Apple’s macOS 27 “Golden Gate” landed on 14 September 2026, and printer support has been patchy ever since. Some HP owners have lost printing entirely. Others just can’t print one particular file type while everything else works fine. If you’ve just updated and your printer has stopped playing ball, you’re not alone, and there is usually a fix. Here’s what’s actually going wrong, what Brother, Epson and HP are saying about it, and why AirPrint is your safest bet right now.
What’s Actually Changed In macOS 27 “Golden Gate”
Golden Gate is the first version of macOS built exclusively for Apple Silicon. It will not install on an Intel Mac at all, full stop. The last Intel machine Apple sold was the 2019 Mac Pro, and once the Apple Silicon Mac Pro arrived in June 2023, that was the end of the road for new Intel hardware. If your Mac is a 2019 model or older with an Intel chip inside, macOS 27 simply is not an option for you.
The bigger change for printer compatibility is what has happened to Rosetta 2, Apple’s tool for running older Intel-built software on Apple Silicon. Golden Gate still runs Rosetta 2 fine, but it uninstalls it automatically during the upgrade unless you already have an Intel app installed that needs it. You can reinstall Rosetta 2 manually if an older printer utility or scanning tool needs it, and that option stays open until macOS 28 arrives in 2027. After that, Apple is only keeping a stripped-down version of Rosetta for legacy Intel games rather than general software, so any printer or scanner tool still relying on an Intel build needs a proper Apple Silicon update well before then.
How To Check If Your Mac Has Intel Or Apple Silicon
Click the Apple menu in the top left corner and choose “About This Mac”. Look at the line labelled Chip or Processor. If it reads Apple M1, M2, M3 or M4, you’re on Apple Silicon and macOS 27 will install normally. If it says Intel Core i5, i7 or i9, you’re on an Intel Mac and Golden Gate is not available to you, whatever printer problems you were hoping to dodge.
Known Printer Problems With macOS 27 Golden Gate
The reports rolling in since launch fall into a few clear patterns, and HP owners have been hit hardest so far, probably because HP has such a large installed base of older LaserJet and Envy models. One HP ENVY 7640 owner found on HP’s support community that Pages documents would not print at all after updating, though PDFs printed without any trouble. An HP representative pointed them towards resetting the Mac’s printing system rather than offering a driver fix.
Others have lost printing altogether. An HP LaserJet M1132 MFP owner reported that everything worked fine on macOS 26 and stopped completely the moment they updated to Golden Gate. A separate case involving an HP LaserJet 1020 Plus showed the printer sitting as idle in the print queue while every job failed with an error saying the printer software was not compatible with the device. In that case there genuinely is no current macOS 27 driver for such an old model, and the workaround offered was installing a chain of older HP driver packages instead.
Brother owners are not immune either. Several are reporting similar printing and scanning glitches on models such as the MFC-9340CDW, which is not surprising given Brother’s own compatibility page, covered below, still lists most of its range as checking rather than confirmed.
What Printer And Scanner Manufacturers Are Saying
Brother has published a dedicated macOS 27 Golden Gate support statement, but it is more of a placeholder than an answer right now. Every model on the list, across its laser, inkjet and multifunction ranges, shows a status of checking. Brother’s own guidance in the meantime is to print and scan using AirPrint where the printer supports it, and to download alternative drivers from its site once compatibility is confirmed. If your specific model is not listed at all, Brother says plainly that there are no plans to support it on macOS 27, which is worth checking before you update rather than after.
Epson has not published a single compatibility list at all. Its macOS 27 support page just points you back to the general Epson support site, where you search for your exact model and filter by macOS 27 Golden Gate to see what is available. HP does not appear to have a dedicated Golden Gate statement page either, and its support team seems to be handling cases one at a time through its community forums, mostly recommending a printing system reset as the first troubleshooting step.
Label Printers And Scanning Software Are The Highest Risk
If you rely on label printing or document scanning software, that is where Golden Gate is causing the most uncertainty. Tools like DYMO Connect, Zebra’s printer utilities and Brother’s P-touch Editor all need native Apple Silicon builds to run reliably, and not every manufacturer has shipped one yet. Scanning software is arguably worse off. Ricoh has confirmed that ScanSnap Home, ScanSnap Online Update, Kofax Power PDF Standard, older ScanSnap Manager builds and ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap are all still under evaluation for Golden Gate, so anyone running a business on ScanSnap hardware should hold off updating their main scanning Mac for now.
Common Fixes For macOS 27 Golden Gate Printing Problems
Most of the fixes being suggested so far are simple, even if they do not always work first time. Here is what has actually helped people:
| Problem | Seen On | Suggested Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Printing Stops Completely After Updating | HP LaserJet M1132 MFP and similar older HP models | Delete the printer from Printers & Scanners and add it again, or reset the whole macOS printing system |
| Printer Software Reported As Incompatible | HP LaserJet 1020 Plus and other older USB-driver printers | Install the manufacturer’s legacy Apple Silicon driver package if one exists, or switch to AirPrint if it is supported |
| Some File Types Will Not Print | HP ENVY 7640 (Pages documents specifically) | Reset the printing system; export the file as a PDF as a reliable workaround in the meantime |
| Compatibility Status Shows Checking | Most current Brother inkjet and laser models | Print and scan via AirPrint until Brother updates its official statement |
| Scanning Software Not Yet Confirmed | ScanSnap Home, Kofax Power PDF, ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap | Hold off updating a Mac you rely on for scanning until Ricoh confirms support |
| Label Software Behaving Unpredictably | DYMO Connect, Zebra utilities, Brother P-touch Editor | Check for a native Apple Silicon update before updating macOS, not after |
To reset the printing system yourself, open System Settings, go to Printers & Scanners, right-click anywhere in the printer list and choose Reset Printing System. You will need to add your printers back afterwards, but it clears out any corrupted queue or driver state left over from the update, and it is the fix HP support keeps pointing people towards.
Why AirPrint Is The Safest Way To Print On macOS 27
Nearly every printer problem above traces back to the same thing: a manufacturer driver or piece of software that has not caught up with Apple Silicon yet. AirPrint sidesteps the issue entirely because it does not use a driver at all. It is built into the printer itself and talks to your Mac over Bonjour, Apple’s own network discovery protocol, so there is nothing for macOS 27 to break.
Almost every printer sold by HP, Canon, Epson, Brother, Xerox and OKI since around 2011 supports AirPrint, and if yours does, it should carry on working through Golden Gate without any extra setup. We have covered how AirPrint works and which printers support it in more detail. AirPrint will not give you every manufacturer feature, ink level monitoring and scan-to-cloud tools included, but for reliable day to day printing, it is the safest thing running on macOS 27 right now.
Should You Update To macOS 27 Golden Gate Yet?
It depends on what you actually print. If you are on an AirPrint-only home setup with no label printer or scanning software in the mix, there is little reason to wait. If you run a business that depends on a specific scanner, a label printer, or an older USB-connected printer with no AirPrint support, it is worth holding back. We took the same line when Big Sur first arrived, and the advice has not changed: do not update production machines until your printer manufacturer has actually confirmed compatibility, not just listed your model as checking.
If you have already updated and hit one of the problems above, do not panic. None of the fixes involve buying new hardware, and most people are back up and printing within a few minutes once they have reset the printing system or tracked down the right legacy driver.
Conclusion
macOS 27 Golden Gate has not broken printing across the board, but it has exposed exactly which printers and software still depend on drivers that have not been rebuilt for Apple Silicon yet. HP’s older LaserJet range is the clearest example, Brother’s whole line is still marked checking, and anyone using label printing or ScanSnap software should be especially cautious for now. AirPrint is the one thing holding steady through all of this, since it never depended on a driver in the first place. If you are not sure whether your printer is affected, check the manufacturer’s own Golden Gate statement before you update, and if you have already updated and lost printing, start with a printing system reset before assuming you need new hardware. Most of the problems reported so far have turned out to be fixable rather than fatal, and manufacturer support pages are being updated week by week as more devices get confirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will My Printer Stop Working If I Update To macOS 27 Golden Gate?
Not necessarily. AirPrint printers are the least likely to be affected, since they do not rely on a manufacturer driver. Older printers that depend on legacy drivers, especially USB-only models, are the ones most at risk.
Why Doesn’t macOS 27 Golden Gate Support Intel Macs?
Apple built Golden Gate exclusively for Apple Silicon. The last Intel Mac it sold was the 2019 Mac Pro, replaced by an Apple Silicon version in June 2023, and macOS 27 does not install on Intel hardware at all.
How Do I Check If My Mac Has An Intel Or Apple Silicon Chip?
Open the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, and check the Chip or Processor line. Apple M1 through M4 means Apple Silicon. Intel Core i5, i7 or i9 means an Intel Mac that cannot run macOS 27.
What Happens To Rosetta 2 In macOS 27 Golden Gate?
Golden Gate uninstalls Rosetta 2 automatically during the update unless it is already in use. You can reinstall it manually if you need it, and that option remains until macOS 28 arrives in 2027, when Apple cuts Rosetta support back to legacy games only.
Is AirPrint Definitely Safe On macOS 27?
For the vast majority of printers made since around 2011, yes. AirPrint does not use manufacturer drivers, so it is not affected by the same compatibility gaps causing problems elsewhere. Very old or budget printers without AirPrint support are the exception.
What Should I Do If My Printer Stops Printing After Updating?
Start by resetting the printing system in System Settings under Printers & Scanners, then add your printer back. If that does not help, check the manufacturer’s own macOS 27 support page for a legacy driver, or switch to AirPrint if your printer supports it.
Should I Wait Before Updating To macOS 27 Golden Gate?
If your printer or scanner still shows as checking on the manufacturer’s compatibility page, or you rely on label printing or scanning software, it is worth waiting. If you are only printing over AirPrint, there is little reason to hold off.
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