To update your Mac, open the System Preferences app, which has its own 'Software Update' menu. You can also check for updates through the 'About This Mac' menu, which can be found by clicking the. Launch the App Store from the dock and click on the “Updates” tab. Once the window has refreshed, you should see any updates listed as “macOS 10.xx.x Update” (depending on your version). Click “Update” next to the relevant entry, or click “Update All” at the top of the screen to update everything. MacBook Pro 17' 2009-2011 RAM Hard Drive Data Doubler Battery. MacBook Pro 17' Early 2009 RAM Hard Drive Data Doubler Battery. MacBook Pro 15' 2008 RAM Hard Drive Data Doubler. MacBook Pro Pre-Unibody RAM Hard Drive. MacBook Air 2013-2017 Storage SD Card Battery. MacBook Air 2012 Storage SD Card Battery. MacBook Air 2010-2011 Storage SD Card.
To update your Mac, open the System Preferences app, which has its own 'Software Update' menu.
You can also check for updates through the 'About This Mac' menu, which can be found by clicking the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen.
If your Mac is still running macOS High Sierra or earlier, however, you'll need to go through the App Store.
With the new macOS Big Sur release, you should update your Mac as soon as you can.
Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.
In many ways, Macs are built for convenience: They have backlit keyboards, there's a variety of ways to take and save screenshots, and they come with a wide assortment of shortcuts that can speed up your work.
But like all devices, they also require updates from time to time. And although updates can be annoying and time-consuming — Who hasn't put off an update until the very last moment? — they're also incredibly important.
An outdated Mac is more susceptible to bugs, crashes, and even viruses (yes, Macs can get them too). And if you leave updates waiting for too long, your favorite apps might stop working altogether.
In November 2020, Apple released macOS Big Sur, the latest version of its famous operating system. And if you're currently working on a Mac, now is a good time to update your computer.
How to update your Mac computer
There are two major ways to update your Mac, and which one you use will depend on what macOS version you're currently running. For information on how to check which macOS version you currently have, read our article, 'How to check which version of macOS your Mac computer is running and check for new updates.'
Before going forward with updates, it's a good idea to backup your computer to ensure no data is lost in the process. You'll also need to be connected to the internet.
After that, keep in mind that the updates may take several minutes to install, depending on how many of your apps are due for updates.
How to update a Mac running macOS Mojave or later
If you've bought or updated your Mac since 2018, chances are that you're in this category.
1. In the top-right corner of your screen, click the Apple icon to open a drop-down menu.
2. There are two menus here that you can use to check for updates. Click either 'System Preferences' or 'About This Mac..'
3. No matter which one you pick, in the menu that opens, click 'Software Update.'
3. Wait a few moments for your Mac to connect to the internet and check for updates. If an update is available, you'll be shown what it's called — just click 'Update Now' to install it.
You can also choose to enable automatic updates from this screen by checking the 'Automatically keep my Mac up to date' box. This will ensure that whenever a new update is available, you'll be told without having to open this screen.
From the above screen, you'll be given the option to update your Mac. Any Mac computer released in 2012 or later should be able to update to at least macOS Catalina. If your Mac is so old that it can't even do that, it might be time to buy a new model.
And, for future reference, don't worry about accepting an update and then having your computer unexpectedly restart — you'll be notified beforehand if a restart is required.
Related coverage from Tech Reference:
11 8 likes 16,472 views Last modified Feb 2, 2021 4:31 PM
This is a series of tips that cover Mac OS X client edition. Server forums cover Mac OS X server on the community. Hot studio 69.
Here is the series of tips for related Macs. 10.6,10.7, 10.8, 10.9, 10.10,10.11,
10.12 ,10.13, 10.14 Mojave, 10.15 Catalina , 11.0 Big Sur.
Adobe reader mac safari. See special note about resetting the SMC during updates and upgrades, later in the tip.
is an article I wrote that everyone updating their Mac should read. No update should be ventured into with operating systems or software without first ensuring your data is backed up in two separate places. Slowing down of your Mac should not lead you to assume an update will fix everything. First isolate why your Mac is slowing down or crashing before installing anything new.
Apple includes many full upgrade installer links on https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683
Note: APFS came about with High Sierra, and Mojave continues the practice of auto-reformatting drives into APFS that are solid state like flash drives from HFS Journaled. If you need to downgrade to an older system than High Sierra, you will need to reformat the drive again, or leave a partition with the old formatting available.
Apple released for 10.14.6 users, 2020-003 Mojave security update. If running an earlier version of 10.14, run the 10.14.6 Combo update first.
Apple recommends you have these Macs according to: https://support.apple.com/kb/SP777?locale=en_US
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer) [model identifier 8,1 or later]
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer) [model identifier 5,1 or later]
MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer) [model identifier 9,1 or later]
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer) [model identifier 6,1 or later]
iMac (Late 2012 or newer) [model identifier 12,1 or later]
Mac Pro (Late 2013; Mid 2010 and Mid 2012 models with recommended Metal-capable graphics cards) [model identifier 5,1 or later]
bracketed items in quotes were added for additional identification purposes. Your Apple menu -> About This Mac -> System Report or System Profiler gives you the model identifier.
All of the Macs that are older than 10.11, need to be updated to 10.11 first before installing Mojave.
The oldest MacBook Air, Mac mini, and iMac which can upgrade to Mojave shipped with 10.8, Mountain Lion.
The oldest MacBook Pro which can upgrade to Mojave shipped with 10.7, Lion.
The oldest MacBook had Mac OS X 10.10 installed.
The oldest Mac Pro on the list above with the compatible graphics cards, had 10.6 originally installed, and is the only Mac that shipped with 10.6 that can install Mojave. Before upgrading to 10.7 or later, read this tip as Apple has not reintroduced a series of software that made older Mac compatible software compatible with Intel Macs since 10.6.8's release.
Update My Macbook Pro 10.10.5
Apple released Mojave on September 24, 2018. Reports from:
earlier than that date were made with pre-release Mojave versions and can not be relied upon.
September 30, 2018 driver additions from third party update pages:
HP, and Samsung (HP has become the download site for at least some Mojave Samsung printers, if you have Samsung see if any are Catalina compatible)
Silverfast.
10.14.3 was released January 22, 2019. Note, some users are reporting 10.14.3 will not successfully apply as an update without an SMC reset as described how to do in this link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295
Update My Macbook
Frequently both updates and upgrades will require multiple reboots to successfully apply. Do NOT become impatient if you find the screen go blank during the update or upgrade process. If you press the power button to shut it down while it is rebooting for the update or upgrade, it may quit the process, and leave you stuck.
Use the macOS Mojave forum for operating system specific questions of other end users such as yourself.
are directions for creating a separate partition that will allow you to dual boot into an older operating system
if you find something not compatible with the current. Once you install the older operating system, you can use the Startup manager to dual boot to the older system.
You can't install Mojave from the Finder, unless you are running 10.13.6 or earlier.
The direct download link for Mojave is:
Update My Macbook Pro Os
Note: some people have had trouble downloading the latest Mojave links. https://brave.com/ has been found to be a better web browser than some if you run into issues and is known to work on Mac OS X 10.10 and later.
Update My Macbook Air To 10.13
Note: the 2020-004 security update for Mojave has a bug with the screen saver getting stuck. To repair delays in the screen saver, 'The workaround is to choose a non-picture screen saver such as Flurry, Message, etc.' (special thanks to community member dialabrain for this report.