We have chosen to stop Mac from updating to Big Sur. Apple releases software updates every year, and macOS updates are one of them. Mac consumers love to update the software to the latest version because it brings interesting features, functions, and more. Recent times have proven that Apple is failing to live up to the customer’s expectations as the software is inviting new bugs & glitches. It is not easy for the multi-billion companies to launch new stable editions each year, and the Cupertino-based company has taken the challenge.
What is the problem with macOS releases?
Millions of iMac & MacBook machine owners are complaining about new bugs & glitches. The recent editions are causing plenty of software-related problems, meanwhile, some of the problems are minor, and others are major.
Let us look at known bugs & glitches that have occurred on older & newer machines.
- Google Drive Backup & Sync (error: 8B227910) error.
- Data loss.
- iPhones and Macs are not able to iCloud synchronize.
- Installation interrupted in the middle of the process.
- Many Mac owners have reported that the performance is declined and the animations are laggy and choppy after the Big Sur update.
- AirPlay problems.
The list keeps goes on about the macOS latest edition, but Apple is working with the team to deal with the shortcomings. We have reasonable points to keep the latest edition away from our machines because it is better to have one-year-old but stable software installed in iMac & MacBook computers.
How to disable macOS Updates
Unlike Windows, you can turn off software updates in “System Preferences” without additional tools. Of course, it has a shortcoming because Apple wants the users to switch to the latest edition, so they can sell new computers later down the line. The task is fairly easy to follow, and anyone can do it, so follow our lead to disable automatic macOS updates.
- Click on the “Apple” logo located at the top left corner.
- Choose “System Preferences” to continue.
- Tap on “Software Update” to continue.
- Click on “Automatically keep my Mac up to date” to start the process.
- The confirmation pop-up shows up, and click on “Turn Off Automatic Updates” to turn it off.
- Click on “Advanced” to reveal more options.
- You have to uncheck “Install macOS updates” then “Download new updates when available” and then uncheck “Install system data files and security updates” to confirm it.
Remember, you can make changes here and choose to update “Install system data files and security updates” because it will protect the users. Apple may not admit it, but macOS has plenty of loopholes and does not strong security.
However, we have chosen to disable it entirely because the latest Big Sur made drastic changes to the motherboard BIOS. You should read online reviews & news about the latest macOS editions because it may cause problems in your machine.
Apple will keep reminding you about the latest editions, and that’s the downside of the method. You should always choose “Later” to avoid, but it happens once per session and nothing else.
How to stop macOS Update via Terminal
Mac has a Terminal, which is a powerful tool in the machine, and you can make good use of it. If you want to block one specific edition, then you can use Terminal to achieve it. Follow our guide to enable and disable the software updates in the Mac machine.
- Open Terminal from the launcher, and it is located in the “Others” folder.
- Open Terminal.
- Copy & paste (sudo /usr/sbin/softwareupdate –ignore “macOS Big Sur”) command in Terminal.
- Press enter button to register the command and enter the password to confirm the action.
- Mac will inform you that it has blocked that one specific macOS editions.
You can replace macOS Big Sur with something else, and that is completely up to you. The Apple desktop OS edition should be the official name, and that’s how Terminal will block it manually.
Remember, Mac will block Big Sur update in our iMac computer, and you can do the same. However, you can revert the changes by updating the software manually from “System Preferences.” The updates won’t show up on the screen because you have blocked it, but a manual action will trigger the update.
Bottom Line
There are other methods to stop Mac from updating, but it requires third-party programs to achieve it. However, the two mentioned solutions are enough to block the latest edition to update automatically and you don’t need third-party tools in the process.
