[Solved] Xcode Linker Error: ‘Undefined symbols for architecture arm64’ on macOS Sequoia 15.1 + Xcode 16.1: Diagnostic steps and permanent fix

[Ryan Peters]

Diagnostic Hardware Specs: Mac Studio M2 Max (32GB) | OS Version: macOS Sequoia 15.1 + Xcode 16.1 | Archive Source: Apple Support Community #256761653

I am running into a persistent issue on my Mac Studio M2 Max (32GB) running macOS Sequoia 15.1 + Xcode 16.1.
Whenever the machine encounters Missing universal arm64 binary slice in legacy CocoaPods or precompiled dylib frameworks, the following diagnostic log appears in Console:

ld: symbol(s) not found for architecture arm64; clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)

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 mini M4 (24GB) | PreSonus Quantum HD 8 | Audio-Technica ATH-R70x | Boulder, CO

Classical Pianist & Spatial Audio Arranger | "Verified Apple Discussions Archive"

[Karen Brooks]

Apple Recommended / Verified Community Solution

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

Inspecting binary slices via lipo, updating dependency architecture flags, and cleaning derived data.

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

1. Verify slice architecture:

   lipo -info Pods/TargetFramework/TargetFramework.framework/TargetFramework

2. In Xcode Build Settings, search for Excluded Architectures and ensure arm64 is NOT excluded for Any iOS/macOS SDK.
3. Purge build cache:

   rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/* && xcodebuild clean

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

Mac Studio M1 Max (32GB) | Dual Dell UltraSharp 4K | Logitech MX Master 3S | Tokyo, JP

Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) | Product Designer & Design Systems Lead

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