macOS 11.2.1
According to Apple’s release notes, macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 addresses an issue that could prevent the battery from charging in some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models.
According to an Apple security support document, the bug, CVE-2021-3156, was addressed in the update by updating to sudo version 1.9.5p2. Apple has also fixed the bug in Supplemental Updates made available for macOS Catalina 10.15.7 and macOS Mojave 10.14.6.
A Full Installer of MacOS Big Sur 11.2.1 is not available yet.
Neither is a downloadable update or combo update.
Previously:
Update (2021-03-15): Howard Oakley:
The most infuriating point about the failure of the 11.2.1 update is that it occurs at the last moment before the update should be installed: in order for that to begin, on an M1 Mac (but not Intel models), the user has to enter their password. That’s when it falls apart, because no matter what you enter, the installer refuses to accept it, shaking its dialog and refusing to progress every single time.
[…]
Because of another bug in the 11.2 installation process, which leads to the copying of the existing user as well as creation of a new account, I’ve tried updating from each of those two accounts, with identical failures.
The workaround which I tested when trying to install 11.2 was to run the full Big Sur installer.
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An interesting Big Sur “feature” I have noticed is that virtual machines — at least those run by Parallels — never pick up on any updates: neither System Preferences nor the command line ever offer updates. The only solution is to download a brand-new installer from a Catalina machine, to copy it to all virtual machines, and to use it there, where it will place the machines into a “post-install” state requiring a run through Setup Assistant. Truly the stuff of nightmares.
Howard Oakley reports that the update is 4.2 GB for M1 Macs. The counterpart patch for 10.15.7 is 1.34 GB.
For a small security patch?
Absolutely absurd.
Came here to make the same comment as Ben Kennedy, although the patch on my M1 MacBook was ~3.5 GB. I miss the days when delta updates were <100 MB!
I have a 5 MBit/s internet connection at home, and I know a lot of people on crappy sub megabit DSL here in WA, once you get away from major cities. Just as Apple started assuming I/O is cheap because of SSDs (and murdered performance on iMacs/laptops with spinning disks), it now assumes that everyone can download massive updates to the Mac. Unfortunately, it's done so while removing the ability to download a combo updater elsewhere and apply it to multiple systems at home.
@F. - Yes, I've noticed the same with Big Sur VMware Fusion, except that one can download the full installer in a Big Sur VM by searching for "macOS Big Sur" in the App Store and initiating the download from there.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an 11.2.1 installer yet (not sure there ever will be one). Even if there were such a beast, it certainly is unsatisfactory to have to download a 12+ GB installer for what otherwise should be a relatively small update.
>Unfortunately, it's done so while removing the ability to download a combo updater elsewhere and apply it to multiple systems at home.
Doesn't Content Caching still work for this?
> Doesn't Content Caching still work for this?
@Sören - Sort of, kind of, but not entirely. Howard Oakley posted a very interesting article about this subject today: Big Sur, Software Update, Content Caching Server and M1 Macs
So, on the one hand, we have Apple overengineering a Merkle Tree-based concept of "sealed system volumes".
OTOH, who even needs digital signatures when downloading development dependencies from the Internet, right? YOLO. https://twitter.com/hmemcpy/status/1359478493386592267
Maybe a middle ground would've been nice.
