Should I upgrade Big Sur on my Mac?

It's a bit more than half a month since Big Sur release. I have read about some major bugs regarding it, but I am wondering whether they are solved already. So I think question that many of us have asked themselves, should I upgrade Big Sur on my Mac? 

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 7, 2020 9:54 AM

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Posted on Dec 7, 2020 10:06 AM

FWIW. One criteria that I use for when to update is the following: If the computer that you want to upgrade is critical to you, that is, you depend on it for things like financial transactions, business communications, etc., then wait at least six months or two revision updates (whichever comes first) BEFORE upgrading. If the computer is not critical, then upgrade at your discretion.


A few other things to keep in mind BEFORE upgrading:

  1. Always make a complete backup of your device upgrading. I suggest making both a Time Machine backup and a full clone copy of your Mac's system drive using something like Carbon Copy Cloner.
  2. Double-check to see that your Mac meets the minimum requirements for the upgrade.
  3. Double-check to see that any third-party apps that you use are compatible or have an update available.
  4. Double-check that any peripherals that you use are compatible or have updates available.
3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 7, 2020 10:06 AM in response to lauri112

FWIW. One criteria that I use for when to update is the following: If the computer that you want to upgrade is critical to you, that is, you depend on it for things like financial transactions, business communications, etc., then wait at least six months or two revision updates (whichever comes first) BEFORE upgrading. If the computer is not critical, then upgrade at your discretion.


A few other things to keep in mind BEFORE upgrading:

  1. Always make a complete backup of your device upgrading. I suggest making both a Time Machine backup and a full clone copy of your Mac's system drive using something like Carbon Copy Cloner.
  2. Double-check to see that your Mac meets the minimum requirements for the upgrade.
  3. Double-check to see that any third-party apps that you use are compatible or have an update available.
  4. Double-check that any peripherals that you use are compatible or have updates available.

Dec 7, 2020 11:13 AM in response to lauri112

Tesserax makes some excellent points. I will add my thoughts for you to consider. I agree that it may be wise to wait to ensure that bugs are fixed. My philosophy is to keep all my apps and my OS current. I never install junk apps which can and will cause problems. Initially, I installed the Big Sur beta on an external drive to checkout out. That went well and I upgraded to regular. Installing on an external drive is a safe way to find out if there will be problems or conflicts. If so, they can then be safely addressed. If you decide you hate the OS, then simply erase the disk. Nothing else has been changed or affected. I recommend Big Sur. Yes, I have some dislikes, but nothing I can't live with, such as the fact that with this release there is nothing we can do to eliminate those many foreign fonts. Be prepared to have to address a few issues, such as having to upgrade printer drivers. That is often the case with an OS upgrade. In summary, reading many reports on this forum has taught me that people who do not update and upgrade their OS seem to experience more problems when they finally do many upgrades later.

Dec 7, 2020 1:26 PM in response to lauri112

Guess it depends on if you feel none of these bugs will affect you? Not everyone has issues with Big Sur, it's getting a lot of praise. But you never know what might affect you, and my opinion is wait for the early adopters to weed out the stuff. I think the experience is much better if you wait for a couple revisions to come out then be one of the early adopters. I have had no problems myself with Big Sur, but that's me not you. Personally, I am not that thrilled with Big Sur.

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Should I upgrade Big Sur on my Mac?

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