18 Apr 2021

OS X version 10.11.0, called 'El Capitan,' was released on September 30, 2015. It is a free update to 10.10 Yosemite. This note describes how to update a computer from an older version of MacOS to OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

Apple released OS X 10.11.1 on 21 Oct 2015, fixing Mail and Microsoft Office problems and adding 150 new emoji.
Apple released OS X 10.11.2 on 08 Dec 2015, fixing multiple security and reliability problems.
Apple released OS X 10.11.3 on 18 Jan 2016, fixing multiple security problems.
Apple released OS X 10.11.4 on 21 Mar 2016, fixing multiple security problems.
Apple released OS X 10.11.5 on 16 May 2016, fixing multiple security and stability problems.
Apple released OS X 10.11.6 on 18 Jul 2016, fixing security and stability problems.

With the release of the latest version of the Mac operating system, 10.12 macOS Sierra, it’s pleasing to see that Apple have fixed a bug I reported against El Capitan in October of last year, and wrote about on this blog here and here. The TCC.db is now under SIP, which means hacking the Accessibility preferences is no longer possible. Now-a-days we have options like the Messages app, email, and Dropbox, as well as Apple’s AirDrop ①. ① If you have a Yosemite or El Capitan Mac and an iOS 8.1 or later device that both meet Apple’s hardware requirements, you can use AirDrop sharing between them. Drag a file (or folder) into your Dropbox folder in the Finder sidebar or on Dropbox.com. Once the file is copied to Dropbox, do one of the following: In a Mac Finder window, navigate to the item, Control-click it and choose Share Dropbox Link ⑧. A link copies to your Clipboard. Dropbox unexpectedly quit (MacOS El Capitan) Since a recent update of the Dropbox app, it is constantly terminating with a dialog that says 'Dropbox unexpectly quit (ect.)'. I have done a simple and an advanced reinstall, purging all files and starting from scratch. The Mac has avoided widespread malware, and Apple tries to keep ahead of the ways in which malicious software can gain a foothold in macOS. In 2015 with El Capitan. Dropbox started rolling.

On 27 Feb 2016, Apple silently pushed a security update that broke the Ethernet hardware connection under El Capitan for iMacs and Mac Pros. 'Incompatible Kernel Extension Configuration Data 3.28.1' was pushed to Mac OS X El Capitan users by Apple, and Ethernet stopped working. Apple released an update to the update.. of course if your computer was connected by Ethernet, it was not applied. They posted recovery instructions.

On 01 Sep 2016, Apple released Security Update 2016-001 , which fixes the Pegasus spyware bug.
On 24 Oct 2016, Apple released Security Update 2016-002 , which fixed several security bugs.
Apple released Security Update 2016-003 for 10.11.6 on 13 Dec 2016, fixing multiple security problems.
Apple released Security Update 2016-003 Supplemental Update for 10.11.6 on 17 Jan 2017, fixing an issue that could cause a freeze.
Apple released Security Update 2017-001 for 10.11.6 on 27 Mar 2017, fixing many security bugs.
Apple released Security Update 2017-002 for El Capitan on 15 May 2017, fixing security bugs.
Apple released Security Update 2017-003 for El Capitan on 19 Jul 2017, fixing security bugs.
Apple released Security Update 2017-004 for El Capitan on 31 Oct 2017, fixing security bugs including the KRACK vulnerability.
Apple released Security Update 2017-005 for El Capitan on 06 Dec 2017, fixing security bugs.
Apple released Security Update 2018-001 for El Capitan on 23 Jan 2018, with fixes for the Spectre and Meltdown security bugs.

I have installed El Capitan 10.11.6 on three computers. The install was tedious but not difficult. Most of the new features were things I didn't want.

El Capitan was replaced by macOS Sierra in September 2016. The latest version of macOS is version 11.0.1, 'Big Sur', released on 12 Nov 2020.

New Features of El Capitan

Graham Needham's MacStrategy Article on El Capitan describes many of the user interface changes.

El Capitan has user interface refinements and a new system font, San Francisco. There are also application improvements to Mail, Notes, Safari, Maps, Disk Utility, Photos, Spotlight, and Maps. There is more emphasis on full-screen mode and on iOS integration.

Apple says El Capitan contains performance improvements over Yosemite and earlier versions. My computer does seem a little faster.

Tighter security protections are included: 'rootless' System Integrity Protection protects the core OS from changes by malware or mistakes. Also, Apple fixed 101 security bugs, and subsequent updates fixed even more.

Yate 3 0 %e2%80%93 tag and organize your audio files. For more info, see this Apple page. Ars Technica has posted a long review.

Should I Install El Capitan?

I installed El Capitan 10.11.5 on two computers, and encountered only two programs that broke as a result: Adobe Illustrator CS5 and Photoshop CS5.

You should probably update to a newer OS, in order to get security updates. Using an unsupported OS will still work, but if security problems are found in an unsupported version, Apple will not patch them.
Some features of the iPhone OS 9.0 require El Capitan, such as the new features of the Notes app.
Eventually, companies will write software that requires features of the latest Apple OS, and someday you may want to buy and use some of that software.
If your current Macintosh fails and you have to buy a new one, you'll end up migrating to El Capitan whether you were ready or not.

Show Stoppers

Apple software: Some Mail.app users reported corrupted data, corrupted or missing accounts, failing connections, reappearance of deleted messages, and crashes. If you use IMAP accounts in Mail, you may be able to get them working by deleting and re-creating them. (Don't do this for POP accounts; it will delete all the mail. Many people report trouble with POP accounts.) My POP and Gmail IMAP accounts worked fine after upgrading. Not all mail servers implement mail protocols the same way, though, and some of the problems people report sound to me like the result of using a mail server that does operations in ways that Apple's mail client does not expect.

Third party apps:Microsoft Outlook 2011 requires a patch from Microsoft, available 2015-10-07 as 'Office for Mac 2011 14.5.6,' to cure an application hang. Some people report that it doesn't keep Outlook from crashing immediately. Microsoft Office 2016 is also encountering multiple issues. Users report that they cannot install Microsoft Office 2008 or Microsoft Office 2011 (out of date) on El Capitan. If Office was already installed on Yosemite and you upgrade to El Capitan, it will work. Adobe Illustrator CS5 has problems. See 'Bugs/Gotchas' below. Adobe Photoshop CS5 has problems with type. See 'Bugs/Gotchas' below.

Hardware support: Some printer brands do not have updated drivers for 10.11, and some fail to print. USB audio with asynchronous clocks was not working until 10.11.4. Time Machine automatic backups are not starting if a UPS control panel is connected via USB.

Security: Updating to El Capitan will remove non-Apple files from the core system, and prevent modification of the core system. These changes may break some third-party software that attempts to modify the core system.

What you Should Do Now to Get Ready for El Capitan

Use ► App Store.. ► Updates to keep all Apple software up to date, including the OS.
Apply all free updates to other software you use.
Set up an external hard drive and use Time Machine.
Add more RAM if you can.
Fix damaged and duplicate fonts.
Use Disk Utility to repair permissions on your hard drive. (This is safe to do, and quick.)
If you are running a version of Mac OS X earlier than Snow Leopard, you will have to install Snow Leo

Dropbox For Mac El Capitan