UPDATE: Apple has now updated its system status page to indicate that the issue is now resolved. As a result, Mac users can try to reinstall macOS Big Sur without encountering the “An error occurred while installing the selected update” message.
Apple has just released the latest version of macOS Big Sur. However, some users seem to have problems downloading and installing the new operating system for Mac and MacBook devices. For those who are going through”An error occurred while installing the selected updateshere’s the latest info and some potential fixes.
macOS Big Sur is a much-anticipated update for Mac computers with many new features and improvements. However, any OS upgrade brings its own set of problems, and it’s not uncommon for devices to crash. In fact, the “selected update installation error” problem is not exclusive to Big Sur, users have encountered the same error when updating to earlier versions of macOS at the time of release.
For now, it remains to be seen why some Mac users have this problem, even though Apple is aware of the problem. The company’s system status page specifically highlights “macOS software update problems”, which explains some more “Users may not be able to download macOS software updates on Mac computers“. The message also indicates that the matter is currently under investigation. Apple also has answered Send similar confirmations to individual users on Twitter.
Possible fixes for macOS installation errors
While Apple is aware of the issue and is working on a solution, since this is an issue that has occurred in the past, fixes and workarounds are available as well. While they may not work for those experiencing installation errors right now, they are still worth a try. For example, some users encountered a similar problem when they upgraded their Mac device to Mojave in 2019, and one of the solutions suggested by the Official Apple Support Community is as follows:
- Restart the computer. At or just before the bell rings, hold down the Command and R keys until the Utilities menu appears.
- Select Disk Utility and press the Continue button.
- Then select the indented volume item (usually Macintosh HD) from the side list.
- Click the “First Aid” tab on the toolbar and wait for the “Done” button to activate. Click on it and exit Disk Utility.
- Select Restart from the Apple menu.
- Try reinstalling the update.
If the above instructions don’t work or are too complicated, users can perform some more comprehensive checks to make sure their Mac device is ready and can download Big Sur. A very common reason is the amount of free space available at the time. For example, when Big Sur launched in beta, some early testers experienced capacity issues when trying to apply the update. So making sure you have enough free space is an important check. It is important to note that relying solely on the amount of free space indicated by the system is not always a reliable indicator as some space can still be occupied for various reasons. An example of this is described in a post on the Apple Developer Forums: Time Machine sometimes takes up hidden space. In this case, just turn off Time Machine and manually delete the local snapshots using Terminal.
Of course, this problem can also be purely a matter of demand. As expected, a large number of users will now try to download the update, and a spike in activity can also cause problems. If that’s the case, you should wait before trying to upgrade to Big Sur. If none of these fixes help, at least you can take comfort in knowing that this isn’t something specific to a single user or device. Not only has it appeared in previous major macOS upgrades, but it seems that many people are currently experiencing the same problem. Not to mention, Apple is aware of this issue and is working on it.
Source: Apple