# crashes when normal map import on Mac M4 Pro **URL:** \ **Category:** Feedback & Requests\ **Tags:** normal-map, normals, Macos, MAC, unreal-engine, crash, question\ **Created:** [April 8, 2025, 1:14pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/crashes-when-normal-map-import-on-mac-m4-pro/2446570 "2025-04-08T13:14:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MillTyler](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@MillTyler](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/MillTyler)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 1:14pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/crashes-when-normal-map-import-on-mac-m4-pro/2446570/1 "2025-04-08T13:14:12Z")
Hi everybody! My name is Till and I’m mainly a sound and music guy and therefore pretty much a noob in Unreal Engine and 3D in general. Also this is my first posting in this community. So forgive me if I posted this to the wrong category or something like that. Here to learn! 🙂 My issue: I’m using Unreal Editor 5.5.4 on a Mac M4 Pro chip and everything worked like a charm until I started importing material textures. It instantly crashed on me and after trying out around I found out that it crashes every single time when I import normal maps, no matter the size…. My specs: Mac mini M4 Pro 64GB RAM MacOs Sequioa 15.3.1 (24D70) My approaches so far: - Tried turning it off and on again - Installed and tested on an older UE version (5.4.4) - Reinstalled and ran X-Code in case any components were not initially installed - Disconnected 2 of my 3 monitor displays - Used different kind of textures and normal maps from different companies - One forum (the only post I could find with the exact error) proposed the following solution: „Just go to Plugin and uncheck Oodle Network and Oodle Texture“ which led to me not being able to open my project at all without crashing… My questions: What could this issue be? Are there any settings I should change in general when working on Mac M4? Big thanks in advance to everybody! Best, Till ---
**Author:** ![TimoHaapasaari](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@TimoHaapasaari](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/TimoHaapasaari)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/crashes-when-normal-map-import-on-mac-m4-pro/2446570/2 "2025-10-25T14:54:41Z")
Hi, Did you find a solution? I’m having the exact same issue on my MacBook Pro M4 / UE 5.6.1 -Timo ---
**Author:** ![SFDEMIR](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/sfdemir/32/1090477_2.png) [@SFDEMIR](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/SFDEMIR)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/crashes-when-normal-map-import-on-mac-m4-pro/2446570/3 "2025-10-27T00:33:00Z")
Welcome, Till! And thank you for such a detailed first post—great breakdown of the issue. The normal map crash on import you’re seeing may be tied to a **texture compression incompatibility** , especially with Apple Silicon and certain compression plugins (like Oodle or specific texture formats like BC5 or DXT5). Here are a few things you can try: 1. **Disable virtual texture support** temporarily in your project settings before importing. 2. Try importing the normal map as a **regular 2D texture first** , then switch its compression settings manually after import. 3. In the Texture Settings, try setting **Compression Settings** to _VectorDisplacementmap (RGBA)_ or _Default_ to see if the crash still occurs. 4. Double-check if **Texture Streaming** is enabled—disable it and try again. 5. If you have access to a Windows machine, try importing the same asset there first, save the project, then reopen it on your Mac. Also, UE 5.5.x on macOS Sequoia is still in a bit of a grey zone—some stability issues on M-series chips have been reported (especially with Metal and texture decoding). Hopefully Epic patches this soon. Let us know if any of those steps help stabilize things. **All the best and kind regards, SFDEMIR**