How to fix MacOS Big Sur error “An error occurred while installing selected updates”?

Question

Problem: How to fix MacOS Big Sur error “An error occurred while installing selected updates”?

Hi, I have been impatiently waiting for Big Sur to launch on my Mac and now I am pleasantly disappointed as I cannot update the version. When I try to launch the update, I receive an error message ‘Installation failed. An error occurred while installing the selected updates. Any advice to fix this problem?

Resolved answer

Today, Apple released its seventeenth version of macOS – Big Sur (11.0), a successor to the widely known Catalina (10.15). The first Apple announcement was in June 2020, the launch was expected on November 12 and many users were waiting for it. The new version was supposed to bring major changes to the operating system, including a major update to the user interface (UI), support for Apple-designed ARM64-based processors, improvements in system security, and much more.

Whereas Catalina is still causing problems for users after being patched several times (problems with HP printers, internet connection interruptions, Accountsd consuming large amount of CPU, etc.), many users expected Big Sur to be successful, with a host of improvements. However, it seems that the release is not working as expected – many users were complaining about how extremely slow the download speed was when it came to updating the file. The slow download speed of thousands of users is simply the beginning of the problems of Apple’s latest iteration.

The Apple community forums and other technical spaces were inundated with user reports of the “An error occurred while installing selected updates” error when trying to install Big Sur. The problem seems to occur more often when users are trying to download it through the update launcher rather than from the Mac App Store.

In addition to this, many Apple services, such as Maps Traffic, iCloud Mail, iMessage, and others, also stopped working, as most users had problems connecting to these services. The tech giant was quick to fix the “An error occurred while installing selected updates” errors that users were getting, along with revamping the operation of its services and the Apple Developers site. Unfortunately, even after several hours after launch, users were still experiencing the same issues.

To make it even worse, even those who decided to postpone the installation of Big Sur to later could also be affected. Formally, systems running Catalina could also be affected by the launch. Many users on Twitter reported a slowdown in the operation of the computer and applications.

Today we will try to provide you with ways to resolve the error “An error occurred while installing selected updates” along with other problems you may be experiencing. Before proceeding, we strongly recommend that you check your system with ReimageMac Washing Machine X9as slow download speed can be the result of your Mac being cluttered.

Solution 1. Download the Big Sur update directly from the Apple Store

Most users tend to download the latest updates through the update launcher on their Macs. Unfortunately, this mode doesn’t always work and it appears that the Big Sur download has been more successful for those who downloaded it from the Apple Store rather than the launcher.

Therefore, go to the official website of Apple and try download update From there.

Solution 2. Restart your system

macOS Big Sur is quite heavy at 12GB, which means it can take a while to download for some users, especially those who don’t have a fast internet connection. However, those with a faster speed could take more than 12 hours to download the update completely.

Therefore, if the error “The installation has failed. An error occurred while installing selected updates »appears during this time, it can be extremely frustrating after waiting so long. Some users stated that simply restarting their computers helped them avoid being interrupted by this annoying error.

Solution 3. Repair the disk

Although this solution may not help everyone, it is worth a try.

• Reboot your Mac.
• Right after this, press and hold the keys Cmd + R on your keyboard.
• Once the menu of Disk Utilities, Choose Disk Utility and click on Continue.
• Choose the disk Macintosh HD of the list.
• Click on First aid and then click on Done as soon as it is available.
• Exit Disk Utility and reboot your Mac.

Solution 4. Leave some free space

As mentioned above, low space on your hard drive may result in the inability to install Big Sur, which may result in the error “An error occurred while installing selected updates.” According to some users who have been able to test this new macOS version in Beta, they have encountered some problems when they tried to install it.

Many macOS systems, especially older ones, have limited space and many users import many files. Also, certain invisible files can cause low space problems – Time Machine is known to take up space that is not initially displayed. Although you could disable Time Machine to free up some space, it is not recommended – you should look for other tips that we provide in the article How to free up disk space in Mac OS?. You can also use an automatic tool like ReimageMac Washing Machine X9 that I can do this job for you.

Solution 5. Wait

Since this problem is universal to millions of people trying to simultaneously download Big Sur, the problem is highly dependent on Apple’s own servers. Therefore, the technical team needs to fix these problems in order to allow all users to update the operating system in a light way.

In the meantime, if none of the tips above helped you resolve the error »An error occurred while installing selected updates» and you are experiencing slowdowns in Catalina, proceed to the next solution.

If your computer cannot run third-party applications (or runs them slowly)

Mac and iOS developer Jeff Johnson reported issues regarding slow startup or third-party apps having connection failures to ocsp.apple.com. Therefore, in order to stop your computer from connecting to the server, you should download and install Little snitch and deny the TCP connection to the server (using the function trustd).

Alternatively, you could simply turn off your internet connection, as this could put an end to performance issues.

Fix your Errors automatically

The pcseguro.es team is trying to do everything possible to help users find the best solutions to eliminate their errors. If you don’t want to bother with manual repair techniques, please use the automatic programs. All recommended products have been tested and approved by our professionals. The tools you can use to fix your error are listed below.

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