This article is a running list of all known macOS Big Sur install / upgrade issues.
macOS Big Sur launched on Thursday November 12th, 2020. As with any launch of a product or software there will be issues. In the case of Big Sur, the problems started almost immediately. Users started to report download issues when trying to get Big Sur.
As the the week went by, more serious issues started showing up. If you are seeing a one of these issues, feel free leave a comment below.
macOS Big Sur Install Issues Table of Contents
UPDATED 2/14/21 – List of macOS Big Sur Installation Issues.
- 1. Big Sur Full Installer.app Download Problems – “Installation Failed Error Occurred while installing the selected updates.”
- 2. Big Sur progress gets stuck mid installation – Black Screen with Apple Logo stuck or stopped progress bar
- 3. Big Sur Install failing and bricking some older 13″ MBPro’s – Installation fails and the Mac has a black screen – Will not respond to any startup commands.
- 4. Big Sur stuck in endless boot loop. – Some users are reporting after a good install the Mac is stuck in an endless boot loop.
- 5. Slowness after upgrade to Big Sur – Other have reported that their Mac is very slow after upgrading to Big Sur.
- 6. Reinstalling macOS Big Sur on Apple Silicon –
- 7. Big Sur Upgrade Error – An error occurred preparing the software update.
- 8. If you can’t unlock settings in System Preferences Big Sur 11.1
- If more trending issues come in, they will be posted here.
1. Big Sur Full Installer.app Download Problems – “Installation Failed Error Occurred while installing the selected updates.”
UPDATE 11/27/20 – I’m still getting a bunch of people reaching out saying that they are still getting the error even after Apple fixed the issue! I have a fix for you via Hyram Hakkenbecker. You can download the full macOS Big Sur installer directly from Apple’s servers via Safari.
What this will do is download the entire InstallAssistant.pkg file. Install this package and it will put macOS Big Sur into your /Applications folder!
This issue started around 2:00PM CST on Big Sur Launch Day. Users started to see this error message when trying to download Big Sur.
If you would like more information on this issue, I wrote article on it.
mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-installation-failed-an-error-occurred-while-installing-the-selected-updates/
UPDATE!!!! 11/17/20
2. Big Sur progress gets stuck mid installation – Black Screen with Apple Logo stuck or stopped progress bar
This issue happens halfway through the Big Sup upgrade or install process. The Mac has already rebooted to the installer and is now on the progress bar. The problem is, something has gone wrong on the install and the progress bar gets stuck at a certain percentage and will never move again.
The progress bar looks to gets stuck at around 40% and will never move again. Below is a screen shot from MacRumors forum user plandersen.
What should you do if this issue happens to you?
- 1. First WAIT! Sometimes the install process takes time. If after a few hours pass and the progress bar has not moved go to the next step.
- 2. At this point, you have no choice but to power down. I know this sounds drastic, but you literally have no other choice. The good news is, this is also the fix. Many users have reported that this fixes the issue for them. After force powering down the Mac will come back up and and will boot right to Big Sur.
- 3. If the progress bar still comes up your problem might be something else. I recommend holding down shift for safe mode. If this works reboot again to see if you still get stuck. – support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/start-up-your-mac-in-safe-mode-mh21245/mac
3. Big Sur Install bricking some older 2013 & 2014 13-inch MacBook Pros!
UPDATE! – Apple has BLOCKED the ability to install macOS Big Sur on 2013 & 2014 13″ MBPros!
mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-11-0-1-20b50-released-to-block-install-for-2013-14-13-mbpros/
Out of all the reports, this one is the most serious. I do not throw around the “Bricking” term much, as it means that the Mac is usually DEAD. In this situation, if this issue happens to your Mac it will be non responsive.
The reports say that the install starts but after the reboot they get a black screen with nothing on it. Even if the user restarts they will still get the black screen. If they attempt to hold down option, Command R, Reset the Pram, SMC… etc nothing works. In this mode the Mac will NOT respond to any startup keyboard commands
Affected Macs known so far.
- 13″ MacBook Pro from 2013-2014.
What should you do if this issue happens to you?
In my option, this issue is 100% on Apple to fix for users. If an update or upgrade causes a Mac to become unusable they need to fix it at no cost to the user.
- Wait until a possible new fix comes in.
- Wait for a Service Program that will cover this issue.
- Bring your Mac into service. Apple so far is saying that you will need to replace the logic board. If they say it will cost you to fix the issue, ask for escalation. This issue is not your fault. A macOS update or upgrade should not BRICK your Mac!
- (WARNING this is a last ditch attempt. Try at your own risk!) Try disconnecting the I/O board.
Reddit user maknell wrote an great write up covering the issue.
Issue Links
- 1.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/jue7n5/big_sur_update_bricked_mid2014_13_mbp/
- 2. forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-big-sur-update-bricking-some-older-macbook-pro-models.2268438/
- 3. discussions.apple.com/thread/252040614
- 4. discussions.apple.com/thread/252033190
- 5. discussions.apple.com/thread/252033547
4. Big Sur stuck in endless boot loop
Other users have reported that after installing Big Sur, their Mac will be in an endless boot loop.
What should you do if this issue happens to you?
- 1. Try to boot into safe mode. Does the the Mac boot correctly? If so something installed on your mac is causing this issue. Maybe it’s an 3rd party application that has installed a Kernel Extension or a LaunchDaemon that is causing the issue.
- 2. Reinstall macOS
5. Slowness after upgrade to Big Sur – Other have reported that their Mac is very slow after upgrading to Big Sur.
I am starting to see a decent amount people say that after updating to macOS Big Sur from macOS Mojave or Catalina has caused a bunch of weird issues including slowness. The slowness is all over the system, including opening apps, Apple Menu and system preferences just taking a long time to load.
What should you do if this issue happens to you?
- Wait! It’s possible that spotlight search is currently indexing and can take some time.
- If after a while the system is still slow, open up activity monitor and click on the CPU or Memory tabs. Are any apps or processes taking very large amounts of memory or CPU?
- If so kill the process then check system performance.
- Still having issues after checking everything? Backup your data and perform a fresh install. I have macOS Big Sur running on a bunch of Macs even all the way back to the 2014 model. They all run very well. Almost all of them had a fresh install. This might be the way to go.
6. Reinstall macOS Big Sur on Apple Silicon Mac = An error occurred preparing the update. failed to personalize the software update. Please try again.
If you try to reinstall macOS on your new M1 Apple Silicon Mac you will get an error. The issue requires a 2nd Mac to fix!
I go over the issue in the article below.
https://mrmacintosh.com/reinstalling-big-sur-on-apple-silicon-macs-with-11-0-20a2411-error/
- Use a USB installer with Big Sur 11.0.1 to reinstall macOS
- Download the new macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 from terminal and then use that version to install!
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211983
macOS Big Sur install issues
7. Big Sur Upgrade Error – An error occurred preparing the software update.
If you attempted to upgrade to macOS Big Sur and you did not have enough free space on your hard drive the upgrade will fail! This will also leave you in an upgrade install loop. Even worse, if you have Filevault encryption enabled you will be locked out of your data!
Full report and fix > https://mrmacintosh.com/big-sur-upgrade-not-enough-hd-space-serious-issue-possible-data-loss/
8. If you can’t unlock settings in System Preferences Big Sur 11.1
If you can’t unlock settings in System Preferences If System Preferences doesn’t accept a valid administrator password when you click the lock to make changes, try these solutions.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203127
The post macOS Big Sur 11.2 – List of Install & Upgrade Issues UPDATED! appeared first on Mr. Macintosh.