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Big Sur Beta not Showing up in Software Update + Troubleshooting

macOS Big Sur Beta Download, Install and Availability issues.

Are you Having Trouble Downloading or Getting a Big Sur Beta Update to show up in Software Update?

UPDATED: 9/18/20

Big Sur Beta #2 was just released today and some users are having problems getting the new beta update to show up in System Preferences > Software Update. The same thing goes for the Command Line Interface or CLI using softwareupdate -l. Other users are saying that they are getting strange errors or download issues. Let’s dive in and see what’s going on here. If you missed it, my Beta 2 patch notes article is here > mrmacintosh.com/whats-new-in-macos-big-sur-11-beta-2-20a4300b/

Table of Contents

  • 1. Download Problems/Errors
  • 2. Big Sur Beta is not Showing up in Software Update – GUI
  • 3. Big Sur Beta is not showing up when using softwareupdate -l
  • 4. Other Problems, Snapshot Errors + Troubleshooting
  • 5. DTK Mac Mini ?
  • 6. 2020 27-inch iMac = Update not Found – The requested version of macOS is not available (FIXED!)
  • 7. Beta 7 download/install stalling out at 1% in the software update pane.

1. Download Problems & Errors

If you are having download problems/errors the solution is usually pretty simple, try again! Most download complaints come on the very first day the update is available. One thing that you will notice is, the download speeds can be slower. Usually that means that hundreds if not thousands of other users are trying to get the same update. Normally after a few hours everything clears up and you can download the update without any errors. I have included a screenshot of the error message that you might get below.

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Beta Download failed error.
macOS Big Sur Beta Download failed error.

Download failed An error occurred while downloading the selected updates. Please check your internet connection and try again.

2. Big Sur Beta is not Showing up in Software Update – GUI

For most users, when a new Big Sur Beta is released it will show up in system preferences > software update. Your software update pane should look like the screenshot below.

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Beta 2 now shows up after unenrolling and re-enrolling again.
This is what the Software Update Pane should look like when a new beta is available.

Notice that on the left hand side it says that Updates for this Mac are managed externally. This means that you are enrolled in the Beta Program.

Software Update might look like the screenshot below.

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Beta 2 Not showing up - Updates for this mac are managed by swscan.apple.com
macOS Big Sur Beta 2 Not showing up – Updates for this mac are managed by swscan.apple.com

Apple specifically calls this out in the Beta 1 & 2 Patch Notes.

Software Update might unexpectedly indicate updates for your Mac are being managed by swscan.apple.com, instead of indicating your Mac is enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program. This doesn’t impact your ability to update macOS Big Sur 11 beta.

Beta 1 & 2 patch notes.

As the note says, you should be fine but in this case the new beta update is NOT showing up in software update!

What if you are not enrolled in beta or something happened to your enrollment? Software Update might look like the screenshot below.

MrMacintosh.com - This is what Software Update looks like when you are NOT enrolled in any beta program.
This is what Software Update looks like when you are NOT enrolled in any beta program.

Workarounds

The first thing you will want to do is to reinstall the Beta Profile.

This usually gets you up and going again. You might need to close and reopen System Preferences > Software Update. Once your Mac is enrolled in the Developer Beta Seed, you should see Beta 2 show up in Software Update or in terminal via softwareupdate -l

If software update still says No new software available. You might need to check a few things.

  • Unenroll & Re-enroll in Developer Seed
  • Look at SeedUtil’s Options –sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Seeding.framework/Versions/A/Resources/seedutil
  • Unenroll from the Beta Program sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Seeding.framework/Versions/A/Resources/seedutil unenroll
  • Enroll in the DeveloperSeed Beta sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Seeding.framework/Versions/A/Resources/seedutil enroll DeveloperSeed
  • Close and re-open System Preferences > Software Update
  • The new Beta should now show up.

3. Big Sur Beta is not showing up when using softwareupdate -l

This is pretty cut and dry, as the GUI is just running softwareupdate -l in the background. If the new beta does not show up with the softwareupdate CLI check, follow the GUI instructions above.

4. Other Problems, Snapshot Errors + Troubleshooting

A few other things might go wrong when trying to check for updates.

  • 1. If you updated to macOS Big Sur 11 beta from a previous version of macOS, Software Update might show “Unable to check for updates – Failed to download the documentation for the minor update. Please try again later”
  • If you upgraded from 10.13-10.15 for example you might get this message. Follow the instructions below.
  • Start up from macOS Recovery.
  • If your data volume is encrypted, use Disk Utility to mount it.
  • In Terminal type rm -rf "/Volumes/Macintosh HD - Data/private/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n00000y800007k"
  • Restart your Mac.

2. Softwareupdate Error on a T2 Mac

The volume can not be used because it is not snapshot booted.

-> Current device configuration requires an alternate installer to perform the update.

NSLocalizedDescription=Current device configuration and target is invalid for install in the current state. Please try again., NSDebugDescription=[SUMacControllerErrorPreflightPrerequisiteCheckFailed=7722] Failed to perform PreflightPrerequisite operation: com.apple.MobileSoftwareUpdate.preflight.error(Preflight):MSUPreflightErrorTargetIsNotSnapshotBooted(6) | The volume can not be used because it is not snapshot booted.

If you get this error, you need to boot to recovery and set “Startup Security” to HIGH! – developer.apple.com/forums/thread/653347

5. DTK Mac Mini ?

A macOS Big Sur is not Intel/Apple Silicon unified yet. A DTK version of Big Sur has not been released yet. I will update when it becomes available.

UPDATE! – As of Beta 3+, Big Sur is unified! The installer will work on both Intel Macs and the Apple Silicon DTK Mac Mini.

6. 2020 iMac = Update not Found – The requested version of macOS is not available.

UPDATE 09/16/20 – Big Sur Beta 6 now supports the 2020 iMac!

Did you buy a brand new 2020 Retina 5k 27-inch iMac and were excited to try the new Big Sur Public Beta? If you tried to download you would get this error. HT Reddit user givemesuck for the screenshot.

MrMacintosh.com - Update not Found - The requested version of macOS is not available. - 2020 27" iMac
Update not Found – The requested version of macOS is not available. – 2020 27″ iMac

The reason for this error is that Apple did not include driver support for the new 2020 iMac in Beta 4 or the Public Beta yet. The installer does not include the 2 new iMac BoardIDs in the compatibility list. You can take a look at my BoardID index here.

You will need to wait for Big Sur Public Beta 2 or Developer Beta 5.

7. Beta 7 download/install stalling out at 1% in the software update pane

Beta 7 is having some problems downloading and installing. You might see the process get stuck like the screenshot below.

Beta 7 install problems

If this happens and has stalled out for over an hour, all you need to do is quit system preferences and re open software update. You should see an “Update Now” Button. You might need to click “More Info” then “Install Now”. HT to @arekdreyer for the screenshot and info.

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 2 (20A4300b)

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur 11 - 10.16 Beta 2 (20A4300b) is now available.
macOS Big Sur 11 – 10.16 Beta 2 (20A4300b) is now available.

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur 11 – 10.16 Beta 2 (20A4300b) to Developers

MacOS Big Sur 11 Beta 2 (20A4300b) was released today, two weeks after the WWDC20 Keynote introduction. During the Big Sur beta release cycle, only the current beta patch notes are available. When a new beta is released the previous patch notes are overwritten. I compare both sets of release notes so I find the changes.

UPDATE 7/08/20 – Apple has not yet released a Beta 2 version for the DTK Apple Silicon Mac Mini yet.

UPDATE 7/08/20 – I’m starting to see issues with getting Beta 2 to show up in Software Update. – mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-beta-not-showing-up-in-software-update-troubleshooting/

UPDATE 7/07/20 – Keep an eye on my Big Sur Need to Know changes article. I will be constantly updating it as new info comes in. mrmacintosh.com/macos-big-sur-11-0-updated-index-of-need-to-know-changes-links/

macOS Big Sur 11.0 Patch Notes

Just like last year, the 11.0 beta 1 patch notes list is huge! The amount of detail is just what MacAdmins are looking for! Let me give you some stats from the 11.0 Beta 1 Patch notes document.

  • 1 New Note
  • 1 New Known Issue

Public Link (non developer) = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-beta-release-notes

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

  • 1. The system ProductVersion is reported as 11.0 only on the Developer Transition Kit at this time. Existing Mac systems will temporarily report the value as 10.16.
  • Moving a kernel extension bundle out of /Library/Extensions might not completely uninstall it. (64331929) Workaround: = Change removes step 6 & 7 from the Beta 1 instructions.
  • macOS Big Sur Beta 2 not showing up in software update or CLI via softwareupdate -l – See my article on this here.

Previous 10.15 Beta Releases

  • 2nd Big Sur 11 Beta 2 (20A4300b) – 07/07/20 – Current Release
  • 1st Big Sur 11 Beta 1 (20A4299v) – 06/22/20 – Release Notes

macOS Big Sur 11.0 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Link – developer.apple.com

Size = 9.56GB

Product ID = 001-23553-002

Requirements – ?

T2 BridgeOS Update

BridgeOS version remained the SAME, but the BuildVersion changed from 1>3

Size = 440.1 MB

Product ID = 001-23556

BridgeOS Update Version = 18.16.10310.5.15 Build Version 3

Previous = 18.16.10310.5.15 Build Version 1

Previous Product ID = 001-18400

New Software Update Catalog URL

https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.16seed-10.16-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog

Report Bugs NOW!

Now that macOS Big Sur 11.0 Beta is live, start testing as soon as you can! You will want to submit any bugs that you find into Apple ASAP. If you get bugs in quickly, they could be fixed in the current beta cycle instead of waiting until after the public release. If not, you could be waiting months before the fix is put into a dot release combo update.

macOS Big Sur 11.0 Beta 2 (20A4300b) Release Notes

I always post the full patch notes to this page to document them for you. The reason behind that is that Apple will usually just replace over the old patch notes so you are then unable to see what was fixed in the previous release.

General

Known Issues

Important

Updating to macOS Big Sur 11 beta from previous versions of macOS might take significantly longer than expected. Data loss could occur if the update is interrupted. (59101197)

  • The system ProductVersion is reported as 11.0 only on the Developer Transition Kit at this time. Existing Mac systems will temporarily report the value as 10.16.

Accessibility

Known Issues

  • VoiceOver might be unavailable at certain times while installing macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (63025357)

App Store

New Features

AppKit

Auto Unlock

Known Issues

  • You might be unable to set up Auto Unlock. (64120075)

Calendar

Known Issues

  • If you click the Directions button on a calendar notification, Maps might not launch as expected. (63697152)
  • It isn’t possible to edit Calendar widgets. (63984003)
  • Accounts might not be visible in Preferences. (64117985)

Continuity

Known Issues

  • Continuity Handoff isn’t currently available in macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (64140413)

Core ML

Known Issues

Deprecations

  • The default initializer on the auto-generated model interface has been deprecated in favor of init(configuration:). Please use init(configuration:) or the newly introduced .load() method and handle model load errors as appropriate. (64432588)

Desktop Picture

Known Issues

  • If the desktop picture was never changed from the default macOS Catalina 10.15 image, it will persist after updating to macOS Big Sur 11 beta, even though the new default desktop picture is displayed in Desktop and Screen Saver preferences. (64390185)

Installer and Software Update

Known Issues

  • If you updated to macOS Big Sur 11 beta from a previous version of macOS, Software Update might show “Unable to check for updates – Failed to download the documentation for the minor update. Please try again later”. (63158434)Workaround:
    1. Start up from macOS Recovery.
    2. If your data volume is encrypted, use Disk Utility to mount it.
    3. In Terminal type rm -rf "/Volumes/Macintosh HD - Data/private/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n00000y800007k"
    4. Restart your Mac.
  • You might need to adjust Energy Saver settings so your Mac doesn’t go to sleep while preparing to install macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (63166401)
  • APFS containers with non-default allocation block sizes aren’t currently supported for installation. (64312561)
  • Update iMac Pro to macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 or later before installing macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (64314272)
  • Installation might pause on Macs that don’t have input devices connected. (64348347)Workaround: Connect an input device and dismiss the alerts to continue installation.
  • You might be unable to install macOS Big Sur 11 beta onto additional volumes. (63677460, 64445236)Workaround: Create a bootable installer using the createinstallmedia command.
  • Software Update might unexpectedly indicate updates for your Mac are being managed by swscan.apple.com, instead of indicating your Mac is enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program. This doesn’t impact your ability to update macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (64407436)
  • If macOS Big Sur 11 beta is installed into the same APFS container as previous versions of macOS, system software updates can no longer be installed on the previous versions of macOS. (64411484)
  • Installation on Core Storage Fusion volumes with FileVault encryption enabled isn’t currently supported. (64472080)

Kernel

New Features

  • The kern.argmax limit has been increased, allowing programs to receive longer argument lists. (48661669)
  • Darwin kevent now allows non-parent processes to register for NOTE_EXITSTATUS, which delivers the same values as the wait() family of functions in the event data. Refer to the wait4() man page for more information. This event is subject to the following security checks:
    • The requesting process is allowed to send signals by sandbox restrictions.
    • The requesting process and the target process are running as the same user or the requesting process has root privileges. (58134463)

Known Issues

  • Installing a new kernel extension requires signing in as an Admin user. During kernel extension development, every time a kernel extension is changed, it must be signed and notarized. In both cases, your Mac must be restarted to load the extension. (55068348)
  • Remote panic dumps aren’t currently available. (57915324)
  • New in macOS Big Sur 11 beta, the system ships with a built-in dynamic linker cache of all system-provided libraries. As part of this change, copies of dynamic libraries are no longer present on the filesystem. Code that attempts to check for dynamic library presence by looking for a file at a path or enumerating a directory will fail. Instead, check for library presence by attempting to dlopen() the path, which will correctly check for the library in the cache. (62986286)
  • kmutil install might fail to build a development kextcache. (63772702)Workaround: Copy the release .elides to the locations of the development .elides:sudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.development.elidessudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.kasan.elides sudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.debug.elidessudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.development.elidessudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.kasan.elidessudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.debug.elides
  • Use only absolute paths with the --volume-root option of kmutil, and don’t use a trailing /. (63773848)
  • After removing a DriverKit extension, restart your Mac to complete uninstallation. (63995046)
  • Adhoc signed kernel extensions are displayed with a developer name of unknown in update dialogs and in Security preferences. (64215260)
  • Symbols exported by both xnu and Apple kernel extensions will change. Recompile your kernel extension with each update to macOS Big Sur 11 beta to ensure compatibility. (64262563)
  • Moving a kernel extension bundle out of /Library/Extensions might not completely uninstall it. (64331929)Workaround:
    1. Remove the extension from /Library/Extensions.
    2. Boot to macOS Recovery.
    3. Run Terminal.
    4. Enter the command kmutil trigger-panic-medic --volume-root /Volumes/<YourVolumeName>.
    5. Restart your Mac.
  • An unexpected System Extension Updated alert for third-party kernel extensions which are included in macOS might appear. These include: Accusys, Inc., ATTO Technology, Inc., Areca Technology Corporation, CalDigit, Inc., HighPoint Technologies, Inc., Promise Technology Mobile Apps, and Other World Computing. (64337113)

Deprecations

  • Kernel extensions using certain deprecated KPIs no longer load. Refer to the support page. While macOS Big Sur remains in development, you can temporarily disable System Integrity Protection to allow these deprecated extensions to load. (55068348)

Localization

Known Issues

  • Certain languages might exhibit clipped or misaligned layout. (63105445)
  • Certain languages might display unlocalized text. (63105674, 64040564, 64045718)
  • Some keyboard shortcuts might not work when running macOS Big Sur 11 beta in a language other than English. (63834383)

Location

Known Issues

Logging

New Features

  • New APIs are available for using os_log from Swift as part of the os framework:
    • A new type Logger can be instantiated using a subsystem and category and provides methods for logging at different levels (debug(_:), error(_:), fault(_:)).
    • The Logger APIs support specifying most formatting and privacy options supported by legacy os_log APIs.
    • The new APIs provide significant performance improvements over the legacy APIs.
    • You can now pass Swift string interpolation to the os_log function.
    Note: The new APIs can’t be back deployed; however, the existing os_log API remains available for back deployment. (22539144)

Mac Catalyst

Known Issues

  • Content Extensions require a temporary workaround. (57442394)Workaround: Add the following key/value pair to the NSExtension dictionary in the Info.plist: "NSExtensionContainingViewControllerClass" = "_UNNotificationContentExtensionViewController".
  • The new PHPickerViewController API currently produces unexpected results. (63631906)

Messages

Known Issues

  • If Messages is launched immediately after logging into iCloud, a login window might be displayed unexpectedly. (56309057)Workaround: Relaunch Messages after a few minutes or try restarting your Mac.
  • You might be unable to type in the photo picker search field when attaching a photo. (60011306)Workaround: Click the search field, press the tab key, then click the search field again.
  • You might receive an alert that indicates the maximum number of pinned conversations has been reached. (62919406)Workaround: Pin the conversation using drag and drop instead of using a swipe action or quick action with Haptic Touch.
  • Keyboard navigation to move focus between controls isn’t currently available. (63987810)
  • Messages Preferences are inaccessible until at least one message has been sent or received. (64122975)
  • Autocomplete fields and conversation titles aren’t visible while Messages is in full-screen mode. (64134303)
  • Message outlines might be missing when printing or exporting a conversation as a PDF. (64181169)
  • The first and last name fields in Messages Preferences might be misaligned. (64346872)Workaround: Set up your name in Messages Preferences by following the placeholder text then close and reopen Messages Preferences.

Metal

Known Issues

  • The logs property isn’t currently available from Swift while using Shader Validation. (64055248)

Migration Assistant

Known Issues

  • You might need to reset the password for a Standard account after migration, if the previous password doesn’t work. (63878129)Workaround: Log into an Admin account and change the Standard account’s password in the Users & Groups system preference.

Motion

Known Issues

  • Many elements of the user interface are currently missing when running Motion on macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (62531765)

Music

Known Issues

  • Music might quit unexpectedly while using the search field. (64183834)

Networking

New Features

  • Experimental HTTP/3 support can be enabled in Safari via Experimental Features in the Developer menu, and enabled system-wide using the Terminal command defaults write -g CFNetworkHTTP3Override -int 3. (62969220)

Known Issues

  • HTTP/3 Draft 29 isn’t yet supported. (63524866)

Phone and FaceTime

Known Issues

  • Regular and emergency Wi-Fi calling using iPadOS 14 beta, macOS Big Sur 11 beta, and watchOS 7 beta isn’t currently available for T-Mobile USA customers. (63078572)

Quartz

Known Issues

  • Importing Quartz or PDFKit frameworks in the macOS SDK might result in an errors such as “Umbrella for module ‘Quartz.PDFKit’ already covers this directory”. (63886438)

Safari and Webkit

New Features

  • Support for Web Extensions is now available. Existing Chrome and Firefox extensions can be converted for Safari using xcrun safari-web-extension-converter and distributed through the App Store for use in Safari 14. (55707949)
  • Webpage Translation is now available in the U.S. and Canada. Supported languages include English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese. Safari will automatically detect if translation is available based on your Preferred Languages list. (64437861)

Known Issues

  • Safari might quit unexpectedly when opening the Start Page if Frequently Visited Sites are visible as thumbnails. (63945984)Workaround: Make the window wider, hide the sidebar, or Control-click on Frequently Visited Sites and choose View as Icons.

Security

New Features

  • macOS Big Sur 11 beta improves system security by requiring an administrator password when a certificate trust settings change is made in the admin trust domain. Running as the root user alone is no longer sufficient to modify certificate trust. User trust domain settings continue to require confirmation by entering the password for the user’s account. This change may affect you if one of the following is true:
    • You have written scripts which call /usr/bin/security add-trusted-cert -d ... as root.
    • Your process runs as root and calls the SecTrustSettingsSetTrustSettings function to trust a certificate.
  • Workflows that add trust settings in the admin trust domain, such as for an enterprise root certificate, may require modification if the user can’t authenticate as an administrator at the time settings are changed. (21855995)Workaround: Use Apple Configurator 2 to create and install a configuration profile containing your root certificate.

Spotlight

Known Issues

  • When quickly typing a search query in Spotlight, the result from a previous search might appear, then pressing return may create a wrong launch shortcut for subsequent queries. (64428836)Workaround: Type your query and click the desired result from the list that appears.
  • If you can’t find an application using Spotlight, launch the application at least once using Finder. (64463806)

SwiftUI

Known Issues

  • Disclosure groups in Forms might produce unexpected results. (64079102)
  • Nested disclosure groups generated by OutlineGroup might produce unexpected results. (64097731)
  • The SceneStorage property wrapper isn’t yet supported. (64414712)
  • A label used with a symbol image might appear misaligned. (60193698)

SystemExtensions

Known Issues

  • Driver extensions might not launch on-demand after installation. (51229724)Workaround: Disable System Integrity Protection, then launch Terminal and execute the following command before approving the newly installed driver: sudo touch /Library/DriverExtensions.

Touch ID

Known Issues

  • Touch ID might become unexpectedly disabled on Macs with a T2 Security Chip after installing multiple operating systems. (62608379)Workaround: Reset the SMC of your Mac.

Third-Party Apps

Known Issues

  • CMake might not run, install, or might generate invalid outputs. (62905973)Workaround: Update to CMake 3.18rc1.
  • Unsigned apps and app extensions might unexpectedly receive nil from calls to containerURLForSecurityApplicationGroupIdentifier: when a URL was received with earlier versions of macOS. (64290206)Workaround: Check for nil returns from this API call.

Virtualization

New Features

Deprecations

Vision

Known Issues

Deprecations

Weather

Known Issues

  • The Weather widget may unexpectedly display weather for Cupertino instead of your current location. (64118168)

Xcode Previews

Resolved Issues

  • Rebuilding against the iOS 14, macOS 11, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14 SDKs changes uses of GeometryReader to reliably top-leading align the views inside the GeometryReader. This was the previous behavior, except when it wasn’t possible to detect a single static view inside the GeometryReader. (59722992) (FB7597816)

10.15.5 Update Resets Automatic Proxy Configuration Setting & URL

MrMacintosh.com - 0.15.5 Update Resets Automatic Proxy Configuration Setting & URL
macOS Catalina 10.15.5 update resets Automatic Proxy Configuration & URL

The 10.15.5 Update Erases Auto Proxy Setting + Proxy URL

Does your organization use a corporate proxy? Do you set the Automatic Proxy Configuration & URL via script? If so, you better check your proxy settings after installing the 10.15.5 update. On MacAdmins we have our own sad channel called #proxylife. It’s more of a support group for proxy issues.

10.15.1-10.15.5 Update Problems

This is my 10th article on Catalina Update issues. Take a look at the links below if you are interested.

Let’s take a closer look.

The test setup to reproduce this issue is pretty straight forward.

  • Build out a fresh 10.15.4 system
  • System Preferences > Network > Advanced > Proxy Tab
  • Verify Proxy settings (Proxy settings set with script in this test)
  • Update to 10.15.5
  • Automatic Proxy Configuration now UNCHECKED + Proxy URL erased.

Proxy Settings

NOTE: This test was set with a script that would run the following commands.

  • networksetup -setautoproxystate <networkservice> <on off>
  • networksetup -setautoproxyurl <networkservice> <proxyurl>

What can I do about this?

Let Apple know. Hopefully this can still be fixed in 10.15.6, we are quickly running out of time.

Until then, you will probably want your proxy configuration to still be set after the update. You could do the following as a workaround.

  • MDM Policy that will set the Proxy Settings again after the Update.
  • Install a LaunchDaemon that will run after the update to set the proxy setting again.
  • Install Proxy settings as a PROFILE. Note: I have not tested this to see if the settings still remain after the update. My guess the profile settings will remain. Please let me know if you have tested this.

Feedback Assistant Request #

I am having mixed success getting some of these issues fixed. I think we need a flag lead us. From now on, I will submit a FeedBack Assistant Request for each issue that I post about. You can reference this number when submitting your request.
NOTE: My request will not be enough, to get issues fixed we need to submit multiple requests to get proper visibility inside Apple Care.

FB7830358 – 10.15.5 Update Resets Automatic Proxy Configuration to OFF + Deletes Proxy Configuration File URL

Software Updates

Now is a good time to mention that we still need the ability to –ignore minor software updates.

Listed below are a few articles to help you understand the current situation.

I hope that my articles have helped you! If you have any questions, leave a comment below or Contact Me.

Big Sur Beta 1 & Jamf Pro = Enrollment Problems + Workaround

MrMacintosh.com - Big Sur Beta 1 Jamf Enrollment Problems
The Jamf Enrollment process is having issues on macOS Big Sur Beta 1

Time to Start Testing Big Sur Beta Against Your MDM Workflows!

By now, you have already heard the news, the annual macOS release is here! The new OS is called Big Sur and is now macOS 11! That’s neat and all, but it’s time to start testing workflows. Time is of the essence, we only have about 10 or so beta releases before Big Sur is production ready.

Every year I put together a “Need to Know” article on all the latest macOS Beta changes. You can check out the post below, I will keep it updated new information comes out.

mrmacintosh.com/macos-big-sur-11-0-updated-index-of-need-to-know-changes-links/

Jamf Pro & Big Sur

Big Sur enrollment using Jamf Pro is currently Broken. If you attempt to take Big Sur Beta 1 through DEP/Automated Enrollment it will fail. Behind the scenes, the jamf binary is not installing properly. A quick workaround is to build out a 10.15.5 Mac, then enroll it in to Jamf Pro. Run the Big Sur Upgrade and your Mac will be fully working with Jamf Pro.

@franton gives a great overview of why Jamf Pro is having enrollment issues on Big Sur. jamf.com/jamf-nation/feature-requests/9531/jamf-enrollment-improvement-suggestion

As far as I can tell, the enrollment process is InstallApplication a zero payload pkg which then curls down the jamf binary. The binary is then trying to install the JSS communication certificate via the profiles command and this doesn’t work with Big Sur. The end result is I have a mac with the binary but no way for it to “phone home”.

franton

Fresh Big Sur Install Workaround

You just finished installing Big Sur, and don’t want to waste time erasing the drive + reinstalling the OS two times! There has to be a better way.

The workaround is pretty simple if your Mac serial number is in DEP.

  • 1. Build out fresh Big Sur Beta 1 Mac
  • 2. You are now at the Setup Assistant
  • 2. Do not connect the Mac to WiFi or Ethernet
  • 4. Create Local Account
  • 5. Connect to network
  • 6. Run sudo profiles renew -type enrollment
  • 7. You will see an enrollment notification in the upper right corner.
  • 8. The enrollment will fail.
  • 9. Use Recon.app to create QuickAdd.pkg Or use the quickadd enrollment URL = https://your.jps.com/enroll?type=QuickAdd
  • 10. Copy QuickAdd.pkg to Target Mac & Install Or run QuickAdd.pkg from downloads.

That’s it! You are now enrolled into Jamf Pro. Tomorrow I will try with the https://casperserverhere.domain.com:8443/enroll method to see if can figure out . This would be for any mac that is not enrolled into DEP.

Hat Tip goes out to MacAdmin @kennyb for testing this method. I was able to verify the method this afternoon.

Jamf fix Coming in the Next Beta Release

Jamf said just today, that they found the enrollment issue last week and a fix is coming in the next beta release!

Non DEP Mac Enrollment

MacAdmin @aaronpolley put together instructions for enrolling a device that is not in DEP. In his example, he is pulling directly from his Jamf Cloud instance and manually creating a Jamf configuration file.

Aaron’s instructions start below.

If anyone is testing macOS 11 Beta and using Jamf Pro as your MDM, the jamf binary fails to install and complete the enrolment (as some mentioned here already)I am putting together some notes to submit in the correct places….. however for the short term here are the steps to get the Binary installed and complete the enrolment (for either DEP or UIE)

sudo -i

mkdir -p /usr/local/bin/
mkdir -p /usr/local/jamf/bin/
cd /usr/local/jamf/bin/

rm ./jamf.gz

curl "https://yoururl.jamfcloud.com/bin/level1/jamf.gz" -o ./jamf.gz

rm ./jamf

gunzip ./jamf.gz

chmod 755 ./jamf

chown root:wheel ./jamf 

./jamf createConf -server https://yoururl.jamfcloud.com

defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.jamfsoftware.jamf.plist jss_url "https://yoururl.jamfcloud.com/"

defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.jamfsoftware.jamf.plist

ln -s /usr/local/jamf/bin/jamf /usr/local/bin/

./jamf enroll -prompt -verbose

You will need to trust the CA cert using your admin password via UI password prompt rather than it passing through via CLI when rootas in the pastAlso as shared previously this gives some greate debugging feedback WHILE the initial MDM enrolment is occuring, so best run whilst doing a DEP Nag enrolment (profiles renew -type enrollment) or via UIE:

log stream --info --debug --predicate 'processImagePath contains "mdmclient" OR processImagePath contains "storedownloadd"

NOTE: Please keep in mind, the instructions in this article are for testing only and are not for a production Mac

Big Sur Jamf Enrollment

How To Install macOS Big Sur Beta on VMware Fusion & Parallels Desktop

MrMacintosh.com - Install macOS Big Sur 11 on VMware Fusion & Parallels Desktop
Install macOS Big Sur 11 on VMware Fusion & Parallels Desktop

How To Install macOS Big Sur on VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop.

Like clockwork, Apple delivers a new macOS every year. MacAdmins need to start testing the new OS right way. Running the new os in a virtualized environment is the way to go. The only problem is, sometimes the new OS will not install on the current version of VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop.

Many MacAdmins have already jumped in to find out if macOS Big Sur will install on Fusion or Parallels. The initial report is that a straight install will NOT work. The macOS Big Sur installer presents this error to you.

The operation couldn't be completed. (BIErrorDomain error 3.)

Table of Contents

  • 1. Updates
  • 2. Notes
  • 3. Creating a bootable macOS Big Sur ISO
  • 4. Creating a bootable macOS Big Sur dmg
  • 5. How To Install Big Sur 11 on VMware Fusion
  • 6. How To Install Big Sur 11 on Parallels Desktop
  • 7. How To Install Big Sur 11 on ESXi

Updates – 7/08/20

VMware Fusion Tech Preview 20H2 is now available!!

blogs.vmware.com/teamfusion/2020/07/fusion-big-sur-tech-preview.html

Direct link to the download – https://bit.ly/get-fusion-tp

Be sure to check out the workarounds section. Below is one example.

Big Sur guests may log out unexpectedly and/or display a black screen when clicking an invisible icon in the upper right corner of the display.

  • Workaround: There is no workaround at this time, we are continuing to investigate

VMware just posted this update.

Tech Preview of Fusion is coming in early July.

2. Notes

  • VM Tools – Even though Big Sur to works on Parallels and Fusion, do not install VM tools yet. Some reports say that after installing VM tools the system boots fine YMMV.
  • Parallels Tools – VM can get stuck on a black screen after the reboot. Would recommend not installing the tools.
  • Parallels – VRAM seems suck at 3mb, causing slow response.
  • Keyboard & Login Issues – Getting reports that VM’s are not accepting certain keys. 1, 2, t and y keys. You need to hold FN key to make them work.

3. Creating a bootable Big Sur ISO

The instructions below will create a bootable Big Sur ISO.

hdiutil create -size 12G -fs hfs+ -volname macOSInstaller -type SPARSEBUNDLE /Users/Shared/macOSInstaller

hdiutil attach /Users/Shared/macOSInstaller.sparsebundle
"[path to]/createinstallmedia" --volume /Volumes/macOSInstaller --nointeraction

hdiutil detach /Volumes/Install\ macOS\ Beta

hdiutil makehybrid -o /Users/Shared/macOSInstaller /Users/Shared/macOSInstaller.sparsebundle

# Now create a macOS 10.15 VM with a 50 GB disk i Fusion

# Connect the virtual optical drive to /Users/Shared/macOSInstaller.iso

# Boot and install (you may need to "adjust" the disk Disk Utility to recognize the full capacity)

4. Creating a bootable Big Sur .dmg

Below is a script that Nathan Worster wrote to create a bootable macOS Big Sur Beta dmg.

#!/bin/bash

####################
# Notes            #                 
####################
#
# Created 20200625 by Nathan Worster
#
# This script assumes that the macOS Beta installer is already staged in the Applications folder, and will convert that .app installer into a bootable .dmg.
# To download the latest macOS beta, go to https://developer.apple.com/download/ or, if applicable, https://appleseed.apple.com/.
# The .dmg file will be placed in ~/Downloads.
# This script must be run with sudo using "sudo bash <filename>" if run outside of an MDM.
# 
####################
# Variables        #
####################

dmgName=$"macOS11BigSurBeta"

####################
# Script           #
####################

cd ~/Downloads

# Create and mount sparse volume:
hdiutil create -o install_container -size 20G -layout SPUD -fs HFS+J -type SPARSE
hdiutil attach install_container.sparseimage -noverify -mountpoint /Volumes/install_build

# Copy contents of installer .app into mounted volume:
/Applications/Install\ macOS\ Beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --nointeraction --volume /Volumes/install_build

# Detach the completed image:
hdiutil detach -force /Volumes/Install\ macOS\ Beta

# Convert and rename the image:
hdiutil convert install_container.sparseimage -format UDZO -o $dmgName.dmg

# Cleanup

rm install_container.sparseimage

exit 0

5. How To Install Big Sur 11 on VMware Fusion

Requirements

  1. Disk Size – 50-60GB+ Virtual disk size required (40GB Standard size does not seem to work)
  2. Clean install vs Upgrade – A Big Sur Upgrade from Mojave or Catalina is the easiest path. Usually all the values that I mention below are already set, so you have a clear path.
  3. Mac Compatibility – Note if the hw.model is not supported for Big Sur the install will fail. You can fake it by setting a different hw.model and board-id. Be sure to check the compatibility list here.

Install Instructions

If you would like to use the same values from your Mac you can set this attribute. HT @lamw for the simplification!

  • smbios.reflectHost = "TRUE"

You can also manually set the the required values. The example below = 16-inch MacBook Pro.

  • hw.model = "MacBookPro16,1"
  • board-id = "Mac-E1008331FDC96864"
  • serialNumber = "serialnumberhere" (For DEP Enrollment testing)

To get the values you can run the following commands

  • sysctl hw.model = Model
  • ioreg -l | grep board-id = BoardID

VMware Fusion Links

Notes

Using Fusion 11.5.5 on Mojave 10.14.6, modifying the vmx file was unnecessary. I did a fresh install of Catalina 10.15.4 in a new VM, copied the macOS Beta installer to the VM, and ran the installer. It installed and booted fine. Note that I did not install the VMware Tools to the VM prior to installing macOS Beta. I had a prior Catalina VM with the Tools installed, and upgrading to the macOS Beta resulted in failures at the login screen after the Beta upgrade. So do the Beta upgrade on a fresh Catalina install and it should work fine (at least from 10.15.4).

Please note, if I added ‘board-id.reflectHost = “TRUE”‘ to the .vmx, the Fusion refused to boot the VM with an error that the vmx file is corrupted.

MrMacintosh Reader Corey

6. How To Install Big Sur 11 on Parallels Desktop

  • 1. Create a new VM by installing a fresh copy of 10.15 Catalina
  • 2. Do not install Parallels Tools
  • 3. The install requires at least 80gb or more
  • 4. Install beta profile
  • 5. Download Beta
  • 6. Set the following values set under Hardware > Boot Order > Advanced Settings > Boot Flags.
  • 7. Create a 2nd admin account. (this can help with login problems after the Big Sur install. Some users are saying that they can’t login with the original account. If that happens, login with the 2nd account.)
  • devices.mac_hw_model="MacBookPro16,1"
  • devices.smbios.board_id="Mac-E1008331FDC96864"

Keep in mind, both examples above are from a 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro. You can get the correct hardware values by running the following commands.

  • sysctl hw.model = Model
  • ioreg -l | grep board-id = BoardID

Try to install Big Sur. If that doesn’t work, try the instructions below.

Parallels Desktop Links

A big Hat Tip goes out to MacAdmin User @jacob for his instructions.

  • Used devices.mac_hw_model="MacBookPro14,3" and devices.smbios.serial="REAL_SERIAL" to make a 10.15 VM match my host for these values.
  • Used createinstallmedia to target an empty 12GB .dmg on the host
  • Mounted the .dmg as a disc to the 10.15 VM. 
  • Booted directly to the Installer disc (change boot order in Parallels).
  • Erased the disk as APFS in 10.16 Recovery
  • Initiated install (disconnected “disc” after first reboot)

7. How To Install Big Sur 11 on ESXi

William Lam @lamw aka virtuallyghetto.com wrote a great article on how to get macOS Big Sur working on ESXi.

virtuallyghetto.com/2020/06/macos-10-16-big-sur-beta-1-on-esxi.html

Did the listed steps work for you?

MacOS Big Sur Beta is still brand new! We will all be learning a bunch over the next few months.

If you have improvements or suggestions for the above instructions, please leave a comment or Contact-Me!

Big Sur Fusion Parallels

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11.0 Beta 1 (20A4299v)

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur 11.0 -10.16 (20A4299v) Beta 1
macOS Big Sur 11.0 -10.16 (20A4299v) Beta 1

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.0 -10.16 (20A4299v) Beta 1 to Developers.

UPDATE 6/23/20 – Keep an eye on my Big Sur Need to Know changes article. I will be constantly updating it as new info comes in. mrmacintosh.com/macos-big-sur-11-0-updated-index-of-need-to-know-changes-links/

MacOS Big Sur 11.0 -10.16 (20A4299v) Beta 1 was released today on June 22nd, 2020 at 2:00 CST right after the keynote.

macOS Big Sur 11.0 Patch Notes

Just like last year, the 11.0 beta 1 patch notes list is huge! The amount of detail is just what MacAdmins are looking for! Let me give you some stats from the 11.0 Beta 1 Patch notes document.

  • 1 Important Known Issue
  • 4 Deprecations
  • 11 New Features
  • 1 Resolved issues
  • 60 Known Issues – Core OS, Apps, Xcode & SwiftUI

Public Link (non developer) = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-beta-release-notes

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

  • Updating to macOS Big Sur 11 beta from previous versions of macOS might take significantly longer than expected. Data loss could occur if the update is interrupted. (59101197)
  • If macOS Big Sur 11 beta is installed into the same APFS container as previous versions of macOS, system software updates can no longer be installed on the previous versions of macOS. (64411484)
  • Installing a new kernel extension requires signing in as an Admin user. During kernel extension development, every time a kernel extension is changed, it must be signed and notarized. In both cases, your Mac must be restarted to load the extension. (55068348)
  • If you updated to macOS Big Sur 11 beta from a previous version of macOS, Software Update might show “Unable to check for updates – Failed to download the documentation for the minor update. Please try again later”. (63158434)Workaround Below
  • Kernel extensions using certain deprecated KPIs no longer load. Refer to the support page. While macOS Big Sur remains in development, you can temporarily disable System Integrity Protection to allow these deprecated extensions to load. (55068348)
  • macOS Big Sur 11 beta improves system security by requiring an administrator password when a certificate trust settings change is made in the admin trust domain. Running as the root user alone is no longer sufficient to modify certificate trust. User trust domain settings continue to require confirmation by entering the password for the user’s account.

macOS Big Sur 11.0 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Link – developer.apple.com

Size = 9.57GB

Product ID = 001-18401-003

Requirements – ?

T2 BridgeOS Update

T2 BridgeOS was updated along with the 11.0 upgrade

Size = 440.1 MB

Product ID = 001-18400

BridgeOS Update Version = 18.16.10310.5.15

New Software Update Catalog URL

https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.16seed-10.16-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog

Report bugs NOW!

Now that macOS Big Sur 11.0 Beta is live, start testing as soon as you can! You will want to submit any bugs that you find into Apple ASAP. If you get bugs in quickly, they could be fixed in the current beta cycle instead of waiting until after the public release. If not, you could be waiting months before the fix is put into a dot release combo update.

macOS Big Sur 11.0 (20A4299v) Beta 1 Release Notes

I always post the full patch notes to this page to document them for you. The reason behind that is that Apple will usually just replace over the old patch notes so you are then unable to see what was fixed in the previous release.

Overview

The macOS 11 SDK provides support to develop apps for Macs running macOS Big Sur 11. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 12 beta. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12 beta, see Xcode 12 Beta Release Notes.

General

Known Issues

Important

Updating to macOS Big Sur 11 beta from previous versions of macOS might take significantly longer than expected. Data loss could occur if the update is interrupted. (59101197)

Third-Party Apps

Known Issues

  • CMake might not run, install, or might generate invalid outputs. (62905973)Workaround: Update to CMake 3.18rc1.

Accessibility

Known Issues

  • VoiceOver might be unavailable at certain times while installing macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (63025357)

App Store

New Features

AppKit

Auto Unlock

Known Issues

  • You might be unable to set up Auto Unlock. (64120075)

Calendar

Known Issues

  • If you click the Directions button on a calendar notification, Maps might not launch as expected. (63697152)
  • It isn’t possible to edit Calendar widgets. (63984003)
  • Accounts might not be visible in Preferences. (64117985)

Continuity

Known Issues

  • Continuity Handoff isn’t currently available in macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (64140413)

Core ML

Known Issues

Deprecations

  • The default initializer on the auto-generated model interface has been deprecated in favor of init(configuration:). Please use init(configuration:) or the newly introduced .load() method and handle model load errors as appropriate. (64432588)

Desktop Picture

Known Issues

  • If the desktop picture was never changed from the default macOS Catalina 10.15 image, it will persist after updating to macOS Big Sur 11 beta, even though the new default desktop picture is displayed in Desktop and Screen Saver preferences. (64390185)

Installer and Software Update

Known Issues

  • If you updated to macOS Big Sur 11 beta from a previous version of macOS, Software Update might show “Unable to check for updates – Failed to download the documentation for the minor update. Please try again later”. (63158434)Workaround:
    1. Start up from macOS Recovery.
    2. If your data volume is encrypted, use Disk Utility to mount it.
    3. In Terminal type rm -rf "/Volumes/Macintosh HD - Data/private/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n00000y800007k".
    4. Restart your Mac.
  • You might need to adjust Energy Saver settings so your Mac doesn’t go to sleep while preparing to install macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (63166401)
  • APFS containers with non-default allocation block sizes aren’t currently supported for installation. (64312561)
  • Update iMac Pro to macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 or later before installing macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (64314272)
  • Installation might pause on Macs that don’t have input devices connected. (64348347)Workaround: Connect an input device and dismiss the alerts to continue installation.
  • You might be unable to install macOS Big Sur 11 beta onto additional volumes. (63677460, 64445236)Workaround: Create a bootable installer using the createinstallmedia command.
  • Software Update might unexpectedly indicate updates for your Mac are being managed by swscan.apple.com, instead of indicating your Mac is enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program. This doesn’t impact your ability to update macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (64407436)
  • If macOS Big Sur 11 beta is installed into the same APFS container as previous versions of macOS, system software updates can no longer be installed on the previous versions of macOS. (64411484)
  • Installation on Core Storage Fusion volumes with FileVault encryption enabled isn’t currently supported. (64472080)

Kernel

New Features

  • The kern.argmax limit has been increased, allowing programs to receive longer argument lists. (48661669)
  • Darwin kevent now allows non-parent processes to register for NOTE_EXITSTATUS, which delivers the same values as the wait() family of functions in the event data. Refer to the wait4() man page for more information. This event is subject to the following security checks:
    • The requesting process is allowed to send signals by sandbox restrictions.
    • The requesting process and the target process are running as the same user or the requesting process has root privileges. (58134463)

Known Issues

  • Installing a new kernel extension requires signing in as an Admin user. During kernel extension development, every time a kernel extension is changed, it must be signed and notarized. In both cases, your Mac must be restarted to load the extension. (55068348)
  • Remote panic dumps aren’t currently available. (57915324)
  • New in macOS Big Sur 11 beta, the system ships with a built-in dynamic linker cache of all system-provided libraries. As part of this change, copies of dynamic libraries are no longer present on the filesystem. Code that attempts to check for dynamic library presence by looking for a file at a path or enumerating a directory will fail. Instead, check for library presence by attempting to dlopen() the path, which will correctly check for the library in the cache. (62986286)
  • kmutil install might fail to build a development kextcache. (63772702)Workaround: Copy the release .elides to the locations of the development .elides:sudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.development.elidessudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.kasan.elides sudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc.debug.elidessudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.development.elidessudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.kasan.elidessudo cp /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.elides /path/to/livemount/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc.debug.elides
  • Use only absolute paths with the --volume-root option of kmutil, and don’t use a trailing /. (63773848)
  • After removing a DriverKit extension, restart your Mac to complete uninstallation. (63995046)
  • Adhoc signed kernel extensions are displayed with a developer name of unknown in update dialogs and in Security preferences. (64215260)
  • Symbols exported by both xnu and Apple kernel extensions will change. Recompile your kernel extension with each update to macOS Big Sur 11 beta to ensure compatibility. (64262563)
  • Moving a kernel extension bundle out of /Library/Extensions might not completely uninstall it. (64331929)Workaround:
    1. Remove the extension from /Library/Extensions.
    2. Boot to macOS Recovery.
    3. Run Terminal.
    4. Enter the command kmutil invoke-panic-medic.
    5. Restart your Mac.
    6. Follow the prompt to open System Preferences and navigate to Security & Privacy.
    7. Follow the prompt to restart.
  • An unexpected System Extension Updated alert for third-party kernel extensions which are included in macOS might appear. These include: Accusys, Inc., ATTO Technology, Inc., Areca Technology Corporation, CalDigit, Inc., HighPoint Technologies, Inc., Promise Technology Mobile Apps, and Other World Computing. (64337113)

Deprecations

  • Kernel extensions using certain deprecated KPIs no longer load. Refer to the support page. While macOS Big Sur remains in development, you can temporarily disable System Integrity Protection to allow these deprecated extensions to load. (55068348)

Localization

Known Issues

  • Certain languages might exhibit clipped or misaligned layout. (63105445)
  • Certain languages might display unlocalized text. (63105674, 64040564, 64045718)
  • Some keyboard shortcuts might not work when running macOS Big Sur 11 beta in a language other than English. (63834383)

Location

Known Issues

Logging

New Features

  • New APIs are available for using os_log from Swift as part of the os framework:
    • A new type Logger can be instantiated using a subsystem and category and provides methods for logging at different levels (debug(_:), error(_:), fault(_:)).
    • The Logger APIs support specifying most formatting and privacy options supported by legacy os_log APIs.
    • The new APIs provide significant performance improvements over the legacy APIs.
    • You can now pass Swift string interpolation to the os_log function.
    Note: The new APIs can’t be back deployed; however, the existing os_log API remains available for back deployment. (22539144)

Mac Catalyst

Known Issues

  • Content Extensions require a temporary workaround. (57442394)Workaround: Add the following key/value pair to the NSExtension dictionary in the Info.plist: "NSExtensionContainingViewControllerClass" = "_UNNotificationContentExtensionViewController".
  • The new PHPickerViewController API currently produces unexpected results. (63631906)

Messages

Known Issues

  • If Messages is launched immediately after logging into iCloud, a login window might be displayed unexpectedly. (56309057)Workaround: Relaunch Messages after a few minutes or try restarting your Mac.
  • You might be unable to type in the photo picker search field when attaching a photo. (60011306)Workaround: Click the search field, press the tab key, then click the search field again.
  • You might receive an alert that indicates the maximum number of pinned conversations has been reached. (62919406)Workaround: Pin the conversation using drag and drop instead of using a swipe action or quick action with Haptic Touch.
  • Keyboard navigation to move focus between controls isn’t currently available. (63987810)
  • Messages Preferences are inaccessible until at least one message has been sent or received. (64122975)
  • Autocomplete fields and conversation titles aren’t visible while Messages is in full-screen mode. (64134303)
  • Message outlines might be missing when printing or exporting a conversation as a PDF. (64181169)
  • The first and last name fields in Messages Preferences might be misaligned. (64346872)Workaround: Set up your name in Messages Preferences by following the placeholder text then close and reopen Messages Preferences.

Metal

Known Issues

  • The logs property isn’t currently available from Swift while using Shader Validation. (64055248)

Migration Assistant

Known Issues

  • You might need to reset the password for a Standard account after migration, if the previous password doesn’t work. (63878129)Workaround: Log into an Admin account and change the Standard account’s password in the Users & Groups system preference.

Motion

Known Issues

  • Many elements of the user interface are currently missing when running Motion on macOS Big Sur 11 beta. (62531765)

Music

Known Issues

  • Music might quit unexpectedly while using the search field. (64183834)

Networking

New Features

  • Experimental HTTP/3 support can be enabled in Safari via Experimental Features in the Developer menu, and enabled system-wide using the Terminal command defaults write -g CFNetworkHTTP3Override -int 3. (62969220)

Known Issues

  • HTTP/3 Draft 29 isn’t yet supported. (63524866)

Phone and FaceTime

Known Issues

  • Regular and emergency Wi-Fi calling using iPadOS 14 beta, macOS Big Sur 11 beta, and watchOS 7 beta isn’t currently available for T-Mobile USA customers. (63078572)

Quartz

Known Issues

  • Importing Quartz or PDFKit frameworks in the macOS SDK might result in an errors such as “Umbrella for module ‘Quartz.PDFKit’ already covers this directory”. (63886438)

Safari and Webkit

New Features

  • Support for Web Extensions is now available. Existing Chrome and Firefox extensions can be converted for Safari using xcrun safari-web-extension-converter and distributed through the App Store for use in Safari 14. (55707949)
  • Webpage Translation is now available in the U.S. and Canada. Supported languages include English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese. Safari will automatically detect if translation is available based on your Preferred Languages list. (64437861)

Known Issues

  • Safari might quit unexpectedly when opening the Start Page if Frequently Visited Sites are visible as thumbnails. (63945984)Workaround: Make the window wider, hide the sidebar, or Control-click on Frequently Visited Sites and choose View as Icons.

Security

New Features

  • macOS Big Sur 11 beta improves system security by requiring an administrator password when a certificate trust settings change is made in the admin trust domain. Running as the root user alone is no longer sufficient to modify certificate trust. User trust domain settings continue to require confirmation by entering the password for the user’s account. This change may affect you if one of the following is true:
    • You have written scripts which call /usr/bin/security add-trusted-cert -d ... as root.
    • Your process runs as root and calls the SecTrustSettingsSetTrustSettings function to trust a certificate.
  • Workflows that add trust settings in the admin trust domain, such as for an enterprise root certificate, may require modification if the user can’t authenticate as an administrator at the time settings are changed. (21855995)Workaround: Use Apple Configurator 2 to create and install a configuration profile containing your root certificate.

Spotlight

Known Issues

  • When quickly typing a search query in Spotlight, the result from a previous search might appear, then pressing return may create a wrong launch shortcut for subsequent queries. (64428836)Workaround: Type your query and click the desired result from the list that appears.
  • If you can’t find an application using Spotlight, launch the application at least once using Finder. (64463806)

SwiftUI

Known Issues

  • Disclosure groups in Forms might produce unexpected results. (64079102)
  • Nested disclosure groups generated by OutlineGroup might produce unexpected results. (64097731)
  • The SceneStorage property wrapper isn’t yet supported. (64414712)
  • A label used with a symbol image might appear misaligned. (60193698)

SystemExtensions

Known Issues

  • Driver extensions might not launch on-demand after installation. (51229724)Workaround: Disable System Integrity Protection, then launch Terminal and execute the following command before approving the newly installed driver: sudo touch /Library/DriverExtensions.

Touch ID

Known Issues

  • Touch ID might become unexpectedly disabled on Macs with a T2 Security Chip after installing multiple operating systems. (62608379)Workaround: Reset the SMC of your Mac.

Virtualization

New Features

Deprecations

Vision

Known Issues

Deprecations

Xcode Previews

Resolved Issues

  • Rebuilding against the iOS 14, macOS 11, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14 SDKs changes uses of GeometryReader to reliably top-leading align the views inside the GeometryReader. This was the previous behavior, except when it wasn’t possible to detect a single static view inside the GeometryReader. (59722992) (FB7597816)

Big Sur 11.0 Beta 1


Questions or issues ? Contact Me

MacOS Big Sur 11 – Index of Need to Know Changes & Links UPDATED!

MrMacintosh.com - MacOS Big Sur 10.16 - Updated Index of Need to Know Changes & Links
MacOS Big Sur 11.0 – Updated Index of Need to Know Changes & Links

WWDC 2020 – macOS Big Sur 11.0

WWDC is here again! For the first time ever, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference will be 100% Virtual. MacAdmins everywhere are wondering what changes macOS Big Sur will bring and how deployment workflows will be affected. I hope to help you answer multiple question with this article. This year I will follow the same format as my previous MacOS 10.15 Catalina – Updated Index of Need to Know Changes & Links post. Be sure to check back frequently, I will keep you up to date with the latest macOS Big Sur 11.0 changes!

Updates

Follow Me on Twitter @ClassicII_MrMac

#macOSBigSurChanges – will be the hashtag to follow for updates to this article.

Table of Contents – UPDATED 10/08/20

  • 1. MacOS Big Sur Release Date
  • 2. MacOS Big Sur Compatible Devices
  • 3. MacOS Big Sur Compatibility Requirements
  • 4. How To Download macOS Big Sur Beta
  • 5. How To Block macOS Big Sur 11.0
  • 6. Changes of Interest for MacAdmins
  • 7. 3rd Party Vendor Software Issues on Big Sur
  • 8. Previous macOS Big Sur Beta Releases
  • 9. OS Level Changes
  • 10. Security & Privacy Changes
  • 11. Apple Silicon (ARM Processor)
  • 12. Rosetta 2 Intel app Emulator
  • 13. Kexts, System Extensions & Drivers
  • 14. macOS Big Sur Virtualization
  • 15. Apple Links
  • 16. WWDC20 Video Links
  • 17. Big Sur 11.0 Beta 1 Patch Notes
  • 18. MacAdmin Blog Links
  • 19. Vendor Links
  • 20. Miscellaneous Links
  • 21. New Software Update Catalog URL
  • 22. MacAdmins Big Sur Community Feedback Form
  • 23. Big Sur Wallpaper

1. MacOS Big Sur 11 Release Date

The release date for macOS Big Sur 11 is “Coming this fall” – apple.com/macos/big-sur-preview/

2. macOS Big Sur 11.0 Compatible Devices

Below is the list of compatible Macs / Supported Devices that can run 11.0.

  • 1. iMac 2014+
  • 2. iMac Pro 2017
  • 3. Mac Pro 2013+
  • 4. MacMini 2014+
  • 5. MacBook 2015+
  • 6. MacBook Air 2013+
  • 7. MacBook Pro 2013+
  • RIP
  • Mac mini (Late 2012)
  • iMac (Late 2012-2013)
  • MacBook Air (Mid 2012)
  • MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 & Retina)
MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur 11.0 System Requirements
macOS Big Sur 11.0 – 10.16 System Requirements

3. MacOS Big Sur 11 Compatibility Requirements

macOS Big Sur 11 Minimum System Requirements

Minimum OS & Available Storage Space are still unknown as of now.

  • 4GB Ram
  • Intel Core M Processor 1.1GHz
  • Minimum OS = 10.10? (Catalina minimum upgrade OS)
  • 50.33GB looks to be the minimum Fresh Install Space Requirement?
  • 12.5GB of Available storage Space = Fresh Install? (Catalina Requirement)
  • 18.5GB of Available storage space = For Upgrade? (Catalina Requirement)

4. How To Download macOS Big Sur 11 Beta

How to download macOS Big Sur 11 from Apple

sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Seeding.framework/Versions/A/Resources/seedutil enroll DeveloperSeed

softwareupdate -la

sudo softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.16

From Apple via open source scripts & free app tools.

5. How to Block macOS Big Sur 11.0 / 10.16

Jamf Pro – Use Application Restrictions to block the two apps below.

Dev Beta profile enrollment install application

macOSDeveloperBetaAccessUtility.pkg

The installer for the Big Sur Beta is

Install macOS Beta.app

HT to Jamfnation.com forum user TPG33k

NOTE: I have included articles for 10.15 until we have more information on if the solutions will work on 11.0 or not.

6. Changes of Interest for MacAdmins

3rd Party Kernel Extension loading on Big Sur – Apple says that Kernel Extensions can be manually loaded but the process can NOT be automated.

MrMacintosh.com - Changes to Kext-Loading in macOS Big Sur 11
Changes to Kext-Loading in macOS Big Sur 11

Automated Device Enrollment Auto Advance for Mac

  • 1. Plug in Power and Ethernet
  • 2. Boot Mac
  • 3. DEP starts automatically
  • 4. Land at login window
MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Automated Device Enrollment Auto Advance for Mac
macOS Big Sur Automated Device Enrollment Auto Advance for Mac

Downloaded Profiles for Mac

  • 1. Downloaded Profile Protections
  • 2. You need to approve the profile in the Profiles Pane. The approval requires an admin password.
  • 3. The profile only remains in the profiles pane for 8 min
  • 4. Profile install with the Profiles binary can no longer be automated. The 2nd step needs user input in the profiles pane to finish the install.
MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Downloaded Profiles for Mac
macOS Big Sur Downloaded Profiles for Mac

Content Caching Improvements

  • 1. Content Cashing now supports Internet Recovery!
  • 2. Initial Boot image is not included
  • 3. Full 6GB Recovery Image is cached.
MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Content Caching Improvements
macOS Big Sur Content Caching Improvements

Bootstrap Tokens

  • 1. Bootstrap expanded to include Local Accounts!
  • 2. Ability to authorize software Updates?
MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Bootstrap Token now works for local accounts!
macOS Big Sur Bootstrap Token now works for local accounts!

Managed Software Update

  • 1. iOS Style Software Updates > Mac
  • 2. New MDM Commands for Software Update
  • 3. Forcing Client Macs to Accept Software Updates & Restart
  • 4. Defer major OS Updates for 90 Days
MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Managed Software Update changes
macOS Big Sur Managed Software Update changes

Networksetup limitations for standard users

  • 1. Admins and Standard users had the same abilities to view and modify network settings from CLI
  • 2. Standard = Only Read Network settings, turn wifi on/off & change access point
  • 3. Admins can still use sudo
MrMacintosh.com - Networksetup limitations for standard users
macOS Big Sur Networksetup limitations for standard users

Mac Serial Number Format Change

  • 1. Serial Numbers contained info on when and where the devices was built
  • 2. Change was made to address identifiable info being used maliciously
  • 3. New completely random 10 character serial numbers across all product lines
MrMacintosh.com - macOS Big Sur Mac Serial Number Format Change
macOS Big Sur Mac Serial Number Format Change

Supervision for User Approved MDM

  • 1. Previously, User Approved MDM didn’t have the same capabilities as Supervised Macs / Automated Device Enrolled Macs (DEP).
  • 2. User approved MDM (UAMDM) now = Supervision!!!
MrMacintosh.com - Supervision for User Approved MDM
macOS Big Sur – Supervision for User Approved MDM

MDM Updates

MrMacintosh - macOS Big Sur MDM Changes
macOS Big Sur MDM Changes

7. 3rd Party Vendor Software Issues on Big Sur Beta

8. Previous macOS Big Sur 11.0 Releases

  • 9. Big Sur 11 Beta 9 (20A5384c) – 09/29/20 – Current Release
  • 8. Big Sur 11 Beta 8 (20A5374i) – 09/22/20 – My Release Notes
  • 7. Big Sur 11 Beta 7 (20A5374g) – 09/17/20 – My Release Notes
  • 6. Big Sur 11 Beta 6 (20A5364e) – 09/03/20 – My Release Notes
  • 5. Big Sur 11 Beta 5 (20A5354i) – 08/19/20 – My Release Notes
  • 4. Big Sur 11 Beta 4 (20A5343i) – 08/04/20
  • 3. Big Sur 11 Beta 3 (20A5323l) – 07/22/20
  • 2. Big Sur 11 Beta 2 (20A4300b) – 07/07/20 – My Release Notes
  • 1. Big Sur 11 Beta 1 (20A4299v) – 06/22/20 – My Release Notes

For reference, the macOS Catalina 10.15 Beta release schedule is listed below.

9. OS Level Changes

macOS Big Sur brings a refined new design, powerful controls, and intuitive customization options to the most advanced desktop operating system in the world.

  • Faster updates – Once macOS Big Sur is installed, software updates begin in the background and complete faster than before — so it’s easier than ever to keep your Mac up to date and secure.
  • Updated menu bar – The menu bar is now taller and more translucent, allowing your desktop picture to extend from edge to edge. Words lighten or darken based on the color of your desktop picture. And pull-down menus are larger, with more space between the lines to make everything easier to read.
  • Floating Dock – The redesigned Dock is lifted from the bottom of your display and is more translucent, allowing your desktop wallpaper to shine through. And app icons are all-new and even easier to recognize.
  • Updated Notification Center – A redesigned Notification Center puts all your notifications and widgets into a single, dedicated column. Notifications are automatically sorted by most recent, and redesigned Today widgets deliver information at a glance.
  • New icons for apps – App icons have been redesigned to feel both familiar and fresh. Icons have a uniform shape but retain the stylistic touches and details that give Mac its character.
  • New and updated sounds – System sounds are all-new and even more pleasing to the ear. The new system alerts were created using snippets of the originals, so they sound familiar.
  • New Control Center – Designed just for Mac, the new Control Center consolidates your favorite menu bar items into a single place to give you instant access to the controls you use most. Just click the Control Center icon in the menu bar and adjust Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and other settings — without opening System Preferences.

10. Security & Privacy Changes

  • Installing a Custom Kernel Extension – Install kernel extensions using a custom installer package, and help users understand the installation process.– developer.apple.com/documentation/apple_silicon/installing_a_custom_kernel_extension
  • Signed system volume – macOS Big Sur introduces a cryptographically signed system volume that protects against malicious tampering. It also means that your Mac knows the exact layout of your system volume, allowing it to begin software updates in the background while you work.
  • Safari extensions on the App Store – An all-new extensions category on the App Store showcases Safari extensions with editorial spotlights and top charts, making it easier to discover great extensions from developers. All extensions are reviewed, signed, and hosted by Apple for your security.
  • Privacy information on the App Store – A new section on each app’s page on the App Store will help you understand the privacy practices of the app before you download it.9 It’s similar to the way nutrition labels help you understand what’s in food before you buy it.
  • Self-reported privacy practices – Developers self-report their app privacy practices on the App Store.9 See the types of data their app might collect — like usage data, contact information, or location — and whether that data is shared with third parties.
  • App Privacy is Displayed in a simple format – Just as nutrition labels are convenient and easy to read, an app’s privacy information on the App Store is displayed in a consistent, simple format.9 This lets you quickly and easily understand the app’s privacy practices.

11. Apple Silicon (New Mac ARM Processor)

12. Rosetta 2 Intel app Emulator

13. Kernel Extensions (Kexts), System Extensions & Drivers

14. macOS Big Sur Virtualization

VMWare Fusion 11.5.5

Parallels Desktop 15 & Pro Edition

ESXi Version 7

I wrote an article on how to install macOS Big Sur 11 on VMware Fusion 11.5 and Parallels Desktop 15.

mrmacintosh.com/how-to-install-macos-big-sur-beta-on-vmware-fusion-parallels-desktop/

15. Apple Links

WWDC20 Keynote – apple.com/apple-events/june-2020/

2. macOS 11.0 Big Sur – apple.com/macos/big-sur-preview/

3. macOS 11.0 Big Sur Features – https://www.apple.com/macos/big-sur-preview/features/

4. macOS 11.0 Big Sur Design Video – apple.com/105/media/us/macos/big-sur-preview/2020/f14b0c7e-9f7e-4b9f-bd0c-b4b86ee46c92/films/design/macos-design-tpl-cc-us-2020_1280x720h.m3u8

5. 11.0 Public Beta Release Notes – developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-beta-release-notes

6. Apple Developer Forums – All new for 2020 – developer.apple.com/forums/

7. Xcode 12 Beta Release Notes – developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode-release-notes/xcode-12-beta-release-notes

8. Xcode 12 for macOS Universal Apps Beta Release Notes – developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode-release-notes/xcode-12-for-macos-universal-apps-beta-release-notes

9. FeedBack Assistant. developer.apple.com/bug-reporting/ – feedbackassistant.apple.com/welcome

10. What’s New for Enterprise and Education WWDC 2020 June 2020 (v1.0) (AppleSeed Account Required) – appleseed.apple.com

11. AppleSeed – macOS 11.0 Big Sur Beta 1 (20A4299v) Release Notes (AppleSeed Account Required) – appleseed.apple.com

16. WWDC20 Video Links

  • Platforms State of the Union – iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS Join the worldwide developer community for an in-depth look at the future of Apple platforms, directly from Apple Park. – developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/102/
  • Adopt the new look of macOS – Make over your Mac apps: Discover how you can embrace the new design of macOS Big Sur and adopt its visual hierarchy, design patterns, and behaviors. We’ll explore the latest updates to AppKit around structural items and common controls, and show you how you can adapt more customized interfaces. – /developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10104/
  • Create great enterprise apps. A chat with Box’s Aaron Levie iOS, macOS Discover how organizations like Box are adapting to changing conditions in the business world and remote work. Listen to Apple’s Vice President of Cloud Services Mike Abbott and Box CEO and co-founder Aaron Levie chat about the modern working environment, how cloud-based apps are helping people. developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10204/
  • Port your Mac app to Apple Silicon – Your porting questions, answered: Learn how to recompile your macOS app for Apple Silicon Macs and build universal apps that launch faster, have better performance, and support the future of the platform. We’ll show you how Xcode makes it simple to build a universal macOS binary. developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10214/
  • What’s new in managing Apple devices. – iOS, macOS, tvOS We’ve made significant strides in bringing crucial device management features to macOS. Discover how these features can help you manage your all your devices using the same tools and technologies. Get details on changes coming this year and how they will impact your deployment workflows– developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10639/

Part 2

  • iPad and iPhone apps on Apple Silicon Macs. – Apple Silicon Macs can run many iPad and iPhone apps as-is, and these apps will be made available to users on the Mac through the Mac App Store. Discover how iPad and iPhone apps run on Apple Silicon Macs, and the factors that make your apps come across better.– developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10114/
  • Build an Endpoint Security app – System Extensions improve the reliability and security of macOS. Learn about the modern replacement for Kernel Authorization KPIs and discover tips for making a great security product with the Endpoint Security framework. – developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10159/
  • Custom app distribution with Apple Business Manager – Apple Business Manager is the best way to manage and deploy business apps to your employees and customers. Whether you’re a developer, business owner, or IT administrator, we’ll showcase the benefits of Custom apps for each role and provide guidance on each step in the process. – developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10667/
  • Explore the new system architecture of Apple Silicon Macs – Discover how Macs with Apple Silicon will deliver modern advantages using Apple’s System-on-Chip (SoC) architecture. Leveraging a unified memory architecture for CPU and GPU tasks, Mac apps will see amazing performance benefits. developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10686/
  • Leverage enterprise identity and authentication – Empower your organization with the right tools while protecting privacy and security. Discover Apple’s identity management tools for enterprise, and how they can help you create a smoother experience for users when signing in to devices, apps and websites. – developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10139/
  • Introducing StoreKit Testing in Xcode – Discover StoreKit Testing in Xcode — a local environment for testing your in-app purchases without needing to connect to App Store servers. We’ll show you how to set up a test environment, create a StoreKit configuration file, and prepare to validate receipts locally. – developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10659/

Part 3

  • Discover AppleSeed for IT and Managed Software Updates – With AppleSeed for IT, you can help your school or business test pre-release versions of Apple software and provide valuable feedback directly to Apple. We’ll guide you through getting started in AppleSeed for IT and provide insight on how to file great feedback collaboratively. developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10138/
  • Boost performance and security with modern networking – Speed up your app and make it more nimble, private and secure with modern networking APIs. Learn about networking protocols like IPv6, HTTP/2, TLS 1.3 and Encrypted DNS, and how incorporating these within your app and server can provide faster performance and reduce both your power consumption – developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10111/
  • What’s new in Education. – For over 40 years, Apple has been working with educators to create technologies for students, teachers, and school administrators and help them share in a rich and meaningful learning experience. Explore the breadth of Apple’s education technologies, including classroom management apps and tools. – developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10658/
  • What’s new in Mac Catalyst – Discover the latest updates to Mac Catalyst and find out how you can bring your iPadOS app to the Mac. Explore enhancements to the application lifecycle, integrate new extensions into your apps, and learn how the new look and feel of macOS impacts Mac Catalyst apps. –developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10143/
  • Build trust through better privacy – Privacy is a more important issue than ever. Learn about Apple’s privacy pillars, our approach to privacy, and how to adopt the latest features on our platforms that can help you earn customer trust, create more personal experiences, and improve engagement. –developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10676/

17. macOS Big Sur 11.0 Beta 1 & 2 Release Notes

18. MacAdmin Blog Links

This list is specifically for MacAdmins. This will be an ongoing list of articles and posts that will help you learn the latest 11.0 changes.

Rich Trouton – WWDC20 Notes – derflounder.wordpress.com/2020/06/23/wwdc-2020-notes/

Howard Oakley – electiclight.co

Scripting OS X

MrMacintosh.com

19. Vendor Links

SimpleMDM – New MDM Features Coming in macOS 11 Big Sur & iOS 14 – simplemdm.com/mdm-ios-14-macos-11-big-sur/

MicroMDM – Victor Vrantchan – WWDC20: What’s new in managing Apple devices – micromdm.io/blog/wwdc20-what-s-new-in-managing/

20. Miscellaneous 11.0 Links

21. New Software Update Catalog URL

installinstallmacos.py was updated yesterday to support macOS Big Sur. Be sure that you are using the latest version!

If you would like to download macOS Big Sur via installinstallmacos.py, run this command

/Users/Shared/installinstallmacos.py --seedprogram DeveloperSeed

The new Big Sur 11 Beta URL is listed in full below

https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.16seed-10.16-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog

22. MacAdmins Big Sur Community Feedback Form

MacAdmin @bp created a Google Form to track community feedback for macOS Big Sur. Use this form to include your FeedBack Assistant feedback request #.

Big Sur 11.0 changes

23. Big Sur Wallpaper

Big-Sur-GraphicDownload

New AMD 5600M 16″ MBPro 10.15.5 Supplemental Update + Forked Build

MrMacintosh.com - Apple has a released a 2nd Supplemental Update for macOS Catalina 10.15.5 (19F2200). This update is ONLY for the new AMD 5600 GPU equipped 16" MacBook Pro.
New Supplemental Update released ONLY for the new AMD Radeon Pro 5600M 16″ MacBook Pro.

Apple has a released a new Supplemental Update for macOS Catalina 10.15.5 (19F2200). This update is ONLY for the new AMD Radeon Pro 5600M equipped 16″ MacBook Pro.

In a surprise one week before WWDC, Apple has released a new version of the 16″ MacBook Pro. The new option is a new AMD Radeon Pro 5600M graphics card with 8GB of HBM2 memory. The new A new Supplemental Update build of macOS Catalina 10.15.5 was also released today. This update is only for the new 5600M equipped 16″ MacBook Pro that was released today. The New Supplemental update patch notes say “macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update provides important security updates and is recommended for all users“. This says “All Users” even though it’s only for the new model. The Supplemental Update is now also available for download as a pkg update and updated full installer.app.

New (16-inch, AMD Radeon Pro 5600M)

The new Machine model name = (16-inch, AMD Radeon Pro 5600M). The shipping BuildVersion of this new model is macOS Catalina 10.15.5 (19F2096). The new supplemental update will show up in softwareupdate for the new AMD 5600M 16″ MacBook Pro only. After the Supplemental Update is installed the BuildVersion will be (19F2200).

New BoardID

I keep an index of all Mac BoardID’s on this page.

mrmacintosh.com/list-of-mac-boardids-model-identifiers-machine-models-updated/

The new BoardID for (16-inch, AMD Radeon Pro 5600M) is

Mac-A61BADE1FDAD7B05

10.15.5 Supplemental Update #2 Patch Notes Summary

  • Announcements
  • New Features
  • ? Resolved Issues
  • Enterprise Fixes
  • ? Security Fixes

Apple’s Public Patch Notes / Release Notes Documentation

NOTE: Apple Documentation takes a little while to show up online after release. I will update when the new articles are made available.

developer.apple.com/documentation/macos_release_notes

For more detailed information about this update and previous updates, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT210642

For Detailed Security information visit support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

Previous 10.15 Releases + Previous Patch Notes

Catalina 10.15.5 (19F2200) Info & Links

Supplemental Update

The 10.15.5 Supplemental Update #2 is only for the new 2020 AMD 5600 GPU Equipped 16″ MBPro

Download Link – support.apple.com/kb/DL2044

Size = 3.13GB

Product ID = 061-78582

Requirements = 10.15.5 (19F2096) – (16-inch, AMD Radeon Pro 5600M)

Full Installer.app (19F2200) NEW Updated Version

Link – Only available via installinstallmacos.py or MDS3 until 10.15.6

Size = 8.74 GB

Product ID = 001-115219

Requirements – 2020 16″ AMD 5600 MacBook Pro

Full Installer.app (19F2096) OLD Shipping Version

Link – No longer available = Deprecated

Size = 8.74 GB

Product ID = 001-15219

Requirements – 2020 16″ AMD 5600 MacBook Pro

T2 BridgeOS Update NEW Updated Version

The Supplemental Update updates the T2 BridgeOS Software.

Note: this is a forked BridgeOS version

Size = 412.5 MB

Product ID = 001-15220

BridgeOS Update Version = 17.16.15580

T2 BridgeOS Update OLD Shipping Version

Note: this is a forked BridgeOS version that shipped with the 2020 16″ MacBook Pro equipped with the new AMD 5600 GPU

Note: this is a forked BridgeOS version

Size = 412.5 MB

Product ID = 061-78586

BridgeOS Update Version = 17.16.15566

macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update Security Info

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

10.15.5 Supplemental Update (19F2200)

macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update (19F101) CVE-2020-9859

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update 19F101 addresses CVE-2020-9859
macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update 19F101 addresses CVE-2020-9859

Apple has a released a new Supplemental Update for macOS Catalina 10.15.5. The update patches CVE-2020-9859, a Kernel Exploit from uncOver.

The original version of Catalina 10.15.5 was only released 6 days ago on May 26th. The New Supplemental update patch notes remain unchanged. The update patches CVE-2020-9859, a Kernel Exploit. “An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privilege“. The Supplemental Update is now available for download as a full installer.app, delta and combo update.

10.15.5 Supplemental Update Patch Notes Summary

  • Announcements
  • New Features
  • Resolved Issues
  • Enterprise Fixes
  • 1 Security Fixes

Apple’s Public Patch Notes / Release Notes Documentation

NOTE: Apple Documentation takes a little while to show up online after release. I will update when the new articles are made available.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210642

developer.apple.com/documentation/macos_release_notes

developer.apple.com/documentation/macos_release_notes/macos_catalina_10_15_5_release_notes

For more detailed information about this update and previous updates, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT210642

Previous 10.15 Releases + Previous Patch Notes

Catalina 10.15.5 Info & Download Links

Supplemental Update

The Supplemental Update is only for Macs that already have the origional version of 10.15.5 installed.

Download Link – https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2043

Size = 1.02 GB

Product ID = 001-12339

Requirements = 10.15.5

Delta Update

The “Delta” update is smaller in size because it only includes fixes for the previous point release only.

Download Link – https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2039

Size = 2.98 GB

Product ID = 001-12341

Requirements = 10.15.4

Combo Update

The “Combo” update is for all previous versions of Catalina.

Download Link – https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2040

Size = 4.76 GB

Product ID = 001-12343

Requirements = 10.15.0, 10.15.1, 10.15.2, 10.15.3 or 10.15.4

Full Installer.app

Link – Catalina 10.15.5 Mac App Store

Size = 8.73 GB

Product ID = 001-12336

Requirements – 10.15 Catalina Requirements

T2 BridgeOS Update

The Supplemental Update updates the T2 BridgeOS Software.

Size = 392.8 MB

Product ID = 001-12349

BridgeOS Update Version = 17.16.15300

macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update, Security Update 2020-003 High Sierra

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211215

Released June 1, 2020

Kernel

Available for: macOS High Sierra 10.13.6, macOS Catalina 10.15.5

Impact: An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges

Description: A memory consumption issue was addressed with improved memory handling.

CVE-2020-9859: unc0ver

10.15.5 & 2020-003 Updates = Changes to softwareupdate –ignore

MrMacintosh.com - Big changes coming to softwareupdate --ignore command after installing the 2020-003 update.
Big changes coming to softwareupage –ignore command after installing the 2020-003 update.

The Catalina 10.15.5 Update & 2020-003 Security Updates remove the software update –ignore ability for Major Updates. The –ignore flag for Minor Updates is now deprecated.

UPDATE 7/16/20 – Apple just released Catalina 10.15.6 and Security Updates 2020-004. Apple listened to us and reverted the changes made in 10.15.5 and 2020-003 (with a caveat). After installing 10.15.6 or the 2020-004 updates, you can once again use softwareupdate --ignore to block minor and major updates. As long as the Mac is enrolled in Apple School Manager, Apple Business Manager or a User Approved MDM.

Catalina 10.15.6 Update – mrmacintosh.com/whats-new-in-the-macos-catalina-10-15-6-update-19g73/

Security Update 2020-004 for 10.13 & 10.14 – mrmacintosh.com/security-update-2020-004-for-mojave-10-14-high-sierra-10-13-released/

Managing macOS in Enterprise or Education is a tough job no matter how you look at it. One of the toughest things that we have to deal with is 3rd party software. On top of that macOS updates & upgrades can cause additional problems. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know what I’m talking about. 3rd party software is mission critical, and needs to run without issues. We need the ability to test new macOS Software Updates and Upgrades. Any of which could break that critical software, and cause major problems. A few points >

  • If we find a problem with 3rd party after installing an update, we would need to reach out the vendor. The fix might take longer than 90 days.
  • A macOS Update causes a big problem, so bad that we immediately need to block it. Sometimes it takes 2-5 months for Apple implement the fix to the next point release update.
  • Your Mac needs to be Supervised / Enrolled in an MDM, or you won’t be able to hide the Major Update (10.15.4+) update.
  • MacOS does NOT have an Update Recovery Ability. If something goes wrong after an update, we do NOT have any way to revert back to a previous update!!!

Table of Contents

  • 1. UPDATES!
  • 2. 10.15.5 & 2020-003 Update Changes.
  • 3. Right now, this only affects macOS Mojave
  • 4. What about High Sierra 10.13?
  • 5. Blocking the 2020-003 Security Update
  • 6. Catalina 10.15.5 Changes
  • 7. How can we ignore Updates and Upgrades in the future? (10.15.4+)
  • 8. System Preferences Icon Red Dot Notification (How To get rid of it)
  • 9. Don’t like this change? What can you do?

1. UPDATES!

UPDATE 6/9/20 – 10.15.6 Beta 2 (19G46c) was released today. The softwareupdate --ignore flag was changed to include some changes that we asked for! Be sure to check the AppleSeed Beta notes for all the details. I am still checking to see if the change will make it to Mojave 10.14.

UPDATE 5/28/20 – I ran a quick test on a 10.14.6 (2020-002) Mojave Mac. First I used the command softwareupdate --ignore "macOS Catalina" to ignore the macOS Catalina Upgrade. The Upgrade disappeared from System Preferences > Software Update. I then installed a configuration profile that used the restrictions payload that deferred updates for 90 days. I installed the 2020-003 security update. Catalina showed up in System Preferences > Software Update. This can only mean one of two things…

  • 1. A Mojave Mac with 2020-003 installed can now understand the new MDM Profile “Major Update” deferral. The Upgrade shows up because we are more than 90 days away from when Catalina was released.
  • 2. We are taking this sentence literally “Starting with macOS 10.15.4, major releases of macOS can be deferred for up to 90 days using MDM.” Meaning the change was not backported to 10.14 and we will be unable to ignore 10.16 on Mojave.
  • I have reached out to Apple for clarification on this.

2. 10.15.5 & 2020-003 Update Changes.

Lets jump right in and look at the new changes.

Before I do, I need to do a quick shout out to @bp Balmes Pavlov

Balmes first called this out on April 16th, and really took a deep dive into this upcoming change.

babodee.wordpress.com/2020/04/16/apple-plans-on-removing-enterprise-options-for-macos-software-update/

The changes are here now, so let’s take a look at the 10.15.5 patch notes.

MrMacintosh.com - 10.15.5 Softwareupdate --ignore changes
10.15.5 Softwareupdate –ignore changes

“Major Releases of macOS are no longer hidden when using the softwareupdate command with the –ignore flag”.

  • Updates are considered 10.15.4 > 10.15.5.
  • Major Releases or Upgrades are considered 10.14 > 10.15.

Notice how at the bottom of the note it says, “This change also affects macOS Mojave and macOS High Sierra after installing Security Update 2020-003”.

3. Right now, this only affects macOS Mojave

The direct impact of this update is to macOS Mojave. If you are running 10.14.6 and have the 2020-002 Security update installed, you can block macOS Catalina with softwareupdate --ignore "macOS Catalina"

After running the above command, macOS Catalina will not show up in System Preferences > Software Update.

This is what the Software Update Pane will look like in 10.14.6 before installing 2020-003.

MrMacintosh.com - Looks great! This is after running softwareupdate --ignore "macOS Catalina" on 2020-002.
Looks great! This is after running softwareupdate –ignore “macOS Catalina” on 2020-002

After installing 2020-003, this is what the Software Update pane will look like.

MrMacintosh.com - Not so good. This is after running softwareupdate --ignore "macOS Catalina" on 2020-003.
10.15.5 2020-003 softwareupdate –ignore. this is what Software Update looks like after 2020-003.

This leaves macOS 10.14.6 with very few options if you want to block users from upgrading to macOS Catalina.

  • Turn Off Automatic Updates (manually deploy updates)
  • Hide/Block the Software Update Preference Pane
  • Software Restrictions on “Install macOS Catalina.app”

4. What about High Sierra 10.13?

The 10.15.5 patch notes specifically mention High Sierra. For Software Updates, 10.13 still uses the App Store Preference Pane. When you click on it, you go right to the App store updates tab. macOS Catalina is NOT listed anywhere in the “updates” Section.

High Sierra and Sierra used notification banners.

MrMacintosh.com - 10.13 and 10.14 macOSInstallerNotification_GM notification dialog.
10.13 and 10.14 macOSInstallerNotification_GM notification dialog.

If you wanted to block the banners on High Sierra and Sierra, you would run the following command.

sudo softwareupdate --ignore "macOSInstallerNotification_GM"

You will now run into another problem after installing the 2020-003 Update.

Ignoring software updates is deprecated.

The ability to ignore individual updates will be removed in a future release of macOS

Reading that deprecation note, it looks like we will not only lose the ability to use the --ignore for Major updates (Right Now on 10.15.5 & 10.14) but also point updates in the future (10.16).

5. Blocking the 2020-003 Security Update

If you would like to block the 2020-003 Security update, run the following command below.

  • softwareupdate --ignore "Security Update 2020-003"
  • The Mac App Store (10.13) & System Preferences > Software Update (10.14) will respect the --ignore option.

6. Catalina 10.15.5 Changes

This change does not really affect Catalina right now. The problem will come when 10.16 is released.

You will not be able to use

softwareupdate --ignore "macOS 10.16"

7. How can we ignore Updates and Upgrades in the future? (10.15.4+)

Apple is providing something for 10.15.4+ users.

Starting with macOS 10.15.4, major releases of macOS can be deferred for up to 90 days using MDM.

Apple Patch Notes

The forceDelayedSoftwareUpdates key in the Restrictions payload will now apply to major OS versions in addition to software updates.

Apple Patch Notes

We already have the MDM Key forceDelayedSoftwareUpdates but after installing 10.15.4 you can now defer Major Upgrades for up to 90 Days.

Once macOS 10.16 is live, you will be able to hide the Major (Upgrade) and Minor (Point Release) Updates for 90 Days.

8. System Preferences Icon Red Dot Notification

MrMacintosh.com - System Preferences Red Dot Notification.
System Preferences Red Dot Notification.

HT goes out to Jeff Johnson who first investigated this earlier today.

lapcatsoftware.com/articles/software-update.html

He called out that even though we can’t block the Catalina Update in System Preferences, we might still want to remove the Red Dot Notification.

Check out his article to find out how disable the notification.

HT also goes out to this guy who first documented the fix.

tinyapps.org/blog/202005070700_remove_catalina_notification_badge.html

UPDATE 5/28/20 – A MacRumors forum user found a new way to block the notification.

I did by editing com.apple.dock.plist

changed “dock-extra” from YES to NO for system preferences and no more red annoyance.

MacRumors Forum User VTRN

9. Don’t like this change? What can you do?

Please let Apple know NOW, not later (10.16 is coming in one month!).

  • Apple Enterprise Ticket
  • Apple FeedBack Assistant
  • If you have an Apple SE assigned to your company, talk to them.
  • AppleSeed for IT: macOS Deployment & Management Survey (this survey is available for AppleSeed for IT participants and can only be taken in the FeedBack Assistant.app)

10.15.5 2020-003 softwareupdate –ignore

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