Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Version of macOS Big Sur 11.2 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

Apple today seeded a second RC version of an upcoming macOS Big Sur 11.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new update coming a week after the first RC and two months after initial macOS Big Sur release.

macOS 11
Developers can download the updated ‌‌macOS Big Sur‌‌ 11.2 release candidate using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper profile from the Apple Developer Center.

macOS Big Sur 11.2 eliminates a feature that allowed Apple apps bypass third-party firewalls, security tools, and VPN apps. macOS Big Sur 11 included a ContentFilterExclusionList that let Apple's apps like the App Store, Maps, iCloud, and more to avoid firewall and VPN apps that users had installed. These apps were not able to filter or inspect traffic for some built-in Apple apps. That functionality has been removed in macOS Big Sur 11.2.

When macOS Big Sur 11.2 sees a release, Apple apps will be compatible with VPN apps and will no longer be able to bypass firewalls and other security tools.

According to Apple's release notes, the update also improves Bluetooth reliability and includes multiple bug fixes.

macOS Big Sur 11.2 improves Bluetooth reliability and fixes the following issues:
- External displays may show a black screen when connected to a Mac mini (M1, 2020) using an HDMI to DVI converter
- Edits to Apple ProRAW photos in the Photos app may not save
- iCloud Drive could turn off after disabling the iCloud Drive Desktop & Documents Folders option
- System Preferences may not unlock when entering your administrator password
- Globe key may not display the Emoji & Symbols pane when pressed

The update addresses a bug that could cause external displays to show a black screen when connected to an M1 Mac mini using an HDMI to DVI converter, and it fixes an issue that resulted in edits to Apple ProRaw photos in the Photos app not to save. It also includes fixes for iCloud Drive, System Preferences, and more.

Related Forum: macOS Big Sur

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

srbNYC Avatar
64 months ago

Still AirPods don’t auto correct
Did autocorrect incorrectly correct "auto connect" to "auto correct"? ?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PDubNYC Avatar
64 months ago
really hope it fixes the spontaneous reboot issue I'm seeing with M1 MBP's
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheGeneralist Avatar
64 months ago

Their primary focus is selling hardware, software is what they sell along with. They have been great at both through time, but so long as people buy the hardware, they are fine taking months to fix issues with their flagship machines, often into the next year by the time the next major release is scheduled. And a sample of people here on this forum find that acceptable. I would say most in the world are okay with it, going by the sales numbers and Apple's refusal to get around this habit.
I'd say that's an accurate summary on where software QA is today at Apple.
Additionally, some clearly recognizable / daily visible bugs seem to persist over years and several generations of macOS, like for example the almost-always-wrong account balance in the lower left corner of App Store App (being persistent without any improvement since at least the first days of Mojave), or the permanent problems with Apple Watch unlock (appearing in most macOS dot revisions since introduction of this feature) or with Handoff - just to name a few.

Looks like they can afford to do so, as most customers don't care / don't even understand what's happening when they are hindered by OS bugs. And the alternatives are even weaker - Windows in terms of stability, Linux in terms of effort and knowledge required for configuration and maintenance. Although I seriously doubt Windows can still be regarded as less stable if just compared to Catalina - there were so many Macs with a multitude of serious problems even up to the latest release of Catalina (including my 2014 iMac) that Windows suddenly looked like the more reliable alternative.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that it will continue that way. Typing this text on a M1 Mac, I cannot ignore that they did an extremely good job setting up the new architecture with all components required for the transition. Rosetta 2 really performs well and this machine is just a pleasure to work with. Of course there are still quite some bugs (especially with peripherals like Bluetooth devices and external Monitors, but also quite a number of other issues), but things are definitely not even nearly as bad as they were in Catalina one year before. This leads me to the assumption that maybe the "Catastrophina" was also caused by focusing most of the energy towards the next-year OS generation in order to ensure a smooth architecture transition.

So, l'm looking forward, optimistic that the remaining issues in Big Sur will be fixed in a reasonable time period (despite having experienced the opposite last year).
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nortonandreev Avatar
64 months ago
RC1 is 20D53, RC2 is 20D62. Quite a big of a jump for one working day between releases. Interesting.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
decypher44 Avatar
64 months ago
Come on, BT improvement!!!! ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Donza Avatar
64 months ago
Also out for the Public Beta testers. Here's hoping there is further improvements to Bluetooth.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)