macOS Catalina 10.15 Supplemental Update Re-Released as (19A603)
Apple Re-Released macOS Catalina 10.15 Supplemental Update (19A603)
In another surprise today Apple re-released the Supplemental update for macOS Catalina 10.15. Many MacAdmins are scratching their heads wondering what this update is. Let’s get right into it.
10.15.0 (19A602)
Update Size 984.4mb
BridgeOS Version 17.16.10572
Original Patch Notes
Product ID = 061-18879
10.15.0 (19A603)
Update Size 985.4mb = 1mb Larger
BridgeOS Version 17.16.10572 = Same
Patch Notes = Same
Product ID = 061-18879 = Same
Will the Re-Released Update (19A603) show up in Software Update for (19A583) Users?
Yes
Will the Re-Released Update (19A603) show up in Software Update for (19A602) Users?
No
BridgeOS update
BridgeOS was NOT updated in the Re-Released Catalina Supplemental Update (19A603). It shows as Build Version 6.
New and Previous Build Versions of 10.15
10.15.0 = (19A603) October 21st 2019
10.15.0 = (19A602) October 15th 2019
10.15.0 = (19A583) October 7th 2019
If I deployed/cached the old 10.15 (19A602) Installer.app for OS Upgrades, do I need to redeploy?
Do I have to replace my deployable 10.15 Installer.app?– Probably Not
If you deployed the old version of the 10.15 (19A602) Installer, you most likely do not need the new (19A603) Version. As noted above, Apple did not change the patch notes and did not mention any changes to this Build Version. The Update most likely has only very minor changes.
If I deployed/cached the old 10.15 (19A583) Installer.app for OS Upgrades, do I need to redeploy?
Do I have to replace my deployable 10.15 Installer.app?– Yes
If you deployed the old version of the 10.15 (19A583) Installer, you should update it to the new (19A603). If you don’t your users will have to install the New Catalina Supplemental Update after installing or upgrading.
What’s included in the Catalina 10.15 Supplemental Update?
NOTE: The patch notes for (19A602) are exactly the same as (19A603)
The macOS Catalina 10.15 Supplemental update includes installation and reliability improvements, and is recommended for all users. This update:
This update: – Improves installation reliability of macOS Catalina on Macs with low disk space – Fixes an issue that prevented Setup Assistant from completing during some installations – Resolves an issue that prevents accepting iCloud Terms and Conditions when multiple iCloud accounts are logged in – Improves the reliability of saving Game Center data when playing Apple Arcade games offline
10.15 Supplemental Update Links
Catalina Supplemental Update = Will update when download link becomes available.
How to Manage Catalina’s New Application Notifications with a Profile
This article will show you how to Manage Catalina’s New Application Notification Preferences with a Config Profile.
Now that Catalina is live, MacAdmins have many questions. The top 3 questions I have seen so far are;
1. How do I block macOS Catalina from my users?
2. How do I Manage macOS Catalina Application Notifications?
3. What are the new Screen Recording and Input Monitoring or Keystroke Receiving TCC Settings? (more on that in a new article.)
Catalina Application Notifications Index
1. Should I manage Application Notifications?
2. How do I reset or clear out previous Notification Settings?
3. How can I test the Notifications Profile?
4. Find Previous Bundle ID or App Domains from past Prompts
5. Manage Notifications with a Profile.
6. Notifications Profile with Profile Creator.
7. Notifications Profile with Manage App Notifications.bash
8. Credits
1. Should I manage Application Notifications?
This is a question you should ask yourself. Keep in mind, once you mange a profile setting it can not be changed by the user. Managing certain application notifications from Jamf Self Service is one example. You WANT the user to be able to see the notifications that it sends out. The user may miss something important, if they previously clicked DENY. For other applications, you might want to leave Notification decisions to the user.
2. How do I reset or clear out previous Notification Settings?
How do you reset Catalina’s Application Notifications if you clicked Allow or Deny already?
The settings are stored in a plist in the users /Library/Preferences folder.
com.apple.ncprefs.plist
To reset all Notification Alerts, you can delete the plist and then restart. Once you get back to the desktop all your notifications will start popping up again.
3. How can I test the Notifications Profile?
After you create the profile and install it, any open notifications will immediately disappear! The best way to test your new profile is to delete ncprefs.plist, then restart. Then you can leave any open notifications up on your desktop. Install the profile , then all the notifications that you manage should disappear.
4. Find Previous Bundle ID or Application Domains from past Prompts
If you want to see previous prompts that you have already answered try this command.
sqlite3 "$(getconf DARWIN_USER_DIR)/com.apple.notificationcenter/db2/db" "select * from app;"
4. Manage Notifications with a Profile.
The easiest way to manage Notification is with a Configuration Profile.
NOTE: If you use Jamf Pro, Notifications is not an option yet in 10.15.1.
I will show you two ways to create a Notifications Profile.
Creating Profiles is easy with Profile Creator! The version that we will be using is v0.3.2 which has Catalina Options built right in. After installing you will see the welcome screen.
Profile Creator’s Welcome Screen.
You can start by filling out the General Settings. Set the Name of the profile, Description, Company Name and Payload Scope. For the Payload Scope select System if you want the settings to be for all users. You can add Prevent users from removing this profile (Supervised)
Profile Creator’s General Settings.
Once you have the General Settings set you can add a new profile payload. Scroll down on the left hand side until you see macOS. You will then see Notifications.
Profile Creator Notifications Payload.
To start you will need to add the Notifications Payload Key. Click the + button on the left hand side of Notification Settings.
Profile Creator’s Notifications Payload Settings.
Now that Notifications Settings is active you can add new keys. Click the + button to add a new Key.
Profile Creator’s Notifications Key
Now you can view the different settings you can set.
1. Enable Notifications
2. Bundle Identifier for the target app
3. Show app in Notifications Center
4. Show Notifications at the Lock Screen
5. Notification Sounds Allowed
6. Allow Badges
7. Alert Type – None, Banners, Alerts
8. Enable Critical – If the banner can pass through DND
The option that you will need to find is the Application Bundle Identifier. An example would be Microsoft Outlook. The Bundle ID for Outlook is com.microsoft.outlook. How do you find the Bundle ID ?
You can find many ways to find the Application Bundle ID. I will show you 3 different ways to do this. One of the best ways is to look directly at the application info.plist. Run the following all on one line. Let’s check to see what Safari’s Bundle ID is.
Now that you have the Bundle ID, plug it into the 2nd box in the key options.
Profile Creator’s Notifications Key Application Bundle ID
You can now add as many keys as you want!
Profile Creator’s Notifications 2nd Key Application Bundle ID
Once you have finished adding all the Bundle ID’s you are ready to Add this payload to the main Profile and save it. Click the Add Button in the upper right hand corner.
Profile Creator’s Notifications Add NotificationsSettings to the main Profile.
You should now see this in the upper left hand corner.
Profile ready to save!
Now click on the upload button on the right hand side of the + button to save your new profile.
Profile Creator’s Save Menu
This is the save menu. Check over the settings to verify everything is correct.
NOTE: Just as the note says at the bottom. If you use Jamf Pro you need to Sign the profile with your Apple Developer ID. If you use any other MDM you do not have to do this.
You will now have a file called 10.15 Notifications.mobileconfig
You can now upload it to your MDM Server.
After installing the profile you can go into system preferences > Profiles and view the new profile. It will look something like this.
Notifications Profile Settings.
You can then scroll down to verify all the macOS Catalina Application Notifications settings.
6. Notifications Profile with Manage App Notifications.bash
William Smith aka (talkingmoose) just wrote an amazing bash script that will generate a Notifications.mobileconfig
The only limiting part of this script is that you can only set one application per profile. William has mentioned that he might look into adding the ability to add multiple application notification settings into one profile. If you would like this, please send him this feedback!
7. Credits
A big Thank You goes out to the following MacAdmins.
@stevemasser – For finding the Notifications Preference plist Location.
@roberthammen & @emily for Confirming that current notifications will disappear immediately when the profile is installed.
@eholtam for finding the neat sqlite3 trick for showing previously answered notifications.
If you have any questions or comments on macOS Catalina Application Notifications, please don’t hesitate to Contact Me!
Stream and download more than 50 million songs ad-free. Every time you open the app, you’ll get the best of Apple Music personalized to your tastes with For You.
Music Store
For users who still like to own their music, the iTunes Store is just a click away.
Now Playing
The new Music app includes an updated player. Easily see lyrics while you’re listening and control the music that will play next with just a click. Or switch to MiniPlayer to listen while multitasking.
Library
All your music organized in one place. See artists, albums, songs, playlists, and recent additions with a familiar menu in the new sidebar. And now, type what you’re looking for in the updated library pages to quickly find the exact song in your music collection.
TV
Library
Easily find all your purchased movies and shows in the updated Library tab. Browse by recently added, downloaded, genres, and more.
Movies and TV
Buy or rent new-release movies or explore the catalog of more than 100,000 movies and shows — including the largest catalog of 4K HDR titles.2
Try new Apple TV channels, including HBO, Showtime, Starz, and more. Subscribe and share with up to six family members. Channels play in the Apple TV app ad-free, online or off — no additional apps, accounts, or passwords needed. Try them free and cancel anytime.
Home for Apple TV+
Apple’s new premium streaming service brings you a wide range of exclusive original shows and films from the world’s greatest talent. Apple TV+ will be available in the Apple TV app this fall.
Watch Now
Watch Now is your home in the Apple TV app. Find expertly curated collections and personalized recommendations picked just for you.
Up Next
Watch Now includes Up Next, which helps you quickly find and watch your favorites. It also lets you resume what you’re watching from the moment you left off, across all your devices.
Kids
A new dedicated Kids section helps you discover great, editorially handpicked shows and movies for kids of all ages.
Apple TV app everywhere
You can pick up where you left off on Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, select smart TVs, and now Mac.
Dolby Atmos
Enjoy a thrilling surround sound experience with Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks in the Apple TV app using the built-in speakers on certain Mac models.4
Podcasts
Listen Now
Continue listening to your favorite podcast episodes or see when a new one is available. Or find other shows you might like based on the ones you’re already listening to.
Library
The Apple Podcasts library is the one place for all the shows you’ve subscribed to or added — organized by show title or episode title. Download your favorite episodes to listen offline.
Browse
With over 700,000 shows in the catalog, our editors pick the best shows for you to browse each week. Try a show from New & Noteworthy or check out which shows are trending in Top Charts.
Search
Search provides better results when you’re searching for a topic or people — even find episodes featuring a specific guest or host.
Syncing
Media syncing
All three services — Apple TV, Apple Music, and Apple Podcasts — sync your content through the cloud across your devices. Or sync it from each of the apps if you prefer using a cable.
Back up, update, and restore through the Finder
Each time you connect a device, you can find it in the Finder sidebar. From there you can back up, update, and restore your device.
Photos
All-new Photos tab
A beautiful new browsing experience showcases your photos and memories.
Day, month, and year organization
Photos is organized by day, month, and year views so it’s easy to find photos or relive your memories. Animations and transitions keep your spot in the timeline so you can switch between views without losing your place.
Large photo previews
Photo previews are larger to help you distinguish between shots. Photos uses intelligence to find the best part of your photo in previews, so you see the full, unedited version when you open the photo.
Auto-playing Live Photos and videos
Live Photos and videos begin playing as you scroll, bringing your library to life.
Personalization
Using machine learning on your Mac, Photos can understand who’s in your photos and what’s happening to highlight important moments like birthdays, anniversaries, and trips.
Your best shots
Photos intelligently showcases the best shots in your library, removing duplicates and clutter.
All Photos
The All Photos view displays all your photos and videos in a grid. Choose to zoom in for large previews, or zoom out to get an overview of your entire collection. You can also choose to view your photos and videos in square or original format.
Memory movies
Now you can view Memory movies on your Mac and edit the duration, mood, and title. Edits sync to your other devices when you use iCloud Photos.
Notes
Gallery view
The all-new gallery view displays your notes as visual thumbnails, making it easier than ever to quickly find the note you’re looking for.
Shared folders
Collaborate on entire folders, including all the notes and subfolders inside. Invite others to a folder, and everyone can add notes, attachments, or subfolders.
View-only collaboration
You can now share notes or entire folders as view-only so that you’re the only one who can make changes.
More powerful search
Search can now recognize objects or scenes within the images you’ve added to your notes and can help you find specific text in the items you’ve scanned using the built-in document scanner. Search is also helpful before you type, with suggested searches that you can simply click to view.
New checklist options
Quickly reorder checklist items using drag and drop or keyboard shortcuts, and move checked items to the bottom and out of the way. If you’ve completed the checklist and want to use it again, you can click to uncheck all the items and start over.
Reminders
All-new design
The Reminders app has been completely rebuilt with an all-new user interface and more powerful features, making it easier than ever to create, organize, and keep track of reminders.
New edit buttons
Quickly add dates, times, locations, or flags to reminders using the new edit buttons, all without having to go to another view.
Enhanced Siri intelligence
You can type longer, more descriptive sentences and Reminders understands and provides relevant suggestions. Siri intelligence on your device can also help anticipate your needs by suggesting that you create a reminder while you make plans in Messages.
Attachments
Add attachments to your reminders to make them more informative and useful. You can add photos, scanned documents, or even web links that take you directly to a website related to the reminder.
Tasks and grouped lists
There are more options for organizing your reminders. You can capture tasks associated with a top-level reminder. You can also group multiple lists.
Smart lists
All-new smart lists automatically organize your upcoming reminders into easy-to-find categories like Today, Flagged, Scheduled, or All to see them in a single list.
Customize list appearance
Customize the appearance of your personal or shared iCloud lists, choosing from 12 beautiful colors and 60 expressive symbols.
Messages integration
Tag someone in a reminder and the next time you’re chatting with the person in Messages, you’ll be reminded that now might be a good time to talk.
Safari
Updated start page
An updated start page design includes favorites, frequently visited, and Siri suggestions that surface relevant websites in your browsing history, recently visited sites, bookmarks, reading list, iCloud Tabs, and links you receive in Messages.
Weak password warnings
When you sign in to an account in Safari with a weak, easy-to-guess password, Safari warns you and helps you replace it with a stronger one.
PiP from the tab audio button
Quickly enable Picture in Picture from the tab audio button.
Switch to open tab from the Smart Search field
If you start typing the address of a website that’s already open, Safari directs you to the open tab.
Mail
Block sender
Mail can block all email from specified senders and move their messages directly to the trash. Just as in Messages, you can access this feature by clicking the sender’s name in any email header.
Unsubscribe
An unsubscribe link for email messages from commercial lists now appears above the email header. Clicking Unsubscribe requests removal of your email address from the list.
Mute Thread
Mute Thread prevents notifications from an overly active email thread.
Updated classic layout
Arranges the Mail viewer in a column layout, with an option to preview the current message below or to the right of your message list.
Use your iPad as a second display for additional screen space. Refer to one app while you work in another, or see how a presentation looks in presentation mode on your iPad while editing it on your Mac.
Mirror the screen on your Mac to have two screens displaying the same content, making it perfect for sharing with others.
Wired or wireless
Connect your iPad to your Mac using a cable to keep it charged, or use it wirelessly — within 10 meters — for greater mobility.
Apple Pencil
Use the precision and intuitiveness of Apple Pencil with your favorite creative Mac apps that support drawing tablets. Draw and write naturally, edit a photo or graphic, and use it to point and click as you do with a mouse.
Gestures
Use the same Multi-Touch gestures you’re familiar with on iPad, along with all-new text editing gestures that let you cut, copy, paste, and undo without lifting your hands from the onscreen keyboard.
Sidebar
Get easy access to your most commonly used controls from the sidebar. Use modifier keys to enable shortcuts in pro apps, and access buttons that allow you to undo as well as display or hide the menu bar, Dock, and keyboard.
Touch Bar
For apps with Touch Bar support, the controls appear at the bottom of your iPad screen — even if your Mac doesn’t have a Touch Bar.
Developer support
Developers don’t need to do anything for Sidecar support — it just works. Apps with advanced stylus support can use Tablet Events in AppKit to enable pressure and tilt for Apple Pencil. Additionally, developers can specify custom behavior for double-tap on the side of Apple Pencil through a changeMode event.
Continuity Markup and Sketch
Continuity Markup
Write and sketch on PDFs or mark up your documents with Apple Pencil. See the updates live on your Mac as you mark them up on your iPad.
Continuity Sketch
Create a sketch on your iPad using Apple Pencil and easily insert it into any document on your Mac.
Screen Time
Usage reports
Screen Time creates usage reports that show you how much time is being spent on your Mac, which apps are used most, and how many notifications are received. With iCloud, Screen Time combines all your usage information and syncs Downtime settings and App Limits across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Downtime
With Screen Time, you can schedule downtime so you (or your child) can only use specific apps you’ve approved.
App Limits
With App Limits, you can set the amount of time you want to use your apps and websites. Set App Limits for total time, categories, or specific apps.
Combined Limits
Create combined limits with a combination of app categories, specific apps, or websites.
One More Minute
When a limit is met, you can tap “One more minute” to give you time to quickly save your work or wrap up a conversation.
Communication Limits let you control who your children can communicate with and who can communicate with them throughout the day and during downtime.
Managed contact list for children
Parents can use Screen Time to manage the contacts that appear on their children’s devices.
Family Sharing
Parents can configure Screen Time from any device — iPhone, iPad, or Mac — and have everything set up for their kids on all their devices.
Security
Enhanced Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper will ensure that all new apps you install — from the App Store or the internet — have been checked for known security issues by Apple before you run them the first time and periodically thereafter. This extends the protection from the app’s source to include automated checks for what’s in the app.
Data protections
macOS Catalina checks with you before allowing an app to access your data in your Documents, Desktop, and Downloads folders; iCloud Drive; the folders of third-party cloud storage providers; removable media; and external volumes. In addition, you’re asked before an app can perform key logging or capture a still or video recording of your screen.
Activation Lock
All Mac models with the Apple T2 Security Chip now support Activation Lock — just like your iPhone or iPad. So if your Mac is ever misplaced or lost, the only person who can erase and reactivate it is you.
Dedicated system volume
macOS Catalina runs in a dedicated, read-only system volume — which means it is completely separate from all other data and helps improve the reliability of macOS.
DriverKit and user space system extensions
Previously many hardware peripherals and sophisticated features needed to run their code directly within macOS using kernel extensions, or kexts. Now these programs run separately from the operating system, just like any other app, so they can’t affect macOS if something goes wrong.
Find My
Two great apps in one
Find My iPhone and Find My Friends are now combined in a single, easy-to-use app to help you locate the people and devices that are important to you.
Find offline devices
Locate a missing device even if it’s not connected to Wi-Fi using crowd-sourced location. When you mark your device as missing and another Apple user’s device is nearby, it can detect your device’s Bluetooth signal and report its location to you. It’s completely anonymous and encrypted end-to-end, so everyone’s privacy is protected.
Enhanced location notifications
Location notifications include the ability to schedule notifications for different days of the week, more useful place names, and enhanced privacy controls.
Approve with Apple Watch
View passwords
Anywhere you need to type your Mac password, such as viewing passwords in Safari preferences, you can now double-click the side button on your Apple Watch to authenticate on your Mac.
Approving app installations
Unlock a locked note, approve app installations, unlock settings in System Preferences, and modify root files, all with your Apple Watch.
Accessibility
Voice Control
Voice Control is a new way to fully control your Mac, iOS, and iPadOS devices entirely with your voice.
Voice Control improves on the existing Enhanced Dictation feature using the Siri speech recognition engine, so you get the latest advances in machine learning for audio-to-text transcription.
Add custom words
Whether you’re writing a biology report, filling out a legal document, or emailing about a favorite topic, you can add custom words to ensure that Voice Control recognizes the words you commonly use.
On-device processing
All audio processing for Voice Control happens on your device, ensuring that your personal data is kept private.
Rich text editing
Thanks to rich text editing commands, you don’t have to rehearse before you speak. Making corrections is quick and easy. You can replace phrases by name. Try saying “Replace I’m almost there with I just arrived.” Fine-grained selection also makes it simple to select text. Try saying “Move up two lines. Select previous word. Capitalize that.”
Word and emoji suggestions
If you need to correct a word, there’s a new interface just for that. Simply ask to correct a word, and you’ll be presented with a list of suggested replacements.
Seamless transitions from dictation to commands
Voice Control understands contextual cues, so you can seamlessly transition between text dictation and commands. For example, say “Happy Birthday. Tap send.” in Messages, and Voice Control sends “Happy Birthday” — just as you intended. You can also say “delete that”, and Voice Control knows to delete what you just typed.
Comprehensive app navigation
You can rely entirely on your voice to navigate an app. Comprehensive navigation is provided by navigation commands, names of accessibility labels, numbers, and grids.
Navigation commands
Navigation commands give you quick ways to interact with macOS and apps. You can open apps, search the web, open Spotlight, and more.
Names
You can easily navigate by telling Voice Control to select the name of an accessibility label for buttons, links, and more.
Numbers
Say “show numbers” to see numbers appear next to all clickable items onscreen. Use this to quickly navigate complex or unfamiliar apps. Numbers automatically appear in menus and whenever you need to disambiguate between items with the same name. Just say a number to click it.
Grids
If you ever need to touch a part of the screen that doesn’t have a control, use Grid overlays. Saying “show grid” superimposes a grid on your screen and allows you to precisely do things, like select, zoom, drag, and more.
Hover Text
Hover Text displays high-resolution zoom of text, text fields, menu items, buttons, and more in a dedicated window. Just press the Control key when hovering over text with your cursor, and a window with zoomed text appears alongside the standard interface — helping you stay contextually aware. Text is crisply displayed in a font and color of your choice. And you can interact with buttons and type right in the zoomed window.
Zoom Display
While using a second display, you can see the same screen up close and at a distance simultaneously. You can keep one monitor zoomed in and another at a standard resolution. Or keep a personal Mac zoomed in while giving a presentation.
Simplified tab navigation
VoiceOver users will enjoy simplified keyboard navigation that requires less drilling into unique focus groups. The Tab key more simply advances through selection of elements — such as window stoplights, toolbar buttons, and scroll bars.
Punctuation in iCloud
VoiceOver users often customize the way punctuation marks are spoken. These customizations are now stored in iCloud, giving you a consistent experience across macOS, iOS, and iPadOS.
Additional international braille tables
macOS Catalina adds more international braille tables and lets you quickly switch between them.
Improved VoiceOver support in Xcode
VoiceOver now reads aloud warnings, line numbers, and breakpoints in the Xcode text editor.
Display color filters
Users with color vision deficiencies can adjust display colors using new color filter options. Your Mac shifts the colors onscreen, helping you easily differentiate areas of confusion. And you can turn this preference on and off through the Accessibility Options pane using Command-Option-F5.
Tint your entire display
A new display option lets you tint your entire screen using a color of your choice. Some users may find that certain color tints help make text easier to read.
Apple ID Account Information
One place for your Apple ID account details
Now you can access all your important Apple ID account information right from System Preferences on your Mac.
Overview and helpful notifications
A new overview pane allows you to quickly review important tips and notifications to help ensure that your account is properly signed in and secure, and that all the features you expect are set up and working correctly.
Basic account and security details
Easily review account details such as your name, contact info, password, security details, payment and shipping info, and email newsletter preferences.
iCloud settings
Review and update your iCloud settings and manage or upgrade your storage plan anytime.
Media and purchases
Get easy access to your current subscriptions, past purchases, and account settings related to the App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Music, Apple Books, Apple News, Apple TV, and more.
Family Sharing
View which subscriptions you’re sharing, which services are enabled, who has Ask to Buy turned on, and more.
View all your devices
View a list of all the devices you’re signed in to with your account. Review device details such as last backup completed, Find My status, and more.
QuickTime Player
Picture in Picture (PiP)
With a single click in the navigation controller, you can play video in a resizable window that isn’t blocked by other windows, allowing you to watch while working on other things.
Enhanced Movie Inspector
The Movie Inspector pane shows you even more in-depth technical information about the currently open media file. See key details such as video color space, HDR format, bit depth, scale, and aspect ratio.
Open Image Sequence
Create an H.264, HEVC, or ProRes-encoded movie file by navigating to a folder of sequentially numbered images, then choosing your desired resolution, frame rate, and encoding quality.
Timecode support
When QuickTime Player opens a media file with embedded timecode, it shows the time information in the onscreen navigation controller.
Transparent video support
Transparency in ProRes 4444 files can optionally be preserved when exporting to the HEVC format.
Home
HomeKit Secure Video
With a home hub such as an Apple TV or HomePod, securely record video to iCloud when activity by a person, animal, or vehicle is detected by your HomeKit-enabled cameras. Choose to receive notifications when clips are recorded and view them in the Home app on your Mac. In the Home app, a timeline of recordings is available to play from iCloud. You can also share a recording, delete it, or save it to your Photos library.
Audio in scenes and automations
HomePod and AirPlay 2–enabled speakers can now play songs, playlists, and radio stations from Apple Music in scenes and automations with your other HomeKit accessories.
International Features
New multilingual setup for macOS
Choose your languages, including those for keyboard and dictation, in Setup Assistant, and customize your language preferences from the start.
New relationship labels in Contacts
Contacts now includes hundreds of new, more specific relationship labels to help you manage your contact list. Examples include “younger cousin” and “elder cousin.”
Cantonese keyboard predictions
The new Cantonese predictions for Traditional Chinese Cangjie, Sucheng, Stroke, and Handwriting keyboards bring more relevant character and emoji predictions to Cantonese users.
Improved Japanese predictions
A new neural language model takes words typed earlier in the sentence into account, so predictions are more grammatically consistent and relevant to the subject matter.
New fonts for Indian languages
Get 34 new fonts, including four system fonts and 30 document fonts, for languages like Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi, and many more.
New Indian English Siri voices
All-new Indian English male and female Siri voices allow Siri to be more natural and expressive.
New dictionaries
New dictionaries include Thai-English and Vietnamese-English.
You can now share folders with a private link. Anyone who has access can see the folder in iCloud Drive, add new files, and get the latest versions of files.
Restore from snapshot
If your third-party software is incompatible with an update you just installed, use macOS Recovery to restore from a snapshot of your computer taken right before the installation. macOS and all your apps will work just as they did before you installed the update.
Today Apple released macOS Catalina 10.15 GM Seed #1 Beta 11 (19A582a)
Catalina 10.15 GM Seed #1 is here! GM stands for Gold Master, this term is from way back when CD and DVD media was still a thing. The GM build was the final production version of the OS burned to CD or DVD. Now that Catalina GM Build is live, we should be very close to the public release of 10.15.
This article is meant to save you time going through the notes to find what is new and what is still leftover from the last beta. I went through both Beta 10 and the new Catalina 10.15 GM Seed #1 (19A582a) release notes to find all the changes. When Apple releases the next Beta patch notes, the previous patch notes are overwritten and taken down.
10.15 GM Seed #1 or Beta 11 ?
NOTE: I am calling this GM Seed #1 because it’s my bet that we will see a GM Seed #2. The evidence is that Apple is still calling this release.
Install macOS Catalina Beta.app
I don’t know for sure though. Apple could just release the current build and change the name!!!
I for one really hope this is the case, as we still have some things that need to be addressed before launch.
Summary of GM Seed #1 Patch Notes
1 New Features
1 New Resolved issues
0 New Known Issues
0 New Deprecations
Report your bugs NOW!
This may be the final beta left to test. The public Release of Catalina is only a week or two away! You will want to get any bugs that you find into Apple now. If you get them in now, they could be fixed in the current beta cycle instead of waiting until after Octobers’s release date. If you wait it could be months before the fix is put into a dot release combo update.
Keep in mind, I can only publish public data. If you are an AppleSeed for IT member you can access additional 10.15 Catalina Beta Patch Notes in the AppleSeed Portal. AppleSeed information is protected by Apple’s NDA.
Some fixes are not going to be listed. Many issues are from #MacAdmins who have filed FeedBack Requests and Enterprise Support tickets. Most of these issues are resolved but are never publicly noted.
1. New Features in GM Seed #1
REMOVED!!! – Installing third party kernel extensions now requires that you restart your Mac before they’re permitted to load. (50340461)
New Resolved Issues in GM Seed #1
Privacy – Fixed an issue where turning on Curtain Mode prevented you from being able to control a remote Mac. (52900397)
Today Apple released macOS Catalina 10.15 Beta 10 (19A578c) to Developers.
This article is meant to save you time going through the notes to find what is new and what is still leftover from the last beta. I went through both Beta 9 and the new Catalina 10.15 Beta 10 (19A578c) release notes to find all the changes. Like usual, I also have included the entire patch notes list as an archive. When Apple releases the next Beta patch notes, the previous patch notes are overwritten and taken down.
Summary of Beta 10 Patch Notes
Nothing! Apple has not documented any changes in the Public Developer Release Notes between Beta 9 and Beta 10.
Report your bugs NOW!
This may be the final beta left to test. The public Release of Catalina is only a few weeks away! You will want to get any bugs that you find into Apple now. If you get them in now, they could be fixed in the current beta cycle instead of waiting until after September’s release date. If you wait it could be months before the fix is put into a dot release combo update.
Keep in mind, I can only publish public data. If you are an AppleSeed for IT member you can access additional 10.15 Catalina Beta Patch Notes in the AppleSeed Portal. AppleSeed information is protected by Apple’s NDA.
Some fixes are not going to be listed. Many issues are from #MacAdmins who have filed FeedBack Requests and Enterprise Support tickets. Most of these issues are resolved but are never publicly noted.
Today Apple released macOS Mojave 10.14.6 Supplemental Update #3 and Security Updates 2019-005 for High Sierra 10.13 and Sierra 10.12. If Apple’s previous update release history is any guide, 2019-005 will be the final Security Update for Sierra. Once macOS 10.15 Catalina is released in October, Mojave will be security patched for two more years. High Sierra will be supported for one year and Sierra will be dropped.
10.14.6 Supplemental Update #3 ??? Wait.. What? Apple is calling it the 2nd Supplemental Update.
Not sure where Apple got out of order here, but this is the 10.14.6 Build Version release schedule.
Which version of the 10.14.6 update does my Mac need?
Software Update will always point you to the right update.
Any Build Version of 10.14.6 = Supplemental Update #3
10.14.0-10.14.4 = Combo Update
10.14.5 = Delta Update
10.8 – 10.14.6 Upgrade = Updated 10.14.6 (18G103) Full Installer.app
How do you keep track of all the macOS Build Versions?
I document all of all macOS versions along with most Apple Applications, XProtect, Gatekeeper and MRT updates in one database. You can check out the link below.
Today Apple released macOS Catalina 10.15 (19A573a) Beta 9 to Developers.
This article is meant to save you time going through the notes to find what is new and what is still leftover from the last beta. I went through both Beta 8 and the new Catalina 10.15 Beta 9 (19A573a) release notes to find all the changes. Like usual, I also have included the entire patch notes list as an archive. When Apple releases the next Beta patch notes, the previous patch notes are overwritten and taken down.
Summary of Beta 9 Patch Notes
1 New Features
2 New Resolved issues
2 New Known Issues
0 New Deprecations
Report your bugs NOW!
This may be the final beta left to test. The public Release of Catalina is only a few weeks away! You will want to get any bugs that you find into Apple now. If you get them in now, they could be fixed in the current beta cycle instead of waiting until after September’s release date. If you wait it could be months before the fix is put into a dot release combo update.
Keep in mind, I can only publish public data. If you are an AppleSeed for IT member you can access additional 10.15 Catalina Beta Patch Notes in the AppleSeed Portal. AppleSeed information is protected by Apple’s NDA.
Some fixes are not going to be listed. Many issues are from #MacAdmins who have filed FeedBack Requests and Enterprise Support tickets. Most of these issues are resolved but are never publicly noted.
1. New Features in Beta 9
iCloud – Launch daemons and launch agents introduce new user privacy protections. Specifying privacy-sensitive files and folders in a launchd property list might not work as expected and prevent the service from running. Having Program or ProgramArguments pointing to an executable in a privacy sensitive location is currently allowed, but may be restricted in a future release. (49702405)To comply with the new privacy protections, resources for a launchd service must be stored in locations that aren’t privacy sensitive. If necessary, the app can set up resources during its execution rather than using launchd property list keys, making it possible to grant the app access using System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy. The following launchd property list keys are affected: KeepAlive, PathState, QueueDirectories, Sockets, SockPathName, StandardErrorPath, StandardInPath, StandardOutPath, and WatchPaths.
2. New Resolved issues
Localization – Fixed an issue where certain languages might exhibit clipped or misaligned layout. (51068688, 50983852)
Localization – Fixed an issue where certain languages might display unlocalized text. (47765173, 51196633)
3. New Known Issues
Mac Catalyst – DOM keyboard events aren’t dispatched as expected in WKWebView when pressing or releasing keys. Web apps needing to track typed characters can instead listen for DOM input events. (54580414)
Remote Desktop – Turning on Curtain Mode prevents you from being able to control a remote Mac. (52900397)
10.14.6 Update Causes a Kernel Panic When Using the Built-In FaceTime Camera.
NEW UPDATE: 4/08/20 – I am getting multiple reports that users are having issues applications that use Hardware Accelerated Video with the latest 10.14 and 10.13 2020-002 Security updates. The system will 100% freeze up during video conference, video or heavy app usage and you will have to hard power down. I posted all the new information about the freezing issue in a new article here – https://mrmacintosh.com/2020-002-update-causes-some-macs-to-freeze-up-while-using-vid-conf-apps/
FINAL UPDATE: 1/22/20 – Multiple users have contacted me to let me know that the latest macOS Mojave 10.14.6 Security Update 2019-002 (18G2022) has fixed the issue for them! The T2 BridgeOS version is 17.16.12551 or newer.
UPDATE: 10/03/19 – I am hearing from readers and commenters that Zoom has confirmed that this issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15. This could very well mean that we will not get a fix for Mojave. 🙁
After Apple released the 10.14.6 Update, some users of 2019 & 2018 15″ MacBook Pros started to report Kernel Panics when using the Built-In FaceTime Camera.
I reported on a similar issue about a month ago when the 2019-004 Security Update for High Sierra and Sierra started causing a Kernel Panic after waking from sleep.
In this article, I will give you the lowdown of the issue. In the end, I will also give you a workaround until Apple releases a fix.
If you are interested in the 2018-004 Security Update Wake from Sleep issue you can read my report Below.
If you have the issue on a 2018-2019 13″ MacBook Pro/Air Please do not hesitate to Contact Me.
3. This issue does NOT affect most 10.14.6 users.
I tried time and time again to reproduce this issue. Having both a 2018 and 2019 15″MacBook Pro for testing, I figured that I would be able to reproduce the issue. Having FaceTime.app open for hours and using Zoom Conference call for 4 hours, produced zero crashes. This could be a clue as to an additional cause on the reported users computers, but I’m not sure.
4. Kernel Panic Reports
What do the Kernel Panic Reports look like? Looking over the report it looks like BridgeOS is crashing. Below is a sample report.
{“caused_by”:”unknown”,”macos_version”:”Mac OS X 10.14.6 (18G84)”,”os_version”:”Bridge OS 3.6 (16P6568)”,”macos_system_state”:”running”,”incident_id”:”6DCB8540-C363-4FC9-999E-9E38E276621A”,”timestamp”:”2019-07-25 15:44:33.33 +0000″,”bug_type”:”210″}
{
“build” : “Bridge OS 3.6 (16P6568)”,
“product” : “iBridge2,3”,
“kernel” : “Darwin Kernel Version 18.7.0: Tue Jun 25 21:35:19 PDT 2019; root:xnu-4903.270.47~9\/RELEASE_ARM64_T8010”,
“incident” : “6DCB8540-C363-4FC9-999E-9E38E276621A”,
“crashReporterKey” : “c0dec0dec0dec0dec0dec0dec0dec0dec0de0001”,
“date” : “2019-07-25 15:44:33.08 +0000”,
“panicString” : “panic(cpu 0 caller 0xfffffff01bca5bec): \”void AppleEmbeddedPCIeUpLinkMgmt::_linkInterruptAction(IOInterruptEventSource *, int): \” \”A link timeout has been seen after 100000 microseconds and 49999 iterations.\”@\/BuildRoot\/Library\/Caches\/com.apple.xbs\/Sources\/AppleEmbeddedPCIeUpLinkMgmt\/AppleEmbeddedPCIeUpLinkMgmt-76.260.2\/AppleEmbeddedPCIeUpLinkMgmt.cpp:3982\nDebugger message: panic\nMemory ID: 0x6\nOS version: 16P6568\nmacOS version: 18G84\nKernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 18.7.0: Tue Jun 25 21:35:19 PDT 2019; root:xnu-4903.270.47~9\/RELEASE_ARM64_T8010\nKernelCache UUID: DB4E28E6354462E8ADC412A804EB32E1\nKernel UUID: 9FC93C85-B7C5-3723-92B7-293273AB9C4F\niBoot version: iBoot-4513.270.14\nsecure boot?: YES\nx86 EFI Boot State: 0xe\nx86 System State: 0x0\nx86 Power State: 0x0\nx86 Shutdown Cause: 0x5\nx86 Previous Power Transitions: 0x40504000200\nPCIeUp link state: 0x94721611\nPaniclog version: 13\nKernel slide: 0x000000001559c000\nKernel text base: 0xfffffff01c5a0000\nmach_absolute_time: 0xa75d527f88\nEpoch Time: sec usec\n Boot : 0x5d37ad8f 0x000c3155\n Sleep : 0x5d39a45e 0x000defae\n Wake : 0x5d39ab5f 0x0006d1c2\n Calendar: 0x5d39ce41 0x000cb6eb\n\nPanicked task 0xffffffe000881680: 8160 pages, 207 threads: pid 0: kernel_task\nPanicked thread: 0xffffffe000c4b3e0, backtrace: 0xffffffe01633b590, tid: 280\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01c6ae2a4 fp: 0xffffffe01633b620\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01c79b5a4 fp: 0xffffffe01633b760\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01c679610 fp: 0xffffffe01633b770\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01c6ad848 fp: 0xffffffe01633bae0\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01c6adbc0 fp: 0xffffffe01633bb20\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01c6ada14 fp: 0xffffffe01633bb40\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01bca5bec fp: 0xffffffe01633bbd0\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01cb35fc4 fp: 0xffffffe01633bc10\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01cb34ad8 fp: 0xffffffe01633bc50\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01cb3434c fp: 0xffffffe01633bc90\n\t\t lr: 0xfffffff01c684614 fp: 0x0000000000000000\n\n”,
“panicFlags” : “0x2”,
“otherString” : “\n** Stackshot Succeeded ** Bytes Traced 112560 **\n”,
“macOSPanicFlags” : “0x0”,
“macOSPanicString” : “BAD MAGIC! (flag set in iBoot panic header), no macOS panic log available”,
“memoryStatus” : {“compressorSize”:0,”compressions”:0,”decompressions”:0,”busyBufferCount”:0,”pageSize”:16384,”memoryPressure”:false,”memoryPages”:{“active”:8141,”throttled”:0,”fileBacked”:10933,”wired”:10886,”purgeable”:0,”inactive”:5798,”free”:3029,”speculative”:2344}},
5. Why rolling back will NOT work.
You might think, what if I roll back to a previous version of Mojave like 10.14.5? In the past, this might have worked! It will NOT work when the issue is caused by BridgeOS. Apple has made it impossible to roll back the version of your T2 BridgeOS.
After you updated to 10.14.6, your BridgeOS was also updated. If you try to reinstall 10.14.5, this version will still work but the newer BridgeOS will still be installed. This is also why if you got your MacBook Pro replaced at the Apple Store, the issue could STILL be happening to you.
The only way you could get this to work is if you got ahold of a 10.14.5 system on BridgeOS version 16.16.5601 or lower.
6. Built-In FaceTime Camera
The crash ONLY happens when you use the MacBook Pro Built-In FaceTime Camera. It does not matter what you do. From the many reports that I have looked through, the crash could happen the very second you activate the camera or 2 hours after. Most of the reports seem to be from 10min to 1 hour of use.
7. Camera Software that causes the KP’s
The following software can cause your Mac to Kernel Panic
FaceTime.app
WebEx
Zoom
Slack
Google Hangouts
Skype
Teams
gotomeeting
BlueJeans
You get the idea, basically ANY application that uses the Built-In FaceTime Camera.
8. Workarounds
Most issues like this have some type of workaround. Sometimes a workaround is found by accident or after hours of testing. This time around a few users on the Apple Discussion Forums found at least one workaround.
Plug in an additional Web Camera. This could be a USB Web Camera or even a monitor with a built-in camera like the Apple 27″ ThunderBolt Display.
You don’t even have to use the secondary camera. For some reason with the second camera plugged in reports say that you can use the built-in FaceTime Camera without crashes. Found by user edgonz305
Run a Windows Fusion VM with Skype in that VM. The problem does not occur using integrated camera. This is not a solution for everyone, but for me it works better than using an external camera. Additional workaround from OaSOakover
You can prevent the crashes by just disabling video on the meeting. (This one is pretty obvious if you don’t need to use the FaceTime Cam)
macOS Catalina Beta may fix the issue. Reported by Commenter Dave!
9. Will Apple fix this issue? 10.14.6 Supplemental Update #3 ?
With the end of support coming up fast for Mojave, will Apple fix this issue? I think the answer is YES. This is coming from reports that Apple DOES know about the issue and is still investigating. My guess is that Apple will release one final Supplemental Update to fix this.
If you or any of your users are having this issue, please contact Apple Support.
Zoom Response -“We found it not only influences ZOOM but also FaceTime, Skype and other Camera involving Apps, we are still working with Apple to fix it but currently as a workaround, please turn off your video when joining ZOOM meetings or use external camera by USB.”
If you have any information on the 10.14.6 FaceTime Kernel Panic issue that you would like added to this article, please Contact Me.
Today Apple released macOS Catalina 10.15 (19A558d) Beta 8 to Developers.
This article is meant to save you time going through the notes to find what is new and what is still leftover from the last beta. I went through both Beta 7 and the new Catalina 10.15 Beta 8 (19A558d) release notes to find all the changes. Like usual, I also have included the entire patch notes list as an archive. When Apple releases the next Beta patch notes, the previous patch notes are overwritten and taken down.
Summary of Beta 8 Patch Notes
3 New Features
3 New Resolved issues
2 New Known Issues
4 New Deprecations
A Full List of changes is listed below, along with the full patch notes list.
Report your bugs NOW!
This may be the final beta left to test. The public Release of Catalina is only about one month away. You will want to get any bugs that you find into Apple now. If you get them in now, they could be fixed in the current beta cycle instead of waiting until after September’s release date. If you wait it could be months before the fix is put into a dot release combo update.
Keep in mind, I can only publish public data. If you are an AppleSeed for IT member you can access additional 10.15 Catalina Beta Patch Notes in the AppleSeed Portal. AppleSeed information is protected by Apple’s NDA.
Some fixes are not going to be listed. Many issues are from #MacAdmins who have filed FeedBack Requests and Enterprise Support tickets. Most of these issues are resolved but are never publicly noted.
1. New Features in Beta 8
SwiftUI – NSManagedObject now conforms to ObservableObject. The new @FetchRequest property wrapper can drive views from the results of a fetch request, and managedObjectContext is now included in the environment. (50280673)
SwiftUI – BindableObject is replaced by the ObservableObject protocol from the Combine framework. (50800624)You can manually conform to ObservableObject by defining an objectWillChange publisher that emits before the object changes. However, by default, ObservableObject automatically synthesizes objectWillChange and emits before any @Published properties change.// RoomStore.swift import Foundation class RoomStore: ObservableObject { @Published var rooms: [Room] = [] } struct Room: Identifiable { var id: UUID var name: String var capacity: Int var hasVideo: Bool } // ContentView.swift import SwiftUI struct ContentView: View { @ObservedObject var store: RoomStore var body: some View { NavigationView { List(store.rooms) { room in RoomCell(room: room) } .navigationBarTitle(“Rooms”) } } } @ObjectBinding is replaced by @ObservedObject.
SwiftUI – The RangeReplaceableCollection protocol is extended to include a remove(atOffsets:) method and the MutableCollection protocol is extended to include a move(fromOffsets:toOffset:) method. Each new method takes IndexSet instances that you use with the onMove(perform:) and onDelete(perform:) modifiers on ForEach views. (51991601)
2. New Resolved Issues in Beta 8
Apple TV – Support for signing in with an account from a different country is now available. (51240948)
iWork – Attempting to open iWork documents in Finder will no longer unexpectedly create a .cpgz file if the corresponding iWork app isn’t installed. (40693892)
Mac Catalyst – Fixed an issue where event handling in extension contexts sometimes produced unexpected results, including failure to deliver trackpad pinch and zoom gestures. (50145462)
3. New Known Issues in Beta 8
Mac Catalyst – Catalyst apps using UIDocumentInteractionController might quit unexpectedly. You can work around this issue by excluding UIDocumentInteractionController functionality with target macros. (48878552)
SwiftUI – Apps containing SwiftUI inside a Swift package might not run on versions of iOS earlier than iOS 13. (53706729)Workaround: When back-deploying to an OS which doesn’t contain the SwiftUI framework, add the -weak_framework SwiftUI flag to the Other Linker Flags setting in the Build Settings tab. See Frameworks and Weak Linking for more information on weak linking a framework. This workaround doesn’t apply when using dynamically linked Swift packages which import SwiftUI.
4. New Deprecations in Beta 8
EndpointSecurity – (Left over from last time as it was incorrectly noted that this was removed) The kauth API has been deprecated. (50419013)
SwiftUI – Complex overloads for the background(:alignment:) and border(:width:) modifiers are deprecated. Use shapes in a background(:alignment:) or overlay(:alignment:) to draw these instead. (53067530)
SwiftUI – The identified(by:) method on the Collection protocol is deprecated in favor of dedicated init(:id:selection:rowContent:) and init(:id:content:) initializers. (52976883, 52029393)The retroactive conformance of Int to the Identifiable protocol is removed. Change any code that relies on this conformance to pass .self to the id parameter of the relevant initializer. Constant ranges of Int continue to be accepted:List(0..<5) { Text(“Rooms”) } However, you shouldn’t pass a range that changes at runtime. If you use a variable that changes at runtime to define the range, the list displays views according to the initial range and ignores any subsequent updates to the range.
SwiftUI – Several extensions to the Binding structure are removed. (51624798)If you have code such as the following:struct LandmarkList: View { var landmark: [Landmark] @Binding var favorites: Set var body: some View { List(landmarks) { landmark in Toggle(landmark.name, isOn: self.$favorites.contains(landmarkID)) } } } Define the following subscript on the Set structure:extension Set { subscript(member: Element) -> Bool { get { contains(member) } set { if newValue { insert(member) } else { remove(member) } } } } Then, change self.$favorites.contains(landmarkID) to self.$favorites[landmarkID].
How to Restore BridgeOS on a 2018+ T2 Mac using Apple Configurator 2. How to Boot your Mac into DFU Mode
Did a macOS Update Brick your T2 Mac? I will Show you how to Boot your Mac into DFU Mode so you can Restore BridgeOS.
This article will go over how to restore BridgeOS on your T2 Mac. This is not something that you will ever normally have to do. Restoring or reinstalling BridgeOS firmware would only be needed in the following situations.
1. Failed macOS Upgrade
2. Failed macOS Combo or Delta Update
3. Failed macOS Security Update
4. Failed macOS Reinstall
5.Failed BridgeOS or Failed Firmware Update
6. “Command Option R” fails to boot your T2 Mac to the newest version of macOS Internet Recovery. (Example: 10.14 is out but the Mac boots to 10.13)
2. Warning about “Restore” Full Erase! Please Read
The new version of Apple Configurator 2 (2.12.1+) and newer has different options!
Actions > Advanced > Revive Device = Reinstall BridgeOS Only – Revive should be the first option to try. If a Revive does not work, move to the second option Restore.
Actions > Restore = Reinstall BridgeOS & ERASE OS AND USER DATA! – This option will reinstall BridgeOS and erase the SSD. This option is for more serious issues where the Mac does not respond after installing an update.
3. List of T2 Compatible Macs
This is a list of T2 Mac that you can can have BridgeOS restored.
2019-2020 16″ MacBook Pro
2018-2019 13″ & 15″ Macbook Pro
2018-2020 MacBook Air
2018 Mac Mini
2020 iMac
2017 iMac Pro
2019 Mac Pro
4. How do I find the BridgeOS Version on my T2 Mac?
From support.apple.com/en-us/HT203001 – “Choose Apple menu > About This Mac. This opens an overview of your Mac, including your Mac model, processor, memory, serial number, and version of macOS. To see the greater detail provided by the System Information app, click the System Report button.”
About my Mac > System Report > BridgeOS version = 17.16.10525
5. Setup and Cable Requirements before you begin.
You will need to meet the following requirements –
(The Host Mac will do the work and the Target Mac is the Mac you need to Restore)
1. USB-C Mac as the Host Machine.
2. The Host Mac must have at least macOS 10.13.5 and Apple Configurator 2.6 or newer installed. (Version 2.12.1 is the latest)
3. The Host Mac Must be on the same OS version as the Target Mac that you want to Restore. (Example – If the Target Mac is on 10.15 you will need the Host Mac to be on 10.15. If the Host Mac is on 10.14 you will get an error 10)
3. Internet access on the Host Mac – “You may need to configure your web proxy or firewall ports to allow all network traffic from Apple”
4. USB-C to USB-C Cable – The white Apple USB-C Charge will work fine.(USB-C Cable MUST Support Power & Data). Apple notes that a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 3 cable is not supported but I’ve tested it and it works fine.
5. The Host Mac can have the cable plugged in anywhere.
6. The Target Mac MUST have the USB-C Cable Plugged in to the Left Hand side USB-C port. This is First port in line (Port closest to the front of the Mac or trackpad) If you are still confused look at the picture below.
If you don’t meet all the prerequisites booting to DFU Mode or BridgeOS Upgrade might fail.
6. Download Apple Configurator 2
Download Apple Configurator 2 app. Version 2.6 or higher is required.
If you do not have Apple Configurator 2, you can download it now from the Mac App Store with this link.
With all the startup keyboard commands you can issue a Mac, booting into DFU Mode should be pretty simple right?
NOPE!
You have to follow a very particular sequence to get this to work. I have attempted to find the exact way to get this to work every time. Even then sometimes the system will refuse to Boot into DFU mode.
Me trying to get my T2 Mac into DFU mode without turning it off or booting into macOS.
Apple’s Instructions
You can find Apple’s instructions for booting into DFU mode here.
Apple’s instructions for booting your T2 MacBook Pro into DFU mode. Image: Apple Inc
8. My Instructions for the MacBook Pro & Air
Bottom line, it’s hard to get your T2 Mac into DFU mode. You could try Apple’s instructions 10 times and STILL not get into DFU mode.
Once you have meet all of the pre requisites above, follow the instructions below to get into DFU Mode every time.
1. The Target Mac must be OFF to begin.
2. Press the Power button and hold for 1 second.
3. While STILL holding power immediately hold down RightShift, Left Control and Left Option.
Hold down all 4 keys for 8 Seconds (count 1 one thousand) then let go of all keys.
You will not see anything on the Target Mac screen.
Keep an eye on the Host Mac’s Apple Configurator 2 Application. The App should say “Connect Devices”
When the Target Mac is booted into DFU mode correctly, the host will show a big DFU icon in Apple Configurator 2.
After you see the DFU picture pop up on the Host Mac you can let go of the keys.
DFU T2 Booting Instructions – Make sure the Mac is OFF. Hold down power for 1 second then also hold Right Shift, Left Control and Left Option for 8 total seconds then let go.
9. Instructions for the iMac (2020) & iMac Pro (2017)
The iMac 2020 & iMac Pro 2017 are a little different yet are super simple to get into DFU Mode.
1. Disconnect the power cord from the iMac Pro or Mac Mini.
2. Plug USB-C/Thunderbolt cable into the USB-C port next to the Ethernet Port.
3. Plug the other end into the Host Mac.
4. While holding down the power button, connect the iMac Pro or Mac Mini to power and continue to hold the power button for about 3-5 seconds
5. You should now see the DFU logo on the Host Mac.
10. Instructions for the Mac Mini (2018)
The Mac Mini 2018 instructions are close to the iMac Pro but the USB-C port that you need is next to the HDMI port instead of the Ethernet port like the iMac Pro.
How to boot a Mac Mini 2018 into DFU mode to restore BridgeOS – Image: Apple Inc
1. Disconnect the power cord from the Mac Mini.
2. Plug USB-C/Thunderbolt cable into the USB-C port next to the HDMI Port.
3. Plug the other end into the Host Mac.
4. While holding down the power button, connect the Mac Mini to power and continue to hold the power button for about 3-5 seconds
5. You should now see the DFU logo on the Host Mac.
11. Instructions for the Mac Pro (2019)
The Mac Pro 2019 instructions were just added to the DFU instruction guide.
How to boot a Mac Pro 2019 into DFU mode to restore BridgeOS – Image: Apple Inc
1. Disconnect the power cord from the Mac Pro.
2. Plug USB-C/Thunderbolt cable into the USB-C port farthest from the power button.
3. Plug the other end into the Host Mac.
4. While holding down the power button, connect the Mac Pro to power and continue to hold the power button for about 3-5 seconds.
5. You should now see the DFU logo on the Host Mac.
12. You made it! Apple Configurator 2 Steps
The hard part is now over. Now we can restore BridgeOS on the Target Mac. When you first open Apple Configurator 2 the screen will look like this.
This is what you will see if the Mac is NOT booted to DFU mode.
Once your Mac is booted to DFU mode, you will see this screen on Apple Configurator 2. You are now ready for the next step.
When you see a big DFU icon when your Mac is properly booted into DFU Mode.
13. Begin BridgeOS Revive
You are now ready to restore BridgeOS on the Target Mac. Click Actions > Advanced > Revive Device.
(DO NOT CLICK RESTORE YET) Only run Restore if Revive does not work. (Restore Erases your Hard drive!!!!!!!)
You will now see a warning message. Do you want update “iBridge” to the latest firmware version? You cannot undo this action. This means that once you update BridgeOS/iBridge you cannot go back to the previous version.
An updated Apple support document shows that we now have 2 different options.
Actions > Advanced > Revive Device = Reinstall BridgeOS Only
Actions > Restore = Reinstall BridgeOS & ERASE OS AND USER DATA!
AC2 version 2.11 – 2.12.1 ??? New Message that warns that the BridgeOS Restore will ERASE ALL OS AND USER DATA!
The message below is what you will see on at least AC2 version 2.10 and below. OR if you click Revive instead of restore.
AC2 Version 2.10 and below – Do you want to restore and update “iBridge” to the latest firmware version?
Click the Restore Button to begin. Step one will download the latest BridgeOS update from Apple.
Step 1. Downloading the latest BridgeOS from Apple.
Step 2. Unzipping BridgeOS
Step 2. Unzipping the BridgeOS Update.
Step 3. Installing BridgeOS Update.
Step 3. Installing BridgeOS
14. Finishing Up
If you would like to see more information you can click View and see a new activity window.
Apple Configurator 2 Activity window.
The entire process will only take about 4-10 Minutes. Most of the time is spent downloading the 400-600MB BridgeOS Update. The Unzip and Install parts only take about 1 minute each. When complete the Mac will automatically Boot up.
NOTE: with version 2.12.1, the entire process may never finish correctly and get stuck at the final part (probably a bug). Once your Target Mac is at the login window the restore is complete. The error that you might see is 0xFA5 (4005)
15. Can I Downgrade from a Beta Version of BridgeOS to a Production version? i.e Bug Sur BridgeOS to Catalina Version?
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.
The answer is YES, follow the link below for an explanation.
I can’t get my Mac to boot into DFU mode. This is the toughest part of the whole process as I mentioned above. Keep trying the steps I listed above. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts to get his to work.
You can use System Information to see if the USB-C port lists your Mac in DFU Mode.
System Information showing a Mac plugged in booted to DFU Mode.
BridgeOS Restore Error 79- The OS Cannot be restored on this device. The Operation couldn’t be completed. (AMRestoreErrorDomain error 79 – Failed to handle message type StatusMsg) [AMRestoreErrorDomain – 0x4F (79)] – If you get this error it means that the BridgeOS update has failed and is unable to complete. The system will be unable to boot. When powered on the screen will be black. The Mac will have to be brought to an Apple Store for Service.
BridgeOS Restore Error – The OS Cannot be restored on this device. The Operation couldn’t be completed.
BridgeOS Restore Error 10 – The BridgeOS Restore failed! This is most likely because the host Mac was 1 or 2 OS Versions behind the Target Mac. The Host and Target Mac need to be on the same OS Version.
If your Target Mac is on 10.15, then your Host Mac needs to be on 10.15.
The OS Cannot be restored on this device.
The operation couldn’t be completed. (AMRestoreErrorDomain error 10 – Failed to handle message type StatusMsg) [AMRestoreErrorDomain – 0xA (10)]
BridgeOS Restore Error 10 – The Host and Target Mac need to be on the same OS Version.
Host Mac and Target Mac Disconnected during restore. – Error 4005
The OS Cannot be restored on this device.
Gave up waiting for device to transition from RestoreOS state to BootedOS State. [com.apple.MobileDevice.MobileRestore – 0xFA5 (4005)]
BridgeOS Restore Error 0xFA5 (4005)
This error will come up when the restore process has been interrupted.
Or, you might get this using Apple Configurator 2 version 2.12.1, as the process never seems to complete properly. If the Target Mac awakes to the login window the process is complete even though the progress bar is at 100%. After unplugging the USB-C cable you will get the error above.
Apple Configurator 2 Reports RECOVERY instead of DFU Status.
Apple Configurator 2 Reports RECOVERY instead of DFU Status.
If you see RECOVERY this means that BridgeOS is unable to boot and is the default status when you power on the Mac.
Failed BridgeOS Restore due to OS Version Mismatch! The Target Mac is a previous OS i.e 10.14 trying to restore a 10.15 Mac, the update will fail with an Error 10
If the Mac already failed the Upgrade, it could already be in this status. If so, you can attempt a BridgeOS restore.
Configurator could not perform the requested action. Apple Controller devices do not support this action.
This means that you selected Actions > Update, which is not supported. You need to select Actions > Advanced > Revive Device
Apple Configurator 2 BridgeOS Firmware Download Location.
Thanks MrMacintosh Reader Max C for letting me know the location of the BridgeOS Firmware files.
