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

[ipoddin]

Cannot update to 11.2 on 13" M1 MacBook Pro.

I download it, click to install it, it prompts me for the admin password, I enter it correctly, and the dialog box just shakes. I re-enter the password, making sure it's correct, and same thing. I've tried the SMC reset and that didn't work. I tried creating another admin account to update from there, and that didn't work.

Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[bjjp2]

Completely solved laggy bluetooth issues here on 2017 iMac.

 

[steve333]

Same here, but I'm on a 2013 MBP so just thought it was age. What computer are you on?

2018 Mini with SSD and 16Gb RAM. I wish there was a way to turn off the website icons, that would solve the issue. I do notice that sites I haven't visited for a while have a different blank icon then before Big Sur.
Something just isn't right

 

[shpakdm]

My 16-inch i7 Macbook pro - has a stuttering cursor and typing delay - since its release - it happens on all versions of MacOs - I've seen tons of people with the same problem - so I found what the problem is really
Apple made a huge design mistake using Intel Coffee Lake generation processors(or power delivery design mistake for such processors) in the MacBook pro - if you turn off turbo boost on the processor - then the Intel HD 630 graphics glitches/cursor delays/input delay will disappear - well this is not our problem, Apple should have tested before selling now, we all suffer from interface/animation/cursor lag - so the solution is to turn off turbo boost - then input and cursor lag /stutteing will be gone.

 

[tangotw]

I downloaded the new macOS 11.2 Big Sur, and now my work outlook won't display images on Chrome. Anyone else having issues? Everything else works, but outlook isn't displaying images, just a broken photo.

 

[iLilana]

funnily enough I just fixed the admin password bug on a few of my clients' Macs by doing the SMC reset. then they fix it a week later? lol

 

[MacMediaNet]

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").

Unbelievable, I do not understand - I have not been using the Mac mini M1 for two days, I turned it on and the picture is correct, no ghosting, no flickering. (Big Sur 11.2, HDMI of Mac mini M1 - Apple HDMI to DVI Adapter - Apple Cinema HD 23-inch Display/first generation). It seems that Big Sur is unpredictable, it did not work correctly since the beginning, now it works, I did not change anything.

 

[Javier_gl]

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

Well, something broke again, because the new 1.9 versions take a long time to boot again...

 

[TheGeneralist]

M1 MBP with LG Ultrafine 5K external display here (TB3 connection).
11.2 improved the handling of the screen a lot, especially in wake-from-sleep situations.
Nevertheless, many, many other known bugs remained untouched.

 

[BradBishop]

Screen Saver bugs were not fixed in Big Sur 11.2

---

(e.g. arrow keys do not work like they did before, etc.)

When will this be fixed?

FEATURES STILL WANTED:
1. We used to be able to go "Back" and “Forward” to previously shown photos using the ARROW KEYS … when will this useful, but now broken, feature by fixed? In 11.2, when you hit the Back-Arrow, ScreenSaver is exit'ed instead of going Back to the prior photo.
2. Photos are not displayed randomly (currently, it only sorts thru some subset of saved photos), so what is the general algorithm used to select photos? I want to point the Screen Saver to randomly show ALL 100,000+ photos I have in PHOTOS on my Apple/Mac. How?
3. How can I delete or edit a photo shown on the Screen Saver? (need keystroke to go directly to that pic in PHOTOS)
4. How to re-set the time between pics displayed?
5. Need ability to display the filename of each pic on the Screen Saver (so we know which photo needs editing/deleting)
6. Need VIDEO's stored in PHOTOS to display also.
7. Where is the documentation for SCREEN SAVER?

P.S. I want to go to work for Apple as their "Product Manager" for the Screen Saver app to get it optimized. Apple would sell thousands/millions more computers for Kitchens and Family Rooms, worldwide, if they would just fix this one key app, then promote it.

 

[conductbri1]

Anyone else having problems with Apple Watch unlocking the mac after upgrading to 11.2 Everything was working fine, and now the watch can't unlock the mac. You try to select the button in the system prefs and it spins and tells you it can't connect with the watch. I think their bluetooth enhancement screwed it up. Anyone else have problems? Wonder if 11.3 will help the issue.

 

[TheGeneralist]

Anyone else having problems with Apple Watch unlocking the mac after upgrading to 11.2 (...)

No, nothing like what you describe on my M1 MBP with AW6, at least for now...
Unlocking the Mac, unlocking supported system preferences and unlocking supported 3rd party apps (1Password in my case) seems to work very well here.

Not so with all the Apple Tools: Apple Notes was lacking Apple Watch and Touch ID unlock for locked notes in 11.1 on the M1, and still no improvement in 11.2. This bug persists although Touch ID unlock is activated in Notes Preferences. On my iMac (still on 10.15.7) the very same thing works flawlessly with the same Watch (only Apple Watch unlock of course, as the iMac has no Touch ID).

 

[mobilemario]

AirPods still dropping sound

I am still having the same bluetooth issues I thought this was fixing. I guess there were many issues, but nothing has been fixed for me. My AirPods Max won't stay connected for very long to my iMac, the sound starts breaking up, until it eventually drops completely. Perhaps it's a combination of issues between 2020 iMac -> Big Sur -> AirPods Max? Anyone else still having issues?

Still having issues with sound dropping when using AirPods on the M1 MBA.
Magic Mouse/Keyboard/Trackpad are connected.

So frustrating.

 

[ssmed]

My Spotlight speed has been crippled since I moved my Mac mini (2018, quad core i3) to Big Sur. I rely on it so the problem is serious for me. While I see many comments about it in Apple discussions and elsewhere, there's no evidence Apple are planning to deal with it. The details I've seen about the latest Beta, 11.3, seem to confirm this.

Is anyone here aware of this problem and also optimistic about a fix?

I have had some issues with spotlight too. Better after reinstall

 

[attilakalel]

anyone still having issues with iCloud Drive not uploading files?

 

[Renderwarrior]

So, a week later... what about M1 and the BT problem? Is it fixed now? I'd like to move from my old Mini 2014 to a new M1 (and I'm planning to use the Apple keyb and the Magic Mouse 2 on it).
My only concern is about some plugins/apps not still ported to ARM, but I can still use them on the Intel Mini (or try with Rosetta and FCPX in compatibility mode). But the BT fixed is a critical part for me.
Thanks!

 

[Sovon Halder]

So, a week later... what about M1 and the BT problem? Is it fixed now? I'd like to move from my old Mini 2014 to a new M1 (and I'm planning to use the Apple keyb and the Magic Mouse 2 on it).
My only concern is about some plugins/apps not still ported to ARM, but I can still use them on the Intel Mini (or try with Rosetta and FCPX in compatibility mode). But the BT fixed is a critical part for me.
Thanks!

COmpletely. Haven't had one single lag, stutter or disconnect since 11.2 update. (I installed it the day it released)

 

[bw44]

Newbie here. I'm on Catalina MBP and have backed up fully. Started Big Sur download (4 hours estimated!) and am wondering: once the download completes, can I back up again before installing Big Sur and avoid having to download it
again (should it become necessary for some reason)?

 

[Sovon Halder]

Newbie here. I'm on Catalina MBP and have backed up fully. Started Big Sur download (4 hours estimated!) and am wondering: once the download completes, can I back up again before installing Big Sur and avoid having to download it
again (should it become necessary for some reason)?

If you want you can keep backup of the Big Sur installer itself.

Have the installer downloaded as you normally would. Then when it's downloaded, go to Applications folder and there would be an app-like file named "Install macOS Big Sur". Copy it to your preferred storage option.

Although you can find these OS images as standalone download from third party websites, with a bit of google search, it's usually a good idea to keep the OS installer for future use also, should you ever need to downgrade or fresh install etc. I myself have been keeping a copy of each OS since Sierra.

And FYI, you can create bootable usb installer using this one image and install Big Sur in as many computers as you'd like with that one USB. See this apple support tutorial.

 

[Stephen.R]

And FYI, you can create bootable usb installer using this one image and install Big Sur in as many computers as you'd like with that one USB.

The nice thing about this method is if you buy a ~32+GB flash drive and resize the macOS installer volume after it’s been prepared, you can add other macOS installer versions (eg Catalina + big sur etc) and then when you boot from it you get a choice in the boot menu with the icons of the various systems to choose.

quite useful if you (a) have some older Macs that can’t upgrade or (b) are likely to downgrade in the event of issues with a new major version.

 

[jagooch]

Thats what happens when you work from home.

I hope they fixed more things and didnt tell us.

Same! For my part, I’d like to see eGPU and FileVault work together. I have to open my macbook up to type in my password when I boot/reboot it with FileVault on.

It’sa small inconvenience, but still I would rather since I keep my Macbook Pro in a clamshell stand.

Every macos release I turn FileVault on, test rebooting, and turn it back off again.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Newbie here. I'm on Catalina MBP and have backed up fully. Started Big Sur download (4 hours estimated!) and am wondering: once the download completes, can I back up again before installing Big Sur and avoid having to download it
again (should it become necessary for some reason)?

Yes. Once it finishes downloading, exit out of the download window. You can backup again so that you don't have to download 12GB file more than once.

 

[Stephen.R]

Same! For my part, I’d like to see eGPU and FileVault work together. I have to open my macbook up to type in my password when I boot/reboot it with FileVault on.

It’sa small inconvenience, but still I would rather since I keep my Macbook Pro in a clamshell stand.

Every macos release I turn FileVault on, test rebooting, and turn it back off again.

I haven't upgraded to Big Sur yet to test it, but I'd have thought the additional APFS volume roles and the OS/Data split would allow for accessing the system part of the drive before the rest is decrypted by your password.

 

[chrfr]

I haven't upgraded to Big Sur yet to test it, but I'd have thought the additional APFS volume roles and the OS/Data split would allow for accessing the system part of the drive before the rest is decrypted by your password.

The FileVault boot behavior is not changed in the Intel Macs with Big Sur.

 

[jagooch]

The actual important thing is... is there a reason yet to bother installing Big Sur other than version-chasing? I still don't see one.

Everyone has their reasons.
Mine is hoping that they will fix compatibility between FileVault and eGPU’s.

Up to 11.1, it is still broken.