For example, a good beta tester does more than file a report that says “Contacts crashes.” You’ll instead want to explain exactly what you were doing when you saw that crash. If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I had a way to let Apple know what I about this feature,” this is your chance-before the OS is even released.Īll of this means that taking the time to provide detailed, actionable feedback is vital. If you install the El Capitan beta and come across bugs or other problems, you should report those issues to Apple using the Feedback Assistant app included with the beta OS.Īpple is also looking for feedback on specific features and the OS as a whole.

(See the next item.)ĭo I have to do anything special to be a beta tester? How can I be a good tester?Īpple doesn’t have any formal requirements for beta testing, but remember that the purpose of the beta program is to provide Apple with feedback about the upcoming OS. As we mentioned, beta software is by definition unfinished, which means that you could run into bugs or flaws that significantly impede your day-to-day activities-and, in the worst-case scenario, could result in data loss.īut even if you’re okay with these risks and limitations, you may want to consider whether you’re ready to be a good beta tester. It’s ultimately up to you, but there are a few factors to take into account. Of course, there have always been bleeding-edge early adopters who just want to see what all the fuss is about. Users of beta versions of OS X have traditionally been developers who wanted to test software on the new OS before release, or people testing the OS itself for compatibility with other apps, services, and IT systems. I’ve been accepted to the beta program (or I’m considering signing up). Multiple copies of important data are, as always, a good idea. Once you’ve installed the public beta, make sure not to entrust any important data to only your test Mac or drive. The last thing you want to do is accidentally overwrite your non-beta backups with data from your beta-test system.Īnd even if you do install the beta on a separate volume or in a virtual machine, you’ll still want to make sure you’re maintaining your main backup routine, just in case the beta inadvertently affects other drive or volumes. Unless you’re going to install the El Capitan beta on a secondary Mac (or on a secondary drive or partition, or in a virtual machine) and you don’t care about losing data on that Mac or volume, you’ll want to have a good backup plan-ideally, a separate backup plan from the one you use to back up your main Mac or drive.

Should I do anything special to safeguard my data before I install the beta?īack up, back up, back up.

Apple mac os beta