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About macOS 10.13 "High Sierra"

With the release of macOS 11 in November 2020 macOS 10.13 became unsupported.

macOS 10.13 is considered insecure and not suited for use in a professional context!

If your Mac still runs a macOS version below 10.15 you should upgrade to a supported version of macOS as soon as possible!

The information below is for historical reference only.

macOS 10.13 ("High Sierra") became available from the Mac App Store in September 2017. The information below is for historical reference only.

There are some important actions to take before you install it:

  • Ensure that all the software you are using is compatible with it. See below for a list of known issues.
  • Verify your hard-disk or SSD before doing the install.
  • Make sure you have a recent backup, allowing you to recover your data in case of problems.
  • Note that the upgrade will most likely convert the filesystem on your Mac, carefully read https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208018 and re-check your backups!

Known Issues

This is a summary of issues known so far. Please note that this list is by no means complete. Please contact the Service Desk if you encounter a problem with an application or a service.

Adobe Illustrator CC

Adobe is reporting about several known issues with macOS 10.13, see https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/illustrator-and-mac-os-high-sierra.html

Auristor Client

Auristor client versions lower than 0.160 are not compatible with macOS 10.13 and must be uninstalled or upgraded before attempting to upgrade to macOS 10.13. Failing to do so will result in endless kernel panic - reboot - kernel panic cycles. We do not recommend to use the Auristor client. Also see the entry for OpenAFS below.

AutoCAD

AutoCAD 2017 can not be installed on a Mac running 10.13, but it might work if it is installed before the upgrade to 10.13

GPGTools

According to https://gpgtools.org (link is external) there is a release of the GPG Suite for macOS 10.13 (GPG Suite 2018.1).

hpglview

hpglview does not work with Xquartz versions above 2.7.9. Xquartz version 2.7.10 or newer is required for compatibility with X libraries on lxplus et al. For the recommened version of Xquartz see below.

MacPorts

MacPorts users should read https://trac.macports.org/wiki/HighSierraProblems, before upgrading to macOS 10.13.

MATLAB

MATLAB versions below R2017b are not compatible with macOS 10.13.

Messenger

Messenger has dropped the support for gTalk.

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office 2016 requires at least version 15.35 for macOS 10.13. Support for Office 2011 has stopped in October 10th, 2017.

OpenAFS

We are not aware of a working OpenAFS client for macOS 10.13. The previous versions of openAFS client do not work under 10.13. You must de-install OpenAFS before upgrading to macOS 10.13. Failing to do so will result in endless kernel panic - reboot - kernel panic cycles. Please note that AFS is being phased out at CERN. In the transition period a scp from or to lxplus might be sufficient for infrequent access to AFS files.

Parallels

Parallels has a list of known issues and potential fixes or workarounds on https://kb.parallels.com/123840.

ssh

Some GSSAPI options have been dropped already in macOS 10.12. Among others the GSSAPITrustDNS is not supported any more. You might have to remove the unsupported options from the system and / or users ssh config files.

In the past we recommended to keep an old version of the ssh binary that still supported GSSAPITrustDNS. This is not needed anymore since lxplus and other major services have now been configured to use service keys.

System Center Endpoint Protection

Microsoft SCEP is not supported anymore. Users should install ESET AntiVirus via the Mac Self-Service.

XQuartz

It is recommended to use XQuartz 2.7.11 or later. You can download XQaurtz from https://www.xquartz.org/.

XQuartz installs into /opt/X11, and creates symlinks in /usr. If you have previously installed any version of X11 that did install in /usr, the symlink /usr/X11 -> /opt/X11 cannot be installed, and some X programs will not start. In that case you have to remove the directory /usr/X11 and manually create the symlink.