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

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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

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Top Rated Comments

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

Contains security fixes too, including the Sudo bug.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
62 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
andycyphert
62 months ago
They’re going to need a lot more than that to fix Bug Sur....
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Soba Avatar
Soba
62 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
robotica
62 months ago
2.43GB on my 2018 MM seems large for such a specific fix.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
62 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)
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