Mac users dealt with apps loading slow or not at all after Apple verification server issue

Apps on the Mac were loading slow for some users or not loading at all for others.

The Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro laptop computer, from left, a 13-inch MacBook Air laptop computer, and a Mac Mini during a virtual product launch in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. Apple Inc.'s MacBook lineup is getting a big jolt, with the introduction of laptops with company's own microchips, technology that is supposed to give the devices faster performance, better battery life and, maybe, bigger profits. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg (Bloomberg)

Many Mac users reported on Thursday that their computers have been slower than usual with apps launching slow, or not at all in some cases, along with other Apple service issues.

It looks like the problem was due to many users rushing to download macOS Big Sur, which officially released on Thursday. This rush may have crashed Apple's OCSP (online certificate status protocol) service which is used for several key aspects of macOS including the validation of digital certificates for Apple and third-party software on the Mac.

According to The Verge, Apple's status site noted that the company had resolved an issue that prevented users from downloading macOS software updates, “although it hasn't been confirmed that the Big sur update was the cause of the outrage”.

Hey Apple users:

If you're now experiencing hangs launching apps on the Mac, I figured out the problem using Little Snitch.

It's trustd connecting to https://t.co/FzIGwbGRan

Denying that connection fixes it, because OCSP is a soft failure.

(Disconnect internet also fixes.) pic.twitter.com/w9YciFltrb

— Jeff Johnson (@lapcatsoftware) November 12, 2020

Apple also reported issues with iMessage and and outage on Apple Maps routing and navigation along with traffic tracking - these might have been related to OSCP failure as well.

🤔 FYI, seems to be something going on with super sluggish app launching right now. It doesn't seem to be just us. We are looking into it! https://t.co/RZduhcBwiX

— Panic (@panic) November 12, 2020

Panic, who is a Mac and iOS developer corroborated the down time and the outage and noted that the downed service had disabled Apple's Gatekeeper technology which checks the validity of apps when you try to launch them. Panic also reported that the issue appeared to be resolved but till last evening it was not clear if that had happened for everyone.