Apple has officially released the latest version of their new operating systems for Macintosh computers and iOS devices (iPads and iPhones). macOS 10.14 (“Mojave") and iOS 12 include many enhancements and new features and, as before, Apple is offering the operating systems for free.

macOS 10.14 Mojave

While Apple has made upgrading your macOS a straightforward and relatively simple process, potential problems could arise. Specifically, we know about these issues:

• Upgrading a computer on macOS 12 or earlier that is acting as a server will likely cause issues with file access that will be difficult to resolve quickly, due to Apple’s new file system.
• Versions of Microsoft Office up to 2016 (up to and including version 15.34) lost support starting with 10.13 High Sierra, so be sure to fully update or upgrade Office (we can help).
• Many applications have not announced compatibility yet.

At this time we’re recommending to all clients to hold off upgrading their operating systems. We will send an updated recommendation by early November, after we’ve had a chance to thoroughly vet these versions for you. Please be patient until then.

Our best practices upgrade method verifies the integrity of your Mac while giving it a tune up, confirms the status of backups, and ensures that all your third party applications are up-to-date and compatible with the new environment. Additionally, we’ll bring a copy of the latest version of the Mojave installer to use, shortening the time of the install, and allowing you to start enjoying the benefits of Mojave sooner. We'll be happy to run you through some of the key new features while we're with you,

iOS 12

An iOS 12 upgrade won't require tuning up and so forth, but it is advisable to make sure your most-used apps are compatible before upgrading, and we strongly recommend you wait until after version 12.1 is released to perform the upgrade, to reduce the risk of an unexpected bug making your phone more difficult to use. For example, we have heard numerous reports of iOS 12 freezing up for seconds at a time during use. There will be exceptions to this, which have to be weighed against need (e.g., you need 1Password for iPhone, but the current version of 1Password requires iOS 12 to download), most people should wait. If you're not sure, please reach out to your primary engineer.

As always, thank you for your continued reliance on us as your Apple IT resource.