Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 11.1 Beta (20C5048k) to Developers
MacOS Big Sur 11.1 Beta was released on November 17th, 2020. The release comes on Apple Silicon M1 Mac Day! One big change is the version number.
macOS 11.1
This means that instead of getting 11.0.2, we will get 11.1. Next year it seems we will get macOS 12. This is a big change and it looks like Apple is trying to follow the iOS and iPad version system.
If you need to rebuild your Apple Silicon Mac, be sure to check out both of my new articles.
macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Beta 2 Release Candidate (20B5022a) Release Notes
Overview
The macOS 11.1 SDK provides support to develop apps for Macs running macOS Big Sur 11.1 beta. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 12.3 beta, available from Beta Software Downloads. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12.3 beta, see Xcode 12.3 Beta Release Notes.
Accessibility
Known Issues
InfoVox voices from AcapellaGroup aren’t currently supported by VoiceOver. (64880915)Workaround: Choose an alternate voice such as Alex or Siri.
Mac Catalyst
Known Issues
Full-screen mode might zoom content beyond the borders of your display. (70103920)
The zoom-to-fit state isn’t currently preserved across app launches. (70885745)
When you present a view controller with page sheet or form sheet presentation style, the size of the view controller’s root view is, by default, determined by the value returned from the presented view controller’s preferredContentSize method and the view is not resizable. You can arrange for the presented view controller to be resizable by using Auto Layout to specify the maximum and minimum sizes of its root view. To enable this, set the canResizeToFitContent property of the application’s main window to YES. One way to do this is to override the willMove(toWindow:) or didMoveToWindow() methods of a view in the main view controller. (65254666)For example:- (void)willMoveToWindow:(UIWindow *)newWindow { [super willMoveToWindow:newWindow]; newWindow.canResizeToFitContent = YES;}
Software Update
Known Issues
A known issue prevents booting back into macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 after installing macOS Big Sur 11.1 beta onto a separate volume on Macs with Apple silicon. (71353899)
Using either macOS Recovery or a bootable installer to reinstall macOS Big Sur 11.1 beta on Macs with Apple silicon isn’t currently supported. (71353899)Workaround: Use the Restore option in the latest version of Apple Configurator 2 running on a secondary Mac. Note that this will erase all content from the storage media on the Mac you’re restoring.
Release Candidate (20B28) and the 11.0.1 Final (20B29) Release Notes are the same.
I checked the release notes for 11.0.1 RC and 11.0.1 Final then compared them and did not find any differences.
Big Sur Install HD Space Requirements
To install Big Sur you will need at least 44.5GB of free space! This is up from Catalina’s 35GB requirement.
How to Block macOS Big Sur 11.0.1
You need to be aware of the changes Apple has made to the softwareupdate --ignore binary. I will explain the changes and how to block Big Sur in my article below.
This is the update is for updating from 11.0.1 Beta 2 RC > 11.0.1 Final
Size = 2.21GB
Big Sur Beta Combo Update
This is update should be for updating from Beta 1 – 11.0.1 RC1 > Final
Size = 3.22GB
T2 BridgeOS Update
The Version of BridgeOS for your T2 Security Chip was updated.
BridgeOS version = 18.16.12561.0.0 v6
Size = 444.2MB
Product ID = 001-79709
New features available with macOS Big Sur. – 108 New Changes & Updates.
Key Features and Enhancements
Experience
Updated menu bar
The menu bar is now taller and more translucent, allowing your desktop picture to extend from edge to edge. Words lighten or darken based on the color of your desktop picture. And pull-down menus are larger, with more space between the lines to make everything easier to read.
Floating Dock
The redesigned Dock is lifted from the bottom of your display and is more translucent, allowing your desktop wallpaper to shine through. And app icons are all-new and even easier to recognize.
New icons for apps
App icons have been redesigned to feel both familiar and fresh. Icons have a uniform shape but retain the stylistic touches and details that give Mac its character.
Lighter window appearance
Windows have a lighter, more spacious appearance that makes them cleaner and easier to work with. Additional translucency and rounded edges designed to match the radii of Mac create a cohesive look and feel throughout macOS.
Redesigned sheets
Sheets in apps have been completely redesigned, removing borders and bezels to put the focus on your content. They automatically dim the background and scale into the center of the app.
New and updated sounds
System sounds are all-new and even more pleasing to the ear. The new system alerts were created using snippets of the originals, so they sound familiar.
Full-height sidebars
A new look for app sidebars makes it easier to find what you want and gives you more space to get things done. Easily track your Mail inbox, access Finder folders, and organize Photos, Notes, Stocks, and more.
New symbols throughout macOS
New symbols in toolbars, sidebars, and controls bring clarity and consistency across apps, helping you immediately recognize where to click. When apps share common tasks — like viewing the inbox in Mail or Calendar — they share the same symbol. There are also localized versions of symbols with numbers, letters, and dates to match your system language.
Control Center
Control Center
Designed just for Mac, the new Control Center consolidates your favorite menu bar items into a single place to give you instant access to the controls you use most. Just click the Control Center icon in the menu bar and adjust Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and other settings — without opening System Preferences.
Customize Control Center
Add controls for the apps and features you use most, like Accessibility or Battery.
Click for more options
Click to expand the menu. For example, click Display to see options for Dark Mode, Night Shift, True Tone, and AirPlay.
Pin to menu bar
Drag and pin your favorite menu items to the top of your menu bar for easy one-click access.
Notification Center
Updated Notification Center
A redesigned Notification Center puts all your notifications and widgets into a single, dedicated column. Notifications are automatically sorted by most recent, and redesigned Today widgets deliver information at a glance.
Interactive notifications
Do more with your notifications on Mac for Apple Podcasts, Mail, Calendar, and more. Simply click and hold the notification to take action or get more information. Reply to an email, listen to the latest podcast, and even expand a Calendar invitation to see where the event falls in your day.
Grouped notifications
Notifications are grouped by thread or app. Expand each group to see earlier notifications. You can also disable grouped notifications if you prefer to see them individually.
Redesigned widgets
Experience brand-new widgets and beautifully redesigned widgets for Calendar, Stocks, Weather, Reminders, Notes, and Podcasts. Widgets also come in different sizes, so you can pick the one that works best for you.
Customize widgets
Easily add new widgets to Notification Center by clicking Edit Widgets. Then customize the size to show the amount of information you want to see and drag it into your widget list.
Discover more third-party widgets
Discover new third-party widgets for Notification Center on the App Store.
Safari
Customizable start page
Customize the new start page to make it your own. You can set a background image and select new sections to display on the start page — including Favorites, Siri Suggestions, Reading List, iCloud Tabs, and even a Privacy Report.
Improved performance
Safari was already the fastest desktop browser — and now it’s even faster. Safari loads frequently visited sites 50 percent faster on average than Chrome.1
Improved power efficiency
Safari is optimized specifically for Mac, so it’s more efficient than other browsers on macOS. Stream video for up to one and a half hours longer and browse the web for up to one hour longer on a Mac notebook compared with Chrome or Firefox.2
Favicons in tabs
Default tab favicons help you easily identify open tabs at a glance.
See more tabs at once
The new tab bar design displays more tabs onscreen at once so you can quickly move between them.
Website previews
When you just want a peek at what’s on a tab, hold the pointer over it to get a quick preview of the page.Beta
Translation
Translate entire web pages in Safari.3 When you encounter a compatible page, just click the translation icon in the address field to translate into English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Russian, or Brazilian Portuguese.
Safari extensions on the App Store
An all-new extensions category on the App Store showcases Safari extensions with editorial spotlights and top charts, making it easier to discover great extensions from developers. All extensions are reviewed, signed, and hosted by Apple for your security.
WebExtensions API support
New support for the WebExtensions API and migration tools allows developers to bring Chrome extensions to Safari — letting you personalize your browsing experience with new Safari extensions from your favorite developers.
Grant extensions website access
Keep the websites you visit and tabs you use even more private. Safari asks you which websites a Safari extension can work with — and you can grant access for one day or all the time.
Privacy Report
Safari uses Intelligent Tracking Prevention to identify trackers and help prevent them from profiling or following you around the web. A new Privacy Report shows how Safari protects your browsing across every website you visit. Go to the Privacy Report from your Safari menu and you’ll get an in-depth overview of every cross-site tracker prevented over the last 30 days.
Privacy Report for each website
See the privacy practices for every website you visit. Just click the Privacy Report button in your Safari toolbar for a summary of all cross-site trackers prevented by Intelligent Tracking Prevention.
Start page Privacy Report
Add a Privacy Report to your start page — so every time you open a new window or tab, you can see how Safari protects your privacy.
Import passwords and settings from Chrome
Easily import history, bookmarks, and saved passwords from Chrome into Safari.
Password monitoring
Safari securely monitors your passwords, automatically keeping an eye out for any saved passwords that may have been involved in a data breach. If a breach is discovered, Safari helps you upgrade existing passwords and even generates secure passwords automatically. Safari keeps your data private and doesn’t reveal your password information to anyone — even Apple.
Messages
Pin conversations
Pin your favorite conversations to the top of your list. New messages, Tapbacks, and typing indicators animate in right above the pin. And when there are unread messages in a group conversation, you’ll see the most recent participants circle around the pinned conversation.
Multiple pinned conversations
You can have up to nine pinned conversations that sync across Messages in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
Search
It’s easier than ever to search all your past messages for links, photos, and phrases. A new search experience for Messages organizes your results into links and photos and highlights matching terms. It also works great with keyboard shortcuts — just press Command-F to open.
Share your name and photo
Automatically share your name and photo when you start a conversation or when the other person responds in a message. Share with everyone, just your contacts, or not at all. You can even choose to use a Memoji, image, or monogram for your photo.
Group photos
Set an image for your group conversations using a photo, Memoji, or emoji. Group photos are automatically shared with all members of the group.
Mentions
Direct a message to an individual in a group conversation by typing the person’s name or using the @ sign. And choose to receive notifications only when you’re mentioned.
Inline replies
Messages allows you to reply directly to a specific message in a group conversation. See all related messages in their own view to easily keep track of a thread.
Message effects
Celebrate special moments with balloons, confetti, lasers, and more. Or send a message loudly or gently, or even slam it. Send a personal message with invisible ink that remains blurred until you swipe over it with your cursor.
#images
Find trending images and GIFs and quickly add them to any message. Discover popular memes when you open #image, or search by keyword to find images relevant to your conversation.
Memoji editor
Easily create and edit a Memoji that reflects you. Choose from a wide range of hairstyles, headwear, facial structures, and other features to create one of over a trillion possible combinations.
Memoji stickers
Express yourself with Memoji stickers. The stickers are automatically generated for your personalized Memoji character, making it quick and easy to share with friends.
Enhanced photo picker
Use the updated photo picker to quickly access and share your recent photos and albums.
Maps
Guides
Discover the best places to eat, shop, and explore in cities around the world with Guides created by brands you trust.4 Save Guides so you can easily get back to them later. And Guides update automatically when new places are added so you always have the latest recommendations.
Create your own Guides
Create Guides for all your favorite places, like “best pizzerias in Chicago,” or soon‑to‑be‑favorites, like “sites to see in Paris.“ Then share them with friends and family.
Look Around
Explore select cities with an interactive 3D experience that lets you pan 360 degrees and move smoothly through streets.
Cycling routes
Plan your cycling route right on your Mac.5 See the elevation for your ride, how busy a street is, and whether there are steep inclines or stairs along the way. When you’re ready to ride, send your route directly to your iPhone.
Electric vehicle routing
When you’re planning a trip with an electric vehicle, Maps automatically adds charging stops along your route and accounts for charging time when calculating the ETA.6 Add your electric vehicle on iPhone, and Maps will keep track of the current charge and charger type to help you plan the best route.
Indoor maps
Browse detailed indoor maps of major airports and shopping centers around the world. Find out which restaurants are past security at the airport, where the nearest restroom is, or where your favorite store is at the mall.
Live updates for shared ETA
When friends send you a shared ETA, you can get live progress updates on the map so you’ll know when they’re expected to arrive.
New maps available in more countries
Detailed new maps are coming to more countries later this year, including Canada, Ireland, and the UK. See detailed roads, buildings, parks, marinas, beaches, airports, and more.
Congestion zones
Major cities like London and Paris have congestion zones to help reduce traffic in dense areas. Maps lets you see congestion zone tolls and even helps route you around them.7
License plate restrictions
For cities in China that limit driving through dense urban areas, you can see if you have access based on your vehicle’s eligibility.8 Enter your license plate number to find out whether you can go through the city or need to reroute. License plate information is stored securely in Maps and never leaves your device.
Privacy
Privacy information on the App Store
A new section on each app’s page on the App Store helps you understand the privacy practices of the app before you download it.9 It’s similar to the way nutrition labels help you understand what’s in food before you buy it.
Self-reported privacy practices
Developers self-report their app privacy practices on the App Store.9 See the types of data their app might collect — like usage data, contact information, or location — and whether that data is shared with third parties.
Displayed in a simple format
Just as nutrition labels are convenient and easy to read, an app’s privacy information on the App Store is displayed in a consistent, simple format.9 This lets you quickly and easily see the app’s privacy practices.
Software Updates
Faster updates
Once macOS Big Sur is installed, software updates begin in the background and complete faster than before — so it’s easier than ever to keep your Mac up to date and secure.
Signed system volume
macOS Big Sur introduces a cryptographically signed system volume that protects against malicious tampering. It also means that your Mac knows the exact layout of your system volume, allowing it to begin software updates in the background while you work.
Even More
AirPods
Automatic device switching
AirPods automatically switch between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac paired to the same iCloud account – making it even easier to use your AirPods with your Apple devices.10 When you turn to your Mac, a pop-up banner helps you seamlessly switch the audio over. Automatic device switching works for all Apple and Beats headphones featuring the Apple H1 headphone chip.
Apple Arcade
Friends playing recommendations
See Apple Arcade games that are popular with your Game Center friends right from the Apple Arcade tab and game pages.
Achievements
Visit Apple Arcade game pages to see your achievement progress and explore the goals and milestones you can unlock in games.
Continue playing
Launch the games you’ve recently played across your devices directly from the Apple Arcade tab.
See all games and filter
Browse the entire Apple Arcade catalog. Sort and filter by release date, updates, category, controller support, and more.
Game Center in-game dashboard
The in-game dashboard showcases your and your friends’ game progress at a glance. Quickly access your Game Center profile, achievements, leaderboards, and more from within your game.
Coming soon
Get a sneak peek at upcoming Apple Arcade games and download them as soon as they’re released.
Battery
Optimized Battery Charging
Optimized Battery Charging is designed to reduce the wear on your battery and improve its lifespan by ensuring that your Mac notebook is fully charged when unplugged. Charging learns your daily charging routine and activates only when your Mac predicts that it will be connected to a charger for an extended period of time.
Battery usage history
Battery usage history displays graphs of battery level and usage for the past 24 hours and the past 10 days.
FaceTime
Sign language prominence
FaceTime now detects when a participant is using sign language and makes the person prominent in a Group FaceTime call.
Home
Home status
A new visual status at the top of the Home app gives you a summary of accessories that require your attention, have important status changes to share, or can be quickly controlled.
Adaptive Lighting for smart light bulbs
Light bulbs that change color can be automatically adjusted throughout the day to maximize comfort and productivity.11 Ease into morning with warmer colors, stay focused midday with cooler colors, and wind down at night by removing blue light.
Face Recognition for video cameras and doorbells
In addition to person, animal, and vehicle detection, security cameras can identify people you’ve tagged in the Photos app for richer activity notifications.11 Easily tag people, and choose to be notified based on the person.
Activity Zones for video cameras and doorbells
With HomeKit Secure Video, you can define Activity Zones within a camera’s view to capture video or receive notifications only when motion is detected in those areas.11
Music
Listen Now
The new Listen Now tab is designed for playing and discovering your favorite music, artists, interviews, and mixes all in one place. Listen Now starts with a summary of your Top Picks across your music interests. As you play, Apple Music12 learns what you love and provides new suggestions.
Improved search
Search has been redesigned to give you quick access to the genres, moods, and activities you love. Suggestions now let you do more, such as view an album or listen to a song. New filters let you refine your results to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
Notes
Top Hits in search
Top Hits appear at the top of your search results in Notes and surface the most relevant results — making it easier to find what you need.
Quick styles
Access additional text styles and formatting options with a click of the Aa button.
Enhanced scanning
Continuity Camera has never been better. Use your iPhone or iPad to capture sharper scans that are more precisely autocropped, and have them automatically transferred to your Mac.
Photos
Expanded video editing capabilities
Adjustments, filters, and cropping are now supported for video editing so you can rotate, increase exposure, or even apply filters to your videos.
Expanded photo editing capabilities
Now you can apply the Vibrance effect to photos and adjust the intensity of filters and Portrait Lighting effects.
Improved Retouch tool
The Retouch tool now uses advanced machine learning to remove blemishes, dust specks, and other objects from a photo.13
Easy, fluid navigation
Zoom in and out to quickly get to the photos and videos you’re looking for in views across Photos — including Albums, Media Types, Import, Places, and more.
Add context to photos and videos with captions
View and edit captions, previously called descriptions, to add context to your photos and videos in the Info pane. With iCloud Photos enabled, captions sync seamlessly across all your devices, including captions you add on your iOS or iPadOS device.
Memories enhancements
Enjoy a more relevant selection of photos and videos in Memories, a larger selection of music tracks that automatically adapt to the length of your Memory movie, and enhanced video stabilization when playing Memory movies.
Podcasts
Listen Now
Listen Now makes it even easier to find what to play next. Easily resume the next episode in your queue from a more focused Up Next. Enjoy a new section devoted to helping you discover the latest episodes in shows you follow. And browse hand-picked episode recommendations.14
Reminders
Assign reminders
Assign reminders to people you share lists with and they’ll get a notification. It’s great for splitting up tasks and knowing who’s responsible for what so nobody forgets.
Smart suggestions for dates and locations
Reminders automatically suggests dates, times, and locations for a reminder based on similar reminders you’ve created in the past.
Personalized lists with emoji
Personalize the appearance of your lists with emoji and newly added symbols.
Reminder suggestions from Mail
When you’re corresponding with someone in Mail, Siri recognizes possible reminders and makes suggestions for you to create them.
Organize smart lists
Customize your smart lists in the Reminders app. You can easily rearrange smart lists or hide them.
New keyboard shortcuts
Easily navigate your lists and smart lists, and quickly move dates of reminders to today, tomorrow, or next weekend.
Improved search
Find the right reminders by searching for people, locations, and even detailed notes you’ve added.
Spotlight
Improved performance
Spotlight is more optimized for speed. Results appear faster than ever, as soon as you start typing.
Streamlined list of results
Spotlight presents all your results in a streamlined list, making results easier to digest so you can get to the app, website, or document you need even faster.
Support for Quick Look
With support for Quick Look in Spotlight, you can access a full-size, scrollable preview of almost any document.
Integrated in Find menus
Spotlight technology now powers the Find menu in apps like Safari, Pages, Keynote, and more.
Siri
Web answers
Siri can now help you find answers to a broader set of questions using information from across the web. Ask questions like “How do hybrid cars work?” or “What causes seasons?” and Siri helps you find the answer you’re looking for.15
Voice Memos
Folders
Folders let you organize your Voice Memos recordings.
Smart Folders
Smart Folders automatically group Apple Watch recordings, recently deleted recordings, and Favorites — making it even easier to stay organized.
Favorites
Easily mark recordings as Favorites so you can quickly access them later.
Enhance Recording
Automatically reduce background noise and room reverb with a single click.
Weather
Next-hour precipitation
In the medium-size and large Weather widgets, view a minute-by-minute chart that shows the intensity of rain or snow over the coming hour.16
Significant shifts
The Weather widget indicates when the weather will be much warmer, colder, or wetter in the next day.
Severe weather
The Weather widget displays government alerts about certain severe weather events including tornados, winter storms, flash floods, and more.17
International Features
New bilingual dictionaries
New bilingual dictionaries include French–German, Indonesian–English, Japanese–Simplified Chinese, and Polish–English.
Enhanced predictive input for Chinese and Japanese
Enhanced predictive input for Chinese and Japanese results in more accurate and contextual predictions.
New fonts for India
New fonts for India include 20 new document fonts. In addition, 18 existing fonts have been upgraded with more weights and italics to give you greater choice.
Localized message effects in Messages for India
When you send a greeting in one of 23 Indian local languages, Messages will add a corresponding message effect to help you celebrate the moment. For example, send “Happy Holi” in Hindi, and Messages automatically adds confetti to accompany the greeting.
macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 RC2 Full Installer.app error = “An Error occurred installing macOS”
When you attempt to install or upgrade on a T2 Mac, you will get the error “The bridgeOS update doesn’t satisfy the given minimum version requirement.”
UPDATE 11/12/20 – This article is for yesterday’s Big Sur BETA install problem. If you are having problems downloading the new Big Sur update or full installer I have a new article on the issue. It’s for the Installation failed an error occurred while installing the selected updates error.
Almost immediately after macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 (20B28) was released, I started to see reports of install issues. This was only happening on T2 Macs that need a BridgeOS update. A BridgeOS update is included and required with almost every combo, delta and full installer upgrade or install. Below is the 11.0.1 RC2 Install error.
The error message that you will get if you try to upgrade a T2 Catalina or Big Sur Mac to 11.0.1 RC2
An error occurred installing macOS. You can try again to complete the installation.
Mr. Macintosh video that goes over the issue.
The problem is the new production Software Update Catalog URL does not have the needed BridgeOS update yet.
The problem comes down to the installer looking to the new production SUS url. Apple just made the production SUS catalog available. The new URL is
The production URL does NOT include the required BridgeOS update needed for the Big Sur RC2 installer to continue.
The BridgeOS error from install.log
This is the error that you will get.
/var/log/install.log
bridgeOS update prepare complete
2020-11-11 01:49:05-06 osinstallersetupd[5967]: bridgeOS update prepare failed: Error Domain=BOSErrorDomain Code=110 "The bridgeOS update doesn't satisfy the given minimum version requirement." UserInfo={bridgeVersion=17.16.16610.0.0,0, minimumVersion=18.16.12561.0.0,0, catalogURL=https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-11-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog, NSLocalizedDescription=The bridgeOS update doesn't satisfy the given minimum version requirement.}
2020-11-11 01:49:05-06 osinstallersetupd[5967]: Operation queue failed with error: Error Domain=com.apple.OSInstallerSetup.error Code=602 "An error occurred installing macOS." UserInfo={NSLocalizedRecoverySuggestion=You can try again to complete the installation., NSLocalizedDescription=An error occurred installing macOS., NSUnderlyingError=0x7fde25b85770 {Error Domain=BOSErrorDomain Code=110 "The bridgeOS update doesn't satisfy the given minimum version requirement." UserInfo={bridgeVersion=17.16.16610.0.0,0, minimumVersion=18.16.12561.0.0,0, catalogURL=https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-11-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog, NSLocalizedDescription=The bridgeOS update doesn't satisfy the given minimum version requirement.}}}
2020-11-11 01:49:05-06 InstallAssistant[5928]: Stopped operation queue with Error Domain=com.apple.OSInstallerSetup.error Code=602 "An error occurred installing macOS." UserInfo={NSUnderlyingError=0x7fd70cf90da0 {Error Domain=BOSErrorDomain Code=110 "The bridgeOS update doesn't satisfy the given minimum version requirement." UserInfo={bridgeVersion=17.16.16610.0.0,0, minimumVersion=18.16.12561.0.0,0, catalogURL=https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-11-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog, NSLocalizedDescription=The bridgeOS update doesn't satisfy the given minimum version requirement.}}, NSLocalizedRecoverySuggestion=You can try again to complete the installation., NSLocalizedDescription=An error occurred installing macOS.}
Notice this line
“The bridgeOS update doesn’t satisfy the given minimum version requirement.” UserInfo={bridgeVersion=17.16.16610.0.0,0, minimumVersion=18.16.12561.0.0,0, catalogURL=https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-11-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog“
You can use sudo nvram -p to view all the nvram settings.
NOTE! When you are done with the upgrade, don’t forget to remove the value!
sudo nvram -d IASUCatalogURL
MacAdmins at work!
It’s amazing to see MacAdmins working together to solve an issue. Yesterday afternoon a bunch of Admins including @golby, @eholtam, @owen, @dave.shepp, @macmule, @matt_h and @deets jumped in to help figure this out and pass on the information to others.
macOS Big Sur Beta 11.0.1 Release Candidate 2 (20B28) Beta 3 is Live!
UPDDATE 11/10/20 10:30PM
Apple has released a full installer for 11.0.1 RC2
Public Beta Released!
No listed changes from RC1 > RC2
New Platform ID’s found! MacBook Air = MacBookAir10,1 MacBook Pro = MacBookPro17,1 Mac mini = Macmini9,1 – HT Martin Nobel for finding these!
Getting reports of BridgeOS Update errors when trying to upgrade a T2 Mac that has never had Big Sur on it before.
Mr. Macintosh macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate Video!
MacOS Big Sur 11.0.1 RC 2 (Beta 3) was released on November 10th, 2020 after the Apple Silicon “One more thing” event. The release comes about one week after 11.0.1 RC Beta 2. We were expecting that Big Sur might launch today or tomorrow but now it’s been confirmed…
Big Sur – November 12, 2020!
macOS Big Sur will be released to the public on November 12, 2020!
Updating to macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 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
13. Big Sur 11 Beta 11.0.1 (20B28) Beta 3 RC 2 – 11/10/20 Current Release
12. Big Sur 11 Beta 11.0.1 (20B5022a) Beta 2 RC – 11/05/20 My Release Notes
11. Big Sur 11 Beta 11.0.1 (20B5012d) Beta 1 – 10/28/20 – My Release Notes
macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 RC 2 – Beta 3 Release Candidate (20B28) Release Notes
General
Known Issues
Important
Updating to macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 2 from previous versions of macOS might take significantly longer than expected. Data loss could occur if the update is interrupted. (59101197)
Accessibility
Known Issues
You might be unable to pair certain braille displays using Bluetooth. (69794099)Workaround: Connect these devices using USB instead.
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 reveals 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 11.0.1 Release Candidate 2. (63166401)
If macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 2 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 or later.
Kernel
Known Issues
Installing a new kernel extension requires signing in as an Admin user. You must also restart your Mac to load the extension. Kernel extensions using certain deprecated KPIs won’t be loaded. For more information, see Deprecated Kernel Extensions and System Extension Alternatives. (55068348)Workaround: During development, you can temporarily disable System Integrity Protection to allow these deprecated kernel extensions to load.
New in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 2, 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)
Use only absolute paths with the --volume-root option of kmutil, and don’t use a trailing /. (63773848)
Symbols exported by both xnu and Apple kernel extensions will change. Recompile your kernel extension with each update to macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 2 to ensure compatibility. (64262563)
SwiftUI
Known Issues
ProgressView generic type signature has changed, adding the currentValueLabel generic parameter. This change doesn’t require any source changes, but it causes 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.
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().
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.
Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 11.0.1 Beta 2 Release Candidate (20B5022a) to Developers
MacOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Beta 2 was released on November 5th, 2020. The release comes about one week after 11.0.1 Beta 1. We were expecting RC or GM seed, but not yet! It’s possible that we will see the public launch of 11.0.1 at the Apple Silicon Mac “One more thing” event on November 10th.
That’s all folks! I hope that you were able to get all your Big Sur bugs fixed! This version is most likely the release that we will see this Tuesday!
Mr. Macintosh Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate Deep Dive Video!
Updating to macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 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
12. Big Sur 11 Beta 11.0.1 (20B5022a) Beta 2 RC – 11/05/20 Current Release
11. Big Sur 11 Beta 11.0.1 (20B5012d) Beta 1 – 10/28/20 – My Release Notes
macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Beta 2 Release Candidate (20B5022a) 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 RC, available from Beta Software Downloads. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12.2, see Xcode 12.2 RC Release Notes.
General
Known Issues
Important
Updating to macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate from previous versions of macOS might take significantly longer than expected. Data loss could occur if the update is interrupted. (59101197)
Accessibility
Known Issues
You might be unable to pair certain braille displays using Bluetooth. (69794099)Workaround: Connect these devices using USB instead.
macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 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 reveals 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 11.0.1 Release Candidate. (63166401)
If macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 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 or later.
Kernel
Known Issues
Installing a new kernel extension requires signing in as an Admin user. You must also restart your Mac to load the extension. Kernel extensions using certain deprecated KPIs won’t be loaded. For more information, see Deprecated Kernel Extensions and System Extension Alternatives. (55068348)Workaround: During development, you can temporarily disable System Integrity Protection to allow these deprecated kernel extensions to load.
New in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate, 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)
Use only absolute paths with the --volume-root option of kmutil, and don’t use a trailing /. (63773848)
Symbols exported by both xnu and Apple kernel extensions will change. Recompile your kernel extension with each update to macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate to ensure compatibility. (64262563)
Mac Catalyst
Known Issues
WebGL content in WKWebView might experience reduced performance. (70587571)
A ToolbarItem with automatic placement isn’t placed in the window toolbar. (63690384)
Select UIKit controls, control customizations, and methods throw exceptions when used in the Mac idiom. Unsupported controls and behaviors on macOS Big Sur 11 throw exceptions as follows:
Safari
Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate
Safari no longer quits unexpectedly if iCloud Tabs are enabled. (70625636)
SwiftUI
Known Issues
ProgressView generic type signature has changed, adding the currentValueLabelgeneric parameter. This change doesn’t require any source changes, but it causes 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.
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().
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 10 Released. This could be the final beta release before GM!
Today Apple released macOS Big Sur Beta 10 (20A5395g) to Developers
UPDATE 10/15 12:30PM – Surprise! macOS Big Sur Beta 10 Full Installer is now available.
macOS Big Sur Beta 10 Full Installer is now available. (Along with public beta)
UPDATE 10/15 10:00AM – New Beta 10 Features found
1. New Feature – You can now press the power button to lock your screen!
2. New Menu Bar item – “Now Playing”. This was hidden away since Beta 1 but was now added to the menu bar by default in Beta 10.
4. New Feature – Redesigned Dynamic Wallpaper selection menu
5. New Wallpaper – “Big Sur Aerial”
6. Some users are reporting issues with YouTube and Netflix in Safari.
UPDATE 10/14 4:30PM – Looks like we are not going to get a full installer for this release. The good news is that Active Directory login seems to be fixed in Beta 10!!!
MacOS Big Sur 11 Beta 10 (20A5395g) was released on October 14th, 2020. The release comes 1 day after the Apple October Phone Special Event and two weeks after Beta 9. We could get a GM release in 1-2 weeks with a launch not much longer after that. MacOS Catalina had 11 beta releases including the gold master, so again we are getting very close to release.
Mr. Macintosh Part 1 Quick look at all the new features and issues in macOS Big Sur Beta 10!
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
10. Big Sur 11 Beta 10 (20A5395g) – 10/14/20 – Current Release
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 10 (20A5395g) 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)
macOS Big Sur 11 beta 10 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.
Core Data
Resolved Issues
Core Data’s model editor no longer displays a blank Detail area for an Entity. (69472812)
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 reveals 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 or later.
Kernel
Known Issues
Installing a new kernel extension requires signing in as an Admin user. You must also restart your Mac to load the extension. Kernel extensions using certain deprecated KPIs won’t be loaded. For more information, see Deprecated Kernel Extensions and System Extension Alternatives. (55068348)Workaround: During development, you can temporarily disable System Integrity Protection to allow these deprecated kernel extensions to load.
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)
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)
Localization
Known Issues
Certain languages might exhibit clipped or misaligned layout. (63105445)
Certain languages might display unlocalized text. (63105674, 64040564, 64045718)
Resolved in macOS Big Sur 11 beta 10
Notes and Photos no longer quit unexpectedly if the system language is set to Greek. (69548692)
Mac Catalyst
Known Issues
A ToolbarItem with automatic placement isn’t placed in the window toolbar. (63690384)
Network Extension
Resolved Issues
You must adopt the NETransparentProxyProvider API in your transparent proxy implementation in order for it to function correctly. (65228404)
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.
DisclosureGroup‘s isExpanded binding doesn’t work as expected in a List. (58820037)
ScrollView now has a correct default scroll position when underneath the titlebar. (64319463)
A TextField that you are editing inside a selected List row now has correct text foreground colors. (68545878)
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().
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.
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!!!
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+)
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
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.
UPDATE 9/26/20 – Some users have reported major problems after installing the update!
Today, Apple released macOS Security Update 2020-005 for High Sierra and Mojave. The 2020-005 security update will most likely will be the end of the line for macOS High Sierra. After macOS Big Sur is released, Apple will no longer support High Sierra.
Below you will find Build Versions, Download Links, Update Sizes and previous Security Update Links.
What’s New in the macOS 2020-005 Security Updates – Mr. Macintosh Video.
The 2020-005 Update fixes & reverts the 2020-003 changes made to the –ignore flag. After installing the update, you can now ignore major upgrades again.
UPDATE 9/24/20 – The 2020-004 update was said to fix this but it actually did not work properly. If you had a UAMDM (User Approved Mobile Device Management) Enrolled Mac the --ignore option did NOT work. The 2020-005 update fixed this and now works properly. Big hat tip to @pcrandom for doing a ton of testing. He was able to confirm that this issue was fixed.
After installing 2020-004 on 10.14 & 10.13 you can once again block major upgrades (Catalina). I mentioned this change in my Catalina 10.15.6 Patch Notes Article.
NOTE: This change is ONLY for UAMDM (User Approved Mobile Device Management) and Supervised Macs. If your Mac is not Supervised or part of an UAMDM you will not be able to ignore major updates.
In macOS Big Sur softwareupdate --ignore is deprecated and no longer works. You will only be able to block minor and major updates for 90 days using MDM.Please file feedback NOW, if you need the ability to block minor & major updates in macOS Big Sur!Thanks for the clarification @mboylan!
How do I keep track of all the macOS Build Versions?
I document all of the macOS Build Versions like the latest Mojave 2020-005 High Sierra 2020-005 along with most Apple Applications, XProtect, Gatekeeper and MRT updates in one database. You can check out the link below.
What’s New in the macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update (19H2)?
macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update is now Available!
For the first time since Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Apple has progressed past a .6 point release! I’m very happy with this change, as it’s easier to understand dot releases compared to supplemental updates. This is the 21st update overall for macOS Catalina.
UPDATE! 9/29/20 – I just posted an article talking about the Catalina 10.15.7 Update accountsd process using 400%+ CPU.
UPDATE! 9/27/20 –A few reports are coming in that the 10.15.7 update is causing some problems with the accountsd process. After the installing the 10.15.7 update, accountsd runs up to 400% in Activity Monitor. The issue might happen for some users that are using iCloud for Drive, Mail or Cal. Other reports say the issue can happen if you are using internet accounts with Gmail. This issue causes system slowness until resolved. Most fixes say to log out of iCloud or Gmail then restart.
Let’s take a look at the macos Catalina 10.15.7 update changes.
What’s New in the 10.15.7 Update Mr. Macintosh video.
10.15.7 Update = accountsd process using 400%+ CPU if using iCloud Mr. Macintosh Video.
The macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update includes the following fixes.
macOS Catalina 10.15.7 provides important security updates and bug fixes for your Mac.
Resolves an issue where macOS would not automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks
Fixes an issue that could prevent files syncing through iCloud Drive
Addresses a graphic issue that may occur on iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) with Radeon Pro 5700 XT
Apple’s Public Patch Notes / Release Notes Documentation
NOTE: Apple Documentation takes a little while to show up online after release. I will update when the new articles are made available.
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
Internet Recovery Boot Menu
Connect to the internet and let it continue. You will be brought to a message that says,
You will get this message as soon as you are booted to the Internet Recovery environment.
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.
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!
