Do I have to upgrade my MBP to High Sierra?

[beansbaxter]

I have a 2015 MBP running macOS Sierra 10.12.6 and I have no plans to upgrade to the latest macOS.

In light of these recent security vulnerabilities, is it in my best interest to upgrade to High Sierra?

I really do not want to upgrade.

Thoughts?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I have a 2015 MBP running macOS Sierra 10.12.6 and I have no plans to upgrade to the latest macOS.

In light of these recent security vulnerabilities, is it in my best interest to upgrade to High Sierra?

I really do not want to upgrade.

Thoughts?

No any fixes should be applied all the way back to any currently supported version of OSx it shouldn't make any difference. I can't see any reason not to update though there is very little that will run on sierra and not high sierra and it seems a pretty decent update to me.

 

[joefoong79]

Check macOS high sierra forum, then you will have your answer. Good luck

 

[mj_]

Apple is going to provide Meltdown and Spectre updates for Sierra as well but it will probably take them a bit longer. That's what's been happening the last few months (see root bug): first, they fix their latest and greatest OS and completely ignore anything older than that. Then, a few weeks later, they patch older releases that are still supported as well.

Might be their way of trying to get you to update to their latest and greatest, who knows. The bottom line is: be patient, make sure to install last night's Safari update (in case you use Safari) and wait.

 

[maflynn]

I really do not want to upgrade.

If apple provides updates for spectre and meltdown for legacy versions of macOS then you don't have too. If not then I'd recommend upgrading

 

[Fishrrman]

Question:
"Do I have to upgrade my MBP to High Sierra?"

Answer:
No.

"I really do not want to upgrade."

Then, don't. It's YOUR choice.

Personal opinon follows:
I see no need to have "the latest and greatest", when what I have is working well for me.
I find the all the fear and loathing about the latest so-called "security flaws" to be... well... much ado about nothing.

Three weeks ago, these "flaws" didn't exist.
Then, suddenly, they were "discovered" by some kind of "researchers".
But, in reality, what has actually -changed- from three weeks ago, to today?
The CPUs that were in place then, are still there.
Everything that was working three weeks ago, is still working.

Who has actually been affected or suffered damage from such flaws?
When such events actually -happen-, then I may worry about them.
Not yet.
Not now.

My opinion only.
Others will disagree.
Some may disagree vehemently.

 

[maerz001]

Question:
"Do I have to upgrade my MBP to High Sierra?"

Answer:
No.

"I really do not want to upgrade."

Then, don't. It's YOUR choice.

Personal opinon follows:
I see no need to have "the latest and greatest", when what I have is working well for me.
I find the all the fear and loathing about the latest so-called "security flaws" to be... well... much ado about nothing.

Three weeks ago, these "flaws" didn't exist.
Then, suddenly, they were "discovered" by some kind of "researchers".
But, in reality, what has actually -changed- from three weeks ago, to today?
The CPUs that were in place then, are still there.
Everything that was working three weeks ago, is still working.

Who has actually been affected or suffered damage from such flaws?
When such events actually -happen-, then I may worry about them.
Not yet.
Not now.

My opinion only.
Others will disagree.
Some may disagree vehemently.

What changed now is that it's public and sooner or later some hackers will try to get our passwords from unsafe devices.

And when it will happen to you than it's actually to late to worry.

 

[Fishrrman]

maerz wrote:
"What changed now is that it's public and sooner or later some hackers will try to get our passwords from unsafe devices.
And when it will happen to you than it's actually to late to worry."

If it happens, it happens.
This kind of "scare" brings to mind the same tactics used by the companies that sell virus-protection software.

"If you don't do this [buy our software]... you'll suffer this!"

Yet, when a new Mac user comes to the forum and asks "what kind of virus protection software do I need?", the answer is generally -- "nothing".

I've been a Mac user for 31 years now.
Never had a virus infection, EVER. And I don't use any kind of virus protection software.
I -did- have an incidence of malware once (from downloading a "WonderShare" app, I think) -- MalwareBytes got rid of that right away.

As I stated above -- when I see actual reports of folks having damages from these just-reported "security flaws" -- then I'll think about doing something about it.

Till then -- cue up the Alfred E. Newman image -- I'm not going to worry about it.

 

[kohlson]

Maybe not today, but someday you might look back on HS as The Best Thing Ever. That said, you may want to download (you don't need to install) HS and put it someplace where if you do need it, it's there. If the past is any guide here, once 10.14 is released, 10.13 will no longer be available to download - certainly by those who have never downloaded it.

 

[joefoong79]

Maybe not today, but someday you might look back on HS as The Best Thing Ever. That said, you may want to download (you don't need to install) HS and put it someplace where if you do need it, it's there. If the past is any guide here, once 10.14 is released, 10.13 will no longer be available to download - certainly by those who have never downloaded it.

Lol.....you know what you been talking right? Whose care about HS, when LS is available in 1-2 years in the future. What people known now is the HS had a lot of problem. They might be fix it in near future, but is gonna be late for new OS is around. “Best Thing EVer” happen to you, that was very funny. You make my day!

 

[badsimian]

I have always upgraded pretty promptly for all previous releases. I have tried 3 times now on my 2013 maxed out rMPB and rolled back via time machine to Low Sierra after each one. Even on 10.13.2 it is still suffering from freezing. The Apple forums are full of people having issues.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8101384?start=0&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8099625?start=0&tstart=0

There appears to be no common pattern to it and I rely on my machine for work so I am not touching it with a bargepole for a few more months yet.

 

[ZapNZs]

I was under the impression that El Cap, Sierra, and High Sierra have all seen some mitigations already pushed, with additional ones on the way?

 

[Howard2k]

I was under the impression that El Cap, Sierra, and High Sierra have all seen some mitigations already pushed, with additional ones on the way?

The communication had been poor. I don’t think any of the three are adequately patched yet. Considering the additional new security flaws in HS, I’m going to hang on to Sierra for a month until Apple get their act together.

 

[Spudlicious]

Maybe not today, but someday you might look back on HS as The Best Thing Ever. That said, you may want to download (you don't need to install) HS and put it someplace where if you do need it, it's there. If the past is any guide here, once 10.14 is released, 10.13 will no longer be available to download - certainly by those who have never downloaded it.

Sound advice. Create a boot USB installer for HS, I have one for every version back to Yosemite. Like many others I'm running HS on a 2015 Macbook Pro with no issues at all other than boot being a little slower than with Sierra, so I would advise the OP to give it a try. But always, always, you must be in a position to roll back if need be.

 

[Shamgar]

Apple pushes security patches for two major versions before the current OS. So currently El Capitan and Sierra are getting patched with all necessary security updates.

 

[imageWIS]

High Sierra is causing people to have image retention on their screens that never had it previously. I am having the issue on my Late 2013 MBP... I would hold off until Apple figures out Metal 2.