Still on Catalina, Should I Update to Big Sur 11.1?

[HappyDude20]

I've been trying to hold off on updating to Bir Sur for as long as possible, but I really want to do it now. I see Big Sur 11.1 is available and am wanting to install It on my 2017 rMBP, hoping for minimal bugs.\

Should I do it or best to wait another few months?

 

[hatchettjack]

I am running the 11.2 beta and love it

 

[jackietreeh0rn]

It is fine.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Wait if you can. 11.1 has a pretty major screensaver bug that makes your computer unusable if you get hit badly with it.

 

[decafjava]

Wait if you can. 11.1 has a pretty major screensaver bug that makes your computer unusable if you get hit badly with it.

Isn't that only with M1 Macs?

 

[TechRunner]

I'm running 11.1 on both a 2015 MBA and M1 Mini, and have had no issues so far. Of course, everyone's use case is different, and mine might not be triggering any buggy behavior.

 

[xnsys]

From personal experience, it's way more reliable and bug free than Shatalina ever was.

 

[webbga]

My only issue is that deleted mail does not go to trash (except iCloud mail). My FUSE mail goes completely away upon deletion. Other than that it is a decent upgrade.

 

[alien3dx]

nope. im reverting to catalina and hope shop install it.

 

[colourfastt]

I will say that I installed BS and ran with it for several weeks without any problems, BUT a couple of days ago it started throwing kernel panics regularly (including 3 in 1 hour!). I did a clean reinstall but some problem in the install caused Finder to freeze and it wouldn't relaunch, some unknown process (I could never find it) caused my fan to ramp up to high speed and stay there, and some other problem caused no browser to load pages or download files. So, I did another reinstall (not clean this time) hoping to "fix" whatever was corrupted in the initial install—no such luck, same problems. So, I ended up doing an internet recovery, and now I'm back on Catalina. I guess I'm going to stay on this OS for the foreseeable future.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Isn't that only with M1 Macs?

I saw someone mention it with an iMac. So no? Either way though, with showstopper bugs like that in a .1 release, I'd say it's not ready for prime time yet. Even if you aren't impacted by that bug specifically, that level of bugginess isn't indicative of a usable OS.

 

[thadoggfather]

From personal experience, it's way more reliable and bug free than Shatalina ever was.

First time I've heard this name. I like it.

 

[posguy99]

Do you need something from the Big Sur feature list? Then you might consider installing it. Otherwise, why would you? The .6 will eventually come and it might be worth bothering with at that point.

 

[bigchief]

I will say that I installed BS and ran with it for several weeks without any problems, BUT a couple of days ago it started throwing kernel panics regularly (including 3 in 1 hour!). I did a clean reinstall but some problem in the install caused Finder to freeze and it wouldn't relaunch, some unknown process (I could never find it) caused my fan to ramp up to high speed and stay there, and some other problem caused no browser to load pages or download files. So, I did another reinstall (not clean this time) hoping to "fix" whatever was corrupted in the initial install—no such luck, same problems. So, I ended up doing an internet recovery, and now I'm back on Catalina. I guess I'm going to stay on this OS for the foreseeable future.

Which Mac and year model are you using?

 

[arefbe]

I did just that, and haven't found much of a difference.

 

[Jack Neill]

All 3 Macs I've put BS on are faster and more stable than with Catalina. I only 1 have machine left on Catalina that I won't be upgrading or I would be saying goodbye for good to 10.15

 

[Chundles]

Big Sur has been a breath of fresh air on my late 2013 Retina 13”. It feels so much more responsive and reliable than Catalina ever did. Even wake from sleep and unlock with Apple Watch is dramatically faster.

 

[JohnnyWalker]

I've had BS for one day. So far so good. Some of the icons are hideous, though. Shockingly so. But the rest of it is nice, smooth and fast on my 2019 iMac.

 

[macswitcha2]

Does upgrading to a new macOS undo your settings?

 

[honestone33]

Does upgrading to a new macOS undo your settings?

It is better to do a clean, fresh installation of the new Mac OS, then migrate files, folders, settings, apps, etc. from a "source". That source can be your Mac, a Time Machine backup, or another backup. Myself, I use SuperDuper! for my backups, and I have always had success migrating all that "stuff" from my most recent SuperDuper! backup.

 

[honestone33]

I've been trying to hold off on updating to Bir Sur for as long as possible, but I really want to do it now. I see Big Sur 11.1 is available and am wanting to install It on my 2017 rMBP, hoping for minimal bugs.\

Should I do it or best to wait another few months?

I am running V11.1 of Big Sur on an external SSD, and it is fine. However, if you want to install it on your primary machine, you must do the following:

1. Make one final backup of your current system.
2. Insure that all your third party applications are compatible with Big Sur.

For #2, you can use this site to check on compatibility:

Application Compatibility Table — RoaringApps

Crowd-sourced application compatibility for macOS, iOS and Windows.

roaringapps.com

I myself have two critical applications that are not yet compatible, and thus that is why I am testing Big Sur on a separate, external SSD (separate from my late 2018 Mac Mini, which I am (happily) running Catalina on).

 

[Thoir]

I would wait. It’s horrible.
I regret ‘up’grading it to Big Sur. So manny issues.

The biggest is speed. Where I could fully use the Mac within 30 seconds to a minute. I now have to wait 5+ minutes to use.

And even then. Finder will show me the beachball and spotlight doesn’t work. iMessage crashes or won’t even start. I have to reboot often.

It’s too much work to ‘down’grade back at the moment.
Or if you can do it without loosing settings and data, I would love to know. Do it straight away.

(iMac late 2015 16gb fusion drive)
Edit: although I do have 11.1. These issues where from the start of installing Big Sur. I hoped 11.1 would’ve fixed it.

 

[CLS7]

iMac late 2015, 32GB, non-fusion drive (1TB SSD) running smooth on Big Sur. Over all, I like the OS except for the ugly folder icons

 

[mwidjaya]

I regret ‘up’grading it to Big Sur. So manny issues. The biggest is speed.

I did my research before jumping from Mojave straight to Big Sur. At least these 2 things to consider:
- Can your hardware run it well?
- Is it better to clean install?

(iMac late 2015 16gb fusion drive)

The above iMac is recent enough to be supported for Big Sur. Problem area is fusion drive. Big Sur doesn't do well on non-SSD.

If you get rid of fusion and upgrade to all SSD for main drive, you will see smooth running.

iMessage crashes or won’t even start. I have to reboot often.

Did you clean install? People that did that are reporting smooth sailing.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

At 82 I really cannot risk trashing my only source of communication, my 15" 2018 MBP, so am still on Mojave 10.14.6 which is still regularly updated by Apple and works lust fine so I think I'll stay with it for the time being. I regularly backup with Time Machine.
By the way, what is a "clean install".
Also, how do you run an operating system on an external SSD? Can you still run another SO on the computer?