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

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
top stories 2025 12 04a

Top Stories: iOS 26.2 Coming Soon, Apple Execs Depart, and More

Saturday December 6, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public. There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...

Top Rated Comments

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

Contains security fixes too, including the Sudo bug.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
63 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
63 months ago
They’re going to need a lot more than that to fix Bug Sur....
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Soba Avatar
63 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
63 months ago
2.43GB on my 2018 MM seems large for such a specific fix.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
63 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)