Wacom Tablet Keeps Turning Off

wacom driver problems mac

How to Fix Wacom Tablet Driver Problems in Big Sur

If you're having problems with your Wacom drawing tablet after upgrading to macOS Big Sur, here we show you how to get it working again.

Depending on your model, some pens stopped working properly with graphic design software due to Wacom issues after updating Photoshop and after updating to Big Sur.

Many received an error message on the tablet saying "Security settings prevented the Wacom software from posting an event" or no device appears connected in the Wacom Desktop Center.

Others have found issues with pen tracking no longer working after waking from sleep in Big Sur, lag issues when using the pen or general strange pen stroke behavior.

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This has particularly affected the Intuos Pro models although it has also caused problems with the Cintiq models and other Wacom tablets too such as the Wacom One and

Although Wacom has released updated drivers for Big Sur, the problem is Apple's Gatekeeper triggers an "unidentified developer" warning when anything is downloaded outside the Mac App Store and prevents your Wacom device communicating with your Mac properly.

A similar problem happened when Wacom users upgraded to macOS Catalina and the solution for Big Sur is very similar.

You have to make some manual adjustments in macOS to make Big Sur recognize them.

Follow these instructions to make your Wacom Intuos Pro and other Wacom drawing pads work with Big Sur.

Step 1

First, you need to make sure that you've fully removed any existing Wacom drivers that are installed. To do this, go to Applications > Wacom Utility and run the uninstaller
Restart your Mac
Download and install the latest available Wacom drivers for Mac. If you receive the warning "Install Wacom Tablet.pkg can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software", click "Ok" and then "Open".
If prompted to allow permissions during the installation process choose "Allow"
Restart your Mac
Go to /Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist and delete the com.apple.systempreferences.plist file.
Restart your Mac
Connect your Wacom tablet

For some users, the Wacom tablet will now start working again as it will solve the preference conflict that was causing the problem.

Step 2

In some cases however, the installation process does not prompt you to allow permissions in which case you have to do it manually.

Note that you must grant permissions within 30 minutes of installing the Big Sur Wacom driver otherwise you will have to go back and repeat Step 1.

You should find that your Wacom tablet now works properly with Big Sur.

In future, Wacom recommends Mac users wait before upgrading to the next version of macOS to ensure that their Wacom drivers continue to work with it.

If you're still have problems getting your Wacom Intuos Pro to work with your Mac, let us know in the comments below.