[Solved] MacBook Pro 16″ M2 Max encountering Compressor Batch Transcode Queue Stuck on ‘Waiting’ after update (macOS Sonoma 14.6)

[Mark Mendez]

Diagnostic Hardware Specs: MacBook Pro 16″ M2 Max | OS Version: macOS Sonoma 14.6 | Archive Source: Apple Support Community #256604137

I am running into a persistent issue on my MacBook Pro 16″ M2 Max running macOS Sonoma 14.6.
Whenever the machine encounters Stale background Qmaster / Apple Qconsumer cluster lockfile, the following diagnostic log appears in Console:

Compressor: [qmaster] Service cluster lockfile present: refusing new batch job submission

I verified that hardware connections are intact and tested across different power sources. What is the verified diagnostic procedure to permanently eliminate this symptom?

Mac Studio M1 Ultra (64GB) | BenQ SW321C | Final Cut Pro 11 | Amsterdam, NL

Final Cut Pro / DaVinci Colorist & Editor | "Verified Apple Discussions Archive"

[Charlotte Castro]

Apple Recommended / Verified Community Solution

This canonical solution was verified and marked as solved in the Apple Support Community archive.

Terminating orphaned qmaster processes and clearing compressor spool storage.

Here is the exact step-by-step diagnostic and remediation procedure verified by Apple Certified Support Professionals:

1. Force quit compressor daemons:

   killall Compressor && killall qmasterd

2. Delete stale batch spool files:

   rm -rf ~/Library/Application Support/Compressor/Storage/*

3. Relaunch Apple Compressor and submit batch job.

Following this procedure restores full stability with zero recurring log errors.

HomePod mini (Stereo Pair) | Apple TV 4K | iPad mini 7 (Wall Mounted) | San Diego, CA

Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) | Smart Home & Matter/Thread Integrator

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