Updating to 11.3.1... repeatable and safe?

As long as the the Computer that needs to update is running an older version of Big Sur ( example Big Sur 11.2.3 ) and have the 11.3.1 Full Installer - Yes, Copy the Full Installer of 11.3.1 to large enough External Drive >> Copy to Applications Folder on 11.2.3 >> Remove External Drive and restart in Safe Mode and then run the Installer and it will update to 11.3.1

This Method can be used on numerous Macs as long as the Original Full Installer of 11.3.1 is available and undamaged. Awkward but doable.

Shutdown Router. Shutdown computer and disconnect all External Drives. Restart Router. Connect to Router via Ethernet Cable. If via Wifi - Disconnect all other Devices using the Wifi - want the Maximum Bandwidth only for this computer. Restart computer in  Safe Mode. It does a Repair Disk, Clear System Cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and Fonts. Will load slowly - Normal. Once Logged in - open Apple Apps Store and  Get the Full Version of Big Sur. It will take some time and several pauses will occur - normal. Countdown clock may say 15 minutes but in Real time may be 30 minutes. Same goes for clock at 10 minutes could be 20 minutes in Real time. Eventually , Full Installer will download and a New Application in Applications Folder will present called Install Big Sur. Stop there and perform a Time Machine Backup. If desired - have an External Drive - Copy & Paste the Install Big Sur Application to external drive for future usage - making a Bootable Installer. Now run the Installer.

Have found this method more reliable than the Software Update which is very iffy at best

Are there any AntiVirus, Disk Cleaner, Optimizers, Defrag, VPNs etc installed which should be removed as per Developers Instructions. They are useless, unneeded, cause havoc and interfere with the normal operation of the OS and may even Corrupt the OS requiring a Reinstallation.

Regarding Standalone Installer for Updates on Big Sur - Apple is the only one that can truly answer that question. Though, it does seem to me to fall in-line with how iOS updates have been done for some time. The merging of Methods between the the OSs ?

Have you had any issues with 11.3.1?

I've installed it on an Intel MacBook Pro and an M1 Mini. Neither had problems.

Why does Apple not provide a means to download the 11.3.1 update package(s)?

Nobody here would have any idea.

Apple does provide a method of caching the updates, installers, app updates, etc. on a single machine which all the rest check for the updates so they don't have to download them from the internet.

What is content caching on Mac? - Apple Support

however a lot of what I'm reading on these forums suggests that 11.3.1 creates as many problems as it solves?

You should check out the posts from the millions who haven't had any problems. Oh, yeah, they don't post, here.

I guess you'll just have to continue believing that the few bits of anecdotal evidence here is gospel.

As for solving a problem, this update will only solve a problem if someone decides to exploit the vulnerability it patches (which the rumor mill says has already been done). If your machines and your network is not worth exploiting, then you may not need the update.

Every single Upgrade and Update Apple has released since I started helping out here (ca. Snow Leopard, 10.6) has caused the end of mankind. I can't count the number of times I have died and been resurrected.

In all that time, I used the same updates and upgrades on my Macs and none of them sprouted wings and flew out the window, caught fire, or even had a glitch somewhere. Apple has released flawed updates, but those have usually been resolved with a supplemental update a few days later.

Almost all problems that people have with an update involves some third-party system modification (based purely on anecdotal evidence supplied, here).

Only you will be able to determine if you are going to have problems. If you have many Macs to update, pull one out of production, update it, and see what happens. If you run into problems, determine the cause and either replace/remove the offending system modification, or wait to update until that software fixes its problems.

Just more Reliable as it will eliminate all Third Part Software , extensions, drivers and Fonts from potentially mucking around with the update process. Personally - run very lean and clean macOS on all machine and prefer this over Normal -as Normal is subjective lol.

As @ Barney-15E has outlined in detail - no too much more to add beyond personal experience. That in and of itself is anecdotal. Zero issues with 11.3.1 but did have issues getting it downloaded via the System Update method. Within 1 minute of using this method - received the " Check you Internet Connection Error "message. This over a Wifi connection with zero Other devices using the Wifi. Fired up the Terminal and used a Terminal command script, from a Respected Senior Contributor, and within 20 minutes the Full Big Sur 11.3.1 was in the Applications Folder ready to be run.

Specific to 11.3.1 it did fix an annoying Crash appearing only in Console but have no effect on the actual operation of Big Sur on Stock MBA with the the M1 CPU. The specific bug was CVM-Server Crash for no reason. That Bug was fixed in 11.3.1

One may consider holding OFF the 11.3.1 - if possible and for now. Hearing reports of Gold Master 11.4 is on the horizon. Just when it might drop - only apple knows.

Wow, OK. Sorry for asking. I accept the point generally you're making but you sound a little angry.

I'm not sure how you see emotion in a list of bullet statements. Projection, maybe?

I'm aware of Content Caching but despite investing a lot of time to configure this, it just doesn't seem to work - the other computers always seem to download from the Internet.

Yeah, I missed that in your original post. How did you spend "a lot of time" configuring it? You check a box. But, I have no idea if/how well it works. I threw it out there because that is the only method available for your situation.

Updates are staged into the Updates volume, but I don't know if it is possible to grab those and move to other Macs. iOS updates are likely done the same way, but I doubt there is a way to get to them.

I've been using OSX since 10.3 and the update process has become increasingly worse ever since; there is no denying it.

I can deny it. I have never had a single problem with any update, and it is certainly easier to update now than when I had to drive half an hour to the nearest MUG to burn a copy of the update disk. Now, I just wake up in the morning and all of my Macs have updated. I only know because I have to enter the password instead of using the touch sensor.

Reliability seemed to peak around Snow Leopard and then has been on the wane ever since.

Reliability with what? Updates? The OS? Complexity of the OS and its interaction with iOS, watchOS, tvOS has skyrocketed since Snow Leopard. There may be times when I can't seem to get Universal Clipboard to work, but then I couldn't use it at all on Snow Leopard. So, yes, use of any Handoff or Continuity functionality on Show Leopard was 100% reliably not available.

The Messages app becoming very laggy in Big Sur is hardly 3rd party.

Again, there's a problem I have never experienced.

Maybe if you have been here permanently since 2009 you need to step back from the keyboard for a day or two.

It's actually been since 2001. Snow Leopard was when I started beta testing.

Amazingly, in all of that time, in all of the OS versions (including betas), on all the Macs I've owned, I've rarely found the OS, the Mac, or the update process unreliable. The only thing that was really annoying was getting SideCar to work. I finally did, and it hasn't stopped since. That was 100% reliably unavailable on Snow Leopard, too.

Welcome and Thank you too :-)

Hope the the machines updates / upgrades go flawlessly

> 11.4 is now out and that is another 3.5gb we will need to download 10 times.

Download the full 12 GB 11.4 installer once, copy it to an external drive and apply it to all 10 Macs.