11.0 Big Sur Beta Archives - Page 2 of 3

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 9 (20A5384c)?

MrMacintosh.com - What's New in macOS Big Sur Beta 9 (20A5384c)? — What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 9 (20A5384c)?

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 9 (20A5384c) to Developers

MacOS Big Sur 11 Beta 9 (20A5384c) was released on September 29th, 2020 only one week after Beta 8! We are starting to get weekly beta releases. MacOS Catalina had 11 beta releases including the gold master, so again we are getting very close to release. Beta 7 & 8 did not get a full installer so hopefully we get one this time around. I’m still waiting to see if any changes are listed around screen recording, I will update as soon.

UPDATE: 10/05 – softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer does not work in Big Sur Beta 9

UPDATE: 9/30 – Apple has just released a Beta 9 Full Installer!!!

MrMacintosh.com - On 9/30 Apple released a Beta 9 Full Installer! — Released on 9/30 at 12PM CST a Beta 9 Full Installer!

UPDATE 9/29 – Items not found in Big Sur Beta 9 official patch notes

Beta 9 does not have a full installer available 🙁
We now control screen recording access for standard users with MDM! (More information available in the AppleSeed patch notes)
Active Directory login is still not working in Beta 9. Hopefully it’s fixed in the next release. The plugin was working fine in Beta 6 and 7.
Xcode command line tools are now available for 12.2 Beta 2
Setup assistant bug where you could not hit continue = Fixed.
Beta 9 seems to take longer to prepare the install (30min+)
QuickLook = Fixed
System Preferences + Security & Privacy = Quicker
AirPods Pro Automatic Switching = still glitchy
Youtube 4k Video in Safari = YES
Cisco IPSEC VPN issues = Now working!
Menu bar spacing = icons are closer together
Apple Watch can’t be paired use to unlock Mac = https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251803595?login=true&page=3

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 in Beta 9 Mr. Macintosh Video

If you are having issues getting Beta 9 to show up in Software Update, take a look at my Big Sur Beta troubleshooting article. – mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-beta-not-showing-up-in-software-update-troubleshooting/

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 Beta 9 Patch Notes Summary

2 – New Features
11 – Resolved Issues
10 – Standing Known Issues
1 – AppleSeed New Feature
1 – AppleSeeed Resolved Issue

AppleSeed Notes Link = appleseed.apple.com/

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

Apple DTK Mac Mini Notes = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-universal-apps-beta-release-notes

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

AppleSeed = 1 new feature and 1 resolved issue – appleseed.apple.com
1. Full installer = NO
2. 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)

Previous Big Sur 11 Beta 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

macOS Big Sur 11 Installer Info

Note: Combo and Delta updates are not available as standalone downloads.

Full Installer.app

Link – developer.apple.com or installinstallmacos.py

Size = Full installer is not available for Beta 9

Big Sur Beta Delta Update

This is the update is for updating from Beta 8 > Beta 9

Size = 3.5GB

Big Sur Beta Combo Update

This is update should be for updating from Beta 1-8 > Beta 9

Size = 3.82GB

T2 BridgeOS Update

The Version of BridgeOS for your T2 Security Chip was updated.

BridgeOS version = 18.16.12390.5.1

Size = 442.2MB

Product ID = 001-51049

4. Previous Beta 8 = 18.16.12380 BuildVersion 3
3.Previous Beta 7 = 18.16.12380
2. Previous Beta 6 = 18.16.12370.5.1
1. Previous Beta 5 = 18.16.10358.5.2

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 Beta 9 (20A5384c) Release Notes

Overview

The macOS 11 SDK provides support to develop apps for Macs running macOS Big Sur 11. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 12.2 beta, available from Beta Software Downloads. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12.2, see Xcode 12.2 Beta Release Notes.

General

New Features in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 9

A ToolbarItem attached to the content of a sheet will now display confirmationAction, cancellationAction, destructiveAction and automatic placements below the the content of the sheet. (61180502)
A ToolbarItem Label is now automatically used when the window’s toolbar is set to Icon and Text or Text Only. (67823018)

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 9

Use of matchedGeometryEffect(id:in:properties:anchor:isSource:) no longer causes the Fruta sample app to quit unexpectedly. (68792306)
Menu content is now lazily created once the menu is presented. (59648503)
Section headers for InsetListStyle, PlainListStyle, and ListStyle are now styled as expected by default. (68245873)
Rosetta 2 widgets running on Apple silicon Mac computers now correctly respect their multiline text alignment. (68164481)
NSViewRepresentable and NSViewControllerRepresentable types no longer update on every environment update. (68599108)
TextEditingCommands and TextFormattingCommands now appear as expected. (65896111)
Symbol images embedded in Text now correctly appear using the text’s foreground color. (68089564)
Drag and drop of multiple items in a List no longer causes an application to quit unexpectedly. (53385270)
Drag-and-drop actions no longer fail when dropping on dynamic view content. (68281403)

UIKit

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 9

After using the new detectPatternsForPatterns:completionHandler: Pasteboard API, the pasteboard no longer returns empty data. (67857457)

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 9

The Command Line Tools package for Xcode 12.2 beta 2 is now available. (69012274)

Big Sur Beta 9

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 8 (20A5374i)?

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 8 (20A5374i) to Developers

UPDATE 9/23/20 – Beta 8 Issues

Big Sur Beta 8 does not have a full installer, hopefully we will get one when Beta 9 hits in a week or two.
No changes or additional notes to Screen Recording controls, it was noted in Beta 7 that we would get some sort of MDM controls for this for standard users.
Active Directory login is not working in Beta 8 after an upgrade. Was working fine in Beta 6 and 7.

You can take a look at my Beta 7 article, it has a list of current standing issues that might not have been fixed in Beta 8 yet.

mrmacintosh.com/whats-new-in-macos-big-sur-11-beta-7-20a5374g/

MacOS Big Sur 11 Beta 8 (20A5374i) was released on September 22nd, 2020 only 7 days after Beta 7! MacOS Catalina had 11 beta releases including the gold master, so we are getting close to release. Beta 8 is very small and only includes one noted fix in the developer notes. I am still waiting to see if any changes are listed around screen recording or if we get a full installer. I will update as soon.

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.

If you are having issues getting Beta 8 to show up in Software Update, take a look at my Big Sur Beta troubleshooting article. – mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-beta-not-showing-up-in-software-update-troubleshooting/

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/

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 8 Mr. Macintosh Video

macOS Big Sur Beta 8 Patch Notes Summary

Installer Note
New Features
1 – Resolved Issues
New Known Issues
0 – AppleSeed Known Issues

AppleSeed Notes Link = appleseed.apple.com/

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

Apple DTK Mac Mini Notes = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-universal-apps-beta-release-notes

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

AppleSeed = No changes – appleseed.apple.com
1. Note: Apple did not provide a full installer for Beta 8.
2. 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)

Previous Big Sur 11 Beta Releases

8. Big Sur 11 Beta 8 (20A5374i) – 09/22/20 – Current Release
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

macOS Big Sur 11 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Link – developer.apple.com or installinstallmacos.py

Size = Waiting on Full installer??

Product ID =

Big Sur Beta Delta Update

This is the update is for updating from Beta 7 > Beta 8

Size = 2.34GB

Product ID =

Big Sur Beta Combo Update

This is update should be for updating from Beta 1-6 > Beta 8

Size = 3.61GB

Product ID =

T2 BridgeOS Update

BridgeOS version is the same with only a BuildVersion change to 3

Size = 443.1MB

Product ID = 001-49906

BridgeOS Update Version =18.16.12380 BuildVersion 3

3. Previous Beta 7 = 18.16.12380
2. Previous Beta 6 = 18.16.12370.5.1
1. Previous Beta 5 = 18.16.10358.5.2

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!

macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 8 (20A5374i) Release Notes

Overview

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)

AppKit

See AppKit Release Notes for macOS Big Sur 11.

Apple Security Bounty

macOS Big Sur 11 beta 8 is designated as qualifying for the 50% Apple Security Bounty bonus payment for issues that are unknown to Apple or reintroduced in this release. See Apple Security Bounty for more information.

Installer and Software Update

Known Issues

When updating from macOS Big Sur 11 beta 2 to macOS Big Sur 11 beta 3 or later, you might be offered an unexpectedly large download rather than an incremental software update. (65753086)Workaround: Under the “Another update is available” text, click the “More info…” link. This will reveal the incremental update where you can click the Install Now button.
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)
If macOS Big Sur 11 beta is installed into the same APFS container as previous versions of macOS Catalina 10.15, system software updates can no longer be installed on the previous versions of macOS. (64411484)Workaround: Update the previous version of macOS Catalina to 10.15.6.

Kernel

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 8

An issue with the kernel no longer causes applications to quit unexpectedly. (69093270)

SwiftUI

Known Issues

ProgressView generic type signature has changed, adding the currentValueLabel generic parameter. This change doesn’t require any source changes, but will cause apps compiled using an earlier beta SDK to quit unexpectedly. (63580200)Workaround: Re-compile apps for macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 6 or later to resolve this issue.
Drag-and-drop actions can sometimes fail when dropping on dynamic view content. (68281403)
Dynamically updating OutlineGroup content can fail to update correctly or cause an application to quit unexpectedly. (58820037)
DisclosureGroup’s isExpanded binding does not work as expected in a List. (58820037)
Some standard menu items, such as Open Recents or Window menu items, are missing from the main menu. (63998004)

Third-Party Apps

Known Issues

You might experience kernel panics when using earlier versions of Parallels Desktop 16. (67358596)Workaround: Upgrade to the most-recent version of Parallels Desktop 16.
Some third-party scripts might produce unexpected results due to the change in macOS version from 10.x to 11. (62477208)Workaround: Set SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1 in the calling environment, for example: $ SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1 legacy_script.pl

UIKit

Known Issues

After using the new detectPatternsForPatterns:completionHandler: Pasteboard API, the pasteboard might return empty data. (67857457)Workaround: Use the detectValuesForPatterns:completionHandler: API, if you need access to the values that match the detected patterns.

Wallet

Known Issues

isPassLibraryAvailable() doesn’t ensure uniform availability of pass library functionality between platforms and devices. (60697880)Workaround: Call a more specific API to check available functionality, such as canAddPasses().

Xcode

Known Issues

Legacy Xcode versions prior to 11.5 might unexpectedly quit when launched. (59991056)Workaround: Run the following command in Terminal: defaults write com.apple.dt.Xcode DVTDisableMainThreadChecker 1, then deselect Main Thread Checker in the Diagnostic tab of the Run and Test actions for each scheme in your project.
The Command Line Tools package for Xcode 12.2 beta isn’t currently available. (69012274)

Big Sur Beta 8

How To Downgrade T2 BridgeOS Beta to a Production Version

MrMacintosh.com - How to Downgrade BridgeOS Beta to a Production Compatible Version — *Downgrade Big Sur T2 BridgeOS Beta to a Production Catalina version of BridgeOS.*

Using Apple Configurator, you can now downgrade T2 BridgeOS Beta to a Production version of BridgeOS.

Downgrading the version of your T2 BridgeOS has never been possible. Developers and customers could only get a NEWER version of BridgeOS when updating or upgrading macOS. The ability to downgrade BridgeOS on a T2 Mac was simply not possible. This new change to Apple Configurator 2 most likely happened between version 2.12 – 2.12.1.

My quick 4 min video on how to boot your into DFU mode + restore / revive BridgeOS.

Deep Dive explanation on how to boot your Mac into DFU Mode + How to Reinstall BridgeOS with Apple Configurator 2 – Mr. Macintosh YouTube live demo.

1. Why would you want to downgrade from a beta version of BridgeOS?
2. Can you Downgrade to a Lower Production version of BridgeOS?
3. Problems Running Catalina with a Big Sur Beta BridgeOS Version.
4. Closer look at BridgeOS versioning
5. The Big Sur installer is now using DeviceIDs compatibility checks.
6. BridgeOSUpdateCustomer updater
7. How to Downgrade a Beta Version of BridgeOS to a Production Version.
8. The Revive Option (for science)
9. Final Notes

1. Why would you want to downgrade from a beta version of BridgeOS?

Let’s say that you installed Big Sur Beta 6, and are now having a ton of problems. You probably want to downgrade to Catalina so you can work again. The only problem is, you are still on Big Sur Beta 6 BridgeOS version 18.16.12370. Keep in mind, your Mac SHOULD still work fine with this version. An example of this is if you have Catalina 10.15.6 installed on your Mac, your BridgeOS version is 17.16.16610. Let’s say that you need to test something on version 10.15.3. After installing Catalina 10.15.3, your BridgeOS version will NOT be downgraded to the period correct version of 17.16.13050. It will run just fine on the 10.15.6 version of 17.16.16610 BridgeOS. The same is the case if you have a Big Sur Beta version of BridgeOS and you downgrade to Catalina.

2. Can you Downgrade to a Lower Production version of BridgeOS?

If you are running macOS Beta, then you can use Apple Configurator 2 to downgrade your T2 BridgeOS to a final or production version of BridgeOS.

What about if you are running a production version of macOS? You can downgrade BridgeOS with Apple Configurator 2, but only for 1 week after a new macOS software update. Apple will unsign the previous version of BridgeOS along with previous iOS updates.

3. Problems Running Catalina with a Big Sur Beta BridgeOS Version.

Let’s say after you downgraded from Big Sur Beta to Catalina 10.15.6, you are now having problems. You might start to see weird issues or crashes? Normally you would have to wait until the next beta or the production version of Big Sur to get a stable version of BridgeOS on your Mac.

How do you even know what the correct version of BridgeOS your Mac should be on? I keep track of all macOS & BridgeOS versions for you here > mrmacintosh.com/macos-system-status-version-info-for-macadmins/

4. Closer look at BridgeOS versioning

Apple Configurator 2 logs are stored in ~/Library/Group Containers/xxxxxxx.group.com.apple.configurator/Library/Logs

For some reason 2.12.1 no longer creates a log, this problem looks like a bug.

The plist containing what BridgeOS ipsw file is used is located at the web address below.

https://mesu.apple.com/assets/bridgeos/com_apple_bridgeOSIPSW/com_apple_bridgeOSIPSW.xml

Looking at the xml file, I need to find my 2019 16″ MacBook Pro. Regular Model Identifiers or BoardIDs are not used here. You need to find the iBridge ProductID. Below is a snippet of the above .xml file. Below the version of BridgeOS = 17P6610

iBridge2,14 17P6610 Restore BuildVersion 17P6610 DocumentationURL FirmwareSHA1 e9776dda5d2d70e0e0988c18a84b528155b6423b FirmwareURL http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2020/macos/001-36803-20200810-A97B835C-DB65-11EA-B99D-EC2029ACBA60/iBridge2,1,iBridge2,10,iBridge2,12,iBridge2,14,iBridge2,15,iBridge2,16,iBridge2,19,iBridge2,20,iBridge2,21,iBridge2,22,iBridge2,3,iBridge2,4,iBridge2,5,iBridge2,6,iBridge2,7,iBridge2,8_4.6_17P6610_Restore.ipsw

The iBridge ProductID = iBridge2,14

I started to keeping track of all the DeviceIDs in my BoardID Database. We can now find iBridge ProductID = iBridge2,14 below.

mrmacintosh.com/list-of-mac-boardid-deviceid-model-identifiers-machine-models/

iBridge2,14

J152FAP

0x3A

Apple T2 MacBookPro16,1 (j152f)

iBridge2,14 is a 2019 16″ MacBook Pro!

5. The Big Sur installer is now using DeviceIDs compatibility checks.

A change to the macOS Installer Beta was noticed by @grahampugh. He noticed that the new Big Sur installer now looks at the Mac DeviceID for T2 Systems and BoardID for older 2017 and below Macs.

6. BridgeOSUpdateCustomer updater

Now that we have the DeviceID, how do we know which version of BridgeOS is compatible for this model? The xml file gives us a clue BuildVersion 17P6610. I am used to keeping track of the BridgeOS Boot Rom version which is listed like this 17.16.16065.

The BuildVersion/BuildNumber is located inside the BridgeOSUpdateCustomer > BridgeOSUpdateCustomer.pkg > BuildManifest.plist.

BuildIdentities ApBoardID 0x3E ApChipID 0x8012 ApSecurityDomain 0x01 Info BuildNumber 17P6610 BuildTrain bridgeOSJazzGHW DeviceClass j214kap

7. How to Downgrade a Beta Version of BridgeOS to a Production Version.

I documented how to restore & revive BridgeOS here > mrmacintosh.com/how-to-restore-bridgeos-on-a-t2-mac-how-to-put-a-mac-into-dfu-mode/

The process to downgrade is basically the same.

Apple Configurator 2 offers two options to Reinstall/Downgrade BridgeOS. Only the Restore option will help you downgrade and stay on the Catalina specific version.

Restore = ERASES YOUR HARD DRIVE + Downgrade BridgeOS
Revive = Actions > Advanced > Revive Device = Downgrade BridgeOS*

If you want to downgrade to macOS Catalina and a Catalina version of BridgeOS, the fastest way is to use the Restore option. Once the restore is complete, you will be on a the Catalina Production Version of BridgeOS and will have empty hard drive. You can now use Internet Recovery to reinstall macOS Catalina.

What happens if you chose the Revive option?

8. The Revive Option (for science)

As noted above, you have no real reason to use this option. But for science, what would happen? If you are on Big Sur Beta want to downgrade T2 BridgeOS Beta using the Revive option, you will leave your Mac in a non bootable state. This is because you are now running a BridgeOS version that is OLDER than the required Big Sur Beta BridgeOS. The good news is, your T2 Mac is smart enough to repair itself! As soon as the revive option finishes, your Mac will boot to a flashing folder alert or the Internet Recovery boot menu. If it boots to the flashing folder, just boot to Command Option R or Command R and you will get the menu below.

MrMacintosh.com - Internet Recovery Boot Menu — Internet Recovery Boot Menu

Connect to the internet and let it continue. You will be brought to a message that says,

A software update is required to use this startup disk.

Click Update and your mac will download the correct build of Big Sur Beta BridgeOS.

MrMacintosh.com - On this screen your Mac is updating Bridge OS to a Big Sur compatible BridgeOS. — On this screen your Mac is updating Bridge OS to a Big Sur compatible BridgeOS.

Once complete, the Mac will boot back to Big Sur. The only way to avoid this would be to boot the Mac to Target Disk Mode so you could erase the drive and reinstall Catalina. That’s why if you want to have BridgeOS and Catalina on the same version the Apple Configurator RESTORE option is the way to go. Just make sure to backup everything before you start as all data will be lost.

9. Final Notes

It should be pretty rare that you should ever need to downgrade BridgeOS from a Beta version. Keep in mind this will ONLY work for beta versions. As I noted above you can’t downgrade from a 10.15.6 version of BridgeOS to say a 10.15.3 version. With that said I would love to be able to downgrade to a previous version. If it’s your job to test OS Updates, once you update one test T2 Mac it’s done. It will not perform the BridgeOS update again until the next update. I really like that Apple let’s us downgrade from a beta version of BridgeOS, the more ways for customers to fix their devices the better! A big hat tip goes out to Mr. Macintosh reader thomas089 for first testing this and commenting in my main article!

Downgrade T2 BridgeOS Beta

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 7 (20A5374g)

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 7 (20A5374g) to Developers

UPDATE 9/20/20 – New Big Sur Beta 7 issues.

1. Enterprise Connect 2.0.5 is not working properly. You can sign in one time, but never again. While the app is attempting to sign in, it will take attention from anything that you are working on at random intervals.
2. Security & Privacy Pane is crashing/not loading correctly. The error that you will get is “There was an error in Security & Privacy preferences.”
3. Share Audio Recordings first time sign in prompt continue button is greyed out preventing you from finishing the setup assistant. WORKAROUND – you have to hit the back button to back one step then go to the next window again.

UPDATE 9/17/20 – Confirmed Big Sur Beta 7 Fixes that are not in the developer notes.

1. SMB connection bug fixed!
2. Date & Time > Clock Menu Bar greyed out bug fixed by moving settings to Dock & Menu Bar > Menu Bar Clock
3. MDM Support for permitting standard users to allow Screen Recording is not available and is listed as a “Known Issue” in Big Sur Beta 7. Hoping we will get that MDM Support in Beta 8, as we are quickly running out of time.

MacOS Big Sur 11 Beta 7 (20A5374g) was released on September 17th, 2020. 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.

If you are having issues getting Beta 7 to show up in Software Update, take a look at my Big Sur Beta troubleshooting article. – mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-beta-not-showing-up-in-software-update-troubleshooting/

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 Beta 7 Patch Notes Summary

1 – Installer Note
5 – New Features
12 – Resolved Issues
14 – New Known Issues
1 – AppleSeed Known Issues
0 – AppleSeed Announcements
1 – AppleSeed Resolved Issues

AppleSeed Notes Link = appleseed.apple.com/

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

Apple DTK Mac Mini Notes = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-universal-apps-beta-release-notes

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

AppleSeed = x Resolved Issues x Announcements & x Known Issues – appleseed.apple.com
1. Note: for this macOS Big Sur Build, there will only be a software update available to take you from Beta 6 (20A53643e) to Beta 7 (20A53774g). If you are starting with a build earlier than Beta 6, or from macOS Catalina or an earlier version of macOS, you will need to install Beta 6 prior to updating to Beta 7. Translation = NO FULL INSTALLER FOR BETA 7!
2. 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)
3. macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7 is designated as qualifying for the 50% Apple Security Bounty bonus payment for issues that are unknown to Apple or reintroduced in this release. See Apple Security Bounty for more information.

Previous Big Sur 11 Beta Releases

7. Big Sur 11 Beta 7 (20A5374g) – 09/17/20 – Current Release
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

macOS Big Sur 11 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Link – developer.apple.com or installinstallmacos.py

Size = NO FULL INSTALLER FOR BETA 7!

Product ID =

Big Sur Beta Delta Update

This is the update is for updating from Beta 6 > Beta 7

Size = 3.61GB

Product ID =

Big Sur Beta Combo Update

This is update should be for updating from Beta 1-5 > Beta 7

Size = 3.95GB

Product ID =

T2 BridgeOS Update

BridgeOS version was updated.

Size = 4.43MB

Product ID = 001-47035

BridgeOS Update Version =18.16.12380

Previous Beta 6 = 18.16.12370.5.1

Previous Beta 5 = 18.16.10358.5.2

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!

macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 7 (20A5364e) Release Notes

Overview

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)

AppKit

See AppKit Release Notes for macOS Big Sur 11.

Apple Security Bounty

macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7 is designated as qualifying for the 50% Apple Security Bounty bonus payment for issues that are unknown to Apple or reintroduced in this release. See Apple Security Bounty for more information.

Installer and Software Update

Known Issues

When updating from macOS Big Sur 11 beta 2 to macOS Big Sur 11 beta 3 or later, you might be offered an unexpectedly large download rather than an incremental software update. (65753086)Workaround: Under the “Another update is available” text, click the “More info…” link. This will reveal the incremental update where you can click the Install Now button.
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)
If macOS Big Sur 11 beta is installed into the same APFS container as previous versions of macOS Catalina 10.15, system software updates can no longer be installed on the previous versions of macOS. (64411484)Workaround: Update the previous version of macOS Catalina to 10.15.6.

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7

You can now update macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7, if Secure Boot is set to No Security. (63434409)

Kernel

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7

Third-party driver extensions now run after restarting your Mac. (67416908)
DriverKit extensions now function as expected. (67594339)

Spotlight

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7

You can now find an application using Spotlight without an initial launch using Finder. (64463806)

SwiftUI

Known Issues

ProgressView generic type signature has changed, adding the currentValueLabel generic parameter. This change doesn’t require any source changes, but will cause apps compiled using an earlier beta SDK to quit unexpectedly. (63580200)Workaround: Re-compile apps for macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 6 or later to resolve this issue.
Drag-and-drop actions can sometimes fail when dropping on dynamic view content. (68281403)
Dynamically updating OutlineGroup content can fail to update correctly or cause an application to quit unexpectedly. (58820037)
DisclosureGroup’s isExpanded binding does not work as expected in a List. (58820037)
Some standard menu items, such as Open Recents or Window menu items, are missing from the main menu. (63998004)

New Features in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7

Adding a Spacer to a toolbar now creates flexible spaces. (64189289)
A ToolbarItem now automatically creates an overflow menu item. (60104785)
Use the new .fileImporter() modifier to present a system interface for importing one or more files into your app, and the new .fileMover() modifier to move one or more existing files to a new location. The following is an example of a simple UI for importing and moving files:struct FileMover : View { @Binding var selectedFiles: [URL] var includeDirectories: Bool = false @State private var isImporting: Bool = false @State private var isMovingSelection: Bool = false var body: some View { List(selectedFiles, id: \.self) { url in Text(url.absoluteString) } .toolbar { Button("Import", action: { isImporting = true }) Button("Move", action: { isMovingSelection = true }) } .fileImporter( isPresented: $isImporting, allowedContentTypes: includeDirectories ? [.item, .directory] : [.item], allowsMultipleSelection: true ) { result in do { selectedFiles = try result.get() } catch { // Handle failure. } } .fileMover(isPresented: $isMovingSelection, files: selectedFiles) { if case .success = $0 { selectedFiles = [] } else { // Handle failure. } } }}
Use the new .fileExporter() modifier to present a system interface for exporting one or more documents from your app. In this example, an app provides a simple note-taking interface for quickly jotting down some text and then exporting it to disk:struct QuickNote : View { @Binding var draft: QuickNoteDocument @State private var isExporting: Bool = false var body: some View { TextEditor(text: $draft.text) .toolbar { Button("Save", action: { isExporting = true }) } .fileExporter( isPresented: $isExporting, document: draft, contentType: .plainText, defaultFilename: "MyNote" ) { result in // Clear the draft now that it's saved. if case .success = result { draft.text = "" } else { // Handle failure. } } }} struct QuickNoteDocument : FileDocument { static var readableContentTypes: [UTType] { [.plainText] } var text: String init(text: String) { self.text = text } init(configuration: ReadConfiguration) throws { // Deserialize the document. } func fileWrapper(configuration: WriteConfiguration) throws -> FileWrapper { // Serialize the document. }}
Use the new .fileMover() modifier to present a system interface for moving one or more existing files to a new location. (66182201)

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7

A DisclosureGroup used outside of a List no longer causes an application to quit unexpectedly. (67780773)
sheets now correctly size to their contents. (67219542)
Multiline Text in a List now wraps, automatically growing the row height as needed. Adding a lineLimit(1) modifier to the Text will restore the the old truncating single line behavior. (50990605)
A List containing nested ForEach content now updates correctly. (62863714)
TabView now has a minimum size based on its selected tab. Adding a fixedSize() modifier to the TabView will cause it to be fixed to the ideal size of its selected tab. (59097532)
Using a TextEditor as the root view of a window no longer causes an application to quit unexpectedly. (67572104)
Drag and drop previews now appear as expected, matching the appearance of their source view. (59513411)

Third-Party Apps

Known Issues

You might experience kernel panics when using earlier versions of Parallels Desktop 16. (67358596)Workaround: Upgrade to the most-recent version of Parallels Desktop 16.
Some third-party scripts might produce unexpected results due to the change in macOS version from 10.x to 11. (62477208)Workaround: Set SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1 in the calling environment, for example: $ SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1 legacy_script.pl

UIKit

Known Issues

After using the new detectPatternsForPatterns:completionHandler: Pasteboard API, the pasteboard might return empty data. (67857457)Workaround: Use the detectValuesForPatterns:completionHandler: API, if you need access to the values that match the detected patterns.

Wallet

Known Issues

isPassLibraryAvailable() doesn’t ensure uniform availability of pass library functionality between platforms and devices. (60697880)Workaround: Call a more specific API to check available functionality, such as canAddPasses().

Widgets

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7

When set to My Location, the Weather widget now displays the weather for that location. (66338250)

Xcode

Known Issues

Legacy Xcode versions prior to 11.5 might unexpectedly quit when launched. (59991056)Workaround: Run the following command in Terminal: defaults write com.apple.dt.Xcode DVTDisableMainThreadChecker 1, then deselect Main Thread Checker in the Diagnostic tab of the Run and Test actions for each scheme in your project.
The Command Line Tools package for Xcode 12.2 beta isn’t currently available. (69012274)

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7

You’re now able to launch Mac Catalyst and iOS apps using Xcode. (67356581)

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 6 (20A5364e)

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 6 (20A5364e) to Developers

UPDATE: 9/10/20 – SMB network connections are not working in Big Sur Beta 6. You will get a connection error. “There was a problem connecting to xxx”. Contact your administrator”.

Workaround – sudo kmutil load -p /System/Library/Extensions/smbfs.kext

UPDATE: 6:05 PM CST – As of 2:38 PM CST the full installer of Beta 6 is now available.

UPDATE 1:30PM CST – As of 1:30 PM CST the Beta 6 full installer is not in Apple’s Software Update server yet. Only the BridgeOS and 3.29GB updates are available. I guess it’s possible that Beta 6 might not get a full installer? I will update if it becomes available.

MacOS Big Sur 11 Beta 6 (20A5364e) was released on Tuesday September 1st, 2020. 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.

If you are having issues getting Beta 6 to show up in Software Update, take a look at my Big Sur Beta troubleshooting article. – mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-beta-not-showing-up-in-software-update-troubleshooting/

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 Beta 6 Patch Notes Summary

4 – New Features
4 – Resolved Issues
14 – New Known Issues
2 – AppleSeed Known Issues
3 – AppleSeed Announcements
5 – AppleSeed Resolved Issues

AppleSeed Notes Link = appleseed.apple.com/

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

Apple DTK Mac Mini Notes = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-universal-apps-beta-release-notes

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

AppleSeed = 5 Resolved Issues 3 Announcements & 2 Known Issues – appleseed.apple.com
1. macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6 is now supported for iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020). (67093251)
2. 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)
3. macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6 is designated as qualifying for the 50% Apple Security Bounty bonus payment for issues that are unknown to Apple or reintroduced in this release. See Apple Security Bounty for more information.

Previous Big Sur 11 Beta Releases

6. Big Sur 11 Beta 6 (20A5364e) – 09/03/20 – Current Release
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

macOS Big Sur 11 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Link – developer.apple.com or installinstallmacos.py

Size = 12.17GB

Product ID = 001-43966

T2 BridgeOS Update

BridgeOS version was updated.

Size = 446.9MB

Product ID = 001-43961

BridgeOS Update Version = 18.16.12370.5.1

Previous = 18.16.10358.5.2

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!

macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 6 (20A5364e) Release Notes

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 6, available from Beta Software Downloads. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12 beta 6, see Xcode 12 Beta 6 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)

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6

macOS Big Sur 11 beta 7 is now supported for iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020). (67093251)

AirDrop

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6

AirDrop now works when System Integrity Protection is enabled. (67033173)

AppKit

See AppKit Release Notes for macOS Big Sur 11.

Apple Security Bounty

macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6 is designated as qualifying for the 50% Apple Security Bounty bonus payment for issues that are unknown to Apple or reintroduced in this release. See Apple Security Bounty for more information.

Final Cut Pro and iMovie

Known Issues

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6

The application no longer unexpectedly quits when using the Import Media window. (65543216)
You can now capture video using either the built-in camera or external devices. (63528489)

Installer and Software Update

Known Issues

You might be unable to update macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6, if Secure Boot is set to No Security. (63434409)
When updating from macOS Big Sur 11 beta 2 to macOS Big Sur 11 beta 3 or later, you might be offered an unexpectedly large download rather than an incremental software update. (65753086)Workaround: Under the “Another update is available” text, click the “More info…” link. This will reveal the incremental update where you can click the Install Now button.
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)
If macOS Big Sur 11 beta is installed into the same APFS container as previous versions of macOS Catalina 10.15, system software updates can no longer be installed on the previous versions of macOS. (64411484)Workaround: Update the previous version of macOS Catalina to 10.15.6.

Kernel

Known Issues

DriverKit extensions might not function due to a permission issue. (67594339)Workaround: After building the extension but before installing it, run the following command: sudo -S chmod -R u=rw+X,go=r+X ./ <dext path>
Third-party driver extensions don’t run after restarting your Mac. (67416908)Workaround: Reinstall the extension each time after you restart your Mac.

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6

The command kmutil inspect no longer returns an error on Apple silicon Mac computers. (65804541)

Messages

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6

Keyboard navigation to move focus between controls is now available. (63987810)

Safari and WebKit

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6

When using WKWebView to request a URL using the HTTP POST method, WKNavigationAction.request.httpBody now returns the posted body content. (35087855)
Applications that present modal UI in UIWebView delegate callbacks or that use JavaScript alert, confirm, and prompt no longer experience crashes under _WebThreadLock(). (64239727)

Spotlight

Known Issues

If you can’t find an application using Spotlight, launch the application at least once using Finder. (64463806)

SwiftUI

Known Issues

ProgressView generic type signature has changed, adding the currentValueLabel generic parameter. This change doesn’t require any source changes, but will cause apps compiled using an earlier beta SDK to quit unexpectedly. (63580200)Workaround: Re-compile apps for macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 6 or later to resolve this issue.

New Features in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 6

The ImportFilesAction and ExportFilesAction APIs have been replaced with a collection of new view modifiers.
Use the new .fileImporter() modifier to present a system interface for importing one or more files into your app, and the new .fileMover() modifier to move one or more existing files to a new location. The following is an example of a simple UI for importing and moving files:struct FileMover : View { @Binding var selectedFiles: [URL] var includeDirectories: Bool = false @State private var isImporting: Bool = false @State private var isMovingSelection: Bool = false var body: some View { List(selectedFiles, id: \.self) { url in Text(url.absoluteString) } .toolbar { Button("Import", action: { isImporting = true }) Button("Move", action: { isMovingSelection = true }) } .fileImporter( isPresented: $isImporting, allowedContentTypes: includeDirectories ? [.item, .directory] : [.item], allowsMultipleSelection: true ) { result in do { selectedFiles = try result.get() } catch { // Handle failure. } } .fileMover(isPresented: $isMovingSelection, files: selectedFiles) { if case .success = $0 { selectedFiles = [] } else { // Handle failure. } } }}
Use the new .fileExporter() modifier to present a system interface for exporting one or more documents from your app. In this example, an app provides a simple note-taking interface for quickly jotting down some text and then exporting it to disk:struct QuickNote : View { @Binding var draft: QuickNoteDocument @State private var isExporting: Bool = false var body: some View { TextEditor(text: $draft.text) .toolbar { Button("Save", action: { isExporting = true }) } .fileExporter( isPresented: $isExporting, document: draft, contentType: .plainText, defaultFilename: "MyNote" ) { result in // Clear the draft now that it's saved. if case .success = result { draft.text = "" } else { // Handle failure. } } }} struct QuickNoteDocument : FileDocument { static var readableContentTypes: [UTType] { [.plainText] } var text: String init(text: String) { self.text = text } init(configuration: ReadConfiguration) throws { // Deserialize the document. } func fileWrapper(configuration: WriteConfiguration) throws -> FileWrapper { // Serialize the document. }}
Use the new .fileMover() modifier to present a system interface for moving one or more existing files to a new location. (66182201)

Third-Party Apps

Known Issues

You might experience kernel panics when using earlier versions of Parallels Desktop 16. (67358596)Workaround: Upgrade to the most-recent version of Parallels Desktop 16.
Some third-party scripts might produce unexpected results due to the change in macOS version from 10.x to 11. (62477208)Workaround: Set SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1 in the calling environment, for example: $ SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1 legacy_script.pl

Wallet

Known Issues

isPassLibraryAvailable() doesn’t ensure uniform availability of pass library functionality between platforms and devices. (60697880)Workaround: Call a more specific API to check available functionality, such as canAddPasses().

Widgets

Known Issues

When set to My Location, the Weather widget might display weather for a different location. (66338250)

Xcode

Known Issues

Legacy Xcode versions prior to 11.5 might unexpectedly quit when launched. (59991056)Workaround: Run the following command in Terminal: defaults write com.apple.dt.Xcode DVTDisableMainThreadChecker 1, then deselect Main Thread Checker in the Diagnostic tab of the Run and Test actions for each scheme in your project.
You’re currently unable to launch Mac Catalyst and iOS apps using Xcode. (67356581)

What’s New in macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 5 (20A5354i)

MrMacintosh.com - Big Sur Beta 5 (20A5354i) is live! — Big Sur 11 Beta 5 (20A5354i) is live!

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 5 (20A5354i) to Developers

MacOS Big Sur 11 Beta 5 (20A5354i) was released on Wednesday August 19th, 2020. 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.

If you are having issues getting Beta 5 to show up in Software Update, take a look at my Big Sur Beta troubleshooting article. – mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-beta-not-showing-up-in-software-update-troubleshooting/

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 Summary

2 – New Important Notes
5 – New Features
19 – New Known Issues
14 – Resolved Issues

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

Apple DTK Mac Mini Notes = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11-universal-apps-beta-release-notes

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

1. macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5 is not currently supported for iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020). If you encounter an installation issue on iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020), you need to reinstall macOS Catalina. Hold down the power button to force restart, and then press Command-R immediately after turning on your Mac. Then, follow instructions to reinstall macOS Catalina from Recovery.
2. 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)
3. macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5 is designated as qualifying for the 50% Apple Security Bounty bonus payment for issues that are unknown to Apple or reintroduced in this release. See Apple Security Bounty for more information.

Previous Big Sur 11 Beta Releases

5. Big Sur 11 Beta 5 (20A5354i) – 08/19/20 – Current Release
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

macOS Big Sur 11 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Link – developer.apple.com

Size = 12.14GB

Product ID = 001-36806

T2 BridgeOS Update

BridgeOS version was updated.

Size = 447.4 MB

Product ID = 001-36812

BridgeOS Update Version = 18.16.10358.5.2

Previous = 18.16.10310.5.15 Build Version 3

Previous = 18.16.10310.5.15 Build Version 1

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!

macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 5 (20A5354i) Release Notes

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 5, available from Beta Software Downloads. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12 beta 5, see Xcode 12 Beta 5 Release Notes.

General

Known Issues

Important

macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5 is not currently supported for iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020). If you encounter an installation issue on iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020), you need to reinstall macOS Catalina. Hold down the power button to force restart, and then press Command-R immediately after turning on your Mac. Then, follow instructions to reinstall macOS Catalina from Recovery.

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)

AirDrop

Known Issues

You might be unable to use AirDrop if System Integrity Protection is enabled. (67033173)

App Store

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

StoreKit symbols are now accessible when importing StoreKit and SwiftUI in the same file. (66337479)

AppKit

See AppKit Release Notes for macOS Big Sur 11.

Apple Security Bounty

macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5 is designated as qualifying for the 50% Apple Security Bounty bonus payment for issues that are unknown to Apple or reintroduced in this release. See Apple Security Bounty for more information.

EndpointSecurity

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

Auth type events such as an ES_EVENT_TYPE_AUTH_EXEC leak kernel memory no longer cause your system to become unresponsive. (65750498)

Final Cut Pro and iMovie

Known Issues

You’re currently unable to capture video using either the built-in camera or external devices. (63528489)
The application might unexpectedly quit when using the Import Media window. (65543216)Workaround: Drag media from Finder to import it.

Installer and Software Update

Known Issues

You might be unable to update macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5, if Secure Boot is set to No Security. (63434409)
When updating from macOS Big Sur 11 beta 2 to macOS Big Sur 11 beta 3 or later, you might be offered an unexpectedly large download rather than an incremental software update. (65753086)Workaround: Under the “Another update is available” text, click the “More info…” link. This will reveal the incremental update where you can click the Install Now button.
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)
If macOS Big Sur 11 beta is installed into the same APFS container as previous versions of macOS Catalina 10.15, system software updates can no longer be installed on the previous versions of macOS. (64411484)Workaround: Update the previous version of macOS Catalina to 10.15.6.

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

APFS containers with non-default allocation block sizes are now supported for installation. (64312561)

Kernel

Known Issues

The command kmutil inspect returns an error on Apple silicon Mac computers. (65804541)Workaround: Use kmutil dumpstate or pass explicit paths to collections using kmutil inspect -A /Library/KernelCollections/AuxiliaryKernelCollections.kc.development

Key-Value Observing

New Features in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

Key-Value Observation removal facilities now employ deterministic bookkeeping methods. Cases that would have produced hard-to-diagnose crashes, especially those where KVO signals problems accessing deallocated observer pointers or observers associated with incorrect objects, now produce an exception pinpointing which observed object needs a missed removeObserver(_:) call, and by which observers. This exception was previously thrown as ‘best effort’ when KVO could detect the problem; the new deterministic bookkeeping allows it to be thrown for all cases where removeObserver(_:) is needed.The improved determinism also allows improved Swift API handling. Instances of NSKeyValueObservation, produced by the Swift NSObject.observe(_:changeHandler:) method, take advantage of integration with this bookkeeping so they now invalidate automatically when the observed object is released, regardless of how the object implements its KVO behavior. This applies to all usage of this API in macOS 11 Big Sur beta, including on processes built with previous versions of the SDK, and eliminates certain classes of crashes that sometimes required using the legacy API instead. (65051563)

Markup

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

Edits made using Markup are now saved. (64908822)

Messages

Known Issues

Keyboard navigation to move focus between controls isn’t currently available. (63987810)

Safari and Webkit

Known Issues

Applications that present modal UI in UIWebView delegate callbacks or that use JavaScript alert, confirm, and prompt might experience crashes under _WebThreadLock(). (64239727)

Spotlight

Known Issues

If you can’t find an application using Spotlight, launch the application at least once using Finder. (64463806)

SwiftUI

Known Issues

ProgressView generic type signature has changed, adding the currentValueLabel generic parameter. This change does not require any source changes, but will cause apps compiled using an earlier beta SDK to quit unexpectedly. (63580200)Workaround: Re-compile apps for macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 5 or later to resolve this issue.

New Features in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

Color can be converted to and from CGColor. The ColorPicker can also now be configured with a binding to a CGColor. (56939085)
Introduced ToolbarItemGroup as a convenient way to place multiple items in a specific location of non-customizable toolbars. (64178863)
ProgressView now supports adding a secondary “current value label” that describes the current progress level of the task. Use the label to describe the overall task, and the currentValueLabel to provide more specific details about the progress of the task. (63580200)
FileDocument and have updated protocol requirements:
- Their initializer requirement now has a single FileDocumentReadConfiguration parameter that the fileWrapper and contentType can be read from.
- Their write() functions that were expected to write to an inout FileWrapper parameter are now fileWrapper() functions that return a FileWrapper instead.
- The Document-based app templates in Xcode have been updated to reflect this change in API.
- Source compatibility with the previous requirements will eventually be removed. (65146043)

Resolved Issues in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

Images that contain multicolor symbols will now adapt to color appearance. (63726389)
Text(_ style:) no longer truncates. Text now has flexible width inside a widget. (60588299)
Placeholder-style redacted Text that has a lineLimit(1) modifier applied now appears as expected. (66346107)
SwitchToggleStyle and LinearProgressViewStyle can now be tinted on macOS. (62906674)
NavigationLink and NavigationView behave more consistently on macOS: NavigationLink’s selection isn’t incorrectly reset to nil due to selection changes; programmatic selection and deselection of a NavigationLink appears as expected. (63791979)
Applying a fixedSize() modifier to a TextEditor will now fix its size to the size of its content. (64855179)
Placeholder-style redacted Text that has a minimumScaleFactor modifier applied now appears as expected. (66242496)

Third-Party Apps

Known Issues

Some third-party scripts might produce unexpected results due to the change in macOS version from 10.x to 11. (62477208)Workaround: Set SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1 in the calling environment, for example: $ SYSTEM_VERSION_COMPAT=1 legacy_script.pl

Users & Groups

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

If you select the option to delete it, the home folder is now deleted when removing a user. (65558783)

Wallet

Known Issues

isPassLibraryAvailable() doesn’t ensure uniform availability of pass library functionality between platforms and devices. (60697880)Workaround: Call a more specific API to check available functionality, such as canAddPasses().

Widgets

Known Issues

When set to My Location, the Weather widget might display weather for a different location. (66338250)

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 5

When indicating a significant change in temperature for the next day, the Weather widget now correctly displays temperatures in Fahrenheit. (65061840)
The weather widget now displays data in a timely manner. (66014597)

Xcode

Known Issues

Legacy Xcode versions prior to 11.5 might unexpectedly quit when launched. (59991056)Workaround: Run the following command in Terminal: defaults write com.apple.dt.Xcode DVTDisableMainThreadChecker 1, then deselect Main Thread Checker in the Diagnostic tab of the Run and Test actions for each scheme in your project.

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/

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.

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!

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

SKStoreProductViewController and SKProductStorePromotionController APIs are now available for both macOS and Mac Catalyst apps. (56300909)

AppKit

See AppKit Release Notes for macOS Big Sur 11.

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

When setting isSynchronizationEnabled to true on a MLModelCollection, the initial download may take longer than expected to complete. The collection then becomes available. (64131243)

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

Widgets have access to location information even if the NSWidgetWantsLocation key isn’t in their Info.plist. (61953645)
In Swift, the authorizationStatus() property of CLLocationManager is incorrectly exposed as a method instead of a property. (62853845)

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

hv_vcpu_run_until(_:_:) now supports the deadline HV_DEADLINE_FOREVER. (57025216)
The new hv_vcpu_enable_managed_msr(_:_:_:) and hv_vcpu_set_msr_access(_:_:_:) enable direct MSR access from a guest. (50291076)

Deprecations

The function hv_vcpu_run(_:) is deprecated.

Vision

Known Issues

The NSSecureCoding implementation of VNRecognizedPointsObservation currently causes initWithCoder: to fail. (63681919)

Deprecations

The VNIdentifiedPointsObservation class is deprecated. Use VNRecognizedPointsObservation instances instead. (63690311)

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)

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.)

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 with support for macOS "Big Sur" 11.0 beta coming in early July!
— VMware Fusion (@VMwareFusion) June 23, 2020

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

Disk Size – 50-60GB+ Virtual disk size required (40GB Standard size does not seem to work)
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.
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

1. Download 10.15.5 full installer from installinstallmacos.py
2. Use AutoDMG on 10.15.5 dmg
3. Use vfuse to create a never-booted VM
4. Start VM > put installer on VM > install

VMware Fusion Links

Error message – “Not enough physical memory is available to power on this virtual machine with its configured settings.” – communities.vmware.com/thread/638385
Error Message – “Could not open /dev/vmmon: Broken pipe” – communities.vmware.com/thread/638421
Error Message – “Could not open /dev/vmmon broken pipe” 2nd thread – communities.vmware.com/thread/638480

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

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 9 (20A5384c) to Developers

UPDATE 9/29 – Items not found in Big Sur Beta 9 official patch notes

macOS Big Sur Beta 9 Patch Notes Summary

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

Previous Big Sur 11 Beta Releases

macOS Big Sur 11 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Big Sur Beta Delta Update

Big Sur Beta Combo Update

T2 BridgeOS Update

New Software Update Catalog URL

Report Bugs NOW!

macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 9 (20A5384c) Release Notes

Overview

General

New Features in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 9

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 9

UIKit

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 9

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 9

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 8 (20A5374i) to Developers

macOS Big Sur Beta 8 Patch Notes Summary

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

Previous Big Sur 11 Beta Releases

macOS Big Sur 11 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Big Sur Beta Delta Update

Big Sur Beta Combo Update

T2 BridgeOS Update

New Software Update Catalog URL

Report Bugs NOW!

macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 8 (20A5374i) Release Notes

Overview

General

Known Issues

AppKit

Apple Security Bounty

Installer and Software Update

Known Issues

Kernel

Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 8

SwiftUI

Known Issues

Third-Party Apps

Known Issues

UIKit

Known Issues

Wallet

Known Issues

Xcode

Known Issues

Using Apple Configurator, you can now downgrade T2 BridgeOS Beta to a Production version of BridgeOS.

Table of Contents

1. Why would you want to downgrade from a beta version of BridgeOS?

2. Can you Downgrade to a Lower Production version of BridgeOS?

3. Problems Running Catalina with a Big Sur Beta BridgeOS Version.

4. Closer look at BridgeOS versioning

5. The Big Sur installer is now using DeviceIDs compatibility checks.

6. BridgeOSUpdateCustomer updater

7. How to Downgrade a Beta Version of BridgeOS to a Production Version.

8. The Revive Option (for science)

9. Final Notes

Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 7 (20A5374g) to Developers

macOS Big Sur Beta 7 Patch Notes Summary

MacAdmin Patch Notes of Interest

Previous Big Sur 11 Beta Releases

macOS Big Sur 11 Installer Info

Full Installer.app

Big Sur Beta Delta Update

Big Sur Beta Combo Update

T2 BridgeOS Update

New Software Update Catalog URL

Report Bugs NOW!

macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 7 (20A5364e) Release Notes

Overview

General

Known Issues

AppKit

Apple Security Bounty

Installer and Software Update