Problems installing Big Sur 11.2 update

I have tried Safe Mode twice. Once with WIFi only and once with Ethernet only internet. Both attempts failed exactly as the update fails in normal boot mode. Apple support tells me I must reinstall Big Sur from Restore mode.

I have same issue - tried in safe mode etc etc, no luck. Im not going to waste time waiting of a full reinstall (and why should I!) i'll just leave it until Apple manage to sort an update that works and installs at is should, rather than releasing buggy updates (doesn't say much for the update!!)

Beansoft:

SUCCESS FINALLY!!!! Thanks to your suggestion, I simply went to the Apple Store Update tab and downloaded the entire Big Sur 11.2 update package from there. It took an hour. I watched TV during that hour. Then I returned and started the install. I played with my iPad for a couple of hours. When I returned to my iMac Big Sur 11.2 was installed with no issues. It is working perfectly. This approach was easy and trouble-free. If Apple had suggested this approach I would have not wasted hours over several days. I shall remember this in the future.

These aren't "solutions"; they're hacks and workarounds. Apple needs to get on the ball. For starters their updater should retain the download cache, so you don't have to start again from 0% after downloading about 99% of 3.25GB. Big Sur was a big enough pain to install in the first place. I practically had to remove every third-party application and file on my system to free up enough space. Now I can't get updates, even with 30GB of free space? I've wasted half a day and lots of bandwidth trying to get this update to complete successfully. Why am I paying a premium for Apple products if they can't even handle something as basic as updating without my having to perform a bunch of workarounds? Reliability -- that's the whole reason I switched from Windows to Mac in the first place, and for years Apple was great.

OK, today I could download Big Sur installer in safe mode OK. I wonder why such tricks are now needed for installs and updates.

p.s. I cleanly installed Big Sur from a USB flash drive to a freshly erased internal drive and it went smoothly.

This worked perfectly for me. Try it: Go directly to the App Store and download Big Sur 11.2 from there. On my dock, the App Store icon is a blue square with a white A figure. It took an hour to download. You will be asked to restart the Mac. Wait 1 - 2 hours and it will be done. I watched TV until it was ready. No errors. No warnings.

I had spent days trying to update to 11.2 using the link from the reminder that pops up. It failed 12 - 15 times in normal and safe mode. The first time I tried from the App store it worked. Perfectly.

I called Apple Support and told them to recommend this to all who are failing to update 11.2.

People keep talking about safe mode. I have a MacBook Pro 13" M1 chip 2020. The shift key does not put you into safe mode. with the M1 chip you need to reboot and hold down the power button until the icon shows up you switch to the shift key.

does this work??? I don't think so.

My suggestion is to wait a week and maybe apple will figure out their errors and post something that will work.

Safe mode failed repeatedly on

my Intel 2017 iMac.

don’t bother with that.

instead go to App Store and download Big Sur 11.2 from update tab.

it willtake an hour. Then simply click restart when prompted. Wait ran hour or two and 11.2 will be installed correctly.

At least that was my experience.

good luck

I was able to update to 11.2 finally by using the App Store. From there download 11.2. It will take an hour or so. You will be asked to restart when the download finishes. That worked perfectly for me after many many failures to update from the 11.2 update notice. Ignore that and update directly from App Store.

What finally worked for me after failures to update in regular and safe mode was App Store. Ignore that 11.2 update notice completely. Open the App Store and do the update 11.2 Big Sur from there. 1 hour to download. 1 - 2 hours to install, I started the download and went to watch TV. In an hour my iMac said I should reboot to install. I did that and played with my iPad for 2 hours. When I looked at iMac 11.2 was installed without errors. I tried 11 - 12 times unsuccessfully with the “normal” update notice approach. Wasted a week.

I've done quite a few upgrades to Big Sur and previous large installations for friends, family and clients.

What seems to be important to be successful is a reliable network connection.

Before kicking off the upgrade I turn off the sleep function to ensure the iMac/MacBook doesn't go to sleep during the download phase.

Over the years I've found that WiFi varies. On some people's network the upgrade works and on others it seems to be the cause of the upgrade failure. The installation phase also needs access to the network and it seems to be that is when the installation fails when the iMac/MacBook is using WiFi. So I always use an Ethernet connection for the upgrade and turn WiFi off for the upgrade just to make sure.

I posted on page 2 of this topic how I upgraded my 2015 MacBook.

I measured my internet connection each time the 11.4 update failed. My speed was between 45mbps/17mbps and 96mbps/20mbps on every failed attempt. I tried and failed with only Ethernet, only WiFi and both. I tried in Safe Mode and in normal mode unsuccessfully, with all varieties of internet connection. I have 3 separate WiFi networks and I tried them all unsuccessfully. All these failures happened when I tried the 11.2 update by following the link in the pop-up notice that appears in the top right corner of the screen when an update is available from Apple.

SUCCESS was easy when I simply went directly to the App Store on my iMac and downloaded the Big Sur 11.2 package directly. It took an hour to download and then I simply followed the prompts to restart the iMac. I went off for two hours and returned to a nice clean Big Sur 11.2 update without errors or warnings.

Lesson learned. I shall do updates from the App Store in future.

I tried this, pressing the shift when the Mac starts. And.......... nothing happens, it starts as usual and the update crashes as usual. And again, and again. Does this mean the safe mode does not work? Big Sur sure is a Big problem, it apparently makes the Mac malfunction.

I'm guessing you have a wireless keyboard, right? It often isn't recognized by a Mac when booting into Safe or Recovery mode.

Connect it to your Mac with its charging cable and it will act like a wired keyboard and be recognized.

Sounds like the M1 chip. To verify go to the apple Icon (top left) and "About This Mac". It should identify the chip - intel or M1. The M1 procedure is a little different - google it for the procedure.