Apple Releases macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 With Fix for MacBook Pro Charging Issue [Updated]

Apple today released macOS Big Sur 11.2.1, the third update to the macOS Big Sur operating system that launched in November. macOS Big Sur‌ 11.2.1 comes a little over a week after the release of macOS 11.2.

First Look Big Sur Feature2
The new ‌‌‌macOS Big Sur‌‌ 11.2.1‌ update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Preferences.

According to Apple's release notes, macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 addresses an issue that could prevent the battery from charging in some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models. In an Apple support document released alongside the update, Apple says that a small number of customers with 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models have experienced a bug that causes their batteries not to charge past 1 percent, an issue macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 fixes.

Affected customers who ran into the problem with an earlier version of macOS Big Sur will also see a "Service Recommended" notice and will need to contact Apple for a free battery replacement.

Update: macOS 11.2.1 also fixes a significant security vulnerability.

Related Forum: macOS Big Sur

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...

Top Rated Comments

Stuipdboy1000 Avatar
45 months ago
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT212177

Contains security fixes too, including the Sudo bug.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
45 months ago

Apple should really rework the update process.

2.5 GB Download for each of my Macs und installing the update takes forever... That is one of the things Linux is much better at.
If you're concerned about data usage, turn on content caching on one of your Macs. This is located in System Preferences -> Sharing, at the bottom of the list. Preferably do this on your Mac that has the most disk space, a desktop like an iMac or Mac Mini that is on most of the time. Adjust the slider to the amount of disk space you feel comfortable using for this. I have mine at 50GB which is enough for most things.

Then only the first Mac has to download the update. The remaining machines will grab the update from the Content Caching Mac. Devices will find the content caching Mac automatically; you don't have to do anything but make sure it's turned on before you update the first machine.

This will cache pretty much everything, too. iOS updates, and also iCloud content. Like, if you take a photo on your iPhone and it uploads to iCloud, the Caching machine will cache that and when iCloud Photos syncs on your other devices it pulls from the cache. It's a pretty sweet feature.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
andycyphert Avatar
45 months ago
They’re going to need a lot more than that to fix Bug Sur....
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Soba Avatar
45 months ago

weird bug affecting specific machines

Gonna hold off since not impacted

edit: fixes sudo bug, I stand corrected.
This is one of the things that really annoys me about Apple's patches: The release notes are virtually nonexistent.

I get that there are certain fixes Apple might not want to call attention to, but their software updates for most of the last 10 years have come with only the barest release notes. This Big Sur release fixes the sudo bug, and judging from other posts, it also tweaked drivers, Bluetooth, and other things.

This really should be presented to the user in the UI; telling the user that a specific problem is fixed while not mentioning fixes for other known problems leads the user to think (quite reasonably) that nothing was fixed except for what was explicitly mentioned.

Apple used to publish very detailed release notes for most of their OS updates. I write technical docs for a living these days, so I'd love to see that kind of attention to detail from them, again.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robotica Avatar
45 months ago
2.43GB on my 2018 MM seems large for such a specific fix.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
45 months ago
List of updated files on the system partition:

https://zorin.org/share/update-changed.txt

sudo, the mentioned battery/power stuff, Bluetooth, Intel graphics drivers (as mentioned), HID drivers, and a few other random odds and ends.

I'm surprised to see so many changes to Bluetooth-related files; maybe they're still working on fixing those issues.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)