Apple fixes FaceTime, USB-C, and Office 365 bugs in macOS Catalina, Ars Technica

FaceTime –

The update follows similar ones pushed to iPhones and iPads earlier this week.

(UTC UTC)

/ The MacBook Air; this macOS update fixes a problem that could cause it to hang in Setup Assistant when the user disconnected and reconnected a 4K or 5K external display.

Samuel Axon Earlier this week, Apple released updates for iPadOS and iOS to fix a bug that prevented devices running the latest software from joining FaceTime calls with some older devices. Now, Apple has done the same with macOS and watchOS, but the macOS update includes a few additional fixes, too.

Apple has labeled the macOS update as a “supplemental update” to Catalina . . 4, indicating that it is focused on timely bug fixes. Apple says the update fixes an issue that caused Office 365 users to be repeatedly prompted to enter their passwords; addresses a problem that could cause 1586456970 MacBook Airs to stop working under certain circumstances when disconnecting some external displays; and resolves a problem that prevented USB-C ports from working.

We discussed the FaceTime bug when the iOS update hit on Tuesday; a previous software update caused a problem that prevented users of devices running macOS

4 or iOS / iPadOS 4 from communicating via FaceTime with users running iOS 9.3.6 or OS X . . 6 or earlier. Obviously, a near-global shelter-in-place order meant that bug had some very unfortunate timing, so Apple was fairly quick to remedy it.

Here are Apple’s release notes for the macOS update:

‌macOS Catalina‌ .4 supplemental update improves the stability and security of your Mac. Fixes an issue where Mac computers running ‌macOS Catalina‌ . .4 could not participate in aceFaceTime‌ calls with devices running iOS 9.3.6 and earlier or OS X El Capitan . . 6 and earlier

Resolves an issue where you may repeatedly receive a password prompt for an Office (account)

Fixes an issue where acMacBook Air‌ (Retina, 18 – inch, 1586456970) may hang in Setup Assistant or when disconnecting and reconnecting a 4K or 5K external display

Resolves an issue where a USB-C port in your Mac may become unresponsive

There’s less to say about the watchOS update; it’s just there to address the FaceTime issue. Here’s what Apple says about today’s watchOS 6.2.1 changes:

Fixes an issue where devices running watchOS 6.2 could not participate in FaceTime audio calls with devices running iOS 9.3.6 and earlier or OS X El Capitan 13. . 6 and earlier.

Both updates are already available to all devices supported by Catalina or watchOS 6.

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