It may seem like a hassle to keep your Mac updated, but doing so is crucial for keeping yourself safe online. What should you do if you try to update the system software on your Mac but the update does not appear in the macOS Software Update control panel? To learn more about where to find Mac software updates, please read this article.
Why System Software Update Not Showing On Mac
Check For An Active Internet Connection
Making sure you have a working internet connection is the first thing you should do. Opening Safari or another web browser and trying to access a website on a Mac will quickly allow you to verify this.
Before being able to view, download, and install software updates on the Mac, you’ll need to be connected to the internet if nothing loads and the internet isn’t functioning properly.
Mac Software Update Servers: Are They Down
It’s also possible that Apple’s software update servers are momentarily down; in this case, waiting for a little while usually fixes the problem, and the software update will reappear the next time the Software Update preference panel is loaded on the Mac.
This is fairly uncommon, but it does occasionally occur when a significant new update is released, as well as at random on other occasions when the update servers are overloaded, simply unavailable for maintenance, or experiencing some other server-related problem.
To find out if this is the issue or not, visit the Apple System Status page to check the status of the macOS software update servers (as well as other Apple services).
Refresh The Software Update System Preference On Mac
You can refresh the Software Update control panel to see if an update appears if none is currently listed as available or if you see an error message saying “Unable to check for update”:
- Go to the Apple menu and choose ‘System Preferences, then go to “Software Update” as usual
- Refresh the Software Update control panel by hitting Command + R on your keyboard
- Wait a moment and the software update should now show up
- You can proceed to the next step if the Mac still doesn’t show the system update as being available.
Reload The Software Update Service On Mac
Using Activity Monitor, Mac’s preference panel and software update service can be completely refreshed. This shouldn’t be required frequently:
- Hit Command+Spacebar to open Spotlight on the Mac, then type “Activity Monitor” and hit the Return key to launch the Activity Monitor app
- Use the “Search” function in the upper right corner of Activity Monitor and search for ‘softwareupdate’ (all one word, no spaces)
- Select “com.apple.preferencs.softwareupdate.removeservice” and then click the (X) button in the title bar to force quit the process
- Choose to “Force Quit” the “com.apple.preferencs.softwareupdate.removeservice” process
- Open “Software Update” in System Preferences again on the Mac, the update should show up now
There will be a brief error message if you are performing this with the Software Update control panel open. Simply ignore it and reopen the Software Update preference panel.
Try restarting the Mac and waiting a while if you’re still having trouble getting software updates to install on the computer.
Why Mac Not Showing The Latest macOS Update
Restart Your Mac
There are numerous problems that restarting is known to solve. Starting with this one, let’s move on. Just restart your Mac. You can do that by going to the Apple menu > Restart. Try updating your Mac once more following a restart. Check out the next step if this is still not working.
Try To Reload The Software Update Service On Mac
In order to do this, we’ll open Activity Monitor. Here is how:
- Open Activity Monitor on your Mac, which can be found in the Applications > Utility folder. Furthermore, Spotlight can be used to start it.
- Using the Search field located at the top-right corner of Activity Monitor, search software update. Simply one word, no spaces.
- Choose com.apple.preferenceencs.softwareupdate.removeservice (System Preferences) from the results.
- Click the (X) Quit button and select Force Quit.
- Then go to System Preferences > Software Update as usual.
- The latest update ought to now appear. If not, proceed to the following action.
Preferences Error” appears in the error message.” Simply click the OK button to dismiss it. Restarting the Software Update will do this.
Use The Mac App Store To Update
- On your Mac, launch the App Store.
- Enter macOS in the search field, and hit Enter.
- Search for macOS Monterey (or the most recent macOS release) in the results. Click View. Then click Get.
The Software Update window will reopen after you click Get. You will see the update, though, this time. For instance, mine currently asks, “Are you certain you want to download macOS Monterey 12.3?” Click Download.
It will say Finding Update in the Software Update pane. There might be a short wait. The software download will then start after that. Update the macOS software on your computer by following the on-screen instructions.
Please take note that the first step might not be successful. Try it again after restarting your Mac if it doesn’t work.
When There Are No Updates Available, How Do I Update My Mac?
Click on About This Mac in the top left corner of your screen to learn the year your Mac was manufactured. Go to Check Compatibility to see which OS version your Mac can be upgraded to.
Then, from the Download OS section, choose the OS you want to install. A complete backup of your Mac should be made before upgrading.
Why Is My Mac Refusing To Accept Updates?
Several factors could prevent your Mac from receiving an update. The most frequent cause, however, is a lack of storage space. A sufficient amount of free space is required for your Mac in order to install the new update files. By using this guide, you can free up space on your Mac.