Apple Seeds Second OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan Beta to Developers - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Seeds Second OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the first OS X 10.11.6 beta and three weeks after the public release of OS X 10.11.5.

The OS X 10.11.6 update, build 15G12a, can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.

elcapitanmacbook
OS X 10.11.6, like OS X 10.11.5 and the El Capitan updates that came before it, appears to focus mainly on performance improvements and bug fixes. According to Apple's release notes for the first beta, OS X 10.11.6 improves the stability, compatibility, and security of Macs.

No outward-facing bug fixes or changes were found in the first beta but we'll update this post if any new features are discovered in the second beta.

Related Forum: OS X El Capitan

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....

Top Rated Comments

134 months ago
My sense is iOS, OSx, WatchOS, TvOS updates are in part, being rewritten in Swift. New Xcode development tools and improvement in Swift itself are part of Apple's development efforts going forward.

If my suggestion is true, this is a big deal -- a really big deal with the potential of exponential improvements in functionality, stability and cross-OS support.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T'hain Esh Kelch Avatar
134 months ago
[doublepost=1465286555][/doublepost]
That doesn't specify anything. Those are minors.
Ah, so you like an OS full of bugs. Got it.
[doublepost=1465286625][/doublepost]
My sense is iOS, OSx, WatchOS, TvOS updates are in part, being rewritten in Swift. New Xcode development tools and improvement in Swift itself are part of Apple's development efforts going forward.

If my suggestion is true, this is a big deal -- a really big deal with the potential of exponential improvements in functionality, stability and cross-OS support.
Highly unlikely. There's no incitament for Apple for rewriting those things in Swift, as it is still a language under strong development.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
134 months ago
El Capitan keeps getting updated, but there are at least 3 major bugs, two of them VERY major (and have been reported by several users here independently) that I've reported and confirmed with Apple, but they've not been fixed.

So if these updates have zero user-facing changes and don't fix the showstopping stuff, what are they for? Is it to give the illusion that Apple is focusing their attention and resources on OS X? Because based on the last few years, I really doubt it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
134 months ago
For 2016 MacBooks, it resolves the issue in the original 10.11.6 build where certain USB 3.1 devices would not mount. It was an issue in the 10.11.5 beta, fixed in the final 10.11.5 build, but reverted in the 10.11.6 original beta.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
134 months ago
Well yeah.. Nothing is perfect but I mean was there something huge that occurred with .5 that they needed to address? Or is this just another maintenance?
I'm guessing security and maintenance.

Plus, it looks like it's going to line-up with WWDC, so maybe something is hidden in there.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
134 months ago
I hope it fixes my wifi issue! :rolleyes::rolleyes:
So does Tim Cook.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)