Apple Releases macOS Big Sur 11.2 With Bug Fixes for Bluetooth, External Displays, iCloud Drive, and More

[Stella]

Hope the DVI cable issue is fixed. Complete PITA to fix.

It's a shame Apple doesn't let you disable the second monitor, without unplugging the video cable from the Mac entirely. Even powering off the monitor doesn't disable it...

 

[aleni]

Some nice discovery with version 11.2 and boot time after rebooting a MacBook Air M1: Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer boot in less than 2 seconds (in version 11.1 it took almost 20 - 30 seconds). Adobe Photoshop Beta only took about 3 seconds, and now only 1-2 seconds... Illustrator boot time is less than 5 seconds. Mimestream, a wonderful native Gmail client... less than 1 second! Pages, 1 second. Excel, 2 seconds. Word, 1 second.... its crazy!

You sure it was after rebooting the air? because it took longer for me after a fresh reboot. I can only get your numbers when I quit the application and open them again.

 

[MartinBo]

Issues with LG 5K2K Ultrawide got even worse with this update. Works only with DisplayPort version set to 1.2 -> "works" means you get blank screen or 30hz after each sleep/wakeup 😣

 

[Greigarious]

Anyone else having trouble installing? I am going from 11.1 to 11.2 on a 2019 MBP 16". Tried it twice now and it just errors out during the close down process at the very start and then shuts the computer down. If I press the power button then I get the black screen "your computer restarted due to a problem, press any key" etc and then boots into 11.1.

 

[Javier_gl]

You sure it was after rebooting the air? because it took longer for me after a fresh reboot. I can only get your numbers when I quit the application and open them again.

Sure, after reboot (and after the system optimization that the system performs in the first boot after upgrading to 11.2)

 

[mofei1]

Issues with LG 5K2K Ultrawide got even worse with this update. Works only with DisplayPort version set to 1.2 -> "works" means you get blank screen or 30hz after each sleep/wakeup 😣

I fixed my 30hz after each sleep/wakeup problem by installing switchResX.

 

[Stephen.R]

Hope the DVI cable issue is fixed. Complete PITA to fix.

It's a shame Apple doesn't let you disable the second monitor, without unplugging the video cable from the Mac entirely. Even powering off the monitor doesn't disable it...

I got a little hdmi 2-in-1-out switch so I can run one display from the mini’s otherwise useless hdmi port in case of egpu weirdness.

dvi ones are probably less common these days but should still be available.

 

[posguy99]

I had done that for years - install the .6 version of the previous OS when the new OS was released in the fall. Except this year - so far I have resisted going from Mojave to Catalina after the release of Big Sur due to the many comments here about how bad the final version of Catalina still is.

I still do that. I'd still be using Mojave except that I bought a 2020 MBP, which is only supported by Catalina and later. So I finally installed Catalina on my iMac in December to make things match.

Catalina on laptops is quite poor, the last one on which USB was semi-reliable was 10.15.5. It's amusing but not useful when you wake up a laptop and it proceeds to tell you it doesn't have a mouse and keyboard because internally the keyboard and the trackpad are USB peripherals.

 

[posguy99]

The 11.2 update did not solve the HDMI issue of M1 Mac mini. It is even much, much worse than with the 11.1 when connecting a display through the HDMI - besides the massive picture ghosting (which was before as well), the picture is flickering extremely ("HDMI of Mac mini M1 - Apple HDMI to DVI Adapter - Apple Cinema HD 23-inch Display/first generation").

Can I ask why in the world you are bothering with an HDMI conversion step when the end result is intended to be DVI? The Mini has DisplayPort out.

HDMI... just say no.

 

[posguy99]

Big Sur would break the fusion drive when upgrading from
Catalina. I’m still running Catalina on my 2014 Retina iMac.

I didn't say what you're responding to... while I have a iMac 2017, it doesn't have a fusion drive. I would never buy such a thing.

 

[thenightfly42]

But does it actually fix the problem of turning a 2017 iMac into a porridge-eating snail? Will it make my computer usable again?

My late 2015 iMac with a Fusion drive runs better on 11.1 than it did on Catalina. (Waiting a few days before installing 11.2.) Not to say that you aren't having a problem, just letting you know that it isn't universal.

 

[johnalan]

Very disappointed, my Macs are still KP'ing on reboot (https://apple.stackexchange.com/que...el-panic-on-reboot-no-checkins-from-watchdogd) - absolutely head wrecking stuff, even on the M1.

OK I've FINALLY been able to reliably reproduce this issue!!

* Install Ruby with Home-brew.

* Put Ruby in your path.

* Run "gem update".

* Reboot and you'll see the panic.


I don't think it's a ruby issue, but something that running the non-system ruby causes issues...

So weird.

I've rebooted say 25 times, and only on the 3 I ran gem, did I see the issue.

 

[MacMediaNet]

Can I ask why in the world you are bothering with an HDMI conversion step when the end result is intended to be DVI? The Mini has DisplayPort out.

HDMI... just say no.

Because there are two solutions only how to connect the Apple Cinema HD 23-inch Display to Mac mini M1. The first is "HDMI of Mac mini M1 - Apple HDMI to DVI Adapter - Apple Cinema HD 23-inch Display". The second one is: "USB-C of Mac mini M1 - USB-C to DVI Adapter - Apple Cinema HD 23-inch Display". Both solutions do not work - picture with ghosting and extreme flickering.

 

[posguy99]

Because there are two solutions only how to connect the Apple Cinema HD 23-inch Display to Mac mini M1. The first is "HDMI of Mac mini M1 - Apple HDMI to DVI Adapter - Apple Cinema HD 23-inch Display". The second one is: "USB-C of Mac mini M1 - USB-C to DVI Adapter - Apple Cinema HD 23-inch Display". Both solutions do not work - picture with ghosting and extreme flickering.

I'm not familiar with Apple's USB-C to DVI adapter, but something like this, rather than adapters?

 

[christcc2]

Finally dived in and made the jump to Big Sur last night.

I've got a 2019 13" MBP i7 1.7 / 16GB / 512GB, with a Sonnet Breakaway 550 eGPU containing an RX 5600 XT. Also running a Sonnet Echo 15+ TB2 dock with 2 internal SSDs, a RAID via eSATA, and a Drobo 5c.

Upgrade from 10.15.7 took an hour. Lots of reboots, black screens, stuck progress bars. Does anyone remember the Classic MacOS installers, that had progressive progress bars, and a label that told you every file/function that was being installed? (I was in elementary school/Jr high then). Could we go back to that sort of user feedback?

So far:

- System is responding faster
- eGPU / Metal acceleration is better
- CPU load with window server seems a bit higher
- Haven't gotten the auto switching of AirPods to work yet
- Still tweaking with visual settings - especially with TinkerTool
- RAM usage seems better by about 1GB less RAM being used at any time compared to Catalina
- I'm using Pock to customize my Touchbar and Haptic Touch Bar to add haptic feedback to the touch bar. Pock is working fine - though the latest version is a little less responsive switching from Pock's layout to MacOS' standard one. Haptic feedback is 50/50 - wondering if an update is necessary.

I'm glad I waited to 11.2, but I'm going to be doing some more extensive testing this week.

 

[jazz1]

Updating my Late 2015 iMac to Big Sur 11.2. As reported yesterday updated my M1 MacMini first.

As with the M1 MacMini this is taking a long, long, time. This isn't even counting the download time, which I know would be different for everyone.

Apple must be remotely rebuilding my iMac on a molecular level I shouldn't whine, I guess I'm lucky the 2015 is still supported!

 

[jazz1]

Crazy is the right word. A mess of black screens (of arbitrary duration) and various solitary progress bars is a terrible way of keeping a user informed.

It would be nice if Apple would at least provide screen by screen "manual" of what to expect. Or maybe they should change their saying, "It just works" to, "It just winks" for the screen blackouts during installs

 

[halofan56]

Uh it depends on your internet connection. I have a 1Gbps plan and it took 7 minutes to download it. Installed in 10 minutes. Done.

So you are saying after 7 minutes, the update was up and running in 10 minutes after? Do you have a Intel or M1 processor? Just wondering. I see you have a faster internet connection.

 

[christcc2]

So you are saying after 7 minutes, the update was up and running in 10 minutes after? Do you have a Intel or M1 processor? Just wondering. I see you have a faster internet connection.

It took me 15 minutes to download over 300mbps, and then close to an hour install. Intel.

 

[Phantom iCloud tabs]

Funny thing about this update is that it fixed a bluetooth issue that I didn't know I had. Currently running a late 2014 Mac mini that I occasionally connect a Bose bluetooth speaker to. For the past few years, the speaker disconnects almost immediately upon connecting it. I then have to manually reconnect, after which time it stays connected indefinitely. Since the speaker is about 8 years old, I thought it was a hardware issue. But after doing this 11.2 update, the speaker stays connected perfectly without any disconnects. So clearly this software update is addressing some bluetooth issues in the older Mac minis as well, even if accidentally.

 

[Maconplasma]

So you are saying after 7 minutes, the update was up and running in 10 minutes after? Do you have a Intel or M1 processor? Just wondering. I see you have a faster internet connection.

It downloaded in 7 minutes. That has nothing to with the M1. That's entirely between my internet connection and Apple's servers. I have a 16" MBP Core i9 with 32GB Ram. After the download it only took 10 minutes to fully install the update, so in total it was 17 minutes from download to being fully installed.

 

[halofan56]

I think you misread my post. I said that it downloaded in 7 minutes. That has nothing to with the M1. That's entirely between my internet connection and Apple's servers. I have a 16" MBP Core i9 with 32GB Ram. After the download it only took 10 minutes to fully install the update, so in total it was 17 minutes from download to being fully installed.

I got your 7 minute download, the installing part was my real question, that's what I was referring to. I have a late 2019 27" iMac with 64 GB Ram and it took me over a hour and 15 minutes. 20 minutes for download. the remaining time to prepare and install. That's why I was asking what processor you have.

 

[Anthony Sullivan]

Some of the world, it’s Tuesday not Monday.

So? That has nothing to do with it lol

 

[MacMediaNet]

I'm not familiar with Apple's USB-C to DVI adapter, but something like this, rather than adapters?

Unfortunately, it does not work. I tried something similar from Amazon and the result was the same - ghosting and flickering.
Interesting is that the HDMI connection had ghosting on 11.1 and after the 11.2 update there are ghosting and flickering. The USB-C connection has ghosting an flickering on both 11.1 and 11.2.

 

[Maconplasma]

I got your 7 minute download, the installing part was my real question, that's what I was referring to. I have a late 2019 27" iMac with 64 GB Ram and it took me over a hour and 15 minutes. 20 minutes for download. the remaining time to prepare and install. That's why I was asking what processor you have.

Ah well yeah the iMac and the MacBook Pro are two different machines so they are not sharing the same drivers. It may just take longer for the iMac due to the drivers, optimization and it may not be as fast since the 2019 iMacs don't have the T2 security chip. A great deal of the installation is on that chip since it manages much of the system. The 2018-2020 MBP's have the T2 security chip.