocks or locks. Weird. But, IDK. I just updated OS yesterday and just started to notice the issue.

Could be a major security issue if you can get into someone's locked desktop by just clicking the left-side mouse button on a lock screen. Is that happening?

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Answer 4

Slipgrid Author

Level 1

13 points

Oct 30, 2025 6:52 PM in response to Slipgrid

Since someone else confirmed the issue, I'm posting two videos demonstrating the issue.

One video shows the lock screen displaying and then going away without entering password.

The other video shows the lock screen in a broken state. It's missing its button, and won't allow me to login. Computer is still running fine in the background, and has to be powered off to get past it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yyZy-Oaj_lgsI2w1yyLfMBzuS56gt0Xd/view?usp=drive_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L0z2QXY15TO8sFbenGVw_ga9XQsgBup3/view?usp=drive_link

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Answer 5

Slipgrid Author

Level 1

13 points

Oct 16, 2025 12:11 PM in response to dialabrain

I highly doubt this issue is related to anything installed on my system.

It seems like it's a bug in the new release of macOS.

Hope a developer can take a look at this, just because it's something that needs to be verified and fixed.

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Answer 6

rwilder1

Level 1

8 points

Nov 20, 2025 5:57 AM in response to Slipgrid

I am having the same problem. I turned off screensaver and dynamic wallpaper and replaced with a static file. It still happens when you hit the lock screen.

Menu bar is missing not hidden. Also the windows that are open are smaller and in the middle of the screen. Mouse clicks do not align to the objects. So it is hard to even close things properly.

The only way I have found to reset the issue is a cold restart.

I am running 26.1 on a 2019 Intel Mac Pro.

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Answer 7

Slipgrid Author

Level 1

13 points

Oct 16, 2025 5:15 AM in response to dialabrain

OK, I'll do it and see if I can reproduce the issue. I have video of the issue that I took that I could upload somewhere.

Below is a link to the video I made. I also attached the EtreCheck report.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12bfEwcSOhufhwOqrnMTTIAQ3RqXET1Z1/view?usp=drive_link

Cheers!

eEtreCheck

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Answer 8

Slipgrid Author

Level 1

13 points

Oct 30, 2025 6:31 PM in response to DomInman

Glad someone else noticed this issue.

I disabled the lock screen all together, and I can get the lock screen to appear. Once the screen saver displays, I hit the mouse button, or maybe even move the mouse, and a lock screen will appear, and then I can move the mouse some more, and it will cause the lock screen to go away.

It's a really odd issue. I can't imagine it's effecting everyone, or more people would be complaining about it. But, it's annoying. It also sometimes glitches out my toolbar / launchbar.

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