Is it worth updating Sequioa 15.5 to 15.7.7?

[Damselfly]

Hello all,

I'm totally new to Apple, & I've just purchased a brand new Macbook M4, 24GB, 512GB in Starlight colourway.

I'm not tech savvy at all, and just a typical 20 year old Girl so I'm sorry if this question comes over as ridiculous.

It's currently using Sequioa V15.5 and I like it a lot with no issues noticed, but I'm being prompted to update to 15.7.7.

There is also an option to change to MacOS Tahoa 26.5, but looking on YouTube, I'm not keen on the display, etc'.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade to Sequoia 15.7.7, or am I totally safe to stay on 15.5?

Many thanks.

 

[Bigwaff]

Is it worthwhile to upgrade to Sequoia 15.7.7, or am I totally safe to stay on 15.5?

Totally safe either way. However, press the little "i" circle next to "Other updates" (which include 15.7.7) and make sure Sequoia 15.7.7 is selected and Tahoe is unselected. Apple has been very sneaky in the last year about default selecting Tahoe. Also, press the little "i" circle next to Automatic Updates and make sure everything is disabled, otherwise, sneaky Apple will automatically upgrade your system to Tahoe.

 

[Damselfly]

Totally safe either way. However, press the little "i" circle next to "Other updates" (which include 15.7.7) and make sure Sequoia 15.7.7 is selected and Tahoe is unselected. Apple has been very sneaky in the last year about default selecting Tahoe. Also, press the little "i" circle next to Automatic Updates and make sure everything is disabled, otherwise, sneaky Apple will automatically upgrade your system to Tahoe.

Thank you for the reply.

Yes, I definitely don't want Tahoe & much prefer the look of the Sequioa OS that was already on this.

I will be very careful if updating & follow your instructions exactly, so thank you for the heads up.

 

[chrfr]

It's really not "totally safe" to stay on 15.5. Apple has issued several very important security updates since 15.5 was released, so updating to 15.7.7 should be done ASAP.

 

[Ben J.]

It's really not "totally safe" to stay on 15.5. Apple has issued several very important security updates since 15.5 was released, so updating to 15.7.7 should be done ASAP.

Disagree. This 'you must always be updated to the latest version because of security' myth has been with us since forever, but I never adhered to it, and I never saw any issue related to it. I've been on macOS 15.5 since last summer, and I agree with Damselfly; it may be the best, most stable system I've ever been on.

Having a day free, and for no special reason, I updated to 15.7.5 a couple of weeks ago, and everything is good. Whatever you decide, always have a backup! If you don't have a backup, stay on 15.5 until you get a good backup plan in place.

 

[chrfr]

Disagree. This 'you must always be updated to the latest version because of security' myth has been with us since forever, but I never adhered to it, and I never saw any issue related to it.

It's good that you've been lucky, but Apple doesn't release these security updates just because they feel like it. For instance, the "Darksword" and "Coruna" exploits which were recently patched allow for the compromise of all sorts of data just by visiting a malicious website. Apple found that significant enough that they even patched iOS versions that are otherwise out of support, and expanded the update to cover devices still on iOS 18.
Either way, it is demonstrably not "totally safe" to stay on older unpatched operating systems.

 

[mreg376]

Agreed. This old-fashioned "don't fix it if it ain't broke" does not really apply to Internet-based security vulnerabilities, unless you keep your Mac disconnected from the Internet. Cyberworld does not remain static, and if you live in that world you can't be static either if you want to be responsible. Sure, if you don't like the look of Tahoe stay on Sequioa, but keep up with all of that OS's updates, at least for as long as they are provided.

 

[blufrog]

There are many recent vulns whereby having the latest **puts you at risk** and running older stuff is NOT AFFECTED.

To answer the OP's question: 15.7.7 seems to be OK for the most part, but I have found that windows sometimes
"pop-under" under already open windows instead of "on-top" (e.g. contacts is active and start Safari; Safari sometimes opens under the contacts window).

Check SMB sharing BEFORE you update - I have a serious problem (with work-around) whereby a "Share Only" user can't connect to SMB shares because it can't be enabled for the user. Normal and admin accounts are not affected. The associated UI is also buggy (it duplicates all the users).

Other than this, I haven't seen any problems.

 

[SDAVE]

Hello all,

I'm totally new to Apple, & I've just purchased a brand new Macbook M4, 24GB, 512GB in Starlight colourway.

I'm not tech savvy at all, and just a typical 20 year old Girl so I'm sorry if this question comes over as ridiculous.

It's currently using Sequioa V15.5 and I like it a lot with no issues noticed, but I'm being prompted to update to 15.7.7.

There is also an option to change to MacOS Tahoa 26.5, but looking on YouTube, I'm not keen on the display, etc'.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade to Sequoia 15.7.7, or am I totally safe to stay on 15.5?

Many thanks.

Sure go for it. Generally later versions of macOS become really stable compared to earlier releases.

Also for you even Tahoe will be a good upgrade....unless you want to wait for the next version of macOS27 (which is supposed to be better than Tahoe and focused on performance.)

 

[macshmack]

15.7.7 seems to be OK for the most part, but I have found that windows sometimes
"pop-under" under already open windows instead of "on-top" (e.g. contacts is active and start Safari; Safari sometimes opens under the contacts window).

oh my days, I work with dozens of textedit files open and when I have to search for the one I just opened, say from spotlight or finder, it's driving me up the wall sometimes - is this a glitch or some setting gone off?