Apple lets macOS users with a qualifying machine who wanted to opt into a public beta do so with a very few clicks. Visit the Apple Beta Software Program enrollment page, download an installer, and follow the instructions.
El Capitan’s public betas were very stable, even in early releases, and Apple’s incremental approach coupled with extensive testing truly seemed to help produce a mature “dot oh”: OS X 10.11.0 worked well out of the gate. But what if you don’t want to preview all the micro-releases, like the curent 10.11.1? As long as you’re in the program, you’ll get daily reminders about these new betas.
But you can opt out in a remarkably easy fashion.
- Open System Preferences and click App Store. If you’re like me, you may not remember or have even ever visited this preference pane.
- For Macs that opted into the beta program, there’s an option labeled Your Computer Is Set to Receive Pre-Release Software Update Seeds. Click Change.
- Click Do Not Show Pre-Release Updates.
You can opt out of beta release notifications in the App Store preference pane.
The pre-release option disappears and you’re no longer shown these updates in the App Store nor notified. You can opt back in through the page linked above if you want to resume testing early releases.
Ask Mac 911
We’re always looking for problems to solve! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com including screen captures as appropriate. Mac 911 cannot reply to email with troubleshooting advice nor can we publish answers to every question.
Author: Glenn Fleishman, Senior Contributor
Glenn Fleishman’s most recent books include Take Control of iOS and iPadOS Privacy and Security, Take Control of Calendar and Reminders, and Take Control of Securing Your Mac. In his spare time, he writes about printing and type history. He’s a senior contributor to Macworld, where he writes Mac 911.