Apple Releases Fourth macOS Catalina Public Beta

[bluespider]

well, this is crap! tried to install this beta and it got stuck with a little less than 1/2 way through install.. rebooted.. now it starts to boot up then immediately shuts down.. My iMac is hosed... how can they release a "public beta" so destructive??/ wtf??? this sucks...

 

[MauiPa]

well, this is crap! tried to install this beta and it got stuck with a little less than 1/2 way through install.. rebooted.. now it starts to boot up then immediately shuts down.. My iMac is hosed... how can they release a "public beta" so destructive??/ wtf??? this sucks...

ummm, you interrupted the process, not Apple's fault. worked fine for me. Try this:


How to use macOS Recovery
Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold Command (⌘)-R or one of the other macOS Recovery key combinations on your keyboard. Continue holding until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe. Startup is complete when you see the utilities window:

1. Start up from macOS Recovery
To start up from macOS Recovery, turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold one of the following combinations on your keyboard. Command-R is generally recommended, especially if you never installed macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later.

Command (⌘)-R
Install the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.

Option-⌘-R
Upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.

Shift-Option-⌘-R
Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.

 

[AndrewWx]

I am one of the lucky ones. 30 minutes later I back up and running. (19A526h)

I lost my Hard Drive Icon. News does not seem to work either. But all in all not bad for a Beta.

 

[mdekker]

See some small improvements. For instance VirtualDJ was uninstalled automatically during installation of the previous betas and needed to be re-installed afterwards, while this time around it stayed where is was. Some npUplayer plugin was popping up in the previous betas every once in a while and this time around macos gave me the option to delete it the first time it popped up. On the negative side: still needed to hard restart my MBP13 2015 at the end of the installation (which took less than an hour BTW) and my system is still freezing after being idle for a while when logged on. The system keeps running as long as I don't log on or as long as I'm using the system while logged on. While being logged on the screensaver kicks in just right, but the system freezes way before it is supposed to go into sleep mode. Switching of the screensaver doesn't help. Removed all autostart apps from my account.

 

[aloshka]

I have tried enrolling and unenrolling several times. Still the software update dialog says, "requested update not found". I have also tried rebooting the machine but still no luck. Any advice? I'm running macOS Mojave 10.14.6

Did you ever figure this one out? There seems to be a large group of people having the same issue, but even reinstalls aren't fixing it. What machine you on?

 

[iMacian]

I'm so excited for one more year of security updates on my late 2011 MBP and then being completely obsoleted.Yay

 

[GadgetBen]

It would be interesting to know how old your Macs are for those people experiencing installation issues?

No problem whatsoever on all Betas for my new MacBook Air. The software is running well with only the occasional program crash/close on sleep/wake.

 

[adrianlondon]

Not had any issues installing the betas. Late 2013 MBP.

However, I've never seen on this forum such issues for previous OS versions, whereas there are multiple reports with these. My only guess is that the upgrades are doing things to people's photos or music libraries, or attempting to manoeuvre files around while encrypting / changing filesystem type / creating the logical partitions etc. Considering how wide-spread these day-long upgrades are, the Apple release notes are absolutely useless.

But then if a beta version can break apps such as Firefox without any mention of it in the release notes, I'm wondering whether they're actually being properly tested before being pushed out.

 

[macwinman]

Did you ever figure this one out? There seems to be a large group of people having the same issue, but even reinstalls aren't fixing it. What machine you on?

I'm not the person who originally posted, but I have some observations based on my own equipment.

I've been running public beta on my "Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014" for several weeks. Updated to public beta 4 yesterday with no problems at all. But earlier this week, I also bought a "15-inch, 2019" as my new primary system. I figured a new public beta was just around the corner, so I waited until v4 came out. On that station, I too am getting "the requested version of macOS is not available" when trying to upgrade from 10.14.6 to the beta.

So I went back to my 2014 Mac and used it to download the full Catalina installer, then used Terminal to create a bootable USB-C drive from the installer. Went back to the 2019 Mac, enabled booting from USB and booted from the external drive. Before I get to the option of installing macOS, I get a notice that "A software update is required to use this startup disk". The Mac has network access and tries to update the disk but "an error occurred installing the update".

In short -- and from a few other comments I've seen online -- it's looking like public beta 4 will not install on the 2019 MacBook Pro. Whether Apple deliberately disabled support for this model temporarily or whether this is an unintentional gaffe, I cannot say. I plan to post a Feedback Assistant report this morning.

 

[China1]

Mac mini 2012 with SSD + 16GB RAM.
Downloaded PB5 and install failed. Reboot to prev. build and says update failed, every time.

 

[jwm]

I'm not the person who originally posted, but I have some observations based on my own equipment.

I've been running public beta on my "Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014" for several weeks. Updated to public beta 4 yesterday with no problems at all. But earlier this week, I also bought a "15-inch, 2019" as my new primary system. I figured a new public beta was just around the corner, so I waited until v4 came out. On that station, I too am getting "the requested version of macOS is not available" when trying to upgrade from 10.14.6 to the beta.

So I went back to my 2014 Mac and used it to download the full Catalina installer, then used Terminal to create a bootable USB-C drive from the installer. Went back to the 2019 Mac, enabled booting from USB and booted from the external drive. Before I get to the option of installing macOS, I get a notice that "A software update is required to use this startup disk". The Mac has network access and tries to update the disk but "an error occurred installing the update".

In short -- and from a few other comments I've seen online -- it's looking like public beta 4 will not install on the 2019 MacBook Pro. Whether Apple deliberately disabled support for this model temporarily or whether this is an unintentional gaffe, I cannot say. I plan to post a Feedback Assistant report this morning.

I was able to install it on my 2019 MBP. It installed without a hitch, but iCloud sync was a huge pain as well as any app using iCloud. I decided to go back to a TM backup and will attempt again, but this time by performing a clean install and completely signing out of iCloud beforehand. Hopefully with better results.

 

[dancefreak]

I'm having the same issue on my 5K iMac 2017. It downloads, restarts, starts updating (black screen with white bar and Apple logo), but in two or three minutes I am on the login screen booting in the old version.

I have a 5K 2017 iMac as well. (i7/SSD/64 GB ram)
No issues at all with the install. Took about 20 minutes total.

 

[Chris The Bipolarbear]

Don’t do about you guys but I have a spare 2013 iMac 21” that I use for betas and i am finding this OS very unstable and one of the worse OS’s so far usually by now it’s starting to get more usable and stable at this point in the beta cycle. I personally think Apple are trying to make to many changes in one go.

 

[Pastormac1usa]

2015 MBA here. Install OK; starts a Time Machine backup and then freezes hard. Totally unresponsive and fan is at high speed. Restarted into Recovery & re-installed. Same result. There's a showstopper somewhere.

 

[bm5k]

Is there a direct download to the PB installer? My MBP can't seem to find the update (and yes, it's actually connected to the internet )

 

[drewallen]

ummm, you interrupted the process, not Apple's fault. worked fine for me.

When an install is stuck for 6 and a half hours at the same spot, it's much more likely to assume that something has gone wrong than that anything is going right.

Someone else mentioned it taking days, which is totally cool, Apple. I didn't need this laptop anyway.

PS Yes, I know what some of you are saying, "Well if you needed it, you shouldn't have tried the public beta."

And I get it, but it's one thing to try the beta, and have it force me to revert or something. But to technically be working, but then require my computer to be unusable for at this point an undetermined number of hours that's already more than nine, goes far beyond the normal risk of betas.

It's like they're inventing new ways for Betas to screw things up. Which is, at the very least, creative.

 

[xbjllb]

Anyone else remember the good old days when Apple would update their OS once every 3-4 years, and even then, the first versions to .6 were public beta tests and had problems?

A wise man once said "You get what you pay for".

 

[otter247]

I have tried enrolling and unenrolling several times. Still the software update dialog says, "requested update not found". I have also tried rebooting the machine but still no luck. Any advice? I'm running macOS Mojave 10.14.6

I have the exact issue and am also on latest Mojave 10.14.6. Please repost if you find a solution. Thanks.

 

[otter247]

Did you ever figure this one out? There seems to be a large group of people having the same issue, but even reinstalls aren't fixing it. What machine you on?

Me too - same issue. I'm using a mid-2015 MacBook Pro with latest release of Mojave.

 

[peter1wong]

Me too - same issue. I'm using a mid-2015 MacBook Pro with latest release of Mojave.

I have the same issue with MBP 2017 with latest release of Mojave 10.14.6.

 

[drewallen]

When an install is stuck for 6 and a half hours at the same spot, it's much more likely to assume that something has gone wrong than that anything is going right.

Someone else mentioned it taking days, which is totally cool, Apple. I didn't need this laptop anyway.

PS Yes, I know what some of you are saying, "Well if you needed it, you shouldn't have tried the public beta."

And I get it, but it's one thing to try the beta, and have it force me to revert or something. But to technically be working, but then require my computer to be unusable for at this point an undetermined number of hours that's already more than nine, goes far beyond the normal risk of betas.

It's like they're inventing new ways for Betas to screw things up. Which is, at the very least, creative.

For the record, I rebooted it (again), and then didn't touch and at some point overnight it finished the update.

I don't really notice anything new in the system that would or should have taken 12 times longer to install, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ at least my laptop works again.

 

[JDRN]

Me too - same issue. I'm using a mid-2015 MacBook Pro with latest release of Mojave.

This fix worked for me. https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOSBeta/comments/clb8at/the_requested_version_of_macos_is_not_available/

 

[macwinman]

Thanks to JDRN, I at least understand half of what's going on now. Someone at Apple goofed -- if your computer is not already enrolled in the 10.15 beta, the enrollment tool that's available to download now won't work. Here's why.

If you go to beta.apple.com, login and then attempt to download the "Public Beta Access Utility", the link is pointing to this right now:

https://beta.apple.com/sp/downloads/projects/1001260/downloads/1010768

Clicking that link will download a DMG file. Double-click on the DMG file to mount the virtual volume. If you "get info" on the package inside this volume, you'll discover it was last modified on 05/30/18 -- yes, not 2019. If you install the package, it will set your Software Update catalog to this (I substituted https:// with XXXXX at the beginning because this editor keeps turning it into a hotlink if I leave it there):

XXXXXswscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.14beta-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog.gz

Yes, this is the enrollment tool for the Mojave beta, not the Catalina beta. Oops! Want proof? Launch Terminal and execute this command to see where your Software Update is now pointed:

sudo defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate CatalogURL

You should see that "10.14beta" in the reply string.

Even though this installer is obsolete, you should still run it because it will create the SeedEnrollment file you need. Software Update will then check for updates and discover the "requested version of macOS is not available" since it's looking for the Mojave beta.

Once you receive that message, execute this command in Terminal to fix the the catalog location (again, where you see XXXXX substitute https:// because this board keeps trying to put a hotlink in the middle of my text!):

sudo /usr/sbin/softwareupdate --set-catalog XXXXXswscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.15beta-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog.gz

Check for updates again and you should now see the Catalina beta is available.

HOWEVER: for me, at least, all this did was allow me to download the latest beta installer onto my MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019). I tried using it to make a bootable USB installer disk so I could do a complete clean install -- booting on this USB drive still produces the error message about needing to update my installer disk. I can see it's attempting to download what it needs to update my disk but it fails halfway through.

I submitted a report through the Feedback Assistant for both of these issues. Of course, I'm just one of the horde who's sending feedback about the beta. Anyone with a bonafide connection to Apple may want to drop them a line that their beta enrollment tool has been incorrectly downgraded.

As for the other issue, I wish someone would figure that out so I can actually use the new computer I just bought.

 

[Basti1989]

Thanks to JDRN, I at least understand half of what's going on now. Someone at Apple goofed -- if your computer is not already enrolled in the 10.15 beta, the enrollment tool that's available to download now won't work. Here's why.

If you go to beta.apple.com, login and then attempt to download the "Public Beta Access Utility", the link is pointing to this right now:

https://beta.apple.com/sp/downloads/projects/1001260/downloads/1010768

Clicking that link will download a DMG file. Double-click on the DMG file to mount the virtual volume. If you "get info" on the package inside this volume, you'll discover it was last modified on 05/30/18 -- yes, not 2019. If you install the package, it will set your Software Update catalog to this (I substituted https:// with XXXXX at the beginning because this editor keeps turning it into a hotlink if I leave it there):

XXXXXswscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.14beta-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog.gz

Yes, this is the enrollment tool for the Mojave beta, not the Catalina beta. Oops! Want proof? Launch Terminal and execute this command to see where your Software Update is now pointed:

sudo defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate CatalogURL

You should see that "10.14beta" in the reply string.

Even though this installer is obsolete, you should still run it because it will create the SeedEnrollment file you need. Software Update will then check for updates and discover the "requested version of macOS is not available" since it's looking for the Mojave beta.

Once you receive that message, execute this command in Terminal to fix the the catalog location (again, where you see XXXXX substitute https:// because this board keeps trying to put a hotlink in the middle of my text!):

sudo /usr/sbin/softwareupdate --set-catalog XXXXXswscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.15beta-10.15-10.14-10.13-10.12-10.11-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog.gz

Check for updates again and you should now see the Catalina beta is available.

HOWEVER: for me, at least, all this did was allow me to download the latest beta installer onto my MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019). I tried using it to make a bootable USB installer disk so I could do a complete clean install -- booting on this USB drive still produces the error message about needing to update my installer disk. I can see it's attempting to download what it needs to update my disk but it fails halfway through.

I submitted a report through the Feedback Assistant for both of these issues. Of course, I'm just one of the horde who's sending feedback about the beta. Anyone with a bonafide connection to Apple may want to drop them a line that their beta enrollment tool has been incorrectly downgraded.

As for the other issue, I wish someone would figure that out so I can actually use the new computer I just bought.

Hi, Kudos for that! This solved the issue for me

 

[aloshka]

I'm not the person who originally posted, but I have some observations based on my own equipment.

I've been running public beta on my "Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014" for several weeks. Updated to public beta 4 yesterday with no problems at all. But earlier this week, I also bought a "15-inch, 2019" as my new primary system. I figured a new public beta was just around the corner, so I waited until v4 came out. On that station, I too am getting "the requested version of macOS is not available" when trying to upgrade from 10.14.6 to the beta.

So I went back to my 2014 Mac and used it to download the full Catalina installer, then used Terminal to create a bootable USB-C drive from the installer. Went back to the 2019 Mac, enabled booting from USB and booted from the external drive. Before I get to the option of installing macOS, I get a notice that "A software update is required to use this startup disk". The Mac has network access and tries to update the disk but "an error occurred installing the update".

In short -- and from a few other comments I've seen online -- it's looking like public beta 4 will not install on the 2019 MacBook Pro. Whether Apple deliberately disabled support for this model temporarily or whether this is an unintentional gaffe, I cannot say. I plan to post a Feedback Assistant report this morning.

I wonder if it has something to do with APFS. 2019 uses it, and I redid my macbook to use it as well. Does your 2014 use APFS?