2020 OS upgrades: iOS 14, iPadOS 14, WatchOS 7, Big Sur (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Nope

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I just upgraded my primary Macbook Pro (2019 16") to Big Sur.

I used the Developers version rather than the public due to the fact that the Developers are always 1 step ahead of the general release.

In the past, I have warned people about upgrading their OS X devices to beta as they are very buggy. Big Sur is no exception. The early versions were horribly unstable.

The reason I finally decided to upgrade is that one, many of my primary apps have just become Big Sur compatible. This was the big factor of holding off on upgrading.

Secondly, we are probably 4 weeks away from the final GM of Big Sur. At Developer Preview 11, I felt it was close enough to the finished product that I would take a chance on upgrading.

Now, to protect me, I used SuperDuper to completely back up my Catalina system in case something went horribly wrong, and then I could do a downgrade.

I am now three days into Big Sur DP 11 and everything seems to be running well. No issues with any software not working. I like the cleaner interface and new icons on Big Sur. The new OS seems to be a bit quicker than Catalina. I know that with each new OS that Apple releases they really do a good job of optimizing performance.

While I still wouldn't recommend putting a beta on your main computer, I would cautiously say that if you really have the urge to do it, we are close enough to the final release that you shouldn't expect any major issues. You, of course, should back up your computer to an external drive first before doing the upgrade.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

So I am going to reverse the course here...

After more than a week using Big Sur, I have downgraded to Catalina.

Big Sur was causing a lot of issues -- mainly constant kernel attacks that shut down my computer and when I thought I finally had that under control, Safari kept crashing with every reboot.

Now mind you, I was on the final Gold Master version and then the latest Developer Preview that was above that.

Most of the time my laptop ran fine. However, those kernel attacks combined with Safari crashes were just a bit too much to put up with.

I am going to stay on Catalina for the foreseeable future.

 

[Johnny Angell]

So I am going to reverse the course here...

After more than a week using Big Sur, I have downgraded to Catalina.

Big Sur was causing a lot of issues -- mainly constant kernel attacks that shut down my computer and when I thought I finally had that under control, Safari kept crashing with every reboot.

Now mind you, I was on the final Gold Master version and then the latest Developer Preview that was above that.

Most of the time my laptop ran fine. However, those kernel attacks combined with Safari crashes were just a bit too much to put up with.

I am going to stay on Catalina for the foreseeable future.

Kernel attacks? As in hackers? How did you downgrade?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Kernel attacks? As in hackers? How did you downgrade?

No, hackers have nothing to do with kernel panics. It is a shutdown when the system detects an internal error it cannot safely recover.

The downgrade is a bit involved. You need to create a bootable flash drive as well as disabling startup security protocols that Bug Sur puts in place.

Once I was able to get Catalina installed I used SuperDuper to transfer over the backup I had made before the upgrade.

 

[Johnny Angell]

No, hackers have nothing to do with kernel panics. It is a shutdown when the system detects an internal error it cannot safely recover.

The downgrade is a bit involved. You need to create a bootable flash drive as well as disabling startup security protocols that Bug Sur puts in place.

Once I was able to get Catalina installed I used SuperDuper to transfer over the backup I had made before the upgrade.

The word attacks is what made me think of hackers. I would have thought you could have restored with Time Machine in one step.

 

[dpippel]

Kernel panic is the correct term, and as Ron mentioned, they happen when the operating system encounters a fatal system error that it can't recover from, so it shuts down. When this happens on a Windows system, you get the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

Sorry to hear you had such major problems Ron! Makes me glad that I didn't install the developer beta.

 

[Mike Frezon]

My iPhone 11 is telling me that its going to install iOS 14.1 tonight...

<fingers crossed>

I'm at 13.7 now.

I'm looking forward to having a new way to organize my apps. I have never found it an easy process to move them around or create folders for them.

 

[DaveF]

So far, iOS 14 has been much less buggy / frustrating than iOS 13 was.

 

[JohnRice]

My only complaint is the iPadOS 14 tanked the Oppo app and I have no idea if it will ever be fixed.

 

[Clinton McClure]

My iPhone 11 is telling me that its going to install iOS 14.1 tonight...

<fingers crossed>

I'm at 13.7 now.

I'm looking forward to having a new way to organize my apps. I have never found it an easy process to move them around or create folders for them.

You may be disappointed then. The App Library is a mess and you’re probably better off creating folders and organizing apps manually.

 

[DaveF]

But it gives you more freedom to organize your most important apps front and center and send everything else to the corn field, err, app library. You know that they're not gone, but there's less effort to think about organizing apps you don't care much about. While I don't use the app library itself very much, it's been an improvement. My home screen is more interesting and more useful. A bunch of folders I previously had on teh second page remain. And a bunch of stuff isn't organized at all because I can search it up out of app library when needed.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I'm curious to find out. Hopeful it'll suit my needs and be more user-friendly. And its just delaying the inevitable to put it off anyway.

But it didn't download/install last night after all. Not sure why. When I get those notices it usually goes right through during the overnight and I wake up to a restarted phone.

 

[DaveF]

You don’t have to wait for overnight auto install. You can do it when it’s convenient for you.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I know. I've just been mighty busy lately and overnight is convenient for me!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Big Sur is out today

I am conflicted as to whether to upgrade for a second time.

As I had mentioned, I was using the Gold Master for developers (which is technically the final release) and I was getting kernel panics and Safari crashes.

However, I am anticipating that now that this is a mainstream offering, those issues may no longer be a concern.

I backed up my current Catalina configuration. I will probably upgrade again later today. Worst that can happen is that I downgrade to Catalina if it doesn't work out.

 

[dpippel]

7 *hours*? BWA-HA-HAAAA!!!!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Same problem. 8 hours for me and I have a 1GB incoming connection. Servers are bogged down. Will try late tonight.

 

[dpippel]

Same problem. 8 hours for me and I have a 1GB incoming connection. Servers are bogged down. Will try late tonight.

The estimate is up to 13 hours for me now.

 

[dpippel]

My download has failed three times now. Come on, Apple!