The latest macOS Catalina update will be compatible with the MacBook Pro (for 2012 and later version), Mac mini (for 2012 and later version), Mac Pro (for 2013 and later version), iMac (for 2012.
- Macos Catalina App Compatibility List
- Macos Catalina App Compatibility
- Macos Catalina Problems
- Macos Catalina United Airlines Apply
macOS Catalina updates improve the stability, performance, or compatibility of your Mac and are recommended for all Catalina users. To get these updates, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu , then click Software Update. Learn more about updating the software on your Mac.
For details about the security content of these updates, see Apple Security Updates.
- macOS 10.15
macOS Catalina 10.15.5
macOS Catalina 10.15.5 introduces battery health management in the Energy Saver settings for notebooks, a new option to disable automatic prominence in Group FaceTime calls, and controls to fine-tune the built-in calibration of your Pro Display XDR. The update also improves the stability, reliability, and security of your Mac.
Battery Health Management
- Battery health management to help maximize battery lifespan for Mac notebooks
- Energy Saver preference pane now displays battery condition and recommends if the battery needs to be serviced
- Option to disable battery health management
For more information, please visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT211094
FaceTime Prominence Preference
- New option to control automatic prominence on Group FaceTime calls, so video tiles do not change size when a participant speaks
Calibration Fine-Tuning for Pro Display XDR
- Controls to fine-tune the built-in calibration of your Pro Display XDR by adjusting the white point and luminance for a precise match to
your own display-calibration target
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements:
- Fixes an issue that may prevent Reminders from sending notifications for recurring reminders
- Addresses an issue that may prevent password entry on the login screen
- Fixes an issue where System Preferences would continue to show a notification badge even after installing an update
- Resolves an issue where the built-in camera may not be detected when trying to use it after using a video conferencing app
- Addresses an issue for Mac computers with the Apple T2 Security Chip where internal speakers may not appear as a sound output device in Sound preferences
- Fixes a stability issue with uploading and downloading media files from iCloud Photo Library while your Mac is asleep
- Resolves a stability issue when transferring large amounts of data to RAID volumes
- Fixes an issue where the Reduced Motion Accessibility preference did not reduce the speed of animations in a Group FaceTime call
Enterprise content:
- Improves performance on certain Mac models when enabling hardware acceleration in GPU-intensive apps such as those used for video conferencing
- Addresses an issue where Microsoft Exchange accounts were unable to sign in during account setup when using Conditional Access
- Apple Push Notification Service traffic now uses a web proxy when specified in a PAC file via the Proxies payload
- Resolves an issue that prevented some displays connected to MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) from waking from sleep when the Mac wakes
- Major new releases of macOS are no longer hidden when using the
softwareupdate(8)
command with the--ignore
flag
This change also affects macOS Mojave and macOS High Sierra after installing Security Update 2020-003.
macOS Catalina 10.15.4
macOS Catalina 10.15.4 introduces iCloud Drive folder sharing, Screen Time communication limits, Apple Music time-synced lyrics view, and more. The update also improves the stability, reliability, and security of your Mac.
Finder
- iCloud Drive folder sharing from Finder
- Controls to limit access only to people you explicitly invite, or to grant access to anyone with the folder link
- Permissions to choose who can make changes and upload files, and who can only view and download files
Screen Time
- Communication limits for controlling who your children can communicate with and be contacted by throughout the day and during downtime
- Playback control of music videos for your children
Music
- Time-synced lyrics view for Apple Music, including the ability to jump to your favorite part of a song by clicking a line in lyrics view
Safari
- Option to import Chrome passwords into your iCloud Keychain for easy AutoFill of your passwords in Safari and across all your devices
- Controls for duplicating a tab and for closing all tabs to the right of the current tab
- HDR playback support on compatible computers for Netflix content
App Store with Apple Arcade
- Universal Purchase support enables the use of a singular purchase of a participating app across iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV
Pro Display XDR
- Customized reference modes that you can tailor to specific workflow needs by selecting from several color gamut, white point, luminance, and transfer function options
Accessibility
- Head pointer preference for moving a cursor on the screen based on the precise movements of your head
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements:
- High Dynamic Range output to HDR10-compatible third-party displays and TVs connected with DisplayPort or HDMI
- OAuth authentication support with Outlook.com accounts for improved security
- CalDav migration support when upgrading to iCloud reminders on a secondary device
- Addresses an issue where text copied between apps may appear invisible when Dark Mode is active
- Resolves an issue in Safari where a CAPTCHA tile may display incorrectly
- Fixes an issue where you may receive notifications for updated or completed reminders
- Fixes an issue with screen brightness for the LG UltraFine 5K display after waking from sleep
Enterprise content:
- Apple Push Notification Service traffic now uses a web proxy when specified in a PAC file
- Resolves an issue where updating the login keychain password after resetting a user password would cause a new keychain to be created
- After enabling ”Search directory services for certificates” in Keychain Access preferences, searching by email address in Keychain Access or Mail now locates a user certificate stored in directory services
- When setting the DisableFDEAutoLogin key in com.apple.loginwindow, you can now sync your FileVault password with the Active Directory user password after updating the user password
- Reinstates the ability to update or restore iOS, iPadOS, or tvOS devices by dragging .ipsw files to the device in an Apple Configurator 2 window
- Addresses an issue where sending the EraseDevice MDM command might not cause the device to be erased
- When logging in as an Active Directory user after using deferred FileVault enablement, the user is now prompted for their password to enable FileVault
Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices.
macOS Catalina 10.15.3
The macOS Catalina 10.15.3 update improves the stability, reliability, and security of your Mac, and is recommended for all users.
- Optimizes gamma handling of low gray levels on Pro Display XDR for SDR workflows when using macOS
- Improves multi-stream video editing performance for HEVC and H.264-encoded 4K video on the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
macOS Catalina 10.15.2
The macOS Catalina 10.15.2 update improves the stability, reliability and performance of your Mac and is recommended for all users.
This update adds the following features:
Apple News
- New layout for Apple News+ stories from The Wall Street Journal and other leading newspapers
Stocks
- Get links to related stories or more stories from the same publication at the end of an article
- “Breaking” and “Developing” labels for Top Stories
- Stories from Apple News are now available in Canada in English and French
This update includes the following bug fixes:
Music
- Restores the column browser view for managing the music library
- Resolves an issue that may prevent album artwork from appearing
- Fixes an issue that may reset music equalizer settings during playback
iTunes Remote
- Adds support for using an iPhone or iPad to remotely control the Music and TV apps on a Mac
Photos
- Resolves an issue that may cause some AVI and MP4 files to appear as unsupported
- Fixes an issue that prevents newly created folders from appearing in Albums view
- Addresses an issue where manually sorted images in an album may be printed or exported out of order
- Fixes an issue that prevents the zoom-to-crop tool from working in a print preview
Mail
- Addresses an issue that may cause Mail preferences to open with a blank window
- Resolves an issue that may prevent using undo from retrieving deleted mail
Other
- Improves the reliability of syncing books and audiobooks to your iPad or iPhone through the Finder
- Fixes an issue where reminders may be out of order in the Today smart list in the Reminders app
- Resolves an issue that may cause slow typing performance in the Notes app
Enterprise content
- Fixes an issue where the user password might not be accepted at the login window after upgrading a Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip to macOS Catalina
- Improves compatibility with video conferencing apps on MacBook Pro models introduced in 2018
- Users logged in as a standard user can now install apps from the App Store
macOS Catalina 10.15.1
The macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update includes updated and additional emoji, support for AirPods Pro, HomeKit Secure Video, HomeKit-enabled routers, and new Siri privacy settings, as well as bug fixes and improvements.
Emoji
- Over 70 new or updated emoji, including animals, food, activities, new accessibility emoji, gender-neutral emoji, and skin tones selection for couple emoji
AirPods support
- AirPods Pro support
Home app
- HomeKit Secure Video enables you to privately capture, store, and view encrypted video from your security cameras and features people, animal, and vehicle detection
- HomeKit enabled routers let you control how your HomeKit accessories communicate over the internet or in your home
- Adds support for AirPlay 2-enabled speakers in scenes and automations
Siri
- Privacy settings to control whether or not to help improve Siri and Dictation by allowing Apple to store audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions
- Option to delete your Siri and Dictation history from Siri Settings
This update also includes the following bug fixes and improvements:
- Restores the ability to view file names in the All Photos view in Photos
- Restores the ability to filter by favorites, photos, videos, edited, and keywords in Days view in Photos
- Fixes an issue where Messages would only send a single notification when the option to repeat alerts was enabled
- Resolves an issue that caused Contacts to launch to the previously opened contact instead of the contact list
- Adds a two-finger swipe gesture for back navigation in Apple News
- Resolves issues that may occur in the Music app when displaying playlists inside folders and newly added songs in the Songs list
- Improves reliability of migrating iTunes library databases into the Music, Podcasts, and TV apps
- Fixes an issue where downloaded titles were not visible in the Downloads folder in the TV app
Enterprise content
- When using the built-in keyboard with a non-U.S. keyboard layout, passwords with certain characters are no longer rejected at the Mac login window
- When sign in with Apple ID is not allowed by a configuration profile, the Sign In button in System Preferences is now dimmed
macOS Catalina 10.15
Apple’s system updates have greatly improved over time. And though you’re less likely to face issues (slow downloading speeds, unable to resume download, frequent disconnections, etc.) while downloading macOS Catalina this year, there’s no guarantee that they won’t happen at all.
Many users would still be looking for direct downloads for macOS Catalina, primarily for multi-threaded, faster downloading via download managers & accelerators, resume support for incomplete/interrupted downloads and many more reasons.
In this article, we’ll explore a way to download macOS Catalina directly from the Apple server instead of via the MAS, using your favorite web browser or a download accelerator.
Note: This post is specific to macOS Catalina direct download from Apple servers. For other macOS and OS X releases, check our earlier articles in this series.
Page Contents
- 1 Download and install macOS Catalina without MAS / System Preferences
Download and install macOS Catalina without MAS / System Preferences
Since macOS Catalina, OS updates are delivered through the Software Update menu in System Preferences. When you try to download macOS updates via MAS, you’re automatically redirected to the Software Update menu.
In macOS, when you click on the Update button, some package files are downloaded to your computer, and then processed by the Software Update utility, to convert them into an executable “.app” file. You cannot install macOS directly from the raw package files.
For this workaround, we’re going to directly download these raw packages from Apple server using a web browser or a suitable download accelerator. Then, we’ll configure the computer in such a way that Software Update processes the package files by fetching them from a local directory on your Mac, instead of downloading it again from the Apple Server.
macOS Catalina Direct Download
Step 1: Download the three “.pkg” files from the respective URLs given below.
macOS Catalina 10.15.5 (19F101) / June 1, 2020 (Updated)
- macOS Catalina InstallESDDmg.pkg file download URL: http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/49/02/001-12336-A_QLFL0RTBKY/g7p7womx20182etq6bvffbwe4a41grcxod/InstallESDDmg.pkg
- macOS Catalina RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg file download URL: http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/49/02/001-12336-A_QLFL0RTBKY/g7p7womx20182etq6bvffbwe4a41grcxod/RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg
- macOS Catalina InstallAssistantAuto.pkg file download URL: http://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/49/02/001-12336-A_QLFL0RTBKY/g7p7womx20182etq6bvffbwe4a41grcxod/InstallAssistantAuto.pkg
Step 2: Configure your Mac so that Software Update looks for the macOS packages locally instead of from the Apple server.
To do this, you need to edit the hosts file on Mac to point the root domain of the download URLs (“swcdn.apple.com”) to localhost (“127.0.0.1”). The below instructions will guide you to modify the hosts file as required.
- Launch Terminal on your Mac from Launchpad or Applications list.
- Type in the following command: “sudo nano /etc/hosts”
- Provide the System Password when prompted. The hosts file is now open in editable mode within the Terminal window.
- Append the following line to the end of the file: “127.0.0.1 swcdn.apple.com”.
- Press control + X (^X), then Y and hit return to save the file and return to Terminal prompt.
From now on, any request issued for the particular root domain (swcdn.apple.com) from the Mac will be directed to localhost.
Note: Sometimes, you might need to flush the DNS cache for the changes to take effect. In that case, use the “sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder” command to flush DNS cache.
Step 3: Place the package files in a certain relative path from the localhost root, to mimic the structure of their respective download URLs.
In this example, we’ll create a folder named “macos_local” on Desktop, and replicate the directory structure of the package URLs under the same. Once the relative path has been created, we’ll configure the localhost server to point to the “macos_local” directory on Desktop. Then, we’ll use macOS’ built-in SimpleHTTP server to convert the folder into a web server directory.
The below instructions will guide you through the setup process.
- Open Terminal from the Launchpad or Applications list.
- Type “cd Desktop” on the command line and hit return to enter the Desktop folder.
- Type “mkdir macos_local” and hit return to create the root directory of the same name on Desktop.
- Go to the newly created folder by typing “cd macos_local” and hitting return.
- Enter the following command to create the relative path for the .pkg files, inside the macos_local folder (Provide the admin password when requested):
“sudo mkdir -p ./content/downloads/49/02/001-12336-A_QLFL0RTBKY/g7p7womx20182etq6bvffbwe4a41grcxod/” - Place the downloaded package files in their respective relative location (as per their URLs) within the macos_local folder on the Desktop. Click on Authenticate when prompted, and provide the system admin password.
- With macos_local as the present working directory in Terminal, execute the following command: “sudo python -m SimpleHTTPServer 80”. Provide the admin password and click on Allow in the subsequent message prompt.
The current directory (macos_local) is now hosted on localhost. Leave the Terminal window open to keep the localhost server running until the process is completed.
To verify the setup, click on any of the package (.pkg or pkg) URLs in your browser and check the download speed as it downloads the package.
You may notice a very high-speed download (which is much higher than the speed of your Internet connection). This is because the file will be downloaded through localhost; your Internet bandwidth won’t be used.
Step 4: Download macOS Catalina through the Mac App Store or System Preferences.
Don’t worry. Since you’ve redirected the package URLs locally, Software Update / MAS will fetch the package files from localhost and launch the installer (“.app”) file once the packages have been processed.
Note: Your Mac might request additional resources from the “swcdn.apple.com” domain while installing macOS Catalina. Thus, it is recommended to remove the entry from the hosts file that we appended earlier, before proceeding with the installation.
Is the workaround genuine?
Macos Catalina App Compatibility List
In this workaround, we are downloading the required resources from the Apple Server and using the official Software Update channel to install the OS update. So yes, it is as genuine as the official method.
Macos Catalina App Compatibility
The only factor we’re changing here is the location where Software Update / MAS fetches the packages from. If you are downloading the macOS package files from third-party sources, you can verify whether it’s the original, by comparing their MD5 and SHA1 hash values.
macOS Catalina Bootable Installer (macOS Catalina DMG)
Now that you have the “macOS Catalina.app” installer, you can upgrade multiple Macs to the latest version using the same file. However, if you are looking to perform a fresh installation, you need to create a bootable installer for Catalina.
Macos Catalina Problems
The bootable image for Catalina (InstallESD.dmg) is located within its “.app” file. To get the InstallESD.dmg file, right-click on “macOS Catalina.app”, select “Show Package Contents” option, and browse to the “Contents/SharedSupport/” folder.
Alternatively, the bootable installer for macOS Catalina may be directly created from the “.app” file using the “createinstallmedia” command, as suggested by Apple.
Macos Catalina United Airlines Apply
If this workaround has helped you to get macOS Catalina easily or saved your Internet bandwidth on single or multiple installations, let us know in the comments below.