"Install updates now or try tonight"?

[splitpea]

On older versions of MacOS, when I clicked the "details" button on the "install updates now or try tonight" notification, it would let me choose between installing now or trying overnight. Now, it takes me to settings, where I can either switch updates to "install automatically" or... do nothing?

How do you actually get it to install a specific update overnight without enabling *always* installing automatically?

 

[tragicwinding]

That's a great question. While Apple has changed some of the functionality with MacOS Monterey, you can still schedule updates for overnight. Here's what you can do:

1. Click on "Software Update" in System Preferences.
2. If an update is available, click on "Update Now".
3. You'll see a pop-up asking if you want to install the update now or try tonight.

This should allow you to schedule the update for overnight without enabling automatic updates for all future updates. If the update doesn't install overnight for some reason, MacOS will attempt to install it the following night. Hope this helps!

 

[splitpea]

Well, that's confusing AF. Because it's totally obvious that "update now" won't start the update immediately but will give you the option to do it overnight, right?

Anyone else remember a time when Apple was a leader in these sorts of UX ergonomics? They used to have an entire guide for this, including things like why it's a good idea to name buttons in confirmation dialogs things other than "ok" and "cancel".

Anyway, thank you for the info!

 

[splitpea]

That's a great question. While Apple has changed some of the functionality with MacOS Monterey, you can still schedule updates for overnight. Here's what you can do:

1. Click on "Software Update" in System Preferences.
2. If an update is available, click on "Update Now".
3. You'll see a pop-up asking if you want to install the update now or try tonight.

This should allow you to schedule the update for overnight without enabling automatic updates for all future updates. If the update doesn't install overnight for some reason, MacOS will attempt to install it the following night. Hope this helps!

So... I just tried that, and there was no "update now" button except to upgrade to Ventura (which I don't want). The "Install Now" option for the Monterey update just went straight to immediately download the update (despite my having it set to automatically download updates and this one bugging me for 3 days, so I don't know why it hadn't already downloaded).

When it was done downloading it gave me a 60-second warning that it was about to restart. If I'd happened to have stepped away from the computer for 2 minutes at that point for a fresh cup of coffee, I would have been stuck with an unusable computer for 45 minutes while it installed. I don't even know if it'll try to install overnight now.

Is there really no way to say "download and prepare this now; install it overnight" in Monterey?

 

[bogdanw]

From Terminal

softwareupdate -d

softwareupdate options

softwareupdate --help
usage: softwareupdate <cmd> [<args> ...]

** Manage Updates:
-l | --list List all appropriate update labels (options: --no-scan, --product-types)
-d | --download Download Only
-i | --install Install
<label> ... specific updates
-a | --all All appropriate updates
-R | --restart Automatically restart (or shut down) if required to complete installation.
-r | --recommended Only recommended updates
--os-only Only OS updates
--safari-only Only Safari updates
--stdinpass Password to authenticate as an owner. Apple Silicon only.
--user Local username to authenticate as an owner. Apple Silicon only.
--list-full-installers List the available macOS Installers
--fetch-full-installer Install the latest recommended macOS Installer
--full-installer-version The version of macOS to install. Ex: --full-installer-version 10.15
--install-rosetta Install Rosetta 2
--background Trigger a background scan and update operation

** Other Tools:
--dump-state Log the internal state of the SU daemon to /var/log/install.log
--evaluate-products Evaluate a list of product keys specified by the --products option
--history Show the install history. By default, only displays updates installed by softwareupdate.

** Options:
--no-scan Do not scan when listing or installing updates (use available updates previously scanned)
--product-types <type> Limit a scan to a particular product type only - ignoring all others
Ex: --product-types macOS || --product-types macOS,Safari
--products A comma-separated (no spaces) list of product keys to operate on.
--force Force an operation to complete. Use with --background to trigger a background scan regardless of "Automatically check" pref
--agree-to-license Agree to the software license agreement without user interaction.

--verbose Enable verbose output
--help Print this help

 

[splitpea]

From Terminal

softwareupdate -d

softwareupdate options

Which addresses the download part, but not the "install it overnight" part, unless you're suggesting I write one-off cron jobs each time it actually downloads something. It also doesn't address the dratted nag notification.

I just want to be able to do something equivalent to what I did on only OSes, where when that alert comes up, I can either tell it to remind me another day (because this is a bad day/week for an update) or tell it to install overnight, but not have it install right now when I'm trying to use the darn computer.

 

[bogdanw]

Which addresses the download part, but not the "install it overnight" part, unless you're suggesting I write one-off cron jobs each time it actually downloads something.

When you finish using your Mac, you run softwareupdate -i for the downloaded update.

I just want to be able to do something equivalent to what I did on only OSes, where when that alert comes up, I can either tell it to remind me another day (because this is a bad day/week for an update) or tell it to install overnight, but not have it install right now when I'm trying to use the darn computer.

I'm not aware of any solution for this. Try to contact Apple Support.

 

[splitpea]

I'm not aware of any solution for this. Try to contact Apple Support.

If it’s not an option at all, why does the stupid notification say “or try tonight”? How do I “try tonight”?

 

[bogdanw]

No mention of a "tonight" option, it was probably silently depreciated.
Apple Support - Change Software Update preferences on Mac
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac...preferences-on-mac-mchla7037245/12.0/mac/12.0
Apple Support - Keep your Mac up to date https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/get-macos-updates-mchlpx1065/12.0/mac/12.0