Apple regularly releases updates for your macOS software which includes updates to apps that come with your Mac and important security updates.
If you receive a notification that updates are available, you have several options:
- Install the updates now.
- Click I understand to defer the install for a later period.
After the updates are installed, you may be asked to restart your computer to finish installing updates.
macOS updates FAQ
Will the notification give me a chance to defer updates again if I delay it once?
If you choose to defer updates, when the notification appears again, you may choose to defer again, up until the final deadline is reached.
Will the notification come back if I update after deferring?
Should you choose to defer installing updates, and then later manually install updates yourself, the next time the update check happens, it will detect the macOS version and silently exit without any further notifications.
If I install updates prior to the deadline, will it restart automatically?
Until you choose to install updates, your Mac is not restarted automatically. macOS may prompt you to restart your Mac once software updating is completed.
How can I tell if there are updates that need to be installed?
You can check for updates one of the two following ways:
MacOS 10.14 and later:
- Open System Preferences from the Apple Menu
- Click Software Update to check for updates
MacOS 10.13 and earlier:
- Open the App Store
- Click Updates in the App Store toolbar
You can view additional details here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201541