MP All Models Firewire Isight Audio is back for Catalina and Bs ?

[Fwi Haxx]

[edited] I've changed the name of the folder, so now it s the good one thank you @Andrew Kinnear
Hi all,
I was so upset that my iSight wasn't no more supported by apple system, I had video working but no sound, no iSight sound in sound pref pane ... and after some research I found this folder in my old disk....
So the fix to have sound back in Catalina [working], Big Sur [not tested yet] but probably ok , is to put the folder
iSightAudio.driver in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/
Restart and....

 

[Andrew Kinnear]

This worked for me on Catalina 10.15.6 on a 4,1->5,1 cMP.

The folder name needs to be changed though, as downloaded it's "isight audio driver". It needs to be "iSightAudio.driver" for the system to load it.

Thank you Fwi Haxx

 

[Larsvonhier]

Confirmed on MP3,1 see screenshot!
@dosdude1 whenever your timetable allows again (2021), please consider including the patch for Mojave and Catalina. Thanks!

 

[0403979]

Looks like I have a new patch to include!

 

[Larsvonhier]

Yes, while you´re still on it ;-)

 

[K two]

Contentsƒ can be found in any Mojave or High Sierra install. No need to D/L ?

 

[0403979]

So yes, this patch is only for Catalina (or newer) then.

 

[tfbalint]

[edited] I've changed the name of the folder, so now it s the good one thank you @Andrew Kinnear
Hi all,
I was so upset that my iSight wasn't no more supported by apple system, I had video working but no sound, no iSight sound in sound pref pane ... and after some research I found this folder in my old disk....
So the fix to have sound back in Catalina [working], Big Sur [not tested yet] but probably ok , is to put the folder
iSightAudio.driver in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/
Restart and....
View attachment 1682757

The audio fix doesn't work with Big Sur. Only Catalina and older. I recently purchased a Mac mini m1. I was looking at purchasing a new webcam but the one I wanted isn't available right now so I'm trying to get the iSight working. I can tell you that the external iSight camera works on Big Sur on my 2017 iMac but the microphone doesn't work. The iSight camera does not work on the M1 at all but it does show up in System Information. Both Photo Booth and FaceTime don't recognise it. However, Apple appears to have moved the audio driver folder. The folder named HAL now appears in the Library folder within the System folder. It is the one that now contains drivers on both my computers running Big Sur so I am assuming this is the new correct location. The problem is that you don't have permission to manually move anything into that folder. If someone here knows a way to do that please let me know. Would anyone here also know how I might try and get the camera to work on the M1 Mac? Will drivers from the non-ARM system work? I did read about people using Pacifist to extract and install printer drivers into Big Sur. I'm considering giving it a try but I need to read up more on doing that.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

The audio fix doesn't work with Big Sur. Only Catalina and older. I recently purchased a Mac mini m1. I was looking at purchasing a new webcam but the one I wanted isn't available right now so I'm trying to get the iSight working. I can tell you that the external iSight camera works on Big Sur on my 2017 iMac but the microphone doesn't work. The iSight camera does not work on the M1 at all but it does show up in System Information. Both Photo Booth and FaceTime don't recognise it. However, Apple appears to have moved the audio driver folder. The folder named HAL now appears in the Library folder within the System folder. It is the one that now contains drivers on both my computers running Big Sur so I am assuming this is the new correct location. The problem is that you don't have permission to manually move anything into that folder. If someone here knows a way to do that please let me know. Would anyone here also know how I might try and get the camera to work on the M1 Mac? Will drivers from the non-ARM system work? I did read about people using Pacifist to extract and install printer drivers into Big Sur. I'm considering giving it a try but I need to read up more on doing that.

Check this link!

On the same thread this method has been mentioned several times back in Summer 2020.

 

[pkamb]

I'm not getting audio or video from an old iSight FireWire camera on a M1 Mac mini with Big Sur.

When plugged in the green light comes on briefly, and it makes an autofocus sound, but it's not recognized by Photo Booth or FaceTime.

Same setup works for video, but not audio, on a 2019 Catalina Intel MacBook Pro.

Can anyone confirm video on Big Sur, either Intel or M1?

P.S. thanks for `iSightAudio.driver`. That does fix the missing audio issue on Catalina.

 

[ramaiguy]

I was trying to do this exact same thing tonight pkamb. I was digging through the garage and found my pretty iSight camera and wanted to use it with the M1 Mac mini. I happen to have the chain of cables to plug it in, and the M1 does see it in the system report and it powers on for a moment, but that's the end of it. If I come up with anything, I'll post back. I'd love to be able to use it.

 

[mattspace]

IIRC one of the problems with iSight cameras was they needed a firmware uppdate to get audio on newer systems, but the firmware update only runs on old systems, possibly Mountain Lion or similar. Be interesting to see what firmware versions people are using.

 

[tfbalint]

I'm not getting audio or video from an old iSight FireWire camera on a M1 Mac mini with Big Sur.

When plugged in the green light comes on briefly, and it makes an autofocus sound, but it's not recognized by Photo Booth or FaceTime.

Same setup works for video, but not audio, on a 2019 Catalina Intel MacBook Pro.

Can anyone confirm video on Big Sur, either Intel or M1?

P.S. thanks for `iSightAudio.driver`. That does fix the missing audio issue on Catalina.

I can confirm video on Big Sur with Intel but not audio. I know that there was a firmware update for the iSight years ago and I have no idea if mine was updated. I was told that not having the firmware up to date may be the issue. The external iSight camera did not work on my M1. I got the same as you. Shows up in System Report but that's all. This is where I heard it needed the update:

Is there a way to run the Firmware update on a newer machine?

I'm going to guess that maybe the numbers below means mine has not been update.
iSight:
Manufacturer: Apple Computer, Inc.
Model: 0x8
GUID: 0xA270004081BBF
Maximum Speed: Up to 400Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 400Mb/sec
Sub-units:

iSight Unit:
Unit Software Version: 0x102
Unit Spec ID: 0xA02D

iSight Unit:
Unit Software Version: 0x10
Unit Spec ID: 0xA27

iSight Unit:
Unit Software Version: 0x11
Unit Spec ID: 0xA27

iSight Unit:
Unit Software Version: 0x12
Unit Spec ID: 0xA27

 

[jcloeten]

I've managed to get audio working on Big Sur thanks to the provided iSightAudio.driver.
Unfortunately video does not work on Big Sur (Mac Pro 5.1), is there any video driver that
needs to be installed?

 

[djtransa]

I've managed to get audio working on Big Sur thanks to the provided iSightAudio.driver.
Unfortunately video does not work on Big Sur (Mac Pro 5.1), is there any video driver that
needs to be installed?

I have the same issue - tried an 800/400 adaptor and an 800/400 lead and I don't get video

 

[TheCraw]

I have the same issue - tried an 800/400 adaptor and an 800/400 lead and I don't get video

I have the other issue but have just started to look at this issue for sound. I had dug the firewire out and stuck it on a Mac Mini I have running Big Sur. Got video no problem (although don't find it great) but no sound. Will be trying later this week to put that audio driver in and will let you know how it goes.

 

[Warren_]

I have the other issue but have just started to look at this issue for sound. I had dug the firewire out and stuck it on a Mac Mini I have running Big Sur. Got video no problem (although don't find it great) but no sound. Will be trying later this week to put that audio driver in and will let you know how it goes.

Same here. Camera video works but the audio driver is missing. I have a copy of it but I can't figure out how to install it in the Hal folder. Has anyone figured this out? Thanks.

 

[Warren_]

Same here. Camera video works but the audio driver is missing. I have a copy of it but I can't figure out how to install it in the Hal folder. Has anyone figured this out? Thanks.

Did you (or anyone) figure out how to get audio working? Thanks, Warren

 

[erikkfi]

Has *anyone* with an M1 Mac found a way to get video from an iSight? It does seem as if the kexts/drivers/codecs don't exist for Apple Silicon by default.

 

[pkamb]

Did you (or anyone) figure out how to get audio working? Thanks, Warren

The "no audio" issue does have a fix, in the first post of this thread. I also asked it here on SE, where it has the same answer:

• https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/392436/external-isight-microphone-audio-not-working

Has *anyone* with an M1 Mac found a way to get video from an iSight? It does seem as if the kexts/drivers/codecs don't exist for Apple Silicon by default.

"Not working on M1" does not currently have a fix (to my knowledge). I asked the question here; press "follow" to see new answers as they come in. I also listed my Apple bug tracker number; please file a duplicate bug report.

• https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/412516/external-isight-camera-with-m1-mac

 

[erikkfi]

I do have a kext file (Apple_iSight.kext) pulled from my Snow Leopard install. I can't attach it here, probably because it's not an image. Has anyone been brave enough to grab this kext from a machine where the external iSight is recognized, and install it in Big Sur on an M1 and see if a miracle happens? I realize this procedure may result in the borking of any built-in iSight on a modern machine but the process is in theory totally reversible....

Oh also I did file a bug report with Apple about this. Hoping it's silently fixed in Monterey.

 

[ed_209]

Tested MacPro 3,1 running OCLP 0.2.4 and Big Sur 11.5.1 with Firewire iSight 0x102 firmware.
Confirming:
- iSight recognised as a Firewire device and camera
- No video (solid black feed to Photo Booth, Zoom and so on)
- Not recognised at all as a microphone

Attempted to re-add legacy iSightAudo.driver back into /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/ to no avail.
This configuration worked fine in Catalina so it looks like audio HAL was deprecated in Catalina and is no longer working in Big Sur. I suspect this is terminal, short of somebody writing a new device driver for the iSight.

Vale iSight, received as a Steve Jobs developer gift at WWDC2003, served faithfully ever since.

 

[pkamb]

I suspect this is terminal, short of somebody writing a new device driver for the iSight.

That's my conclusion as well :/

Which of the modern driver frameworks are suitable for an old FireWire device?

I would chip in for a bug bounty...

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Tested MacPro 3,1 running OCLP 0.2.4 and Big Sur 11.5.1 with Firewire iSight 0x102 firmware.
Confirming:
- iSight recognised as a Firewire device and camera
- No video (solid black feed to Photo Booth, Zoom and so on)
- Not recognised at all as a microphone

Attempted to re-add legacy iSightAudo.driver back into /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/ to no avail.
This configuration worked fine in Catalina so it looks like audio HAL was deprecated in Catalina and is no longer working in Big Sur. I suspect this is terminal, short of somebody writing a new device driver for the iSight.

Vale iSight, received as a Steve Jobs developer gift at WWDC2003, served faithfully ever since.

Can you check which of the various installed FireWire kernel extensions are loaded when using the iSight on High Sierra or Catalina? The terminal command kextstat | grep FireWire can do the job. Since the extensions are loaded on demand you need to use the device in advance, I guess.

 

[Auggie]

Has anyone gotten this to work?

Ever since I jumped the hurdle from Mojave to Big Sur, I've lost access to my FW iSight.

I spent several hours trying to get Leopard installed on my 2012 cMP before I realized the poota was too "new", so I dragged out my old 2008 cMP, installed Leopard onto it, and ran the iSight Updater only to find out it already was updated to the latest 1.0.3 version.

So back on my 2012 cMP, it's shown under FireWire list, but it's not available as an audio input and Facetime no longer sees it.

I really love the cool magnet feature which goes on nicely with my Apple 30" CD. I only used this for remote video conferencing so don't need the high-resolution and features of modern webcam's, but if time's are a'changin' and the FW iSight is now unsupported I'll reluctantly bite the bullet with a new Logitech Brio...