PSA: Version 26.2.0 (57363) on Apple Silicon Breaks Input on "Other OS" VMs

recently upgraded my instance of Parallels to version 26.2.0 (57363) and instantly regretted it. I have a FreeBSD 14.2 virtual machine configured as "Other" OS that started kernel panicking on every boot. The worst part is, I've heard that this is usually resolved by updating the operating system, but I can't even navigate the BIOS/UEFI screens because the virtual machine receives NO keyboard input no mater what I do. My Linux VM and Windows VM are unaffected.

I tried running the FreeBSD 15.0 netboot isntaller and that didn't make a difference. I tried removing as much hardware from the VM as I could, and no difference. Even just attaching a boot cd with no network devices and no printer sharing, I still can't get any input in the UEFI/BIOS screen.

When I recreated the VM and marked it as 'Other Linux", I get input in the BIOS/UEFI screen, but it can't initialize the graphics card.
I had to open a support ticket and the chat agent helped me downgrade to 26.1.2 (57293)

 

Just wanted to share in case anyone else is experiencing the same issue! Rreach out to support or use an older installer to fix it.

 

That is only a mitigation to get you back up and running and not a fix for the problem. They need to fix this issue quickly in order to properly resolve the problem.

 

According to the pre-ticket chat bot, Parallels 26.2.0 has dropped support for FreeBSD.
Apparently in a scorched earth way that not merely drops support for it, but rather explicitly prevents it.

I can confirm that downgrading to version 26.1.2-57293 allows FreeBSD to run. But you may have to find it on your own, as the "Download Parallels Desktop" link only allows selecting by major version. Not minor.

 

Hmm, sounds like Parallels does not want a premium virtualization solution after all. FreeBSD is far superior to every Linux distribution. Parallels needs to fully support FreeBSD.

 

Using the "Other Linux" machine type works, the "Other" type is broken in 26.2.1 in a way that interrupts could never work.