Why is it so difficult to get the driver to work?

[magicmicros]

I've had my Spacemouse for many years now. The best and most useful piece of hardware ever.
But the software? The worst ever.
Every "upgrade" is a multi-day exercise in install/remove/reboot/patch/growl.
And despite several months without a workable solution, I usually get it to work in the end.

But, not this time.
I was on Sonoma 14.7.x, everything was working fine and had been doing so for a couple of OS's back.
I think I had version 10.8.0 of the 3D driver, it worked great with Fusion 360, but I had an issue with a another app.
I then saw there was a new one, 10.8.6. And, stupid as I was, I updated.
That was two days, 4 driver versions and 2 OS versions ago. NOTHING WORKS.
The Spacemouse only moves the cursor a bit, doesn't work as a 3D mouse.

The 3DConnexionHelper crashes:
2025-02-11 09:21:48.701 3DconnexionHelper[1996:22554] -[TDxDEXTManager connectDEXT]
*** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: '*** -[__NSCFString rangeOfString:options:range:locale:]: nil argument'

An apparently well-known issue, since several months back. But no fix has been released.

As mentioned above, I've tried several driver versions, 10.8.0, 10.8.3, 10.8.5, 10.8.6
10.8.3 is the ONLY one that actually installs the com.3dconnexion.dext extension, and comes up with the window in System Settings for enabling the driver.
10.8.5 and 10.8.6 both errors out with this, when I try to open the 3DConnexion page in System Settings:

Screenshot 2025-02-10 at 23.31.10.png (34.82 KiB) Viewed 11288 times

Why, oh why, is it so difficult to make a software that is on par with the hardware quality?

I have, obviously, already sent all this information to support, but seeing that error reports and issues from June still haven't been taken care of, I don't have much confidence.

Does anybody know of an alternative to the SpaceMouse, I really need it for working with Fusion.
And I'm ready to pay 5-10 times the price to get a 3D manipulator that actually works.

[magicmicros]

An update, that might help some.

I read another post here about someone going back to driver 10.7.0 and got it to work on Sequoia.
I tried and lo and behold.
Driver version 10.7.0 works on my Sequoia 15.3

[AmroSalih]

I've had my Spacemouse for many years now. The best and most useful piece of hardware ever.
But the software? The worst ever.
Every "upgrade" is a multi-day exercise in install/remove/reboot/patch/growl.
And despite several months without a workable solution, I usually get it to work in the end.

But, not this time.
I was on Sonoma 14.7.x, everything was working fine and had been doing so for a couple of OS's back.
I think I had version 10.8.0 of the 3D driver, it worked great with Fusion 360, but I had an issue with a another app.
I then saw there was a new one, 10.8.6. And, stupid as I was, I updated.
That was two days, 4 driver versions and 2 OS versions ago. NOTHING WORKS.
The Spacemouse only moves the cursor a bit, doesn't work as a 3D mouse.

The 3DConnexionHelper crashes:
2025-02-11 09:21:48.701 3DconnexionHelper[1996:22554] -[TDxDEXTManager connectDEXT]
*** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: '*** -[__NSCFString rangeOfString:options:range:locale:]: nil argument'

An apparently well-known issue, since several months back. But no fix has been released.

As mentioned above, I've tried several driver versions, 10.8.0, 10.8.3, 10.8.5, 10.8.6
10.8.3 is the ONLY one that actually installs the com.3dconnexion.dext extension, and comes up with the window in System Settings for enabling the driver.
10.8.5 and 10.8.6 both errors out with this, when I try to open the 3DConnexion page in System Settings:

Screenshot 2025-02-10 at 23.31.10.png

Why, oh why, is it so difficult to make a software that is on par with the hardware quality?

I have, obviously, already sent all this information to support, but seeing that error reports and issues from June still haven't been taken care of, I don't have much confidence.

Does anybody know of an alternative to the SpaceMouse, I really need it for working with Fusion.
And I'm ready to pay 5-10 times the price to get a 3D manipulator that actually works.

You may want to get in touch with our Technical Support Team. Please visit https://3dconnexion.com/support/

[jgaltUSA]

I'm having the exact same problem. Same error.

My space mouse was working fine until the 3DxWareMac_v10-8-7_r3836 update.

I am running MacOS 14.4.

What is the solution?

[skmiec]

Hi jgaltUSA,

What SpaceMouse do you use and how it was connected?

[jgaltUSA]

SpaceMouse Wireless

[jgaltUSA]

I use the same SpaceMouse wireless on my windows 11 computer and it is working normally without any issues. So it seems to be strictly a Mac OS software issue.

I've tried removing the software and reinstalling it multiple times. I've tried rolling back to the previous two versions of the software and I'm still having the same issues.

Your software pops up a message telling me that I need to modify something in the macOS security settings. It provides a link which takes me to the security section. But it never shows me the options that appear in the dialog screen. What's odd is, I have seen the security options in the past, but for whatever reason that no longer pops up when I click on your dialogue button to access the security settings.

[jgaltUSA]

Also, how long are you guys gonna keep moderating my post before realizing that I'm a legitimate user? It's super frustrating to be stuck with a piece of hardware that I cannot use because of a software glitch, and having to wait for somebody to moderate my post before anyone can see them. I haven't been able to use my space mouse for over a week. I'd appreciate it if I could get this resolved promptly.

[jgaltUSA]

If there is going to be a 4 hour moderation delay every time I post something, it's going to take multiple days to resolve this issue.

[skmiec]

Hi jgaltUSA

So when 3Dconnexion software pop-up telling that you need to modify something in the macOS security settings, you should click "Open: Security & Privacy ...". MacOs security & privacy setting tab will open. Please scroll a bit lower under, you should find there information about 3DconnexionHelper with "Allow" button.

[jgaltUSA]

Thanks. I'm doing that step. But that's the problem, it never goes to allow part the system preferences. And when I look for it manually, I can't find it anywhere.

[AmroSalih]

There is a FAQ article available on the official website.
Please visit https://3dconnexion.com/support/faq/ins ... uck-macos/

Another article on the official website summarizes the driver extension settings - https://3dconnexion.com/support/faq/ena ... he-driver/

If 3DconnexionHelper crashes you may want to reach out to tech support.

[jgaltUSA]

Where on my MacOS (Sonoma 14.4) SSD does 3dconnexion store my spacemouse wireless settings? I'm trying to recover my last known settings from a time machine backup.