Transferring files on Brailliant BI 20/40x braille display with Mac

By TheBlindGuy07, 13 September, 2025

Forum
macOS and Mac Apps

Edit: The original post was about macFUSE not compatible as of writing with Tahoe. But although I managed to install macFUSE on my Sequoia partition (from the github download link) and the Humanware software, and everything seems to be okay, after multiple reboots I am unable to see the OSFUSE drive in my sidebar and transfer files onto my display. Using the original cable with dongle didn't help either. Anyn help will be appreciated.
Hi,
This is such a specific issue that I decided to create another thread.
Basically, Humanware make mtp on BI 20x and 40x accessible on the mac with two layers of software, first with their sort of driver I guess to access the actual hardware, which does work, and then to access the actual file system, they use macFUSE, which is wild IMO and I have enough knowledge to somehow grasp what's happening under the hood. Anyways, both softwares are necessary to be able to transfer file onto the display via usb with macOS. According to the github project, macFUSE uses kernel extension, and as such is probably more sensitive to major upgrades.
This is to tell everyone that if for some reason transferring files on the braille display with direct connection instead of usb (40x) or microsd (20x) is critical to you, and that you don't have a windows machine nearby, don't upgrade to Tahoe until macFUSE is compatible with macOS 26.
Or :) wait my green light.
HTH

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Comments

By TheBlindGuy07 on Friday, September 19, 2025 - 03:48

I don't see my braille display in the Finder's sidebar. I have the latest version of macOS as well as the BI 40X.
I'll report to Humanware and let you know.

By Brian on Friday, September 19, 2025 - 04:32

Dear TheBlindGuy07,

Technology does not like you.

Sincerely,

Brian

PS Might I recommend the Abacus? I hear those are pretty solid devices. 😇

By Vila on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - 09:29

Hi, TheBlindGuy07.

Do you know if there is any news regarding this topic?
I have installed version 5.1.3 of macFUSE on my MAC with Tahoe and I can see the HumanWare folder in the finder but it is empty.
The OSFUSE drive does not appear.

Thank you.

Vila

By TheBlindGuy07 on Monday, April 6, 2026 - 18:34

Sorry I was busy.
I am currently drafting the email to send to HW and I'll also link this thread there.
FYI the max I could ever get was a folder humanware device showing up in my home directory in finder, but none of the actual BI file system content, media transfer protocol on of course.
Tried with all possible combination of macos final versions sequoia, tahoe and macfuse. With different usb cables too just for the sake of testing of course.

By TheBlindGuy07 on Monday, April 6, 2026 - 19:12

Here's the answer I got. IMO, not bad at all. I understand that (KEXTs) was announced end of support around 2020. Plus after the CrowdStrike debacle we are very happy if kernel extensions are unpopular now. Not to mention the privacy nightmares of kernel level anti cheats on windows.
[CASE:1011345] - Contact Form
Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for contacting HumanWare.
We have recently become aware that some Brailliant BI 40X users are experiencing difficulties connecting their device to the Mac file transfer application, MacFUSE.
While MacFUSE has been a commonly used third-party solution for enabling Mass Storage transfer on macOS, it was never officially supported by Apple. Additionally, we have received reports that MacFUSE is being deprecated, making ongoing support increasingly difficult. As a result, HumanWare is unable to provide support for MacFUSE and will begin exploring alternative solutions.
In the meantime, we recommend using the external drive port available on your Brailliant BI 40X as an alternative file transfer method. We understand that this may not always be the most convenient option, and we appreciate your patience as we work toward a better solution.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Kind regards,
The HumanWare Team