Big Sur Download Death

Big Sur is Apple's new operating system. It appeared in my updates on my 2017 MacBook Pro alerts same as Catalina, Mojave, Sierra, and all the others. However, this operating system is only supported by the new M1 processor Apple installed in their latest version - 2020 - of MacBook Pro. A fact Apple neglects to highlight in the update alert, or even an email to we, the consumer.

I embarked on downloading Big Sur to update my operating system on a suicide mission I didn't know I was on. Caught in the nether world of powering on and the black screen with a growing white time line declaring 29 minutes and counting until the download was complete, I waited and waited and waited until it reached the sought after "less than a minute to completion," Yet, that "less than a minute..." lingered on endless until I realized something was wrong and searched online to see if anyone else was having the same issue as I was with this Big Sur download dangled like candy from a predator to an unsuspecting child.

Hoards of people posted about their same hostage predicament. I read post after post of their efforts to get their laptop and life's work back from the jaws of Big Sur. Then the discovery that some found the only choice was wiping their hard drive as their only option. This would mean losing their documents, pictures, and more if they didn't have a back up. And I was one of those people who did not have a back up. Whatever I couldn't duplicate from attachments and emails and lifetime licenses for programs purchased would be lost. My stomach shriveled as the horror of my situation exploded in my thoughts.

Realizing I needed professional help, I called a few Mac repair shops in Atlanta and was quoted prices from $99 to $149 to wipe my hard drive. As if this wasn't bad enough in the midst of a Covid-19 pandemic and joblessness that seems to be never-ending, I was quoted another $99 fee to restore my files, of what they could. Tears stung my eyes. It's as if I just can't get a break in the financial ruin known as 2020. And now 2021 wasn't starting off any better. But then I remembered, I had $200 in Visa gift cards from a promotion as a result of signing up with a cable provider after I migrated across country from Los Angeles in search of work. This would afford me the chance to get my laptop fixed and recover my resumes, cover letters, and life's work back from the bowels of reboot hell in Big Sur. So I swiped my tears away, packed up my laptop and headed for LineLine Repair in Druid Hills.

Arriving at the strip mall with high hopes, I hurried inside the Mac repair shop wearing my mask and doing my best to socially distance in the small space. The representative took my information, asked for my laptop's password, and then sent me on my way. It would be at least 24 hours before their service would be accomplished and I'd just have to deal with the lack of access to search for a job and communicate with the world in an effort to stay connected after a year of disconnect, despair, and howling dogs of depression nipping at my thoughts thanks to the pandemic reality we're all struggling to live in.

I hadn't even backed out of my parking spot when the technician called to alert me to the lithium battery fire just waiting to happen. Maybe I should've been more informed, more aware, more with it when it came to owning a MacBook Pro but I wasn't. With the stress of the year, the last thing I thought I had to worry about was my laptop exploding because I kept my computer charged. Yet, that's just what happened. Another thing Apple doesn't make abundantly clear - keeping your laptop plugged in leads to over charging our batteries and they fill up like water balloons with water (to use the analogy of the LifeLine repair tech). And what happens if you fill them up too much? They explode.

He explained a house fire was a very real possibility if I didn't address my bulging batteries. That would be another $150 thank you very much. I was up to nearly $400 now to get my 2017 computer fixed.

I guess if I was the sort to search for a silver lining to the Big Sur storm presently pounding my life, I'd be grateful for being held hostage. It's what led me to the repair shop and to the tech who sounded the alarm. Without him, I wouldn't have discovered the battery safety hazard. So, for that, I am thankful.

In discussing my options with the tech, we decided it would make the most financial sense to replace my 4-year old MacBook Pro with the up to date version. LifeLine could transfer my files to the new computer and my horror show would end. I could get back to looking for work, back to editing the book I'd been working on for 10-years, back to the scripts I'd written, the film budgets created, the script schedules broken down, etc. "Guess that's what credit cards are for," I said just before ending out call.

With little choice, I drove to Best Buy to replace my MacBook Pro and put this sad experience behind me. Not realizing the grief of loss was about to grow exponentially bigger.

It was the Best Buy sales rep who explained to me that the Big Sur operating system only works on the M1 processor. He, like the LifeLine repair tech, had seen countless others coming through due to my same experience.

As we discussed the dishonest and unfair business practices that Apple is given free rein to enact, I realized the Big Sur operating system download wasn't an accidental oversight but an obvious corporate design to compel Mac owners to update their hardware, not just their operating systems. As if this wasn't bad enough, they released the operating system in the midst of a pandemic knowing that many of their longtime consumers, like myself, would be forced into this reality. It's not as if I could simply throw up my hands and say I guess I'll wait to replace my laptop until I get a job and have income coming in. I work in the entertainment industry. It's simply not possible. And I suspect that's the same for most industries in 2021.

But, the worst was yet to come for me.

When I returned to LifeLine, the tech could see my distress and was kind enough to get right to work on transferring my files from my old laptop to my shiny new 2020 MacBook Pro with a price tag of just under $1400 including tax that will wind up being over $2000 after I pay it off with interest. Thankfully, I had a credit card that I could purchase it but how many others do not?

He went through the set up prompts and we got to the point of transferring my files from my 2017 MacBook Pro and he asked me to type in my old password on the 2020 version so it could access the 2017 version and be able to transfer my files. But my password was rejected.

Anxiety grew in me as I typed it again. It was the right password. The same password I'd used on that laptop for years. It was refused again.

The tech was silent. I could tell he didn't want to say what he was going to have to tell me. 'Without that password to get into the old computer there was nothing more he could do'. The Big Sur download corrupted my files. All of my documents, my book, my scripts, my resumes, everything was lost.

The tech offered me one last hope - a document recovery service in California. I called them and was offered two quotes:

1 to 3 days recovery would range between $2500 and $9000, or their

5 to 7 days "economic" recovery ranging between $700 and $2500

Thanking the disembodied voice for his time, I hung up and sobbed. I grieved for my years of work, my book, the thousands of dollars in licensed software I can't afford to replace that was part of my kit for my work in production. All of it gone simply because I trusted Apple's update alert to update my operating system, as I'd done for years. If this experience can help you avoid my devastating loss, at least some good will have come out of it.