Guidance on How to Update Mac Operating System

Is your computer running an older Mac version, and you are not getting updates? It is not good for your system, as updates are necessary for the smooth working of your software and applications. But what if you don't know how to update operating system on mac?

Don't worry; we are here to help you out. Here we have described an entire method with a step-by-step guideline about "how to update mac operating systems" to get the latest security updates. Updates replacing existing Mac to latest is a must as skipping may put your important and sensitive data at risk. Moreover, updates release new features that support new functions and automatically forward to more ease and advancement. It will also secure your data against malware or virus attacks. Besides mac system update, you should also update your apps on your Mac to ensure that everything is working perfectly.

Here we also mention how to update all your Mac apps within a single click. But first, go through the part about "update mac operating system."

Latest Mac Operating System

Before heading towards the steps about system update mac, it is essential to know that what is the latest mac operating system?

Officially, Apple upholds current mac operating system versions of 10.15 Catalina, 11 Big Sur, and 12 Monterey.

How to Update Mac Operating System

Here are the simple and easy steps to check the Apple software updates on your Mac:

Step 1: Tap on the Apple menu

Firstly, you should click on the Apple menu on the top left side of your screen.

Step 2: Click on the Software Update option.

Now, click on the About This Mac option and go to the Software Update in the opened window.

Step 3: Check for available macOS updates.

Here you will "The System Preferences." Click on the available search bar and search for new macOS updates available. If there appears to be any update, click on the Update Now option and download and install it. Once downloaded, click on the restart option.

Now, wait for five minutes to five hours to finally get the newest Mac operating system update. The time may vary according to the size of the Update and your internet speed.

After restarting your system, you have done all the processes and got the new updates.

Some users have too many tight schedules and don't like to update their Mac manually. So, we have also described a simple solution for them. It will also help you not miss any updates if you forgot.

Look at an easy process that will help you set your Mac to update macOS automatically.

Simple Process to Set Your Mac to Update macOS Automatically

Step 1: Go to the system preferences section and click on the software update.

Step 2: Check the box mentioning Automatically keep my Mac up to date.

Now you will get the automatic updates on your Mac.

As we mentioned earlier, it is not enough to only update your Mac. Updating applications on your Mac is of utmost importance. It will ensure that your software and Mac applications are bug-free and serve you with their latest features. However, updating software is a bit more challenging than updating macOS. They have different steps as;

Steps to Update the Applications on Your Mac

Before starting to update your mac software, you should update your mac app store by following these steps;

• Go to the app store on your Mac.
• Check on the updates in the sidebar.
• If there is any available update, click on Update all to download and install all.

To update the Mac application that you haven't received through the App Store, go to the developer's website and download the latest updates from there. Moreover, these apps may also be swift to update when you open them.

Here are the simple steps to update all your mac software;

Steps to Update all your Mac Software Quickly

Update tracker in mackeeper is the best way to update all your mac software. This tool will help you scan your Mac to search all your apps. It will then check those apps that need Updates or are missing updates.

After scanning all apps, it will automatically start downloading and installing all the updates in one click.

This way, you can also choose those apps that you want to update and another one to skip this time and update in the future.

How to Use the Update Tracker Tool?

• First, download and install it from the official website.
• Now tap on the Update Tracker in the MacKeeper sidebar.
• Hit the "Scan for Updates" option. MacKeeper will scan all your apps.
• Soon you will see a list of the Mac apps that need Updates.
• Click Update All to update all apps at one time.

It is always attractive and good to get the latest macOS version as updates with new features. But in some situations, the new version does not support your system, and your system could not work properly on the new version. If you're interested in Linux operating system, you can check the link.

So, users want to drop back to their old macOS version. However, it is also true that downgrading is not a simple process. Here we will show you how you can get back your older version if new updates are causing a problem for your system work. There are three simple ways to downgrade to an older version. It depends on you whatever you adopt, but first, you should back up your Mac.

How to back up your Mac?

There are two options to back up your data before upgrading:

• Using built-in Time Machine service
• By restoring an old Time Machine backup

3 Simple Ways to Downgrade to an Older macOS Version

Way 1: Downgrade Using macOS Recovery: Intel Macs Only

• Shut down your Mac.
• Turn on your computer quickly and press Shift + Option + Cmd + R.
• It normally takes longer than usual to get started as macOS recovery loads.
• Now click on the Reinstall macOS and then continue.
• Select your startup disk and click on the install option.
• Follow the given instructions on the screen to finalize the process.
• Once the installation is completed, restore your files from your backup folder.

Way 2: Downgrade Using a Time Machine Backup

Follow these simple steps to install and download older macOS versions using a Time Machine backup:

• Plug your Time Machine disk into your Mac and turn it off or restart.
• Now boot your Mac into Recovery mode. For this, press Cmd + R to enter macOS Recovery. And if you are an M1-mac OS base system user, press the power button on startup till Loading Startup Options appear. After it, choose the options to launch Recovery mode.
• As soon you see the macOS utility screen, choose to Restore from Time Machine Backup and hit the "Continue" button.
• After it, choose to restore the source.
• Now choose the backup you want to recover from. It will also help you see a version of macOS used to create that backup.
• Finally, restore your mac file system.

Way 3: Downgrade Using an Older macOS Installer

In this method, you can download and install the older version of macOS through Apple's Support website.

After getting the particular macOS installer downloaded on your Mac, use it to form a bootable disk to reinstall macOS. It is best for those who want to downgrade from macOS Monterey to macOS Big Sur or older on M1 Macs.