Mac Inside & Out · Updates, Time Machine & Recovery · Lesson 1 of 5

macOS Updates

Keep a Mac current with Software Update and quick security fixes.

Software Update on a Mac

You already know from Windows Update why updates matter. They close security holes that criminals look for. A Mac works the same way, with its own tool.

macOS is the main software that runs your Mac. Software Update is the part of System Settings that checks with Apple for new versions of it.

To find it, open the Apple menu in the top left corner and choose System Settings. Click General, then Software Update.

If an update is waiting, you see its name and a button to install it. Most updates need a restart, which means the Mac shuts down and starts again by itself. Save your work first, and keep a laptop plugged in.

Next to Automatic Updates there is a small info button. Click it to choose what your Mac does on its own:

• Check for updates looks for new versions regularly.
• Download new updates when available gets them ready in the background.
• Install macOS updates installs them for you.
• Install application updates from the App Store keeps your apps current.
• Install Security Responses and system files lets small security fixes arrive between bigger updates. In the newest versions of macOS, this switch is called Install system data files and security updates.

Turning all of these on is the easiest way to stay safe. You don't have to remember to check.

On Windows, the matching place is Settings > Windows Update.

On the practice computer, open Software Update, turn on Install Security Responses and system files, install the waiting update, and look at the restart prompt.

Security fixes between updates

Sometimes Apple finds a serious hole and wants to fix it fast. Waiting weeks for the next regular update would be too slow.

In earlier versions of macOS, Apple sent these quick fixes as Rapid Security Responses. They were small security patches that installed between regular updates.

In the newest versions of macOS, Apple calls them Background Security Improvements. They mostly patch parts like Safari, the web browser that comes with your Mac.

To check they are on, open System Settings and click Privacy & Security. Find Background Security Improvements and make sure Automatically Install is on. If it's off, you only get those fixes later, inside the next regular update.

When do older Macs stop getting updates? Each new version of macOS only works on certain Macs. When your Mac is too old for the newest version, it stays on an older one.

Apple often keeps sending some security fixes to older versions for a while. But Apple has said that not every known security problem is fixed in older versions. It also doesn't promise a date when the fixes stop.

So the safest choice is the newest version of macOS your Mac can run. If your Mac can't run a supported version anymore, plan for a newer one, especially if you bank or shop on it.

To see which version you have, open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac.