Mojave straight to Big Sur - experiences anyone?

[jz0309]

2017 iMac 27, 24GB, 1TB internal SSD, 1 TB external SSD, 4TB + 8 TB external HDD, latest Mojave security update
I've been pondering on this for a while now but after I saw the keynote with Monterey I've basically decided that I will want Monterey eventually and should start making the upgrade to Big Sur in the meantime.
I held on to Mojave primarily because I did not like Catalina nor what Apple had done with iTunes, plus a few 32bit apps that now I do not care about anymore.
Usage-wise, ~ 75k of photos in Lightroom with the actual photos on the external SSD (~740GB) and the index on the internal SSD.
iTunes library (~650 movies, ~10k songs) on external 4TB HDD (~ 2.3TB used)
Time Machine backup to 8TB external HDD

I'm sure some have gone straight from Mojave to Big Sur - how was that experience? Any learnings to share?

Also, thinking about getting a new 2 TB external SSD (Samsung T5 or T7) and would then get CCC to clone the internal and the external SSDs onto that

 

[pshufd]

2017 iMac 27, 24GB, 1TB internal SSD, 1 TB external SSD, 4TB + 8 TB external HDD, latest Mojave security update
I've been pondering on this for a while now but after I saw the keynote with Monterey I've basically decided that I will want Monterey eventually and should start making the upgrade to Big Sur in the meantime.
I held on to Mojave primarily because I did not like Catalina nor what Apple had done with iTunes, plus a few 32bit apps that now I do not care about anymore.
Usage-wise, ~ 75k of photos in Lightroom with the actual photos on the external SSD (~740GB) and the index on the internal SSD.
iTunes library (~650 movies, ~10k songs) on external 4TB HDD (~ 2.3TB used)
Time Machine backup to 8TB external HDD

I'm sure some have gone straight from Mojave to Big Sur - how was that experience? Any learnings to share?

Also, thinking about getting a new 2 TB external SSD (Samsung T5 or T7) and would then get CCC to clone the internal and the external SSDs onto that

I went from Mojave to Big Sur and had performance problems so I went back. I also upgraded an old MacBook Pro and it was a disaster but I think that system had security software that didn't play well with Big Sur. I'm installing Monterey right now to check it out as I've heard that it's GUI is really nice. I will be on it sooner or later as I plan to buy at least one M1X system this year.

 

[jonobin]

I went from Mojave to Big Sur and had performance problems so I went back. I also upgraded an old MacBook Pro and it was a disaster but I think that system had security software that didn't play well with Big Sur. I'm installing Monterey right now to check it out as I've heard that it's GUI is really nice. I will be on it sooner or later as I plan to buy at least one M1X system this year.

Still on Mojave myself and considering updating. Every person I've asked told me it all went fine but I have some work to do before updating and I'm still waiting. What kind of troubles Big Sur gave to you?

 

[pshufd]

Still on Mojave myself and considering updating. Every person I've asked told me it all went fine but I have some work to do before updating and I'm still waiting. What kind of troubles Big Sur gave to you?

Beachballs everywhere and slow overall performance.

 

[jz0309]

Beachballs everywhere and slow overall performance.

what HW was the on?
I'm running the latest public beta of Big Sur on my MBP (15" 2019 base model) and no issues ...

 

[iAssimilated]

I went from Mojave -> Catalina (for a couple of hours) -> Big Sur on my 2018 mini. Big Sur has been wonderful for me so far, no major issues and feels as fast (if not faster) than Mojave. The eGPU support is so much better on Big Sur as well (which is the primary reason I updated). With the specs on your Mac you should be fine upgrading.

I recently had to re-install Big Sur on my 2018 mini, which was a breeze with a time machine backup. I ended up getting a 2TB Samsung T5 for that sole purpose. With the re-install and restore from TM I was back up and running within a couple of hours.

You can run iTunes on Big Sur with Retroactive ( https://github.com/cormiertyshawn895/Retroactive/releases ). I've done just that on my 2018 mini and iTunes works beautifully!

 

[pshufd]

what HW was the on?
I'm running the latest public beta of Big Sur on my MBP (15" 2019 base model) and no issues ...

I think that it was due to old employer McAfee Enterprise.

 

[typ993]

I installed Big Sur over Mojave a couple months ago. While this went mostly fine, I'm still experiencing Bluetooth weirdness with a Magic Mouse/Keyboard (system slow to recognize input, repeated key input). Seems to especially happen when the system has recently woken from sleep.

I've also had some graphic weirdness where Mail windows/shadows are outlined in black and the screen will sometimes jitter going back and forth between Spaces.

This on a 2017 27" iMac.

 

[RusHayer]

I moved from High Sierra to Big Sur today. iMac 2017 4K 8Gb. My system is installed on external Samsung T5 SSD, because my iMac is stocked with HDD. I was really expecting that the system would work slower, but actually I see no difference. Finally I can connect my iPhone, because on High Sierra system asked me to update. And I used Finder to manage some files, made reserve copy (some of you still need iTunes. Why?). Overall, other than this and some cosmetic changes, I did not really see or feel any differences. I work as an news editor on website and had no problems with it during all my shift today (although I do not need many tools). I made copy of the system via CCC, but probably will stay on Big Sur.

 

[iAssimilated]

...(some of you still need iTunes. Why?). ...

Because some of us like how iTunes works.

Referring to the your specific topic though, I haven't plugged my iPhone into my Mac in years.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Upgraded all my devices in the last couple months, went awesome:

MacBook Air 2013
MacBook Pro 2017
Mac mini 2014 (x2)
Mac Pro 2013

I scanned all for 32-bit apps first and chucked em all. Performance has been fast and rock solid; the Air runs a little hot. I previously considered myself a heavy iTunes syncer and besides iOS devices being hidden from the sidebar at first, no other issues.

 

[jz0309]

I went from Mojave -> Catalina (for a couple of hours) -> Big Sur on my 2018 mini. Big Sur has been wonderful for me so far, no major issues and feels as fast (if not faster) than Mojave. The eGPU support is so much better on Big Sur as well (which is the primary reason I updated). With the specs on your Mac you should be fine upgrading.

I recently had to re-install Big Sur on my 2018 mini, which was a breeze with a time machine backup. I ended up getting a 2TB Samsung T5 for that sole purpose. With the re-install and restore from TM I was back up and running within a couple of hours.

You can run iTunes on Big Sur with Retroactive ( https://github.com/cormiertyshawn895/Retroactive/releases ). I've done just that on my 2018 mini and iTunes works beautifully!

why did you do the Catalina interim step?
While I have a TM backup, on my 8 TB HDD, I'm planning to do similar and get a 2 TB Samsung T5 and probably do CCC to clone my 2 1 TB SSDs ...
I'm not really interested in iTunes anymore, I initially hated the TV app on Catalina and the music app too, but, iTunes is now legacy and I'm not going to hang onto it anymore, learned that the hard way with Aperture ...

 

[jz0309]

I installed Big Sur over Mojave a couple months ago. While this went mostly fine, I'm still experiencing Bluetooth weirdness with a Magic Mouse/Keyboard (system slow to recognize input, repeated key input). Seems to especially happen when the system has recently woken from sleep.

I've also had some graphic weirdness where Mail windows/shadows are outlined in black and the screen will sometimes jitter going back and forth between Spaces.

This on a 2017 27" iMac.

did those issues occur on Mojave as well? if so, HW issue?

 

[Apple_Robert]

I made the leap on my 2017 MacBook without any problems.

 

[jz0309]

I moved from High Sierra to Big Sur today. iMac 2017 4K 8Gb. My system is installed on external Samsung T5 SSD, because my iMac is stocked with HDD. I was really expecting that the system would work slower, but actually I see no difference. Finally I can connect my iPhone, because on High Sierra system asked me to update. And I used Finder to manage some files, made reserve copy (some of you still need iTunes. Why?). Overall, other than this and some cosmetic changes, I did not really see or feel any differences. I work as an news editor on website and had no problems with it during all my shift today (although I do not need many tools). I made copy of the system via CCC, but probably will stay on Big Sur.

I do backup my iPhone in iTunes, got the "update needed" several times but it always updated. But I'm also ok to update using Finder. I prefer this over iCloud backup

 

[TiggrToo]

Took my 2015 MBP from Mojave to Big Sur. Zero regrets.

 

[haralds]

Consider installing on a second drive or partition (not Volume in the same container) and migrating your data. Then use it. I still have Mojave around,

 

[jz0309]

Consider installing on a second drive or partition (not Volume in the same container) and migrating your data. Then use it. I still have Mojave around,

hmm, interesting. Give that I have ~ 3.6TB of data spread across 3 different drives not sure how to do that to be honest. I am planning to get a 2TB Samsung T5 and clone my 2 1TB SSDs ...

 

[iAssimilated]

why did you do the Catalina interim step?
...

Big Sur was just released and I didn't know if I wanted to upgrade to it "right out of the gate". I was hoping Catalina would be mature at that point, but it didn't solve any of my issues with my eGPU. Games I frequently play actually looked and performed worse on Catalina then Mojave. I had only made the jump off of Mojave because the quirks with my eGPU kept getting worse. They worked well together until Mojave's last dot release and with every following released security update my issues seemed to compound. Thus the reason I upgraded.

 

[typ993]

did those issues occur on Mojave as well? if so, HW issue?

No, these are new since the Big Sur install.

 

[jz0309]

No, these are new since the Big Sur install.

that's disturbing

 

[ElectronGuru]

Put Big Sur on a high spec 15 MBP recently. Did a clean install to avoid any issues and even avoided migration assistant. If you do use MI, do docs and prefs only, apps will find it when reinstalled.

Long term there are a few more beachballs than I would expect from a clean install but nothing inconvenient. And I prefer the new interface, keep saying “why didn’t they try that years ago?”

Note: Music will not import iTunes folder as we are used to. But it will happily pull from old and new folders going forward. Just stick the whole iTunes folder in the main music folder. Then launch Music.

 

[jz0309]

Update: got a great deal on Prime day for a 2TB Sandisk Extreme SSD, actually paid $215, specs like Samsung T7.

So used this new SSD and used CCC to clone my internal 1TB SSD as well as the external 1TB SSD, worked fantastic (the 470GB internal cloned in ~ 25 min and the external 740GB in ~ 35 min), impressed with the speed of that SSD.

Then I created a new volume on my internal SSD "Mojave" and installed Mojave, plus copied a few 32bit games that I might use occasionally.

I then started the update process to Big Sur yesterday morning ~ 6:30am when starting my normal workout and the upgrade was completed ~ 1hr 15 min or so later (didn't pay exact attention). Everything worked just fine and no hiccups.

Neither Music nor TV recognized everything in my iTunes Library, but that was kinda messy a bit so I will go through a cleanup process at some point.

The most disappointing "feature" of the TV app is that it looks that all my ripped DVDs are not showing under "Movies" but have to be imported and then show under "home videos", I've tried to access on my ATV and it does show, just that Mojave/iTunes showed ALL movies under "Movies" - but oh well, everything is there and that is the important piece.

Now I'm ready for Monterey, I will install the public beta on my MBP when it comes out and then decide which version to install on my iMac after official release (12.0, 12.1, 12.2 ??)

 

[harriska2]

I got a cheap Samsung T7 ssd external (prime day $70 500gb) and will split the drive so half will ccc my internal ssd (on Mojave) and the other half to install big sur. I d want to touch my internal and just leave it on mojave. Not sure if it’s possible or if will mess everything up.

 

[jz0309]

I got a cheap Samsung T7 ssd external (prime day $70 500gb) and will split the drive so half will ccc my internal ssd (on Mojave) and the other half to install big sur. I d want to touch my internal and just leave it on mojave. Not sure if it’s possible or if will mess everything up.

If you boot from external you should be fine… you’ll have to download the Big Sur installer and use your external as the target install disk…
And, format it to APFS with 2 volumes