Mr. Macintosh - Apple Mac Enterprise IT Blog & macOS MacAdmins News

macOS Monterey 12.2 Update (21D49) What’s New?

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Monterey 12.2 Update is now available! — macOS Monterey 12.2 update

macOS Monterey 12.2 is now available!

UPDATED: 02/01

Apple just released its 2nd major update to macOS Monterey. Let’s jump in and see what’s new in this update!

Quick Summary

Public release updated from from RC version – 12.2 RC = 21D48 – 12.2 Public = 21D49
Apple update text = “macOS 12.2 includes bug fixes and security updates for your Mac and is recommended for all users.” Detailed patch notes not released.
12.2 is available as a delta update, Full Installer & M1 IPSW Restore file
Universal Control = N/A in 12.2 – Delayed until Spring 2022
Memory Leaks – Some of the memory leaks were fixed in 12.1. Some users have reported that the windowserver memory leaks remained in 12.1. Waiting on reports from 12.2 users. UPDATE: Some users are still reporting memory leaks after updating to 12.2.
macOS Monterey Upgrade Notifications are now being sent out. (macOS Big Sur and below)
safarileaks.com security vulnerability fixed in Safari 15.3
Music.app rebuilt as a full native application. (Previously it was just web content loaded into into the window)
Safari 15.3 Released as a separate update for macOS Big Sur & macOS Catalina
Printnightmare (Windows Print Spooler Remote Code Execution Vulnerability) fixed in Monterey 12.3 & Big Sur 11.6.3. Macs can now print to a Windows print server again.
The macOS Monterey 12.2 Update has a sleep Bluetooth battery drain issue when a mouse or keyboard is wirelessly connected! After sleeping overnight the battery will be dead on your MacBook Pro. More info in my video – https://youtu.be/L0DXObzGxgs

My macOS Monterey 12.2 Update video.

macOS Monterey Patch Notes Summary

1. New Features – 1
2. Resolved Issues – 1
3. Security Fixes – 13
4. Enterprise Fixes- 4
5. Undocumented Fixes – 1

Full Apple OS Release list

1. iOS 15.3 (19D50)
2. iPadOS 15.3 (19D50)
3. tvOS 15.3 (19K547)
4. HomePodOS 15.3 (19K547)
5. watchOS 8.4 (19S546)
6. Monterey 12.2 (21D49)
7. Big Sur 11.6.3 (20G415)
8. Catalina Security Update 2022-001 (19H1713)

1. Apple Links
2. Mr. Macintosh articles of interest for Apple Silicon & macOS Monterey
3. Undocumented macOS Monterey Update changes & fixes
4. Monterey Release History
5. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app
6. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
7. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1
8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
10. Safari Update
11. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Monterey
12. Security Content of macOS Monterey
13. macOS Monterey Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 Update (20G314) What’s New?

MrMacintosh.com - Big Sur 11.6.2 Update — macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 Security Update

macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 Security Update is now available for all users!

UPDATED: 10/14

Yesterday, Apple released the macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 update. This is the 2nd security update for Big Sur. Let’s jump in and find out what’s new!

Big Sur is now in Security Update mode. That means that Apple’s patch notes are gone and we only get Security Update notes

Apple DOES fix bugs & issues in security updates even though they do not release patch notes.

macOS Big Sur Update Summary

New Features – 0
Resolved Issues – 1
Security Fixes – 31

Mr. Macintosh What’s new in the macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 Update video!

macOS Monterey 12.1 Update (21C52) is Live! What’s New?

macOS Monterey 12.1 is now available!

UPDATED 12/14

Apple just released the first major update to macOS Monterey. The update comes a month and a half after the October 25th release.

Quick Summary

112.1 is now available as a delta update, Full Installer & M1 IPSW Restore file
Universal Control = Delayed until Spring 2022
Memory Leaks – Multiple reports. Some are saying some of the memory leaks are fixed, while others are still having issues.
2021 16″ M1 MacBook Pro charging fix when lid is closed
Mojave to Big Sur & Monterey Upgrade issue fixed! – More info https://mrmacintosh.com/macos-upgrade-to-big-sur-failed-stuck-progress-bar-fix-prevention/

macOS Monterey Patch Notes Summary

1. New Features – 7
2. Resolved Issues – 7
3. Security Fixes – 42
3. New Enhancements – 3
4. Enterprise – 5
5. Undocumented Fixes – 1

Other Apple Releases

1. iOS 15.2 (19C56)
2. iPadOS 15.2 (19C56)
3. watchOS 8.3 (19S55)
4. tvOS 15.2 (19K53)
5. HomePodOS 15.2 (19K52)
6. Monterey 12.1 (21C52)
7. Big Sur 11.6.2 (20G313)
8. Catalina 2021-008 (19H1615)
9. Xcode 13.2 (13C90)

My macOS Monterey 12.1 What’s New Update Video!

1. Apple Links
2. Mr. Macintosh articles of interest for Apple Silicon & macOS Monterey
3. Undocumented macOS Monterey Update changes & fixes
4. Monterey Release History
5. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app
6. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
7. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1
8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
10. Safari Update
11. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Monterey
12. Security Content of macOS Monterey
13. macOS Monterey Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

Big Sur 11.6.1 Update Upgrades Recovery to Monterey on M1

If you installed the Big Sur 11.6.1 Update, Recovery OS will be upgraded Monterey on your M1 Mac.

Normally when you install a macOS update, recovery gets updated so it matches the OS version.

Example: You have an M1 Mac that has Big Sur 11.5.2 on it. Then you installed the 11.6 update. The following happens.

M1 Mac

MacOS is updated to 11.6
Recovery OS is updated to 11.6
Fallback Recovery stays on 11.5.2

Intel Mac

MacOS is updated to 11.6
Recovery OS is updated to 11.6

Big Sur OS and Monterey Recovery on M1?

MacAdmin @nstrauss first reported something strange last week.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904 Command + R vs Option + Command R. The OS that shipped with your Mac vs the latest available supported version. What’s the equivalent to this on Apple silicon? If I’m not ready to move to Monterey, but recovery is only offering Monterey, what can I do?
nstrauss

Wait what?

How could you have an M1 Mac with Big Sur installed but Monterey as the recovery OS?

There is one way you can get into this situation.

Upgrade an M1 Mac to Monterey
Boot to recovery with Big Sur USB Installer
Erase the drive
Install Big Sur
You now have an M1 Mac with Big Sur OS and Monterey Recovery.

The only way to fix this is to use Apple Configurator 2 + DFU mode. You can restore macOS and Recovery back to Big Sur with the 11.6 IPSW.

This was not what happened in Nathaniel’s situation.

The Big Sur 11.6.1 update changed the normal process.

EDIT: This happens with ANY Big Sur update!

Example: You have a Software Update deferral in place. You are offered the 11.5.2 or 11.6 update, you will also get Monterey Recovery.

I started talking with someone who knows the recovery system very well. He was just as confused as I was.

I decided to test on my M1 that was on 11.6. I Booted into recovery, and recovery OS was on 11.6. Then I booted into fallback recovery and it was on 11.6.

The version was 11.6 because I used AC2 and the 11.6 IPSW to restore.

I then installed the 11.6.1 update in System Preferences > Software Update.

When the update was complete, the OS was on 11.6.1. I then booted into recovery and found this.

MrMacintosh.com - macOS recovery is now on 12.0.1 Monterey after installing the 11.6.1 update on an M1 Mac. — macOS recovery is now on 12.0.1 Monterey after installing the 11.6.1 update on an M1 Mac.

Recovery is on macOS Monterey 12.0.1 …. ok

Let’s try Fallback Recovery. If you are not familiar with FBR this is what Apple says about it.

Fallback Recovery = From a shutdown state, double- press and hold the power button. The same process as recoveryOS boot, except that it boots to a second copy of recoveryOS that is kept for resiliency. However, LLB doesn’t lock an indication into the Boot Progress Register saying it is going into recoveryOS, and therefore the fallback recovery OS doesn’t have the capability to change the system security state.
Apple Platform Security

The idea here is FBR is a 2nd copy of recoveryOS that is one version behind. This a great troubleshooting tool that you could use if you installed an update but something went wrong.

So I booted into FBR and it was on 12.0.1 Monterey.

How can you confirm that you are booted to FBR? From the Apple Security Guide, you should not be able to modify system security.

M1 Mac on 11.6.1 booted to Fallback Recovery Mode

Once in Fallback recovery, I attempted to modify the Startup Security Utility and got the message above.

Howard Oakley wrote an excellent article on Fallback Recovery if you would like to learn more.

eclecticlight.co/2021/02/20/m1-macs-have-another-hidden-boot-mode/

More Testing

We now know that installing the 11.6.1 update will update recoveryOS to Monterey. What about the Big Sur 11.6.1 full installer?

1st test – 11.6 installed = 11.6.1 Full Installer

After using the 11.6.1 Full installer, macOS recovery will be updated to Monterey 12.0.1

2nd test – 11.6 installed – 11.6.2 Beta Update

The update showed up in system preferences as a full 11GB update. After updating, recoveryOS was Big Sur

3rd test – 11.6.1 installed – 11.6.2 Beta Update

Maybe the issue was just in the 11.6.1 update? After installing the 11.6.2 Beta update, recoveyOS was on 12.0.1 Recovery. You would think that the 11.6.2 Beta update would have installed 12.1 Beta recoveryOS but that was not the case.

If you still need to Reinstall Big Sur.

This is where the new M1 Recovery system comes in handy. All you need to do is create a Big Sur USB installer.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
Boot to M1 Boot Picker by holding down Power.
Select Install macOS Big Sur.
You are now in recovery and can use the Big Sur USB installer to reinstall macOS Big Sur.

Conclusion

So what is the deal with this situation? We have a few possibilities.

This is a bug or mistake on Apple’s part. This is unexpected behavior that we have not seen before.
There is a technical reason behind the change.
Apple wants users to upgrade to Monterey when reinstalling macOS.

I’m not pointing in any one direction because I don’t know why this is happening.

I’ve submitted a ticket to Apple Enterprise Support to find out. I will update you when I hear back.

Thanks

Hat tip to someone who reached out to help clarify the situation.

2nd hat tip to Howard Oakley, Mark Buffington and Pico for additional confirmation plus answering some of my questions.

macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 (20G224) Update What’s New?

macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 (20G224)Update is now available for all users!

UPDATED: 10/25

Apple just dropped a new macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 Update! Let’s jump in and find out what’s new!

Is the 2021-00x Security Update name format dead?

I think it is. Normally Apple does not stop normal point release updates that include bug fixes until the next release of macOS. In this case, it looks like apple has moved to Security Updates only mode. From now until Big Sur’s end of life in 2 years it will only receive security updates.

In the past, this would mean that we would get the following Big Sur update name format

Big Sur 2021-001 Security Update

Now we have

Big Sur 11.6.1 Security Update

I am 100% for this! Thank you Apple for making the security update version number easier for normal users to understand.

11.6.1 FULL INSTALLER?

Apple did not initially release a full installer for 11.6.

#MacAdmins got pretty upset about this, we need to send out Macs that are secure from the start.

We are lucky enough that Apple HAS released a full installer for 11.6.1!

Apple Security Document = waiting

Apple posted a security document

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

macOS Big Sur Update Summary

0 – New Features
0 – Resolved Issues
– Security Fixes

macOS Monterey 12.0.1 (21A559) Public Release is Live! What’s New?

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Monterey 12.0.1 is now available for download!! — macOS Monterey 12.0.1 is now available for download!!

macOS Monterey Final is now available!

UPDATED 10/25

Apple also just dropped macOS Monterey 12.0.1 Final!!! Let’s jump in and find out what’s new in this update.

Quick Summary

12.0.1 Final is now available as a delta update & Full Installer
M1 IPSW Restore – Waiting
NEW MacBook Pro 14″ & 16″ Arrive TOMORROW!
macOS 12.0 (Build 21A344) New M1 MacBook Pro shipping version found!

Full list of Apple Beta releases.

macOS Monterey Patch Notes Summary

1. Enterprise – 0
2. New Features – 0
3. Known Issues – 0
4. Resolved Issues – 0
5. Deprecations – 0
6. Undocumented Fixes – 0
7. Undocumented New Features – 0

1. Apple Links
2. Mr. Macintosh articles of interest for Apple Silicon & macOS Monterey
3. Undocumented macOS Monterey Beta Update changes & fixes
4. Monterey Release History
5. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app
6. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
7. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1
8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
10. Safari Update
11. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Monterey
12. Security Content of macOS Monterey
13. macOS Monterey Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

macOS Monterey 12.0.1 RC2 (21A559) is Live! What’s New?

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Monterey 12.0.1 RC2 is now available. — macOS Monterey Release Candidate 2 is now available

macOS Monterey Release Candidate 2 is now available for Developers.

UPDATED 10/22

Apple also just dropped macOS Monterey 12.0.1 RC2 only 2 days after the first RC. Let’s jump in and find out what’s new in this update.

Quick Summary

12.0.1 RC 2 is now available as a delta update
Full Installer = will not be released.
12.0.1 M1 IPSW Restore File = YES
12.0.1 Public Beta = Available now!
macOS 12.0 (Build 21A344) New M1 MacBook Pro shipping version found!

Full list of Apple Beta releases.

iPadOS 15.1 RC 2 (19B75) – iPad Mini 2021 Only
Xcode 13.1 RC

macOS Monterey Beta Patch Notes Summary

1. Enterprise – 0
2. New Features – 0
3. Known Issues – 0
4. Resolved Issues – 0
5. Deprecations – 0
6. Undocumented Fixes – 0
7. Undocumented New Features – 0

1. Apple Links
2. Mr. Macintosh articles of interest for Apple Silicon & macOS Monterey
3. Undocumented macOS Monterey Beta Update changes & fixes
4. Monterey Release History
5. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app
6. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
7. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1
8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
10. Safari Update
11. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Monterey
12. Security Content of macOS Monterey
13. macOS Monterey Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

macOS Upgrade to Big Sur Failed! Stuck Progress Bar fix & Prevention!

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Mojave or Catalina to Big Sur Upgrade Progress Bar Stuck Fix. — macOS Mojave or Catalina to Big Sur Upgrade Progress Bar Stuck Fix.

MacOS Big Sur currently has an upgrade issue. In certain situations, the upgrade will fail and then get stuck with a neverending progress bar.

UPDATED 12/13/21

UPDATE! This issue is fixed in both the Monterey 12.1 and Big Sur 11.6.2 Full installer.

I’ll start with a quick summary of the macOS stuck progress bar situation.

If you are upgrading from macOS High Sierra, Mojave, or Catalina to Big Sur your upgrade could fail if it matches a very particular condition.

If folders in multiple directories in the location below

/private/var/folders/*/*/C/com.apple.metadata.mdworker

have more than 20,000 files your upgrade could fail.

In some situations users have reported 500,000 – 2,000,000 files!!!

This is the reason why the problem could never be reproduced.

If you build a fresh system the file counts for spotlight will be very low. You might have 20-400 entries. This would allow the upgrad to finish properly.

Different situations. The macOS stuck progress bar issue has many different situations.
How can I check how many mdworker files my system has before an upgrade.
I have more than 20,000 files. How do I clear them out before the upgrade?
The files have been deleted! Now what?
What if you booted your failed Mac into safe mode after having the issue?
Will Apple fix this problem?
Final Thoughts
Thank you!

macOS Monterey 12.0.1 RC (21A558) is Live! What’s New?

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Monterey 12.0.1 Release Candidate is here!!! — macOS Monterey 12.0.1 Release Candidate is here!!!

macOS Monterey Release Candidate is now available for Developers.

UPDATED 10/20

Today, Apple announced a new 14 & 16″ MacBook Pro!!!

Apple also just dropped macOS Monterey 12.0.1 RC. The update comes only one week after beta 10! Let’s jump in and find out what’s new in this update.

Quick Summary

NEW MacBook Pro 14″ & 16″!!!
12.0.1 RC is now available as a delta update & M1 IPSW restore file
12.0.1 Public Beta is Live!!!
UPDATE: Full Installer WILL NOT BE RELEASED 😡
2 New Wallpapers! – Chroma Red & Chroma Blue
New Monterey Screensaver added!
Universal Control = UPDATE: Apple says “Later this Fall” for Universal Control
Safari Changes – Moved “Show color in tab bar” to Advanced & website tabs are back.
NEW BOARD ID’s = MBPro 14″ – J314s & J314c MBPro 16″ – J316s & J316c
Benchmarks for M1 Pro & Max are starting to appear in geekbench. Single-Core Score = 1783 & Multi-Core = 12693. Comparison 2020 M1 Mac Mini = 1756 Single & 7727 Multi-Core

My macOS Monterey RC Update Video

Full list of Apple Beta releases.

iOS 15.1 RC (19B74)
iPadOS 15.1 RC (19B74)
watchOS 8.1 RC (19R570)
tvOS 15.1 RC (19J572)
audioOS 15.1 RC (19J572)
Monterey 12.0.1 RC (21A558)
Catalina Security RC 2021-007 (19H1519)
Big Sur 11.6.1 RC (20G221)

macOS Monterey Beta Patch Notes Summary

1. Enterprise – 0
2. New Features – 0
3. Known Issues – 0
4. Resolved Issues – 8
5. Deprecations – 0
6. Undocumented Fixes – 2
7. Undocumented New Features – 2

1. Apple Links
2. Mr. Macintosh articles of interest for Apple Silicon & macOS Monterey
3. Undocumented macOS Monterey Beta Update changes & fixes
4. Monterey Release History
5. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app
6. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
7. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1
8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
10. Safari Update
11. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Monterey
12. Security Content of macOS Monterey
13. macOS Monterey Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

macOS Monterey Beta 10 Update (21A5552a) is Live! What’s New?

MrMacintosh.com - macOS Monterey Beta 10 is now available — macOS Monterey Beta 10 is now available

macOS Monterey Beta 10 is now available for Developers.

UPDATED 10/14

Yesterday, Apple announced a new MacBook Pro Event!!!

The keynote will be held on Monday October 18th at 12:00 PM CST

New MacBook Pro event on October 19th at 12:00CST!!!

Apple also just dropped macOS Monterey Beta 10. The update comes only one week after beta 9! Let’s jump in and find out what’s new in this update.

Monterey final release prediction.

Monterey Release Candidate right after the October 18th Event. This will protect the new MBPro specific information contained in the RC installer until after the announcement. We could see the public release between Oct 19-21st.

Quick Summary

NEW MacBook Pro EVENT!!! October 18th 12:00 PM CST
Beta 10 is now available as a Delta update & M1 IPSW Restore File
~~Public Beta~~ TODAY! & Full Installer (tomorrow)
Safari favorites bar is now positioned between the url bar and your tabs.
Universal Control = NEWS! – New (Beta) Universal Control settings! (click the advanced button in system preferences > display) The setting is not working right now from what I can tell. The change is not mentioned in the Beta 10 patch notes. The checkmark box can’t be selected. If you run the old FeatureFlags workaround the box can be selected but the feature still does not seem to work.

https://youtu.be/I6yukBL5Sfo

My macOS Monterey Beta 10 What’s New Video!

Full list of Apple Beta releases.

iOS 15.1 (Beta 4) 19B5068a
iPadOS 15.1 (Beta 4) 19B5068a
watchOS 8.1 (Beta 4) 19R5566a
tvOS 15.1 (Beta 4) 19J5567a
audioOS 5.1 (Beta 4) 19J5567a
Big Sur 11.6.1 RC (20G214 –> 20G219)
Catalina 2021-007 Security Update Beta

macOS Monterey Beta Patch Notes Summary

1. Enterprise – 0
2. New Features – 0
3. Known Issues – 1
4. Resolved Issues – 0
5. Deprecations – 0
6. Undocumented Fixes – 0
7. Undocumented New Features – 1

1. Apple Links
2. Mr. Macintosh articles of interest for Apple Silicon & macOS Monterey
3. Undocumented macOS Monterey Beta Update changes & fixes
4. Monterey Release History
5. macOS Monterey Full Installer.app
6. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
7. macOS Monterey Update sizes for Intel and M1
8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
10. Safari Update
11. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Monterey
12. Security Content of macOS Monterey
13. macOS Monterey Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

macOS Monterey 12.2 is now available!

macOS Monterey Patch Notes Summary

Full Apple OS Release list

Table of Contents

macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 Security Update is now available for all users!

macOS Big Sur Update Summary

macOS Monterey 12.1 is now available!

macOS Monterey Patch Notes Summary

Other Apple Releases

Table of Contents

If you installed the Big Sur 11.6.1 Update, Recovery OS will be upgraded Monterey on your M1 Mac.

Big Sur OS and Monterey Recovery on M1?

The Big Sur 11.6.1 update changed the normal process.

More Testing

If you still need to Reinstall Big Sur.

Conclusion

Thanks

macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 (20G224)Update is now available for all users!

Is the 2021-00x Security Update name format dead?

11.6.1 FULL INSTALLER?

Apple Security Document = waiting

macOS Big Sur Update Summary

macOS Monterey Final is now available!

Full list of Apple Beta releases.

macOS Monterey Patch Notes Summary

Table of Contents

macOS Monterey Release Candidate 2 is now available for Developers.

Full list of Apple Beta releases.

macOS Monterey Beta Patch Notes Summary

Table of Contents

MacOS Big Sur currently has an upgrade issue. In certain situations, the upgrade will fail and then get stuck with a neverending progress bar.

Table of contents

macOS Monterey Release Candidate is now available for Developers.

Full list of Apple Beta releases.

macOS Monterey Beta Patch Notes Summary

Table of Contents

macOS Monterey Beta 10 is now available for Developers.

Full list of Apple Beta releases.

macOS Monterey Beta Patch Notes Summary

Table of Contents