The blog informing us of this update states:
What does this mean? I need this update asap as I am continually getting popups and various networking functions don't work correctly.
How can we bypass the phased release and get this update now?
Well, this morning I tried uninstalling, then using the Norton Removal tool, and then reinstalling and running live update. I can report that I now have 8.6.1 on my MacBook Pro and my Mac mini. Not sure if they are loosening up the deployment, as I have tried this same procedure too many times to count with no success.
First impressions are that the firewall aggressiveness seems to be corrected. I am no longer getting popups for sharingd, netbios, Microsoft Edge etc. as I was before.
Will post if I find other issues. I don't use Time Machine over NAS so cannot test that, as others seem to have issues with that functionality.
Not so fast, I guess. So my iMac did pull the 8.6.1 update, but my MacBook Air will only pull up to 8.6.0a. The struggle continues....
8.6.1 Success! Not sure if this will work for everyone. Maybe it was just coincidentally "my time" in the rollout, but this is what I did, per Norton Support:
Fingers crossed for you!
Over a month since 8.6.1 released. Still not able to get the update on my devices. Still have the firewall issues.
Is there no update from Norton on this? Why can't we at least get some kind of status?
Doesn't really matter. 8.6.1 fixes nothing. the network problems still exist and the only workaround seems to be to disable the firewall and switch on the mac version. No sign of a solution, or even a credible response, from Symantec. Bizarre. People must be leaving to try some of the free solutions like rats from a sinking ship. I wonder how many will come back?
Crickets?
I can understand a throttled release with server load and all, but a company as big as Norton and its now over a month since release and its not ramped up to 100% yet? Quite disappointing. Unfortunately, you are one of the only AVs that is fully supported, bugs not withstanding, so using another product isn't really an option. Fingers crossed you guys open it up soon.
A product update was announced on 12/17, and here we are almost a month later and no one is able to get it. All the while the product doesn't work and no one at Norton can provide any update other than when throttling gets to 100% another update will be provided (whatever that means).
I respectfully request a real update on what the status is with regards to fixing all these firewall and other issues with 8.6. We understand that the problem may be complex and that it may be difficult to fix, but at least provide us with some kind of status so we know what is going on. When can we anticipate some kind of update or solution? Please remember that we are all paying good money for this experience
I can hardly use my mac without turning of protections due to constant amnesia on allow/block popups. My subscription expires shortly, If I don't get 8.6.1 soon and it fixes this issue, I will be seeking a new vendor.
Either it is released or it is not, its been near a month
Hi,
I'm sorry about the inconvenience caused. This is a throttled release. Once the throttle reaches 100%, I will post an update. Thanks.
-Gayathri
8.6.1 was released on the 17th of December - still no word on how to get this update from Norton.
As the Holidays are now over, can we please get a response on how to get this update?
Completely amazed at the lack of response from Norton on this issue. At the very least, you would think they would give those folks having issues access to 8.6.1. As it stands, we just have to try and limp along with a product we are paying for that doesn't work.
Can someone from Norton please respond? We know you monitor this forum as you occasionally respond asking for logs.
I've decided to remove Norton 360 Platinum from my Macs until further notice and will recommend against using the product until I know that this issue has been addressed.
For now I've installed an alternative solution on the Macs with a free trial and haven't found any issues so far, if the Norton Firewall issues aren't resolved in the next 2-3 weeks then I'll remove Norton from all devices I manage (including windows devices) and migrate them over to a better solution from an alternative vendor.
Of the few alternative vendors I've explored so far, I've yet to experience issues on Big Sur, seems this is a Norton specific problem, however the lack of acknowledgement / urgency around what I would consider quite a big issue with the product is what's putting me off.
If I were to look at Norton as a new customer, there's absolutely nothing to indicate that the product has issues with Big Sur, it's claimed to be compatible but that's clearly not the case at present. I've used Norton products on and off for years and never had this poor an experience.
Issues can crop up, it's the nature of the game, but this particular problem should have been identified during beta testing due to it's prevalence - 100% of the Big Sur devices I had Norton installed on were affected by it. This is no small issue either, it kills all network connectivity, probably great for security - not so much for usability.
How Norton LifeLock handle this particular issue is as important as the solution. A lack of communication around this reduces confidence in what they promote as a "premium" product and service.
I'd recommend a better way at distributing patches than the approach taken here. I understand the need to cautiously roll out changes, however for those who are actively affected, offering an option to force the update or apply it manually would alleviate the situation.
I'm having the same issue. My Mac is disconnecting me from my network servers, the internet and the virtual machine run on my Mac. My Mac was working fine with Catalina, since upgrade, its an absolute disaster. The Norton website state their software is compatible. I'm sorry but I have to disagree with that statement. Need a fix urgently and Norton need to update their website to let users know there are compatibility issues with potential work arounds until the issue is fixed.
I'll add my name to that list, got 2 Mac's here running Big Sur, both of them exhibit the same issues where Norton Firewall if enabled will simply kill all network activity on the machines rendering them useless and isolated from the network and internet.
I've had to disable Connection Blocking and Vulnerability protection simply to be able to browse the web or access local network resources.
Given the scale of this issue with Big Sur it's more prudent to get the patch out to machines as quickly as possible, even if offering a manual download for now rather than the approach taken where those who may benefit from it will have to wait in hope that their machine becomes one of the randomly selected endpoints?
Do we have an ETA on when this is expected to be rolled out to all users?
Same here. I would like to try 8.6.1 to see if it fixes my network disconnection issue. Don't tell me I have to pray the network won't be disconnected before a 8.6.1 live update is pushed to my computer...
Is there any comment from Norton? Essentially we have a product that does not work correctly due to numerous network related popups and blocks.
The blog post announcing the update is vague and ambiguous on how or when we might get the update that supposedly corrects many issues that those of us on this forum have reported.
I would appreciate if someone would respond on how we can obtain this fix without waiting weeks for an auto update to happen, if it happens at all (blog states update is only for random endpoints, which implies maybe not everyone will get the update).