Apple issues third macOS Big Sur 11.2 RC to developers and public beta testers

Apple on Thursday released a third release candidate version of its upcoming macOS Big Sur 11.2 update to developers and member of the public beta program.

The latest RC arrives just three days after a second version was issued on Monday and six days following an initial RC build last week.

Developers can download the most recent Big Sur release from Apple's Developer Center or as an over-the-air update. A public beta versions is available for download from the Apple Beta Software Program website.

The macOS Big Sur update appears aimed mainly at introducing under-the-hood improvements and bug fixes. A significant change is the striking of a controversial "exclusion list" that allowed Apple apps and processes to bypass firewalls.

According to the release notes, the update includes fixes for the following issues:

External displays may show a black screen when connected to a Mac mini (M1, 2020) using an HDMI to DVI converter
Edits to Apple ProRAW photos in the Photos app may not save
iCloud Drive could turn off after disabling the iCloud Drive Desktop & Documents Folders option
System Preferences may not unlock when entering your administrator password
Globe key may not display the Emoji & Symbols pane when pressed

Both AppleInsider and Apple strongly suggest users avoid installing betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, due to the potential for data loss or other issues. Instead, the recommendation is to install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices and ensure sufficient backups of important data before making any major changes.

As usual, both AppleInsider and Apple suggest users avoid installing betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, due to the potential for data loss or other issues. Instead, the recommendation is to install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices and ensure sufficient backups of important data before making any major changes.

10 Comments

scottdj 3 Years · 1 comment

About 3 years ago

And hopefully this restores the calendar snooze funcitonalty that was removed. Why in the sam hell someone would intentionally remove that is freakishly asinine.

pulseimages 8 Years · 656 comments

I upgraded to Big Sur 11.1 the other day and the only bug so far was the update forgot my admin password which is nerve wracking until you find out the fix is simple.

swat671 9 Years · 157 comments

I wonder why they need THREE RC’s...? The entire reason you have a release candidate is because you think there are no more issues and the software is ready for release. The fact there were so many bugs that you needed 2 more RC’s makes me a tad bit nervous.

FrancescoB 5 Years · 17 comments

Bluetooth is majorly screwed in Big Sur currently. No mention of it here anymore. Does that mean the problem 'doesn't exists' according to Apple?

MacQuadra840av 4 Years · 207 comments

swat671 said:

I wonder why they need THREE RC’s...? The entire reason you have a release candidate is because you think there are no more issues and the software is ready for release. The fact there were so many bugs that you needed 2 more RC’s makes me a tad bit nervous.

That is not what 'Release Candidate' means. Candidate...meaning there can be more candidates if necessary. Don't confuse that with 'Golden Master' from the old days in which software was deemed final and ready for disc burning production. Release Candidate means Apple needs developers and public beta users to test a few more issues to make sure it is stable before final release.

Wouldn't you be more nervous if Apple released the first candidate only to find out later from the masses that a few bugs still needed to be ironed out? Then you would all be complaining about how the bugs were still present. Did you know that the RC of 11.1 was not the final release version? The released version of 11.1 had a later build number than the RC version. 'So many bugs'. How do you know? Typically the RC is pretty much done except for a few minor things that need final testing to determine if a few more changes are necessary.