December 2020 - Mr. Macintosh

Big Sur Internet Recovery Unavailable! Replaced with Catalina

Starting in early December, macOS Big Sur Internet Recovery was replaced by Catalina as the newest version available.

UPDATE 01/10/21: Apple has restored access to macOS Big Sur Recovery and it is now available to all compatible Intel Macs again!

Some of the first reports came from MacAdmins Slack members Calvin Cliff, Marcus Ransom and Eric Holtam. They confirmed that only Catalina Internet Recovery was available on Big Sur Compatible Macs. Any Mac that has Big Sur installed on it should be able to boot Big Sur Internet Recovery.

Note: This issue is only for Intel Macs. Apple Silicon M1 Macs do not have Internet Recovery.

Mr. Macintosh Video that goes over the Big Sur internet recovery issue.

How is the macOS internet recovery version determined?

It all depends on what model Mac you have and the keyboard command used.

From Apple

By default, macOS Recovery installs the latest macOS that was previously installed on your Mac.* You can get other macOS versions using one of these methods: On an Intel-based Mac, you can use Option-Command-R at startup to upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
Exceptions
If macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later was never previously installed, you will receive the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
If your Mac has the Apple T2 Security Chip and you never installed a macOS update, you will receive the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

If you use Option-Command-R you should get the latest macOS version of Internet Recovery*

2013-2017 Mac = Big Sur 11.1
2018-2020 T2 Macs = Latest version of OS that is installed. (Example if Catalina 10.15.5 is installed, you will get 10.15.5 recovery) The version is based on the version of BridgeOS Installed.

Another example would be if you have a 2019 T2 Macbook Pro with Big Sur 11.0.1 installed. If you used Option-Command-R you should get 11.0.1 Big Sur Recovery.

Problem – All Macs are now getting Catalina Internet Recovery.

Why did Apple make this change? I didn’t report on this earlier because I figured it was a server side issue. Apple would probably fix it pretty quickly. The problem is it’s been almost a month now. Could this be a permanent change or is Big Sur Internet Recovery still having issues?

MacAdmins forum user gepeto42 had some information to share on this issue.

Apple is aware, they are telling me it is a server side issue that is being worked on right now. No ETA at all, on my side I will try when I get back from Holidays around Jan 4-5.
gepeto42

This sounds like Apple is aware and is working on fixing this issue. I will keep you updated as more info comes in.

Security Update 2020-001 for Catalina & 2020-007 Mojave + Safari 14.0.2

MrMacintosh.com - Security Updates 2020-001 for Catalina & 2020-007 Mojave — Security Updates 2020-001 for Catalina & 2020-007 Mojave

Security Updates 2020-001 for macOS Catalina (19H114) & 2020-007 Mojave (18G7016) & Safari 14.0.2 are now Available.

Apple has released Security Updates 2020-001 (Catalina) and 2020-007 (Mojave). MacOS High Sierra is now officially unsupported by Apple. The 2020-006 Security Update was High Sierra’s final update. Mojave has taken its place as the 3rd supported version of macOS behind Catalina.

Since this security update is Catalina’s first it was named 2020-001. Mojave has had 7 Security Updates so the version is 2020-007. Next year they will both be named 2021-001.

Mr.Macintosh 2020-001, 2020-007 & Safari 14.0.2 Security Update video

Automatic Update Snapshots

With the move to Security Updates, Catalina does not support Automatic Update Snapshots. You can read more about this here > https://mrmacintosh.com/10-15-3-combo-security-updates-are-not-creating-backup-snapshots/

Mojave however still does! The 2020-007 security update creates a snapshot and does NOT purge previous snapshots.

I really wish Apple could get this feature working again.

The Safari 14.0.1 upload issue is not fixed in 14.0.2.

A simple example of this is using Gmail in Safari. If you update to Safari 14.0.1 or 14.0.2 you will be unable to attach anything to an email The only work around right now is to use Chrome or Firefox.

New workaround = drag and drop the file into the window.

Install Process Fixed!

With the release of 2020-006, Apple has changed things up. In the past you could have the base version of Mojave, 18G103 for example and the latest security update would show as available and you could update right to it. With 2020-006 you will need to be on 2020-005 first before you can update to 2020-006! This is a huge pain if you have systems that are behind in build versions.

Example.

If you have a fresh build of macOS Mojave 10.14.6 (18G103) and you want to get to 2020-006.

1. Install Security Update 2020-005 first.
2. After installing 2020-005, you will now see 2020-006 available for instal in software update.

With the release of the new 2020-001 and 2020-007 Security Updates, Apple now lets you jump straight to the latest update.

Updated Fixed Example

If you have a fresh build of macOS Mojave 10.14.6 (18G103) and you want to get to 2020-007.

Install 2020-007 = Done

Testing the Security Update Install Process

After all the problems of the 2020-005 Security Update for Mojave caused, I wanted to again make sure everything was ok with 2020-001 & 2020-007. I’ve installed both the 2020-007 and Safari 14.0.2 updates and have not found any issues. You can safely install both of them together.

Click “Continue Reading” to read the rest of the article.

What’s New in the macOS Big Sur 11.1 Update 20C69?

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) — macOS Big Sur 11.1 (20C69)

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) to the public.

MacOS Big Sur 11.1 was released on December 14th, 2020. The 11.1 update is the first major update for Big Sur. The release comes a few days after Big Sur 11.1 beta RC and is the same build number. Big Sur 11.1 also brings support for AirPods Max, Apple’s new over-ear headphones. New Features added to the following apps Apple TV, Apple News, App Store, iPhone Apps on M1 Macs, Photos and Safari.

UPDATE: 12/15 – 11:30AM

This version is the same BuildVersion as 11.1 Beta RC = (20C69)
softareupdate –fetch-full-installer is fixed! (Was broke in 11.0.1)
2013 & 2014 MacBook Pro 13″ Bricking issue looks to be fixed in 11.1! The BoardID for this model was added back to the full installer.
HP Printer Drivers 5.1 package updated for Big Sur – https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1888
macOS Server app updated to 5.11 – https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209069

^ Mr. Macintosh YouTube video on everything you need to know about the macOS Big Sur 11.1 Update!

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11.1 RC Release Candidate (20C69)?

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 11.1 RC (20C69) to Developers

UPDATE 12/14/20 – macOS Big Sur 11.1 final is live! I just posted a new article that goes over all of the changes and new information that you need to know!

https://mrmacintosh.com/whats-new-in-the-macos-big-sur-11-1-update-20c69/

MacOS Big Sur 11.1 RC or Release Candidate was released on December 10th, 2020. We can expect the final version of 11.1 will be released very soon. The release comes one week after Big Sur 11.1 Beta 2. The Release Candidate brings support for AirPods Max, Apple’s new over-ear headphones. New features were also added to Apple TV, Apple News, App Store, iPhone Apps on M1 Macs, Photos and Safari.

Release date = Monday December 14th (Possible due to Fitness+ launching that day and requiring the latest versions)

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11.1 Beta 2 (20C5061b)?

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 11.1 Beta 2 (20C5061b) to Developers

MacOS Big Sur 11.1 Beta was released on December 3rd, 2020. The release comes about two weeks after Big Sur 11.1 Beta 1.

NOTE: The 2013-14 13″ MacBook Pro BoardID (Mac-189A3D4F975D5FFC) is not in 11.1 Beta 2. This means that Apple could be still working on a fix for this issue. You can read more about it in the link below.

mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-0-1-20b50-released-to-block-install-for-2013-14-13-mbpros/

If you need to rebuild your Apple Silicon Mac, be sure to check out both of my new Apple Silicon articles.