macOS 11 - Big Sur

drogon. · 13-11-2020 3:57pm

Anybody else have issue where SideCar ain't working after BigSur Upgrade ?

Had issues with Apple Watch unlocking at first, but had to disable and re-enable the feature few times before it started working again

DubDJ · 13-11-2020 4:02pm

By far this has been the most awkward OS install for me. Ran into so many issues aside from the ones related to the outage last night.

I have a modern MacBook with the T2 security chip. What I wanted to do is completely format the SSD, and install a fresh copy of macOS 11 Big Sur.

After a lot of trial and error I found this to be the easiest and most efficient way.

1. Create an installer USB drive, easy enough to do Apple have instructions you can Google.
2. Boot into recovery with CMD+R and once it’s loaded up click the utilities menu bar on the top and choose ‘startup disk security’ or close to that name.
3. It will ask for your password, once you enter it you can select the option at the bottom to allow installs from usb stick.
4. Restart the Mac and hold down the option key, keep it held down and select the macOS installer usb as the startup disk.
5. The Mac will boot into the usb installer and from there you can reformat the SSD and then install the OS directly from the USB.

I ran into countless issues with every possible configuration going. I didn’t want to install an older version of macOS 10.X and then upgrade to 11 as I wanted a fully clean install. Because it had a T2 chip and I wanted to reformat and go straight to 11 it caused all those problems. Just thought I’d post here for anyone else thinking of going the same way, and for myself when I run into the same issues next time

Gregor Samsa · 13-11-2020 4:02pm

OU812 wrote: »

is there any way to get this installed on a system that's not supported natively.

It's claimed there is:

https://www.uubyte.com/install-macos-big-sur-on-unsupported-mac.html

do at your own risk.

The Black Oil · 13-11-2020 4:38pm

Installed it at lunch. It says 'verifying Microsoft Powerpoint' since the start. PP works fine. I'll try to restart and see if that gets rid of it.

Paddy@CIRL · 13-11-2020 5:06pm

Updated my 2018 MacBook Pro & Late 2015 iMac today without any issues so far. Feels a lot snappier, the subtle re-design is nice but feel like the notification centre, widgets etc. are a bit of a gimmick.

Doodah7 · 13-11-2020 10:33pm

Updated my late-2014 mini earlier without any issues. Took about an hour all-in.

I have an old mid-2012 MBP and I’m tempted to try the hack above. I assume that once installed, the machine will still get Big Sur updates as normal?

DubDJ · 13-11-2020 11:49pm

Fully upgraded and setup right now. Really liking it so far, the visual differences make the OS very modern. One or two small UI glitches I've noticed so far. The Mac login screen shows my profile image very blurred. Also, an external drive had the eject button beside it misaligned. Other than that I think I've figured everything out so far. Definitely a lot of changes and thing not where they used to be but liking it a lot overall.

CalamariFritti · 14-11-2020 10:30am

Installed it yesterday and so far I'm absolutely loving it.

Interface looks cleaner and a lot more up-to-date and modern. Seems there is a proper 'dark mode' now. Also loving the status bar additions.
What really stands out for me is that everything feels much snappier and faster. Safari seems to be flying compared to previous.

Anyone else think this too or is there some sort of side effect at play for me?

Gregor Samsa · 14-11-2020 8:39pm

It's definitely much snappier in general, but I'm really surprised at the difference in speed of page loads in Safari. There's alway claims of various updates claiming that they speed up a browser, but I never really see it, and have learned to take such claims with a grain of salt. This update really does improve page load times.

One case in point is Boards pages. Usually, I'm used to the page loading, then a few seconds later, the ad at the top of the page appearing. This pushes all the content down, so it means that if you try to quickly click on a link as soon as the page loads, it'll move down by the time you get your cursor to where it was. So you end up missing the link and maybe clicking on something you didn't mean to. This isn't happening any more - the whole page, including the ad, loads pretty much instantaneously.

The only thing I don't like so far is the slightly 3D icons. I think they should have them the exact same as the iOS ones. Flat and modern. Shadows and bevels feel like a throwback.

Widgets need a bit of work too. Obviously 3rd party ones aren't really available yet, but the Apple ones are lacking. Where's the battery one that's so useful on iOS? I've my MBP itself, AirPods, Magic Mouse and Keyboard to keep an eye on battery levels for - surely the standard battery widget would be ideal for this?

DubDJ · 14-11-2020 8:46pm

I agree about the icons also, they feel a little jarring. Also, there are some widgets missing I thought would be there such as a battery widget. And a new Home app widget would be welcome too, or at least control centre shortcuts.

5uspect · 15-11-2020 2:32pm

Installed without issue on my 16” last night. The new look will take a bit of time to adjust to but it does feel more responsive. Many of the headline features are already available in the latest Safari in 10.15 if you’re feeling the FOMO.

The persistent issue I’ve had with Spotlight spinning up all CPU cores when doing any basic maths seems to still be there but less severe somehow.

The bug where Mail pops open a window all by itself and grabs focus whenever it tries to reconnect to Google hasn’t reared its head so far.

I’ll probably put it on my office 2015 5K iMac soon. Catalina broke my thunderbolt ports, I wonder what damage Big Sur will do?

faceman · 15-11-2020 7:19pm

Doodah7 wrote: »

Updated my late-2014 mini earlier without any issues. Took about an hour all-in.

I have an old mid-2012 MBP and I’m tempted to try the hack above. I assume that once installed, the machine will still get Big Sur updates as normal?

Wondering this too. I’ve a late 2013 iMac. If I can still get updates I’ll do the upgrade

Simon201 · 15-11-2020 9:37pm

Doodah7 wrote: »

I have an old mid-2012 MBP and I’m tempted to try the hack above. I assume that once installed, the machine will still get Big Sur updates as normal?

Updated my (non retina) 2012 MacBook Pro as it’s not my main Mac. All working great so far! Love most things Apple but obviously the marketing department stepped in here and put their foot down! I used this site below to do it but for some reason I chose the current public beta so at some point I’d like to have it back to a normal release. I don’t think getting updates is as simple as with a supported Mac tho.

https://github.com/BenSova/Patched-Sur

17-11-2020 8:07pm

Successfully completed update of my 2018 mac mini. Will report back in following days how things are going

The Black Oil · 20-11-2020 6:07pm

When I originally installed Big Sur there was a message saying 'verifying Microsoft Powerpoint' that never went away or finished.

I updated Word and Excel earlier, tried to open them and they were bouncing in the dock, wouldn't open. Restarted the system and that sorted it, eventually.

TeamViewer still opens on login every time, even though I've told it not to.

whiterebel · 20-11-2020 6:31pm

Can't search in mail in big sur. Apple's quality control on software is becoming worse and worse.

25-11-2020 10:18pm

Installed Firefox 83 as first application in Big Sur. It won't open. hmmm.

biko · 25-11-2020 10:20pm

Had it a few days, no issues so far.

The Black Oil · 12-12-2020 9:36pm

Just got a notification prompt offering to tour my Macbook Air...I've an iMac. :pac:

DubDJ · 12-12-2020 10:12pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

Just got a notification prompt offering to tour my Macbook Air...I've an iMac. :pac:

Got the same one and I’ve a MacBook Pro. Must be a mistake on Apple’s side.

The Black Oil · 15-12-2020 1:43pm

11.1 is out.

JonMac · 15-12-2020 3:41pm

Following on to my separate thread posted 05-12, I've just had another instance where the iMac [Big Sur] wouldn't open after sleep. It was OK waking first thing, then when I next went to use it, it wouldn't accept my password.
I did a restart and it wouldn't boot up.
Learning from last time, I connected to WiFi and downloaded Big Sur, then restored from Time machine. That took 5 hours.
Afterwards several apps [eg Chrome] wouldn't open due to permission problems, so I had to download them. Seems OK now.
Now have 11.1

PropJoe10 · 15-12-2020 6:45pm

It's stories like that, that make me glad I'm still on Mojave

Utterly hassle free!

JonMac · 15-12-2020 6:53pm

Yes, I wish I had waited a few months.

drogon. · 15-12-2020 6:56pm

JonMac wrote: »

Yes, I wish I had waited a few months.

What year is your iMac ? Any chance you still have a regular HDD (or whatever the hybrid disk they sold them with) rather than SSD ?

JonMac · 15-12-2020 8:58pm

2019, fusion drive

JonMac · 15-12-2020 9:09pm

I really don't like 11.1. I can hardly distinguish what is on the screen. Any way to make it easier to see? Apple Maps is a disaster.

JonMac · 16-12-2020 10:46am

BTW, the crash broke Parallels Desktop and Windows 10. Still downloading.

Gregor Samsa · 16-12-2020 11:17am

JonMac wrote: »

I really don't like 11.1. I can hardly distinguish what is on the screen. Any way to make it easier to see? Apple Maps is a disaster.

What do you mean? Are you updating from 11.0.1, or from an older version of Mac OS X? Maybe a screenshot would help explain what display issues you're having.

Royale with Cheese · 16-12-2020 11:21am

I've a late 2016 MacBook Pro, pretty much maxed out specs. Maybe my laptop is just starting to show its age now but it feels like apps are taking slightly longer to open since I upgraded to Big Sur. I remember thinking that the computer was still absolutely flying for a near 4 year old laptop a few months back but I feel like it's slowed down ever so slightly now. I've bootcamp running on it and Windows seems to be performing the same as it always did.

JonMac · 16-12-2020 12:04pm

I upgraded to Big Sur about a month ago, it was fine. Then early this month it crashed and I re-installed it - fine.
Yesterday it crashed again and I re-installed it and it was 11.1. It had not transferred the settings from 11.0
I googled and found that I could adjust the screen in system preferences> accessibility. I have now managed to get the screen so it is legible.
I don't know why 11.1 started up with the settings that it did, but I didn't like them!

JonMac · 19-12-2020 10:58am

FYI. Parallels Desktop does like Big Sur 11.1. It won't connect to the internet.
Parallels form has others with same result.
I booted up with a clone with 11.0.1 and Parallels worked fine.

The Black Oil · 07-01-2021 4:39pm

Dunno if this is a Big Sur thing or was there before. Is there some way of stopping PDF files opening in System Viewer and only open in Adobe Reader? I do have them set to default for AR. This happens when I download them in Firefox, open the Downloads thing, double click and it sees as a PDF (red and white logo, etc), but still won't open them in AR, only if I go through Finder will it do so.

The Black Oil · 01-02-2021 8:11pm

11.2 is out.

Gregor Samsa · 03-02-2021 10:58am

The Black Oil wrote: »

Dunno if this is a Big Sur thing or was there before. Is there some way of stopping PDF files opening in System Viewer and only open in Adobe Reader? I do have them set to default for AR. This happens when I download them in Firefox, open the Downloads thing, double click and it sees as a PDF (red and white logo, etc), but still won't open them in AR, only if I go through Finder will it do so.

I'm not in front of FF on my Mac to check this, but I think there's a setting in FF to allow you to choose what app to open particular file types from the download strip.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/change-firefox-behavior-when-open-file

The Black Oil · 03-02-2021 6:21pm

That did the trick, thank you.

The Black Oil · 10-02-2021 3:24pm

11.2.1 is out.

The Black Oil · 10-03-2021 1:10pm

11.2.3 is out.

The Black Oil · 27-04-2021 5:27pm

11.3 is out.

The Black Oil · 21-07-2021 10:41pm

11.5 is out.

OU812 · 22-07-2021 12:04am

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/115274748#Comment_115274748

Weirdly, the MacBook was in range & now happily running 11.5.

Even weirder, the iMac wouldn’t upgrade on the internal hard drive, however, I recently added an external SSD as the boot drive and it installed no problem and runs perfectly (just upgraded to 11.5). No other difference in the machine.

The Black Oil · 20-09-2021 8:13pm

11.6 is out, as is Safari 15.

Doodah7 · 22-09-2021 8:21am

I see the same awful UI for bookmarks has come across from IOS as well as the stupid colour changing menu bar. Straight back to grey in Settings but thank you!

The only positive of the new Safari on IOS was I came across an extension called Hush. It automatically blocks all of those cookie acceptance pop-ups that appear on every single page I visit. It also works on the Mac version. (I've added a link to this app to the sticky at the top of the forum).

Sad Professor · 25-09-2021 9:37am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117922421#Comment_117922421

Cookie pop-ups drive me mad so I am giving Hush a try at the moment. Sadly though it seems to suffer from the same problem as many ad blockers: blocking the pop-up breaks many websites, so you have to reload without content blockers and accept the cookies anyway.

macOS 11 - Big Sur

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