Which macOS to choose?

[glenthompson]

Two quick items not mentioned. Do you have pop ups blocked? Is JavaScript enabled? Either of those might block seeing the TOS screen. Have you tried connecting with your phone? Does it connect? If so, compare the browser and network settings between the two devices.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Two quick items not mentioned. Do you have pop ups blocked? Is JavaScript enabled? Either of those might block seeing the TOS screen. Have you tried connecting with your phone? Does it connect? If so, compare the browser and network settings between the two devices.

There was this mention:

Browser providers constantly try and trick people by changing preferences, but as far as I know, I have "Allow pop-ups" turned on, although that shouldn't apply here.

@whiteboard If you want to verify:

Pop-up blocker settings, exceptions and troubleshooting | Firefox Help

Learn what pop-up windows are and what settings Firefox has for blocking or allowing them.

support.mozilla.org

Block or allow pop-ups in Chrome - Computer - Google Chrome Help

By default, Google Chrome blocks pop-ups from automatically showing up on your screen. When a pop-up is blocked, the address bar will be marked Pop-up blocked

support.google.com

 

[ian87w]

Hello. First time poster here.

I have an older retina MacBook Pro running macOS Sierra, and I am thinking it's time to upgrade.

I tend to be a "late adopter" and don't believe the "newest" == "best".

Which macOS would be a good one to switch to, that is drama-free and stable, but that will also last me for a couple of years considering how disruptive it is to have to upgrade?

Also, something that isn't a vast departure from how macOS Sierra works would also be good. (I thought I heard that Apple was trying to make all computers behave like iPads? God I hope that isn't the case!!)


Here are some stats on my rMBP...

- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
- Processor: 3.1 GHz Intel Core i7
- Memory: 16 GB 1867 MHz DDR3
- Graphics: Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB

Couple points from reading the thread:

For library wifi, like someone has mentioned, do note that these public wifi services are usually very slow since there are probably hundreds of people on the wifi access point. It happens a lot in public wifi places, Starbucks, hotels, etc. They can be so slow that even their own splash page couldn't load. So this could've been nothing to do with your laptop at all. If your laptop can connect to any other wifi access points just fine, then it could be the issue is just the library's wifi access point is too congested. Nothing you can do about it.

Another troubleshooting tip, install a chromium based browser. It's sad, but more and more web devs are basing compatibility off Chrome instead of HTML standard. Meaning many sites (even splash pages, those are web sites), tend to work correctly with chromium based browsers. Google Chrome is the obvious one, but you can also try Brave or Microsoft Edge. Leave it at default setting, make it your default browser and see if the splash page works.

As for macOS upgrade, imo you just have to check if you still use 32bit apps or not. If yes, go with Mojave. If not (all 64bit), go with Catalina. Quite simple. My 2012 mini is running Catalina just fine, so I bet your MacBook Pro can run it great since it has much better spec.

 

[whiteboard]

Two quick items not mentioned. Do you have pop ups blocked?

Pop-ups are allowed.

Is JavaScript enabled?

Yes.

Either of those might block seeing the TOS screen. Have you tried connecting with your phone? Does it connect? If so, compare the browser and network settings between the two devices.

I am clueless about my iPhone and just use it as a camera.

Have never used my iPhone to connect to Wi-Fi, but that was a good idea!

I was able to connect to the library's free Wi-Fi using my iPhone. I did get this tiny TOS page and after clicking "I Accept" then I was on their network.

All of this seems to prove what @iluvmacs99 was saying earlier - that there could be an issue with an outdated SSL certificate on my Mac.

Am at the library again today, and will try to install Mojave on my backup MBP and see what happens.

I haven't installed an OS in years - obviously! - so I hope this isn't too hard at least to prove/disprove the SSL cert theory.

 

[Boyd01]

You can just use the phone as a hotspot in that case. Use bluetooth sharing and that will take wifi out of the equation for the Mac and should answer the question of whether the problem is related to your version of MacOS. If it works acceptably that way, then maybe just go with it?

 

[whiteboard]

Couple points from reading the thread:

For library wifi, like someone has mentioned, do note that these public wifi services are usually very slow since there are probably hundreds of people on the wifi access point. It happens a lot in public wifi places, Starbucks, hotels, etc. They can be so slow that even their own splash page couldn't load. So this could've been nothing to do with your laptop at all. If your laptop can connect to any other wifi access points just fine, then it could be the issue is just the library's wifi access point is too congested. Nothing you can do about it.

Good point, however one of the reasons I love this library is that there aren't that many people here. And I suspect there are less than 5-6 people using the Wi-Fi at any given time. (Lot so families come in to get books, but this is not your standard "Internet cafe" type library.)

Last night after I left the library, I went out to my car and the best I could get was 2-bars on my iPhone.

I drove down the road a quarter of a mile to a gas station, and same issue.

Then I went over to an AT&T store and lamented to the store manager - who was a pretty cool guy - about my woes.

Of course in the AT&T store, I had 3-bars, so that didn't help.

He showed me how to reset my network settings, and I'm not sure if that helped, but I did have 4-bars in my car outside the AT&T store.

I think I checked it this morning when I went across town to a pharmacy, and there I had 4-bars.

Now back at the library, I am tethered to my iPhone, and I have 1-bar and sometimes 2-bars, and in my last two responses, my Internet connection has dropped 5 times in 5 minutes.

Not sure how this is possible, but apparently there is some blackout spot in a mile radius of this library which is VERY frustrating since that will never get fixed. (And which is why I need the library Wi-Fi to work!)

Let's hope Mojave fixes my issues...

Another troubleshooting tip, install a chromium based browser. It's sad, but more and more web devs are basing compatibility off Chrome instead of HTML standard.

That is sad.

Meaning many sites (even splash pages, those are web sites), tend to work correctly with chromium based browsers.

I didn't know this.

Google Chrome is the obvious one, but you can also try Brave or Microsoft Edge. Leave it at default setting, make it your default browser and see if the splash page works.

I'm still trying to understand how you can use Microsoft Edge on a Mac? I guess it isn't like Internet Explorer, eh?

As for macOS upgrade, imo you just have to check if you still use 32bit apps or not. If yes, go with Mojave. If not (all 64bit), go with Catalina. Quite simple. My 2012 mini is running Catalina just fine, so I bet your MacBook Pro can run it great since it has much better spec.

How can I easily do an inventory of all of my apps and determine if they are 32-bit or 64-bit?

As far as your advice about Catalina, it sounds like some earlier posters strongly advise against that!

I hope Mojave fixes things for the next year or two, and I'm going to start another thread about newer OS's, since it sounds like my conception of a computer OS is changing for the worse.

 

[whiteboard]

You can just use the phone as a hotspot in that case. Use bluetooth sharing and that will take wifi out of the equation for the Mac and should answer the question of whether the problem is related to your version of MacOS. If it works acceptably that way, then maybe just go with it?

@Boyd01, that sounds like a great idea, but being clueless about mobile and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth I don't understand what you mean.

It sounds like you are saying that I could connect my iPhone to the library's Wi-Fi - since it has up-to-date security certificates - and then somehow teether my MacBook Pro to my iPhone?

I know I have things really locked down on my laptop for security purposes, and I'm a bit leery of using Bluetooth - especially in a public space - since I hear it is very easy to hack.

Is there a way to maintain my privacy and security and do what you are suggesting?

And would there be a way to use a USB cable to connect my laptop to my iPhone and thus eliminate there being a Man-in-the-Middle attack?

 

[iluvmacs99]

You can just use the phone as a hotspot in that case. Use bluetooth sharing and that will take wifi out of the equation for the Mac and should answer the question of whether the problem is related to your version of MacOS. If it works acceptably that way, then maybe just go with it?

I thought Apple iPhone's implementation of the personal hotspot is only to share a cellular data connection via WIFI, Bluetooth and USB and only if the cell plan allows data sharing. Has this been changed to allow sharing of WIFI via the personal hotspot?

 

[Boyd01]

Hmm... good question, I assumed you could share wifi but not sure I have ever tried. You could be right. But yes, I think you can use a lightning to USB cable for internet sharing.

And this brings me back to my idea that seemed to offend the the OP.... find a cell provider that works inside the library and share that with your Mac with your phone. This is what I always do in public places. If you're concerned about security, don't use public wifi.

 

[Boyd01]

If I'm reading this correctly, you should be able to share wifi with another device. They talk about using bluetooth, but seems like it would also work hard-wired. Have not tried myself.

How to Share Your WiFi Password On an iPhone : HelloTech How

Learn how to share WiFi from your iPhone to another iPhone, an iPad, or a Mac running High Sierra or later.

www.hellotech.com

 

[whiteboard]

I thought Apple iPhone's implementation of the personal hotspot is only to share a cellular data connection via WIFI, Bluetooth and USB and only if the cell plan allows data sharing. Has this been changed to allow sharing of WIFI via the personal hotspot?

I can confirm that my AT&T mobile plan has a "personal hotspot" included, and so I can tether other devices to my iPhone's personal hotspot, but that "hotspot" is part of the AT&T cellular network.

For instance, I have 15GB of cellular hotspot data each month, whereas I have unlimited cellular data that I can use to surf the Internet/watch videos/listen to music on my iPhone itself.

It would be fabulous to be able to connect my iPhone to a public free Wi-Fi like McDonalds or Panera or a local library and then connect my laptop to my iPhone and "piggy-back" the free Wi-Fi, but I question if that is possible.

But again, my "personal hotspot" on my iPhone is a function of my AT&T plan's exta feature of having a cellular mobile hotspot which isn't what was suggested above.

Any ideas if that can be done?

 

[Boyd01]

The article I posted has instructions for sharing wifi. I did not read it closely however, and was a bit confused as to whether this is just sharing the password or actually sharing the wifi. Try it and see what happens....

 

[whiteboard]

The article I posted has instructions for sharing wifi. I did not read it closely however, and was a bit confused as to whether this is just sharing the password or actually sharing the wifi. Try it and see what happens....

Yeah, I read the article and it is definitely confusing.

Even though it alluded to "other devices", it seems to be written to share a Wi-Fi connection from one iPhone to another.

I did follow the instructions, but things didn't work.

 

[iluvmacs99]

If I'm reading this correctly, you should be able to share wifi with another device. They talk about using bluetooth, but seems like it would also work hard-wired. Have not tried myself.

How to Share Your WiFi Password On an iPhone : HelloTech How

Learn how to share WiFi from your iPhone to another iPhone, an iPad, or a Mac running High Sierra or later.

www.hellotech.com

I believe that’s only for WIFI password sharing which was introduced in iOS 11 between Mac and iOS devices.

 

[iluvmacs99]

Yeah, I read the article and it is definitely confusing.

Even though it alluded to "other devices", it seems to be written to share a Wi-Fi connection from one iPhone to another.

I did follow the instructions, but things didn't work.

WIFI password sharing only and not WIFI data from iPhone to Mac. I wish it would.

 

[Boyd01]

So, if a friend is visiting and you don't want to tell them your wifi password, you can "beam it to them" over bluetooth? Wasn't aware that existed.

 

[iluvmacs99]

I can confirm that my AT&T mobile plan has a "personal hotspot" included, and so I can tether other devices to my iPhone's personal hotspot, but that "hotspot" is part of the AT&T cellular network.

For instance, I have 15GB of cellular hotspot data each month, whereas I have unlimited cellular data that I can use to surf the Internet/watch videos/listen to music on my iPhone itself.

It would be fabulous to be able to connect my iPhone to a public free Wi-Fi like McDonalds or Panera or a local library and then connect my laptop to my iPhone and "piggy-back" the free Wi-Fi, but I question if that is possible.

But again, my "personal hotspot" on my iPhone is a function of my AT&T plan's exta feature of having a cellular mobile hotspot which isn't what was suggested above.

Any ideas if that can be done?

I don’t believe so as of now.

 

[iluvmacs99]

So, if a friend is visiting and you don't want to tell them your password, you can "beam it to them" over bluetooth? Wasn't aware that existed.

Yeap! Very handy!

 

[macsound1]

@Apple_Robert if you had to guess, do you think my problem with not being able to get a "splash page" at the library so I can accept their Terms of Service and thus use the lobrary's free wi-fi could be related to the fact that I am indeed running a pretty ancient version of macOS?

Or could it be something else like a hardware issue?

That is main reason I am looking to update my macOS, although I suppose security is a concern too.

My main guess for the Library splash page not working is you have a preferred DNS in your Network Settings.
Usually library and coffee shops initiate the splash page by doing a brief man in the middle to 1.1.1.1 or some other weird IP. If you have a preferred DNS then you'll never be able to route to the internal page.

I have a 2013 15" MBP with High Sierra and it feels like I'm going to need to upgrade to Mojave soonish because of support getting dropped from Safari for things like banking.
I have a 2013 13" MBP with Catalina and it's a little slow sometimes but only have 4GB of ram.
A 2014 13" MBP has Mojave but also 8GB of ram and is completely solid and isn't lacking any features from newer machines and also doesn't kill old apps that Catalina might try because they're 32bit.

 

[whiteboard]

Just installed Mojave from a bootable thumb-drive onto my secondary MBP.

I am now able to connect to the library Wi-Fi.

Looks like @iluvmacs99 had it right and this was an SSL certificate issue with my older OS.

(Am embarrassed that I never knew about this!) ?

So that sorta helps out, but now I have new problems...

First, I have to port everything over to a new install. (I believe you can just install macOS over your older version, but my experience has been that things never work as good as doing a fresh OS install.)

Second, I have a few apps that are 32-bit and short of finding replacements, I am stuck with Mojave.

Third, since it seems like Mojave is out of support in 3 months, that puts me in a tough spot. (Hate to have to go through this twice!)

Fourth, it sounds like I will be disappointed with Big Sur if it behaves more like a tablet or iPhone.


If you had to guess, do you think Mojave would be usable (i.e. supported) until at least Summer 2022, or is that optimistic?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Just installed Mojave from a bootable thumb-drive onto my secondary MBP.

I am now able to connect to the library Wi-Fi.

Looks like @iluvmacs99 had it right and this was an SSL certificate issue with my older OS.

(Am embarrassed that I never knew about this!) ?

So that sorta helps out, but now I have new problems...

First, I have to port everything over to a new install. (I believe you can just install macOS over your older version, but my experience has been that things never work as good as doing a fresh OS install.)

Second, I have a few apps that are 32-bit and short of finding replacements, I am stuck with Mojave.

Third, since it seems like Mojave is out of support in 3 months, that puts me in a tough spot. (Hate to have to go through this twice!)

Fourth, it sounds like I will be disappointed with Big Sur if it behaves more like a tablet or iPhone.


If you had to guess, do you think Mojave would be usable (i.e. supported) until at least Summer 2022, or is that optimistic?

After support ends, I see no reason why you can't keep using Mojave. Use a good adblocker, stick to safe sites to browse, and once a month use the free version of Malwarebyes to scan your Mac (takes a few seconds) for Malware. You should be fine until you want to do something in 2022.

 

[iluvmacs99]

Just installed Mojave from a bootable thumb-drive onto my secondary MBP.

I am now able to connect to the library Wi-Fi.

Looks like @iluvmacs99 had it right and this was an SSL certificate issue with my older OS.

(Am embarrassed that I never knew about this!) ?

So that sorta helps out, but now I have new problems...

First, I have to port everything over to a new install. (I believe you can just install macOS over your older version, but my experience has been that things never work as good as doing a fresh OS install.)

Second, I have a few apps that are 32-bit and short of finding replacements, I am stuck with Mojave.

Third, since it seems like Mojave is out of support in 3 months, that puts me in a tough spot. (Hate to have to go through this twice!)

Fourth, it sounds like I will be disappointed with Big Sur if it behaves more like a tablet or iPhone.


If you had to guess, do you think Mojave would be usable (i.e. supported) until at least Summer 2022, or is that optimistic?

Hard to know really when. You can install Big Sur on an external SSD drive and boot from there if you need it to connect to this library if and when Mojave no longer works. I'm curious as well since I use my MB Air as a travel computer running Mojave, though what I usually do is bring along with me my GlocalMe which is a global WIFI router as I rarely use public WIFI.

Fresh install is best. Use migration assistant to migrate over your stuff to the new install.

 

[whiteboard]

Hard to know really when. You can install Big Sur on an external SSD drive and boot from there if you need it to connect to this library if and when Mojave no longer works.

Does someone have a link to the full install version of Big Sur? (I don't want the one that just points to Apple's servers, but rather a download that will give me a 5-6GB file that I can keep backed up for future use, and which I can use to make one or more bootable installers like the Mojave one I found - which was a real life svaer considering I couldn't connect ot the Internet to try and download macOS!

Also, now that I have a working Wi-Fi connection at the library, how long do you think it will take to f=downlaod the 5-6GB full installer? And will that even work at a public library?

I'm curious as well since I use my MB Air as a travel computer running Mojave, though what I usually do is bring along with me my GlocalMe which is a global WIFI router as I rarely use public WIFI.

So that is sorta like my mobile hotspot but not tied to a cellular company?

How many countries does thatw ork in?

How much does it cost?

Fresh install is best. Use migration assistant to migrate over your stuff to the new install.

That is going to be a real pain because I have lots of software and configurations and that could easily take me a full weekend to get done properly. :-(

 

[Apple_Robert]

Does someone have a link to the full install version of Big Sur? (I don't want the one that just points to Apple's servers, but rather a download that will give me a 5-6GB file that I can keep backed up for future use, and which I can use to make one or more bootable installers like the Mojave one I found - which was a real life svaer considering I couldn't connect ot the Internet to try and download macOS!

Also, now that I have a working Wi-Fi connection at the library, how long do you think it will take to f=downlaod the 5-6GB full installer? And will that even work at a public library?




So that is sorta like my mobile hotspot but not tied to a cellular company?

How many countries does thatw ork in?

How much does it cost?





That is going to be a real pain because I have lots of software and configurations and that could easily take me a full weekend to get done properly. :-(

The full install file for Big Sur is 12GB. You need the one from Apple and you can store it on a large USB drive or external drive for safe keeping.

 

[whiteboard]

The full install file for Big Sur is 12GB. You need the one from Apple and you can store it on a large USB drive or external drive for safe keeping.

Is 12GB going to break my early 2015 Retina MBP? (I have 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.)

Also, do I stand any chance of downloading such a huge file at the library using Mojave?

(I am fearful my mobile hotspot won't be enough, plus I don't want to burn through a month's data for one download. And I am not "home" anytime soon, so no luck using a more reliable wired connection.)