Updating a Mac is usually an easy thing, but unexpectedly, you can't update to macOS Tahoe. You either get stuck at the macOS 26 downloading or installing process.
It so happened that I met it too. Given that this is a common issue for Mac users, I am willing to share my troubleshooting experience and summary for the macOS Tahoe update stuck issue, hoping it helps more people.
Tips: Updating to macOS 26 involves two phases. One is to download the installer, the other is to install it. In this post, I'll lead you to discuss the common issues that happen on them separately.
| Issue | Solutions |
| Can't download macOS Tahoe on Mac (Failed or stuck at preparing or downloading macOS 26) | 1. Check if your Mac supports macOS Tahoe 2. Check the internet connection 3. Check the Apple servers' status 4. Restart your Mac 5. Free up space on your Mac 6. Try download macOS Tahoe directly from Apple's server, App Store, or using Terminal |
| Can't install macOS Tahoe on Mac (Stuck at the installing process or reboot phrase) | 1. Unplug unnecessary peripherals 2. Force-reboot your Mac and try again 3. Reinstall macOS Tahoe from Recovery Mode 4. Switch to a clean macOS Tahoe installation 5. Perform a DFU Restore 6. Install macOS Tahoe from a bootable USB installer |
Share these quick solutions to help others who can't install macOS Tahoe and fix issues where the update gets stuck or fails.
macOS Tahoe download stuck or failed on Mac? Try these fixes
First, confirm whether you truly can't download Tahoe on your Mac. A failed/frozen download and a slow download are different.
The macOS Tahoe installer is about 16 GB and usually takes around 1 - 2 hours to download, though this depends on your internet speed. If the download is progressing, even slowly, it's normal.
However, if you encounter any of the following situations, it shows that the macOS 26 download may be stuck or have failed.
- Your Mac is stuck on "Checking for updates."
- Get the error "An error occurred preparing the update. Failed to personalize the software update. Please try again."
- See the error "Failed to prepare the software update. Please try again."
- Your Mac gets stuck at preparing macOS Tahoe.
- macOS Tahoe is not showing up in Software Update.
- Get the message "An error occurred while downloading the selected updates."
- macOS Tahoe download freezes at a certain point in time during the download.
In this case, just follow the solutions below to restore downloading macOS Tahoe.
Check if your Mac supports macOS Tahoe
If macOS Tahoe doesn't show up in Software Update or hangs on"Checking for updates," your Mac may not support it. To confirm, go to Apple menu > About This Mac, check your Mac's details, and see if your Mac is on the list below.
Mac models compatible with macOS 26 Tahoe:
- MacBook Air (Apple Silicon, 2020 & later)
- MacBook Pro (Apple Silicon, 2020 & later)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt ports)
- MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
- Mac mini ( 2020 & later)
- iMac (2020 & later)
- Mac Studio (2022 & later)
- Mac Pro (2019 & later)
Check the internet connection
If your internet connection is unstable or weak, the download may slow down, pause, or fail with errors such as "Failed to prepare the software update. Please try again.", "An error occurred while downloading the selected updates," or "Preparing macOS Tahoe stuck at 30 minutes remaining."
To fix that, you can disable the network connection and then re-enable it, re-enable Wi-Fi, switch to another Wi-Fi, restart your router, or take your Mac near the router.
Check the Apple servers' status
If the culprit is not the internet connection, don't forget to see if the issue is caused by the broken Apple servers, though it rarely happens.
Go to the Apple System Status page. If the light next to macOS Software Update is green, the server works properly. If it shows yellow or red, the Apple server is experiencing an issue. Wait for a moment until it's back to normal.
Restart your Mac
Sometimes, a temporary system bug occurs, preventing you from downloading macOS Tahoe smoothly. Simply restart your Mac to refresh the system and get rid of the temporary errors. Then, try downloading macOS 26 again.
Free up space on your Mac
Sufficient free storage space on your Mac is one of the basic requirements for a successful macOS Tahoe download.
If your Mac is scattered with various files and folders, I suggest you clean it up. On the one hand, this will fix the downloading failure; on the other hand, this will ensure your Mac runs smoothly after installing the new macOS.
If you think manually tidying up a Mac is complex and time-consuming, you can use a Mac cleaner. iBoysoft DiskGeeker is a multi-functional disk management tool that supports scanning junk files on your Mac for one-click deletion.
- Download, install, and open iBoysoft DiskGeeker on your Mac.
- The tool will automatically scan types of junk files on your Mac.
- After scanning, choose your unwanted files and click Clean to permanently remove them from your Mac.
After that, you'll find that your Mac has more free space. Then, you can try to re-download macOS Tahoe.
Try another way to download macOS Tahoe
There are several ways to download macOS Tahoe. If you can't download macOS Tahoe from Software Update on your Mac, switch to one of the following ways.
Download macOS Tahoe from the App Store
Click the Apple menu > App Store, search for macOS Tahoe in the search box, and then click Get next to macOS Tahoe to download it. Also, you can click the direct link from Apple to quickly locate macOS 26 in the App Store and download it.
Download macOS Tahoe directly from Apple's server
You can click the direct link below to quickly get the macOS Tahoe .pkg installer from the Apple server. Notably, a stable and powerful internet is required to build the connection with the Apple server.
Download macOS Tahoe with Terminal
Using Terminal to download macOS Tahoe is a common alternative when you get stuck on downloading macOS Tahoe. This way actually lets your Mac directly build a connection with Apple's official software update servers and pull the installer directly from there.
- Open Terminal on your Mac.
- Enter the command below and press Return to check the full installers available for your Mac.
softwareupdate --list-full-installers
- Enter the following command to download macOS Tahoe. Replace "version number" with the latest version of macOS Tahoe on the above list.
softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 26.0 - Wait for macOS Tahoe to be downloaded. During the process, keep your Mac screen on.
Then, you can find the macOS Tahoe full installer from the Applications folder on your Mac.
If the above solutions help you out of the dilemma of macOS Tahoe download stuck or failure, share them with more people.
Install macOS Tahoe stuck or failed on Mac? Follow these fixes
Note: The installation usually takes 1–2 hours. Upgrading across multiple versions, for example, from macOS Monterey (12) directly to macOS Tahoe (26.0), may take longer. If the installation progress is being made, be patient.
However, if the installation stays frozen at the same point for several hours, it's likely stuck and will need troubleshooting.
Perhaps the download process goes smoothly, but you get stuck or fail at the installation phase of macOS Tahoe.
You may find that macOS Tahoe takes forever to install, the macOS Tahoe installation is stuck at 5 minutes or less than a minute remaining or similar, or macOS Tahoe is stuck at the login screen.
Or, you see some errors, like "An error occurred loading the update."
Don't worry, I'll help you troubleshoot if you can't install macOS Tahoe.
Unplug unnecessary peripherals
Sometimes, the macOS Tahoe installer may misidentify the external drive as the target disk and write boot files to it. Some peripherals, especially those that rely on third-party drivers, may conflict with the installer and cause the macOS Tahoe installation to hang or fail.
So, it's best to disconnect external devices to ensure the Mac can reboot into the updater without issues.
Force-reboot your Mac and try again
Temporary errors can cause your Mac to get stuck installing macOS Tahoe. To end the frozen installation process, you can simply restart your Mac.
This will refresh your Mac and eliminate the possible errors, then you can start the installation from scratch.
Reinstall macOS Tahoe from Recovery Mode
Reinstalling macOS Tahoe from Recovery Mode is a remedy when updating macOS from normal mode fails.
This will download a fresh copy of macOS Tahoe from Apple's servers and install it over your existing installation on the selected disk. And your personal files will not be erased.
On an Intel-based Mac:
- Restart your Mac and press the Command - Option - R keys together until you see the spinning globe appear on the screen.
- Enter your admin password if asked.
- Choose Reinstall macOS Thaoe and follow the on-screen instructions to install macOS Tahoe.
On an Apple Silicon Mac:
- Shut down your Mac.
- Press the power button to start up the Mac again, and continue holding down the power button until the startup options show.
- Select Options and click Continue.
- Select your startup disk and click Next.
- Choose an admin account and enter the password.
- Select Reinstall macOS Thaoe and follow the on-screen instructions to finish installation.
Switch to a clean macOS Tahoe installation
Different from a direct macOS update or reinstallation, a clean macOS installation involves erasing the startup disk and then reinstalling macOS.
This can fix startup disk issues, old data conflicts, firmware or boot issues, etc., that lead to macOS Tahoe installation being stuck or failing.
Before a clean install of macOS Tahoe, back up your Mac in case of permanent data loss.
- Enter macOS Recovery Mode.
- Select Disk Utility.
- Select the Macintosh HD (or macOS) volume group and click Erase.
- Enter Macintosh HD as the name and set APFS as the format.
- Click Erase and wait for the process to complete.
- Back to the utilities window and choose Reinstall macOS Tahoe.
- Follow the on-screen guide to finish installing macOS Tahoe.
Perform a DFU Restore
A macOS installation contains firmware updates. The system may hang if it can't boot into the firmware updater or apply the patch.
Just as the recently highly discussed issue - macOS Tahoe can't be installed on Mac Studio M3 Ultra. This is also caused by a firmware bug or a firmware update failure that occurs during the macOS Tahoe installation.
To fix the failed macOS Tahoe installation, you can perform a DFU Restore (Device Firmware Update Restore). It can fix firmware errors or severe corruption that prevents macOS from installing by putting the Mac into a factory-like condition.
So, remember to back up your Mac first and then start a DFU Restore.
- Prepare another Mac (running macOS 14 or later), here I named this Mac as Mac A, and a USB-C to USB-C cable.
- Ensure booth Macs are connected to power.
- Use the USB-C to USB-C cable to connect the two Macs.
- Start up the Mac A and ensure it is connected to the internet.
- Shut down your Mac completely and wait a moment. Then, press the power button and, meanwhile, press the Control (left side) - Option (left side) - Shift (right side) keys together for about 10 seconds.
- Release the three keys, but keep holding the power button for 10 more seconds until a DFU window appears on the other Mac.
- Click Allow if it asks you to allow the accessory to connect.
- Click Restore Mac on the DFU window > Restore and Update on your Mac.
- Wait for the process to finish. Then, your Mac will reboot automatically.
- Follow the on-screen guide to set up your Mac.
Now, check if your Mac has installed macOS Tahoe or not. If not, update your Mac to macOS Tahoe and see if the process goes well this time.
Install macOS Tahoe from a bootable USB installer
If your Mac still can't install or update to macOS Tahoe, the final solution you can try is to install macOS Tahoe from a bootable USB installer.
As we all know, creating a macOS Tahoe bootable USB installer involves complicated steps and is easy to mess up. So, here, I suggest you use a tool to help you do this complex job.
iBoysoft DiskGeeker is a disk management tool that supports creating a macOS Tahoe bootable USB installer with clicks only.
Here's how:
- Download, install, and open iBoysoft DiskGeeker on your Mac and connect an empty external drive or USB drive to your Mac.
- Select a volume on the drive and click Select > Continue.
- Choose macOS Tahoe and click Create boot disk > OK.
- Wait for the macOS Tahoe installer to be created.
Then, use the macOS Tahoe bootable installer to start up your Mac.
- Go to macOS Recovery mode to check if you've modified the settings to allow your Mac to boot from external media.
- Ensure your Mac has a stable internet connection.
- Connect the macOS Tahoe bootable installer to your Mac.
- Restart the Mac, and continue pressing the power button (for an Apple Silicon Mac) or the Option key (for an Intel-based Mac) until the startup options appear.
- Select the macOS Tahoe bootable installer and go on.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to boot your Mac from the macOS Tahoe installer.
Note: If your Intel-based Mac doesn't boot from a USB installer when holding the Option key, restart it and press Command–Option–P–R immediately, keeping the keys held until you see the Apple logo or progress bar. This will remove cached data that might prevent startup. After that, try booting the Mac again with the Option key.
If you find this post useful for solving the macOS Tahoe download or update stuck issue, share it with others.
FAQs about can't update to or install macOS Tahoe on Mac
- QWhy won't my Mac let me update to macOS Tahoe?
-
A
The reasons are various, as below:
Your Mac doesn't support macOS Tahoe.
Your internet connection is unstable or poor, preventing your Mac from establishing a connection with Apple servers.
Your Mac has temporary system errors.
There are conflicts from peripherals.
Firmware updates failure or corruption occurs during the macOS Tahoe update.
- QWhat to if my Mac gets stuck on installing macOS Tahoe?
-
A
You can wait longer to see if the process goes on, but just slowly. If the process indeed freezes, you can restart your Mac and start from scratch, disconnect your external devices, switch to another way to install macOS Tahoe, etc.
- QIs my Mac too old to update to macOS Tahoe?
-
A
Here's the list of Mac models that supports macOS Tahoe. Just check if your Mac is on the list.
MacBook Air (Apple silicon, 2020 & later)
MacBook Pro (Apple slicon, 2020 & later)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt ports; 16-inch, 2019)
Mac mini ( 2020 & later)
iMac (2020 & later)
Mac Studio (2022 & later)
Mac Pro (2019 & later)