I am also getting the "Can't install update" (for reasons) message. Glad it's not just me. I hope this is a waiting for Apple to get its act together issue and not an oh crap, have to reinstall the OS issue.
I think their issues are exacerbated by their Software Update software, which seems to operate on weak web-based services that are extremely susceptible to failing. It works well in ideal conditions such as what they might get in their Apple corporate facilities, but in the real world things don't always go so well.
Any kind of interrupt kills the download and usually necessitates restarting it from the beginning, which exacerbates the demand that could have caused the problem in the first place! It'is bad in the case of local network difficulties but also in the case of problems delivering the files on their end, as might occur during periods of extreme pressure such as new software updates.
I managed to download the software, but it appears that the post-download verification check failed and it deleted the whole thing! There has got to be a better way of doing this. FTP or torrent-based systems are much more attune to these kind of issues. It should never delete partially downloaded software, yet that is common across both Mac and iOS. I've wasted so much mobile data in the past (back when I relied on it) because of issues with Apple's Software Update.
This disastrous Big Sur download makes me yearn for days of CD installs.
What's a CD? Just kidding! Remember the days where a Mac OS 8 was on like 27 something floppies?
Well, *I'm* old enough to remember when people waited for Service Pack 1 before upgrading to a major OS release...
I'm in the same boat as everyone else here by clicking that "Upgrade Now" button a... few times and still getting the same results. But if you think about it, this is actually a testament to Apple's improved QA that everyone seems to trust enough to install it on day 1 (or really, hour 1)
I think their issues are exacerbated by their Software Update which seems to operate on weak web-based services that are extremely susceptible to failing. It works well in ideal conditions such as what they might get in their Apple corporate facilities, but in the real world things don't always go so well.
Any kind of interrupt kills the download and usually requires restarting it from the beginning. This is bad in the case of local network difficulties but also in the case of problems delivering the files on their end, as might occur during periods of extreme pressure such as new software updates.
I managed to download the software, but it appears the post-download verification check failed and it deleted the whole thing. There has got to be a better way of doing this. FTP or torrent based systems are much more attune to these kind of issues. It should never delete partially downloaded software, yet that is common across both Mac and iOS. I've wasted so much mobile data in the past (back when I relied on it) because of issues Apple's Software Update.
Microsoft use some form of distributed downloading for Windows updates, seems to make now that people have faster upload speeds. It also has the advantage of verifying each 20MB or so chunk so redownloads are 20MB rather than the entire update.
On the bright side, my 2011 MBA just successfully completed the security update that was just issued . More often than not the past year, it has failed during a security update, and required re-installing the entire operating system.
Microsoft use some form of distributed downloading for Windows updates, seems to make now that people have faster upload speeds. It also has the advantage of verifying each 20MB or so chunk so redownloads are 20MB rather than the entire update.
They are now reporting Apple Pay and Apple Card Outages as well. Oh, Apple!
Doesn't seem like the best day to be working in IT/Infrastructure at Apple...
They're not working on anything of the kind. This is just straight-up infrastructure failure under load. They should probably hire better dev-ops people.
I can't speak about non-availability, but it is a completely useless update for the next 6-9 months with all my music equipment and software plugins. The same thing happened with Catalina. It never ceases to amaze how badly the past two major system updates have been so piss poor with coordinating efforts with professional software music companies.
Comments
Crashed multiple times on every machine, now it won't even start downloading, and getting an installation failed error message.
I think their issues are exacerbated by their Software Update software, which seems to operate on weak web-based services that are extremely susceptible to failing. It works well in ideal conditions such as what they might get in their Apple corporate facilities, but in the real world things don't always go so well.
Any kind of interrupt kills the download and usually necessitates restarting it from the beginning, which exacerbates the demand that could have caused the problem in the first place! It'is bad in the case of local network difficulties but also in the case of problems delivering the files on their end, as might occur during periods of extreme pressure such as new software updates.
I managed to download the software, but it appears that the post-download verification check failed and it deleted the whole thing! There has got to be a better way of doing this. FTP or torrent-based systems are much more attune to these kind of issues. It should never delete partially downloaded software, yet that is common across both Mac and iOS. I've wasted so much mobile data in the past (back when I relied on it) because of issues with Apple's Software Update.
I'm in the same boat as everyone else here by clicking that "Upgrade Now" button a... few times and still getting the same results. But if you think about it, this is actually a testament to Apple's improved QA that everyone seems to trust enough to install it on day 1 (or really, hour 1)
Many of us have discovered one of them: It's unavailable.
More often than not the past year, it has failed during a security update, and required re-installing the entire operating system.
I know that's not particularly helpful, but it might save some people the bother of trying it.