Other Chromium Legacy: Google Chrome for OS X 10.7 – 10.9

[MacBiter]

I've just been automatically upgraded to v119 (with the bug in). Didn't there used to be a way you could opt out of automatic updates? The updater Preference Pane doesn't seem to offer that choice anymore.

Also, every time I downgrade back to v118, it opens again with all my previous open tabs remembered - which is fine - but I have been logged out of each site and it's a right pain having to log in again. This doesn't happen with automatic upgrades, so why does it happen with a downgrade? .

 

[Wowfunhappy]

I've just been automatically upgraded to v119 (with the bug in). Didn't there used to be a way you could opt out of automatic updates? The updater Preference Pane doesn't seem to offer that choice anymore.

When you manually select a version, automatic updates are paused for one week. The hope is that things will be fixed at the end of the week... but of course that isn't necessarily the case.

Also, every time I downgrade back to v118, it opens again with all my previous open tabs remembered - which is fine - but I have been logged out of each site and it's a right pain having to log in again. This doesn't happen with automatic upgrades, so why does it happen with a downgrade? .

It just depends on whether the Chromium settings are compatible across versions, I don't know what determines that.

Sorry, I know it's not super convenient. For what it's worth I also downgraded and dealt with this.

 

[MacBiter]

When you manually select a version, automatic updates are paused for one week. The hope is that things will be fixed at the end of the week... but of course that isn't necessarily the case.


It just depends on whether the Chromium settings are compatible across versions, I don't know what determines that.

Sorry, I know it's not super convenient. For what it's worth I also downgraded and dealt with this.

Presumably, if I temporarily move the Preference Pane out of the Library folder, I won't get automatic updates? Then I can check the newest version of Chromium in - say - the New Year, and if the bug has been fixed I would move it back .

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Presumably, if I temporarily move the Preference Pane out of the Library folder, I won't get automatic updates? Then I can check the newest version of Chromium in - say - the New Year, and if the bug has been fixed I would move it back .

Yes, the PrefPane contains the script that checks for updates, so get rid of that and the launchd job can't run.

 

[rampancy]

So apologies if this has already been mentioned but I've noticed that Chromium Legacy on my 10.14 machine keeps on logging itself out of my Google sync account everytime I restart it. Is this a known issue with Chromium Legacy? For some reason I can't find any info on this.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

So apologies if this has already been mentioned but I've noticed that Chromium Legacy on my 10.14 machine keeps on logging itself out of my Google sync account everytime I restart it. Is this a known issue with Chromium Legacy? For some reason I can't find any info on this.

This does not happen for most people, so it's not a known issue in that sense, no. However, a very small number of other users have also experienced this problem, you're not the first.

Unfortunately, I don't think we ever got to the bottom of why it was happening. It has something to do with code signing, but I don't know what/how.

If you're using my PrefPane, please try uninstalling that and downloading directly from Github instead. The PrefPane is designed for and tested on OS X 10.7 (Lion) – 10.9 (Mavericks). I know some people use it on more recent versions of macOS as well, but I've never tested it on those platforms. 10.14 is very recent, and it wouldn't surprise me if that OS dislikes the code injection I perform, especially where code signing is concerned.

 

[rampancy]

It seemed to also happen when I downloaded it from Github directly, but maybe it was still using the original Chromium profile from the other version downloaded via your PrefPane?

I'll try it again and see what happens.

 

[PowerHarryG4]

It seemed to also happen when I downloaded it from Github directly, but maybe it was still using the original Chromium profile from the other version downloaded via your PrefPane?

I'll try it again and see what happens.

It may not help, but you could try clearing out your old chrome profiles to start fresh - https://github.com/blueboxd/chromium-legacy/discussions/138

 

[MacBiter]

Yes, the PrefPane contains the script that checks for updates, so get rid of that and the launchd job can't run.

Done.

Any way to know when or if that bug gets fixed?.

 

[MacBiter]

Looks like it's been fixed! It's not in Stable 120 so I guess the problem has gone away, maybe something bluebox did?.

 

[davigarma]

Automatically upgraded to 120 with PrePanel I'm in Yosemite. But error 9 appears and I have no idea what it is due to.

Regards!

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Automatically upgraded to 120 with PrePanel I'm in Yosemite. But error 9 appears and I have no idea what it is due to.

Regards!

View attachment 2324066

I wouldn't worry about it. Seems to be an error checking for an update—but Chromium doesn't have a built-in updater (even non-Legacy, remember this is open source Chromium not Google Chrome).

 

[MacBiter]

Automatically upgraded to 120 with PrePanel I'm in Yosemite. But error 9 appears and I have no idea what it is due to.

Regards!

View attachment 2324066

El Capitan fixed a lot of Yosemite bugs and is generally recommended for Yosemite users - if you upgrade to 10.11 does the issue go away?.

 

[davigarma]

El Capitan fixed a lot of Yosemite bugs and is generally recommended for Yosemite users - if you upgrade to 10.11 does the issue go away?.

I don't like El Capitan but that error also appears in it. Also in High Sierra and Mojave. I have not installed Chromium in Catalina, I will do it this week since the official Chrome does not allow me to advance from 116. The only OSX that does not appear that error is in Mavericks

 

[MacBiter]

I don't like El Capitan but that error also appears in it. Also in High Sierra and Mojave. I have not installed Chromium in Catalina, I will do it this week since the official Chrome does not allow me to advance from 116. The only OSX that does not appear that error is in Mavericks
View attachment 2324997

Given that Chromium Legacy has been produced for 10.7 - 10.9, could it be that systems later than that cause a bug or two that the earlier ones don't? To be honest, I don't know how high the regular Chrome goes in 10.10 - 10.12, but I'm betting that High Sierra and later run the latest Chrome and therefore don't need Legacy?

ETA I didn't read yours properly - Chrome won't go above 116 in Catalina? .

 

[davigarma]

Given that Chromium Legacy has been produced for 10.7 - 10.9, could it be that systems later than that cause a bug or two that the earlier ones don't? To be honest, I don't know how high the regular Chrome goes in 10.10 - 10.12, but I'm betting that High Sierra and later run the latest Chrome and therefore don't need Legacy?

ETA I didn't read yours properly - Chrome won't go above 116 in Catalina? .

Google's Chrome version continues to be updated in Catalina, but for some strange reason Google has decided that starting with 116 on low-profile machines like mine it will not run (due to graphics or Sandbox). Chome google 119 0 120 tries to open but either goes blank or turns off.

 

[davigarma]

Surprise. I confirm that Chromium works perfectly with Catalina patched. Downloaded directly from Mr. Bluebox's ghithub. Version 120 with error 9 but I ignore it (update). I downloaded from ghithub because the prefpanel installs but does not download.

Regards !

 

[MacBiter]

Sadly, my first casualty in Legacy. As those who have tried to run Netflix in Mavericks recently will know, it's "no go". I got an error in Firefox where I'd previously been able to run it, and where I still run Prime.

"No bother", I thought. "I'll run it in Legacy as I had done with BBC iPlayer". Unfortunately it won't run there either. Unlike Firefox which simply gave a 'browser not supported' error, in Legacy it fails with one of 3 different errors. Logging out of Netflix, then rebooting Legacy, then the Mac made no difference.

Clearly the OS might be the problem, or worse, the hardware. I was able to rule out the latter by being able to run Netflix in Firefox in my Sierra VM, which is where I'll have to run it in future (though I normally use my iPad which is problem-free).

Obviously there's nothing that can be done, but I thought I'd post here about something that some of you will already know.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

That's a shame, it was going to happen some day! I do wonder what Netflix changed since Widevine seems to still work.

If you must have Netflix, have you tried Safari + Silverlight? If you do go the VM route, I recommend a Linux or Windows VM over macOS, it will likely run faster (because VM vendors have not invested as much effort into optimizing macOS guests).

 

[MacBiter]

That's a shame, it was going to happen some day! I do wonder what Netflix changed since Widevine seems to still work.

If you must have Netflix, have you tried Safari + Silverlight? If you do go the VM route, I recommend a Linux or Windows VM over macOS, it will likely run faster (because VM vendors have not invested as much effort into optimizing macOS guests).

I tried first using Safari in Sierra - but it wouldn't run BECAUSE of Silverlight! (That was the error). However, Firefox was fine.
No, as you say, it's not Widevine as everything else is fine.
.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

...oh, Netflix finally dropped Silverlight support in September: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/2090 Well, they kept it for many years longer than I would have expected.

 

[MacBiter]

...oh, Netflix finally dropped Silverlight support in September: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/2090 Well, they kept it for many years longer than I would have expected.

Assuming that Legacy is HTML5 compliant, it's strange that Netflix check one's OS rather than just saying "Ok, the browser supports HTML5, let's run".

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Assuming that Legacy is HTML5 compliant, it's strange that Netflix check one's OS rather than just saying "Ok, the browser supports HTML5, let's run".

I don't think it's checking the OS per se; there's (likely) some weird DRM thing going on, where Netflix refuses to serve video if it notices anything out of the ordinary. This is the problem with streaming services and DRM in general.

 

[MacBiter]

I don't think it's checking the OS per se; there's (likely) some weird DRM thing going on, where Netflix refuses to serve video if it notices anything out of the ordinary. This is the problem with streaming services and DRM in general.

Yeah, that was the problem with Widevine too. However, it still baffles me how Firefox 78 ESR with an old version of Widevine can still run ITVX, Channel 4, and Prime Video, when Legacy wouldn't until Widevine was updated.

 

[davigarma]

Yeah, that was the problem with Widevine too. However, it still baffles me how Firefox 78 ESR with an old version of Widevine can still run ITVX, Channel 4, and Prime Video, when Legacy wouldn't until Widevine was updated.

I am with Mojave on a low profile machine and I have no problems on all Widevine platforms with Vivaldi including Apple TV. Chrome here in Mojave stayed at version 116 and for now it works on all of them. Chromium 120 works on the TV platform of my operator Movistar+ but is limited in Prime Video (low resolution) as well as Opera. Vivaldi 6.2.3105.54 (Stable channel) works fine. I don't know what happens on Netflix, I don't like that platform. Another browser that I use based on Chromium 120 (Epic Browser) is banned on almost all video platforms due to its strict privacy control (encrypted VPN, telemetry control, etc.) :-: . Firefox also works on all of them, but I don't like how it plays on my machine, it has a certain lag that bothers me