yes, the download assistant looks at SAM and eLicenser and sees if they need an update. If it thinks one is available it just goes ahead and download/installs. A new and broken version of SAM was released a few days ago and this is what the Download Assistant was struggling to install.
I’m guessing you’re on a Mac - I notice Thomas had some problem updating his Mac here - maybe a network/mac issue ?
If WL 11.1.20 is working for you now then I wouldn’t worry too much about it and move on. A new, fixed, version of SAM is due to be released next week so it will be interesting to see if this downloads/installs ok on your Mac with the download assistant.
I’ll keep an eye open for when it’s uploaded and post a message on this thread so people who are having licence issues can update.