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BlockBlock Reinstall Loop Preventing System Extensions From Loading and the Recovery Mode Repair That Repaired Persistence Hooks

So, your Mac is acting strange. Maybe some apps aren’t working. You keep trying to fix it, but no luck. You notice system extensions just won’t load. You run BlockBlock thinking it’ll help, and suddenly, you’re stuck in a weird loop. Each time you install it, it asks to be reinstalled again. And again. And again.

Something fishy is going on.

TL;DR

BlockBlock kept asking to be reinstalled every time the Mac rebooted. This caused system extensions to fail to load. The issue was due to corrupted or stuck persistence hooks. Booting into macOS Recovery Mode and clearing out the leftover hooks from old installs solved the issue.

What is BlockBlock?

BlockBlock is a small tool for macOS made by Objective-See. It watches for programs trying to add themselves to your startup items—like launch daemons or login items. Basically, it guards your Mac against sneaky apps trying to run at boot without your permission.

It’s smart. But like all software, it can mess up sometimes.

The Loop Begins

Here’s what happened for many users:

  1. They installed BlockBlock like normal.
  2. The app said it needed to be reinstalled after a reboot.
  3. They rebooted. The same message popped up—“Reinstall BlockBlock?”
  4. They reinstalled. Rebooted. Still not fixed.

This loop went on and on.

System Extensions Got Sacrificed

While BlockBlock kept doing its thing (or failing to), users noticed something more serious:

  • Their VPNs stopped working.
  • Security apps didn’t load.
  • Kernel extensions (kexts) and system-level tools wouldn’t initialize.

That’s a big deal.

macOS requires you to approve system extensions. But if something blocks them from hooking in during boot, they never run. Apps get crippled. Sometimes you wouldn’t get an error—just silence.

So What Was Causing It?

The installation loop from BlockBlock left behind unwanted junk. It placed background launch daemons or login agents, depending on how you installed it. But those were incomplete.

Each time it tried to hook itself into system persistence, it failed halfway. That meant:

  • Old startup entries remained.
  • New ones conflicted with them.
  • The Mac’s security system got confused.

You ended up with corrupted entries inside /Library/LaunchDaemons, /Library/StartupItems, or /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools. To macOS, it looked like something was trying to interfere with system behavior—and macOS doesn’t like that.

Apple’s Fancy Security Gets Involved

macOS has a ton of hidden protection layers. When it thinks something is broken or shady, it doesn’t tell you in plain English. Instead, it just quietly blocks actions.

Things like:

  • System Integrity Protection (SIP)
  • Endpoint Security Framework
  • Launch Services Watchdog

So those corrupted startup entries triggered a silent block. As a result, your system extensions never got a chance to load. Attempts to remove or fix them during normal boot failed because SIP protected those folders.

Enter: Recovery Mode

Here’s where things turned around. Recovery Mode is macOS’s special boot mode where you can fix deep issues. Since SIP is partially disabled in this mode, you can delete problematic services safely.

Steps to fix it:

  1. Reboot your Mac and hold Command + R until the Apple logo shows.
  2. Once in Recovery Mode, click on Utilities > Terminal.
  3. Type: csrutil disable (This fully disables SIP — risky, but needed temporarily)
  4. Reboot normally.
  5. Once back in macOS, open Terminal again and run:
sudo rm -rf /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.objective-see.blockblock.plist
sudo rm -rf /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.objective-see.blockblock
sudo rm -rf /Library/StartupItems/BlockBlock

Then go back to Recovery Mode and type:

csrutil enable

Reboot once more.

And Just Like That… It Worked!

After this cleanup, something amazing happened:

  • System extensions began loading again.
  • VPNs functioned.
  • Observability apps started picking up kernel-level events.

Everything returned to normal. No more reinstall loops. No more silent system blocks. Just a happy, healthy Mac.

What Can We Learn?

This story teaches us a few things:

  • Even useful tools like BlockBlock can cause trouble if something goes wrong.
  • macOS won’t always tell you when it’s blocking a system action.
  • If strange things happen—look at the startup areas first.

Recovery Mode is your friend when you’re really stuck. It’s not just for reinstalling macOS. You can use it to fix deeper issues that normal tools can’t reach.

Tips to Avoid This in the Future

  • Avoid stacking multiple utilities that all monitor startup processes. They can conflict.
  • Use launchctl list to inspect what’s running.
  • Keep SIP on unless you really know what you’re changing. It exists for a reason.
  • Watch for apps that auto-install unsigned daemons or helpers. BlockBlock usually does a good job, but things can still break.

Final Thoughts

Tech can be weird. One small issue can break big features. The BlockBlock reinstall loop wasn’t just annoying—it broke deeply integrated parts of macOS. But thanks to Recovery Mode and a bit of Terminal magic, it was fixable.

If you ever face this issue, don’t panic. Go step-by-step. You don’t need to be a wizard. Just follow the process, and you’ll find the core problem lurking underneath.

Sometimes, the key to solving a big mystery is turning your Mac off, holding Command + R, and getting your hands slightly dirty in Terminal.

Published on December 5, 2025 under .

Emily Harris