How to Check and Install Updates on Mac

Update App Store apps and system software

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Click on the Apple menu and select "App Store." The Apple menu is in the top left corner of the screen. You can use the App Store to check the latest versions of App Store apps and install security and stability updates for OS X. These changes begin with OS X Yosemite; If you're using an earlier version of OS X, read Installing OS X legacy updates below.

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Click on the "Updates" tab. You can find this tab at the top of the App Store window. You'll see a button displaying a number corresponding to the number of available updates.

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Click the "Update" button next to any available update to install. The update is immediately downloaded to the device and installed after the download is complete.

You'll see both app updates and system updates in the list of available updates (if any).

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Luigi Oppido

Computer repair technician

Luigi Oppido is the owner and operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. He has more than 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal and upgrades.

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Luigi Oppido
Computer repair technician

Expert Tip: When installing updates on your Mac, check the update version to make sure it's a good version. For example, if it is version 10.12.2 (macOS Sierra) or 10.13.1 (macOS High Sierra), your computer will not work well, but if it is version 10.12.5 or 10.13.6, it will be fine.

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Click "Update All" to download and install available updates. If there are multiple updates available, click "Update All" to download and install them all at once.

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Check for updates after installation. Some updates only appear when you have an older update installed. Open the Updates tab again after installing all available updates to see if there are any more available.

Enable automatic updates

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Open the Apple menu and select " System Preferences". You can turn on automatic updates for applications and system updates, so you don't have to check yourself and the software is always up to date and secure.

You can find the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen.

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Click on the "App Store" option. This opens the App Store settings.

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Check the "Automatically check for updates" box. This activates many automatic update options.

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Check the 3 dialog boxes below "Automatically check for updates." This option automatically checks for, downloads, and installs app, system, and security updates once a day.

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Click "Check Now" to see if an update is available. If available, the update will be downloaded and installed on your device immediately.

App updates are installed without going through the App Store

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Check for updates in the app (if available). Many applications downloaded from websites or installed from discs will have a built-in update checking tool. Look in the Help or File menu. Follow the instructions to check for and install available updates. Many programs will uninstall, then install the latest version.

Not all programs have this feature.

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Visit the developer's website. Some developers will post program patches on the website. Go to the program's home page and check the "News" or "Downloads" section to see if a newer version is available.

You can find the link to the program's website in the About section of the Help menu.

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Download and install the latest version. Some applications installed from online sources do not have an update option, you need to install the latest version yourself.

Download the installer of the latest version on the developer's website.

Drag the current program from the Applications folder to the Trash. This is the operation to delete the program but retain the personal settings for the application.

Run the downloaded installer and drag the application to the Applications folder. This is the operation to install the latest version.

Upgrade OS X to a newer version

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Open the App Store. The latest version of OS X is available for free updates, and system updates are recommended to access new features and better security. You can download the upgrade from the App Store on Mac.

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Find the latest version of OS X on the App Store. You can find it at the top of the "Featured" tab if you don't have that version installed. If you don't see it in the "Featured" tab, you can switch to the "Quick Links" tab to the right of the Featured tab. You can search by update name.

The latest version as of this writing is "El Capitan."

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Click the "Download" button to download the upgrade. OS X updates are quite large and can take several hours to download.

If you don't have a high-speed internet connection or don't want to exceed the bandwidth limit, you can take your device to an Apple Store and upgrade the system for free.

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Run the program "Install OS X Name " (Install OSX "Name") in the Applications folder. If the installation process does not start automatically after downloading, you can run the program that appears in the Applications folder. This is the step to carry out the upgrade process.

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Follow the instructions to install the upgrade. You will see a few notification screens before starting the installation, such as terms and conditions. Most users do not change any information at this stage.

The update process does not affect individual files or programs.

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Wait for installation to finish. The update process usually lasts 20-30 minutes, the Mac will reboot when completed. Personal files and programs are still saved in the same location after the update.

Install updates to legacy versions of OS X

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Open the Apple menu and select "Software Update . " This will open a new window to check for available system updates.

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Manage software update settings. You can schedule software updates or choose to check for updates and install them automatically when new versions are available.

Select "Check for updates" and then choose how often to check. You can check daily, weekly or monthly.

Select "Download updates automatically" if you want your computer to automatically check for and install updates when available. The computer may require a restart when the update is complete.

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Click the "Check Now" button. This checks for available updates for Apple systems and programs.

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Check the dialog box corresponding to the update you want to install. After checking for updates, you will see a list of available updates. Each update will have a dialog box next to it. Check the box corresponding to the update you want to download and install.

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Click on the "Install # Items" button. You are asked to enter an administrator password. After entering the password, the device will download and install the update.

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Open the App Store to check for app updates. The Software Update window does not check for app updates on the App Store. You'll have to check it out yourself on the App Store.

Open the App Store on the application tray.

Click on the "Updates" tab.

Click the "Update" button next to an app that has an update or "Update All" to download them all.

Lesley Montoya

Update 24 June 2024