Is upgrading to High Sierra worth it?

[AdamA9]

Hello guys.

I have a 2013 rMBP which had every option added when I bought it. It it showing signs of ageing and I am wondering it upgrading to High Sierra from what I have is worth the hassle of clearing the macbook, installing the new macOS and then downloading all programs again?

Going from iOS10 to 11 I don't notice any difference except for the poor UI. Am I going to notice any difference if I go from Sierra to High Sierra, or should I just keep with what I have?

 

[DavidLeblond]

I'd wait. I installed it on my work Mac Mini and my home Mac Mini. On my work Mac, I had to end up wiping my partitions and starting over and at home I fortunately just had to re-install.

 

[redheeler]

You don't need to wipe to install, High Sierra can convert HFS+ to APFS and retain your data. The final release of High Sierra has been alright for me (which was a relief after the instability of the betas).

 

[dlopan]

It's still unstable with 3rd party SSD's and raid array's. Server sucks too

 

[campyguy]

Owner of my main driver late-2013 rMBP (16GB/1TB/dGPU), upgraded to HS after backing everything up. Zero issues, surprisingly. Also updated my 2012 i7 Mini Server (16GB/512GB Samsung 850 Pro with TRIM enabled+stock 1TB HHD) - also zero issues. Both units are running well, both updated to the new file system, both upgraded and not clean installations with the caveat that the Mini's SSD was a fairly recent installation and its data resides mostly on the untouched HHD.

I'm recommending holding off for now, however. I run my own company and can get a working PC or Mac in minutes from one of my safes. That Apple already seeded an update to developers just a few minutes ago leads me to offer that there's still something amuck with the new OS. I'm not updating any of my work Macs for some time, until all of the software we use is certified for HS. I didn't update iTunes on the Mini, still on v. 12.6.2 (and it works fine…).

I have noticed substantially better response with networking and Finder actions, especially file transfer/copy/duplication. I'm not regretting the decision. My 2¢.

 

[bbfc]

It's still unstable with 3rd party SSD's and raid array's. Server sucks too

Only the OWC ones. I have a Samsung EVO SSD and it runs perfectly fine.
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Hello guys.

I have a 2013 rMBP which had every option added when I bought it. It it showing signs of ageing and I am wondering it upgrading to High Sierra from what I have is worth the hassle of clearing the macbook, installing the new macOS and then downloading all programs again?

Going from iOS10 to 11 I don't notice any difference except for the poor UI. Am I going to notice any difference if I go from Sierra to High Sierra, or should I just keep with what I have?

What do you mean by signs of age? I have an early 2011 MBP with a Samsung SSD and 4GB RAM and High Sierra runs perfectly fine.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

I have noticed absolutely no difference.

 

[chfilm]

Absolutely NOT worth it right now, it only caused a ton of problems on my nMP with a dual display setup.
The only advantage that I saw was on my macbook pro tb, actually the battery life seems to have improved significantly! Also the Fullscreen Mail app Splitscreen view when composing a new mail is sweet! But that's about it. If you're on a macbook I would go for it for the battery life!

 

[AdamA9]

Only the OWC ones. I have a Samsung EVO SSD and it runs perfectly fine.
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What do you mean by signs of age? I have an early 2011 MBP with a Samsung SSD and 4GB RAM and High Sierra runs perfectly fine.

Just slowing down. Not as quick to run multiple processes now, things are generally running slower than they were, which is unsurprising considering it is now 4 years old.

I have noticed absolutely no difference.

I may leave it as it is for now then.

 

[maflynn]

I have noticed absolutely no difference.

Not seeing a difference may not be a good thing when upgrading.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your post, but if you're not noticing anything why bother upgrading then?

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Not seeing a difference may not be a good thing when upgrading.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your post, but if you're not noticing anything why bother upgrading then?

That’s kind of what I was getting at. Seems like unless you edit photos then there is nothing in this update for you.

 

[Hater]

Works great, faster than Sierra for me.

I have an Intel SSD installed, no issues.

Sierra to High Sierra is like Leopard to Snow Leopard, much less about "new features" and more about making the entire system faster and more stable.

 

[AdamA9]

If it's faster I'll do it. I have a 1tb ssd in mine. So if I can make the whole laptop quicker (it is slowing down), then I'll wipe it and start again.

 

[GuilleA]

I upgraded my Mac mini Server, the only feature I was looking forward in HS is Content Caching, as having multiple Macs, iPhones, iPads and Apple TV at home makes app downloads and system updates much faster since they only have to be downloaded once.

I won't be upgrading my main Mini since I'm running two SSDs in RAID0 and apparently there are problems with APFS and RAID, which should be resolved in later updated.

 

[neliason]

I upgraded my 2011 iMac with a HDD. I’ve had no major issues. The only problem is with Mail deleting emails with a Yahoo account. How do things like this get messed up? I’ve had some issues with Sierra (Time Machine not running, failure to wake from Apple TV). These aren’t huge issues (well TM is). But I was hoping it would be resolved. Other than that hope there was no compelling reason to upgrade. I just like having the latest and was hoping High Sierra, being more fix and improvements type release, would be a slight improvement.

That’s kind of what I was getting at. Seems like unless you edit photos then there is nothing in this update for you.

Or, if like me Photos has been stuck scanning for people for a year (or is it two now). There was some bug where Photos indicated it had more photos to scan but never made any progress. With High Sierra it finally completed.

 

[Transgredi]

The answer is simple - no. Too many bugs, it still looks like a beta product.

 

[bbfc]

If it's faster I'll do it. I have a 1tb ssd in mine. So if I can make the whole laptop quicker (it is slowing down), then I'll wipe it and start again.

How is it slowing down? Mine is 6 years old and with the new SSD it’s flying now (more RAM is my next upgrade). I can’t believe that after 4 years your MacBook Pro is slowing down.

 

[AdamA9]

How is it slowing down? Mine is 6 years old and with the new SSD it’s flying now (more RAM is my next upgrade). I can’t believe that after 4 years your MacBook Pro is slowing down.

The fans kick in during most processes now and sound like a shuttle launch. Opening applications is slower now than it was. Booting up is slower than it was. Generally switching between applications and performing tasks is slower now than it was.

I don't know how to prove this to you, but it is certainly slower and I'm seeing the coloured wheel a lot more now when loading/performing tasks.

FWIW I've not bothered with this update. Nothing in there that really excites me enough to go through the hassle.

 

[jagooch]

Hello guys.

I have a 2013 rMBP which had every option added when I bought it. It it showing signs of ageing and I am wondering it upgrading to High Sierra from what I have is worth the hassle of clearing the macbook, installing the new macOS and then downloading all programs again?

Going from iOS10 to 11 I don't notice any difference except for the poor UI. Am I going to notice any difference if I go from Sierra to High Sierra, or should I just keep with what I have?

Based on your requirements, yes. Any more questions?


That is a bit tongue in cheek., but I upgraded my iMac and Macbook to get the newest features and bug fixes. However, I upgraded both computers without wiping and reinstalling.

Is wiping and re-installting how you prefer to do upgrades , or is there another reason you don't want to do an in-place upgrade ?

 

[Mac Hammer Fan]

After reading several threads from this forum here, I am definitely not going to upgrade to High Sierra!
Tons of problems with APFS, slow boot times, slow writing and difficulties with video cards such as Geforce 980 and ATI Radeon 5870.
I stay with the previous 3 systems on several bootable SSDs.
Upgrading my 2 reliable Mac Pro's 4,1>5,1 to HS is too risky.

 

[dumastudetto]

Yes you must upgrade. High Sierra is rock stable, refined, tuned, optimised,and the very best version of the Mac operating system ever made.

You'll feel like you have a new Mac after you've upgraded.

 

[Honza1]

NO, do NOT upgrade...

HS seems to be (for me) barely usable. Enough issues which make me wish I had not upgraded, yet - first time in many many Macs and OSX versions. And I have 15inch TB MBP with top specs... And reinstalled 10.13 once and installed the supplemental update.
1. Speed: APFS is slightly ~15-20% faster reading (same speed writing) on encrypted drive. Yet boot and applications starts feel slower. Go figure...
2. Stability - crashes in graphic system - if I boot with external monitor, high chance the system will crash with solid graphics displayed on displays. Using APPLE dongles. Hard reboot required.
3. Stability - attaching a dongle (Apple dongle) at wrong time (like during wakeup or boot) causes general system hang and : Hard reboot required.
4. Apple applications - Mail seems to have various issues, none bit me too much, but I had some crashes and in general, Mail has regressed in speed and reliability. Do not use most others to know enough.
5. Applications - number of applications from independent developers seems to fight with OSX bugs. Some crash due to APFS changes (so sticking with HFS would fix this), some have issues with OSX bugs. I communicate with the developers and help them debug their beta versions - they are trying to find the bugs and persuade Apple to fix them. Ugly... Too many issues for comfort.
6. Battery life - reduced by about 25-50% from my Sierra battery life. Yes, I was getting 9-11 hours before upgrade with what I needed to do, so I am still in reasonable 6 or so hours. But significant regression.

I decided not to upgrade any of other family Macs until this gets all resolved.

First detrimental OSX upgrade which bit me in my b... Never had so many reboots and crashes. Seems like beta, not final release...

So, do NOT upgrade for now.

Of course, you may be lucky as some in this thread. The question is "why risk it"?

 

[fisherking]

the obvious answer here is... there is no obvious answer. some of us are having a good experience, others not. just like the OS's that preceded high sierra. so it's up to you whether you want to try it or not. and no reason to start over; i stopped doing that years ago, and all has been well (personally, i think it's a lot of unnecessary work).

but that's the other point: you have choices. make one, and work it out until you're happy.

 

[Fishrrman]

Perhaps the only way for someone to know if the High Sierra upgrade is "worth it" is to upgrade and find out.

BUT -- one had better have a cloned, fully-bootable backup of one's previous installation close-at-hand BEFORE attempting the upgrade. You can do this with either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.

Otherwise, one may find oneself "up the creek and without a paddle to get back"...

 

[AdamA9]

Based on your requirements, yes. Any more questions?


That is a bit tongue in cheek., but I upgraded my iMac and Macbook to get the newest features and bug fixes. However, I upgraded both computers without wiping and reinstalling.

Is wiping and re-installting how you prefer to do upgrades , or is there another reason you don't want to do an in-place upgrade ?

I have had my rMBP since 2013 and always just installed updates overtop of what I already had. As mentioned, my laptop is slower now than it was when I bought it (either because newer applications need more power, or because there's too much **** on here), so if I upgrade to HS, it'll be a fresh install, which is a pain.

So, my question was whether it is worth all the hassle, and from what I'm reading it doesn't seem so. I'm still on Sierra, and plugging along with the lag etc. knowing it just works.