Following macOS Big Sur’s release on November 12th, reports started to emerge that some users were experiencing extremely long downloads times that often eventually led to the installation failing.
My first few attempts at installing macOS Big Sur resulted in a message that read, “An Error Occurred While Installing the Selected Updates.” Sometimes this would pop up after just a few seconds, and in other instances, the notification would stop the download at roughly 50-60 percent.
After multiple attempts and roughly 20 minutes, the download finally went through and macOS Big Sur successfully installed on my 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020).
Though it’s still unclear, Apple seems to have had difficulties with the number of people attempting to update their Mac devices at the same time.
macOS Big Sur includes more rounded icons, a transparent menu system and an overall design that closely resembles iOS and iPadOS. Other new features include Messages featuring improved overall search functionality, Safari getting a new privacy shield similar to FireFox’s and increased compatibility with Apple’s new ARM-based M1 MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini.
Apple’s System Status page reads that an issue with macOS software updates is “currently being investigated.”
