1. Mac Stuck Checking For Updates
2. Mac Stuck Checking For Software Updates On Mac
3. Macbook Pro Stuck Checking For Updates

As you try to update to macOS Big Sur, you'll find there are a mess of macOS update stuck problems that stop you from moving on.

Each time a new Mac desktop operating system updates, a flood of Mac users would rush to download and install the macOS. There is no exception for macOS Big Sur, which has just been released as a free upgrade for users. It features with many significant changes or redesigns in Big Sur compared to Catalina, including the new design, Messages new features, faster Safari, enhanced apps, etc.

Many users reported that macOS download stuck, installation failed, an error occurred while installing this update, installation stuck on grey/space screen or failed issue when they attempt to get it upgraded. Concerning such miscellaneous macOS Big Sur update stuck issues, this article covers a collection of macOS Big Sur update failed problems and solutions.

Read more: macOS Big Sur update guide and quick fixes to any Big Sur update problem.

There’s a quick and easy way to disable automatic software updates on Mac for both macOS and App Store apps. Disable automatic software updates on Mac. You can take care of disabling these updates all in one spot by following these steps. 1) Open System Preferences using the icon in your Dock or Apple icon System Preferences from the menu bar.

• What to do if the macOS Big Sur download is stuck. Check Apple’s System Status page for information about possible server issues on Apple’s end. Check your internet connection. Try to download it from the Mac App Store if your first attempt was through Software Update. If your first attempt was in the App Store, try Software Update.
• If you are sure that your Mac is no longer working on updating the software, follow these steps: Turn it off, wait a few seconds and restart your Mac. Press and hold the power button to turn off your Mac and start the backup. Go to the Mac App Store and open Updates.
• If the update still does not install, next try checking your boot drive for errors. To do this, reboot to the recovery drive by holding Command-R, and then open Disk Utility from the OS X Tools.
• Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Software Update to check for updates. If any updates are available, click the Update Now button to install them. Or click ”More info” to see details about each update and select specific updates to install.

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What Should do Before Upgrading to macOS Big Sur?

Although the every new macOS upgrade comes with certain exciting features, you need to know if your Mac computer can safely be updated (take Big Sur as an example). If you pay no attention to the details, macOS Big Sur update problems come with you for sure, probably your Mac update stuck or Mac failed update won't boot. Here are some of the things that you should look for before you upgrade to the new update.

1.Check compatibility. Big Sur requires any of the following Mac models: iMac; MacBook Pro; MacBook Air; MacBook; Mac Pro; Mac Mini.
2.Check minimum software and hardware requirements. You should have OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 or later. It requires at least 35.5GB of storage space to perform the Big Sur upgrade from macOS Sierra or later, 44.5GB from an earlier release.
3.Backup your Mac. To avoid any possible macOS Big Sur update problems, making a backup of your Mac comes essential. You can backup Mac with Time Backup Machine, iCloud, iTunes, or any other third-party Mac backup tools like MacX MediaTrans.

Common macOS Big Sur Update Stuck Problems & How to Fix Them

1. Big Sur Update Download Stuck

As you attempt to download macOS Big Sur installer, you may be noticed that 'Installation requires downloading important content. That content can't be downloaded at this time. Try again later.', or 'An error has occurred.' Big Sur download times are slow this year and are always failing. It's exceedingly annoying, but there is no way to bypass this step for macOS update.

Usually Mac update download failed error is originated that you download the package from somewhere other than Mac App Store or you just downloaded the Beta version. So you need to go to Mac App Store and download the official macOS Big Sur instead to fix it. Overloaded Apple's server is also a main cause.

2. macOS Big Sur Installation Failed, An Error Occurred

Installation failed, an error occurred while installing this update while upgrading to Big Sur. It got to about 10% or halfway and failed, some users cannot even reconnect. Many users are getting the same error. The macOS Big Sur installation failed error is properly caused by overloaded Apple's server, there are tons of users rushing to download now. You can check on the status on Apple's support system status page. Wait for a while and try again.

Apple resolved the issue, however, some users still get macOS Big Sur installation stuck message. Read more: What to Do If macOS Big Sur Installation Stuck/Frozen/Slow

3. Failed to Update macOS Owing to Insufficient Storage

You know, Big Sur update requires at least 2GB RAM and 14.3GB available storage. So if your Mac computer almost ran out of the storage space, your macOS update stuck at the beginning for sure. To make sure how much space your Mac has left, from the Apple menu, select About This Mac >More Info >Storage.

If your Mac update failed definitely owing to the storage space, the only thing you need to do is to free up the space on Mac. Just make it done by uninstalling unused applications and app caches, deleting old devices backups, deleting unnecessary media files from iTunes, emptying trash can, clearing temporary files, compressing large files to smaller size and so on.

4. macOS Big Sur Update Freezes on Firmware Confirmation

The inability to verify firmware error is the mainly reported macOS update problems. Many users said as they try to update to Big Sur, the installer noticed that there is an error checking the firmware. Actually, it turns out to be a corrupted EFI partition. It's an MS-DOS formatted little slice that's needed when updating the computer firmware.

You can boot into rescue mode, checked the partitions with 'diskutil list' and 'verifydisk' (terminal), and fixed the EFI partition 'diskutil repairdisk (your EFI disk/partition) '.

5. Big Sur Update Installation Stuck with DiskManagement Error

After downloading the new macOS for my MacBook pro (mid-2012) with HDD, the computer restarted but continues to fail during the installation. The error I keep getting is . I completed a disk repair but no errors popped up there, so I assume nothing is wrong with the drive. I tried to reinstall macOS from recovery mode, but I continue getting this same error. Does anybody know how to fix this problem? - Apple Support

As the DiskManagement Error happens, you can try to fix it within the following steps: 1. Start in recovery with ALT+CMD+R > 2. Go to disk utility > 3.　Convert the volume to APFS > 4.　Restart the installation

6. Big Sur Update Stuck on Gray Screen

It's not always a gray screen, as strange as that may sound. The 'gray screen' problem can also manifest itself as a black screen, space screen with Apple logo, a spinning gear, a spinning globe, or a prohibitory sign. Mac update stuck on gray screen problem can occue right after you start or restart your Mac. It may be caused by a bad peripheral or peripheral cable, RAM issue, Drive issue or whatever.

Before you start to fix the macOS update stuck on gray screen problem, you need make sure what's the cause. Then you can disconnect all external peripherals, remove all but the minimum amount of RAM from your Mac, use Single-User mode to repair a Startup Drive. I think the problem will be fixed.

After you have fixed the macOS Big Sur update stuck problem, you can enjoy the salient new features of Big Sur. But at the same time, some new troubles might trouble you as well, such as like macOS Big Sur running slow, some apps get damaged or non-Apple Apps cannot be opened, Safari crashed, Mac gets overheated, or the Big Sur keeps logging you out etc. So think twice before you upgrade to macOS Big Sur, and if you encounter any Big Sur update problems, pick the macOS update problems and fixes as a reference.

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macOS Big Sur finally saw the light of day in November 2020. As the latest operating system has lots of new features and improvements, and most of us want to install it as soon as we can. Most of the time, everything works out, and we’re up and running very quickly. Sometimes, however, it doesn’t go well, and you see a message saying that the macOS installation couldn’t be completed.

macOS Big Sur can't be installed on Macintosh HD
That's the most common message that shows up. What do you do then? We’re glad you asked because we have some answers below.

Before you attempt to install any major update to macOS, you should back up your Mac. If you use Time Machine, you can run a manual backup using that. If not, run a backup using whichever backup tool you usually use. If you don’t run scheduled backups – and you really should – clone your boot drive to an external disk before you start.

Why won’t macOS Big Sur install?

There are several possible reasons:

• Your Mac doesn’t support Big Sur
• The update couldn’t be downloaded
• You don’t have enough disk space
• There’s a conflict in your system preventing the process from completing

Check if your Mac is compatible

Here’s the list of Macs that are supported by Apple for installing Big Sur. If your Mac isn’t on it, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to run Big Sur.

• Any Mac Pro or iMac Pro
• MacBook Pro and MacBook Air 2013 and later
• iMac and Mac mini 2014 and later
• MacBook 2015 and later

What to do if the macOS Big Sur download is stuck

1. Check Apple’s System Status page for information about possible server issues on Apple’s end.
2. Check your internet connection.
3. Try to download it from the Mac App Store if your first attempt was through Software Update. If your first attempt was in the App Store, try Software Update.

If you see a message telling you that macOS cannot be installed or Big Sur is stuck on the progress bar, try the following.

Free up disk space with CleanMyMac X

You’ll need around 16GB of free space to upgrade to macOS Big Sur. However, even if you have more than that, your Mac may tell you that you can’t upgrade because it thinks you don’t have enough free space. This can happen for a number of reasons. The simplest solution is to free up more space. And the best way to do that is to use CleanMyMac X.

This app makes it very quick and easy to free up several gigabytes of space by getting rid of junk files that clog up your Mac. It can also be used to uninstall applications, identify large and old files, illustrate what’s taking up the most space, and even protect your Mac from malware. Here’s how to use it to free up space quickly.

1. Download and install CleanMyMac X. It’s free to try it out.
2. Press Scan.
3. Press Run to remove all the junk files CleanMyMac has found, or click Review Details to find out more.

As you can see from the screengrab, I was able to save 10GB of disk space in just a few minutes.

macOS Big Sur stuck on 12.18 GB out of 12.18GB

Another common issue is when your download size reaches 12.18 GB and then the download just freezes. In this situation, don’t trust the progress bar report — it’s most likely a miscalculation. In fact, your download is still in progress — but the system is reading it differently.

Mac Stuck Checking For Updates

So how to fix macOS Big Sur stuck on 12.18 GB

• 1. Disconnect from the internet (or turn off the Wi-Fi)
• 2. Re-connect so you’re online again.
• Check for the update and click the upgrade button.

Your download should resume — this time it may go faster as some components have been downloaded already.
If the progress bar stops again, disconnect from the internet and repeat the above steps.
So, 'reviving' the lost connection seems to be the fix.

Optimize your storage

As an alternative, you can also use Apple’s built-in storage management tool to free up some storage space.

Mac Stuck Checking For Software Updates On Mac

1. Click on the Apple menu and choose About this Mac.
2. Choose Storage.
3. Press Manage.
4. Review the recommendations and follow those that are relevant.
5. Go through each of the sections in turn and identify then delete files taking up lots of disk space – like old iOS backups, for example.
6. When you’re done, press Command-Q to quit.

Try installing macOS Big Sur in Safe Mode

Sometimes launch agents, login items, or extensions that load when your Mac boots can cause problems when installing a new version of macOS. To check whether that’s the problem, you can restart your Mac in Safe Mode and then try updating it to Big Sur.

• Shut down your Mac.
• Wait ten seconds, then press the power button.
• As soon as your Mac starts up, press Shift.
• Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo.

Macbook Pro Stuck Checking For Updates

The free version of CleanMyMac X can also help manage and remove launch agents and login items. Choose the Optimization module in the sidebar to get started.

There are lots of reasons why your Mac won’t update to Big Sur. Thankfully, most of them can be fixed. If you follow the steps above, and particularly if you use CleanMyMac X to help, you should have it installed and running in no time.