Have any of you encountered issues with macOS updates while using a VPN?

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Level 1

4 points

Have any of you encountered issues with macOS updates while using a VPN?

Hi everybody.

I had a few issues with 11.2 and 11.2.1 updates recently on my MacBook Pro (intel), that could only be solved be formatting and reinstalling macOS.

Each time, the laptop remained blocked for hours on the Apple logo with a progress bar around 75%.

I won't dive into the details, but, as the same issue occurred twice in a few weeks on my configured laptop (I mean with all my work apps installed), but succeeded gracefully on a fresh install, I was wondering if some app or configuration could eventually cause this kind of problems.

I was particularly thinking of the use of a VPN (Viscosity in my case), and also of SafeNet app (an eToken client for personal certificates).

Have you ever heard about such kind of issues and the best way to avoid them next time?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Feb 13, 2021 3:26 AM

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Answer 1

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Mat_C Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 15, 2021 1:02 AM in response to Mat_C

I finally found this piece of information:

"We've identified a situation where Viscosity could inadvertently trigger a bug in the macOS update process when updating macOS 11 from version 11.0 or 11.1 to version 11.2.x. This bug can result in the update process stalling at a black screen (with an Apple logo and progress bar) for affected installs.

While this appears to be a bug in the macOS update process, and not directly with Viscosity itself, as it is highly disruptive to those impacted we've elected to push out this update with a workaround in Viscosity to avoid it. If you're running macOS 11 and haven't yet updated it to the latest version, we strongly encourage you to update Viscosity to version 1.9.2 before proceeding."

Chances are that my issues were caused by Viscosity then...

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Answer 2

PRP_53

Level 10

85,405 points

Feb 13, 2021 4:55 AM in response to Mat_C

Basically, any third party software running the the background ( Like VPNs, AntiVirus etc ) while trying to update from 11.1 to 11.2 or 11.2 to 11.2.1 will interfere with the normal updating process. Have seen many complaints about having to do several attempts to update Big Sur even without any reported STUFF software running and having to do the process via Safe Boot ( Shift ) key immediately at startup.

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Answer 3

PRP_53

Level 10

85,405 points

Feb 13, 2021 6:56 AM in response to Mat_C

Thus far - apple has not issues Standalone Updates to Big Sur unlike in previous versions of macOS. This I can understand as Big Sur is different in that the machine code is intended for Intel ( for now ) and the New M1 Apple Silicone chipset. Going forwards - the Big Sur upgrade and or update process has become problematic at best.

One can, if already in Big Sur, Boot Recovery Mode and download and install the Full Version via Reinstall Big Sur - thus moving from say 11.1 to 11.2 - though the full installer is 12.18 GB and requires good and stable internet connection.

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