Many NMH-owned computers assigned to faculty and staff are Apple computers running macOS. You can check your macOS version by clicking on the Apple Menu in the top left of your Mac, and then About This Mac. Apple routinely comes out with new updates for macOS, but as with any new software, there are sometimes glitches.
Apple tends to release updates in the format of xx.x, where x represents version numbers (fir example, 13.1). Sometimes you will see an additional version number (xx.x.x), but for our purposes you can ignore the last digit. It is NMH IT’s recommendation to give new macOS versions a bit of time before upgrading—that way, Apple has a chance to identify and patch any glitches or software compatibility issues before they affect you. Some ground rules to follow for upgrading your macOS are as follows:
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Never install a xx.0 version. Full number version upgrades tend to be much more substantial upgrades to the OS, so NMH IT recommends waiting at least until a new OS version is on xx.1 before upgrading.
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After you’re on xx.1, feel free to upgrade as long as you’re not doing a full number version upgrade. For example updating from 12.1 to 12.2 is just fine, but 12.1 to 13.2 is not.
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Wait to do OS upgrades until breaks in the school year. That way, if something goes wrong, your work is not in jeopardy and IT has time to help get your system working again.
For more information/instruction on upgrading your macOS, please see this support article from Apple.