MacBook Pro 16" 2019 unable to upgrade to Sonoma

[mambi]

I have been trying to update my MacBook Pro for some time now without any success.
I want to update to Sonoma from macOS Ventura 13.4, which I'm now running. The update attempts to install after downloading, but it installs quickly and has no effect. Despite my repeated attempts, Ventura 13.4 is still what I see as my OS after restarting.

I verified and tried the following already:

1. Available space for the update (I have ample available)
2. Internet connection is sound and there are no issues

If anyone has any recommendations to help me, I would appreciate it. 🙏

I have a MacBook Pro 2019. Specs listed below.

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro16"
Processor Name: Intel Core i7
Processor Speed: 2.6 GHz
Memory: 16 GB
AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4 GB
Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

 

[Bigwaff]

have been trying to update my MacBook Pro for some time now without any success.

Are you running the Sonoma installer located in your Applications folder? If the installer isn't located in Applications, move it there. You can also try installing from USB media -

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system.

support.apple.com

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

You said you had "ample space" available?
HOW MUCH space?
The new Apple OS's require A LOT of "free space" to install.
We're talking about 50+gb of space for the installer to work (really).

Suggestion:
Put together a bootable USB flashdrive for the install.
You need a flashdrive that is 32gb or larger. Smaller sizes won't work.

To create the flashdrive, I'd suggest "Mist" (IF Ventura can run it).
Get Mist here:

Release 0.20 · ninxsoft/Mist

Added preliminary support for macOS Sequoia 15 Fixed a bug that prevented retrieving Apple Developer Signing identities from the keychain correctly Fixed a bug that prevented CSV output being expor...

github.com

(you want the "dmg" file)

Mist can download the version of Sonoma you want AND create the flashdrive, in one "integrated operation". Very easy to understand and use.

Once you have the flashdrive, your next step is to BACK UP the internal drive to an external USB drive (if you don't already have a backup).

I'd recommend either SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner for this job.
SuperDuper is easier to use if you've never used it before (no instructions really needed).
Also -- SD is FREE TO USE for this job. No registration necessary.

Either of these will create a bootable clone of your internal drive.

I would again advise you to not go further UNTIL you have the backup -- YOU'LL NEED IT LATER.

NEXT:
Boot from the USB flashdrive installer.

When you get to the utilities, open disk utility.
IMPORTANT IMPORTANT:
Go to the "view" menu and choose "show all devices".
(you can't see the internal drive unless you do this)

Now look at "the list on the left".
The topmost line is the internal drive.
Click on it, and then click "erase".
Erase to APFS, GUID partition format.

Quit disk utility and open the OS installer.
Start clicking through. The Mac will reboot one or more times, and the screen will go dark for a minute or more with NO other indication of activity. Just be patient.

When done, you should see the initial setup screen (choose your language).
CONNECT YOUR BACKUP DRIVE NOW.

Start clicking through. When setup assistant asks if you wish to migrate from another drive, YES, you want to do this.
Point the way to the backup and let SA "digest" everything. It will take a few minutes.

I suggest you migrate everything.
So let SA do its job. Again, it will take a while.

When done, you should see your login screen.
So... log in and "look around".

Good luck.

 

[mambi]

Thanks for your suggestion I will try it.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Things to try, in order:

1. Trash your "Install macOS Sonoma" app. Redownload a new one from the Mac App Store. Re-attempt the upgrade. If that doesn't work, download and run this. THEN re-attempt the upgrade (using the copy of the "Install macOS Sonoma" app that the package put into your applications folder).

2. Boot to Internet Recovery; don't wipe your Mac using Disk Utility; just run the "Install macOS Sonoma" app from the "reinstall macOS" option in macOS Recovery. Target your internal drive; since you won't have wiped your drive, this will perform an upgrade installation (albeit, it will take a while since it has to re-download the installation assets over the Internet).

3. If the previous two things have failed, the following SHOULD work: back up your data. Grab another Mac; perform a DFU restore of the T2 chip on the "MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)" in question. Performing a DFU restore of the T2 is best detailed: here. This will completely erase your internal storage. Once that's done, boot to Internet Recovery, format your drive using Disk Utility and then run the "Install macOS Sonoma" app from the "reinstall macOS" option in macOS Recovery. Target your newly formatted drive. Since it's a newly formatted drive, this will perform a clean installation (again, this will still take a while since it's redownloading the installation assets over the Internet).

If all of those fail, I'd take it to either the Genius Bar at an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service provider.

 

[Nermal]

3. If the previous two things have failed, the following SHOULD work: back up your data. Grab another Mac; perform a DFU restore of the T2 chip

Before trying that, I'd try a "Reset All Content and Settings" from inside System Preferences. It will also wipe everything on the system, but is much less fiddly than a full restore.

 

[mambi]

Things to try, in order:

1. Trash your "Install macOS Sonoma" app. Redownload a new one from the Mac App Store. Re-attempt the upgrade. If that doesn't work, download and run this. THEN re-attempt the upgrade (using the copy of the "Install macOS Sonoma" app that the package put into your applications folder).

2. Boot to Internet Recovery; don't wipe your Mac using Disk Utility; just run the "Install macOS Sonoma" app from the "reinstall macOS" option in macOS Recovery. Target your internal drive; since you won't have wiped your drive, this will perform an upgrade installation (albeit, it will take a while since it has to re-download the installation assets over the Internet).

3. If the previous two things have failed, the following SHOULD work: back up your data. Grab another Mac; perform a DFU restore of the T2 chip on the "MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)" in question. Performing a DFU restore of the T2 is best detailed: here. This will completely erase your internal storage. Once that's done, boot to Internet Recovery, format your drive using Disk Utility and then ruin the "Install macOS Sonoma" app from the "reinstall macOS" option in macOS Recovery. Target your newly formatted drive. Since it's a newly formatted drive, this will perform a clean installation (again, this will still take a while since it's redownloading the installation assets over the Internet).

If all of those fail, I'd take it to either the Genius Bar at an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service provider.

N0.2 worked perfectly!! Thank you so much, I appreciate your help.

 

[Yebubbleman]

N0.2 worked perfectly!! Thank you so much, I appreciate your help.

Yay! Glad I could help!

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I have been trying to update my MacBook Pro for some time now without any success.

I’m downgrading back to Ventura right now. Sonoma has been an unstable mess. My favorite new feature is when the gui just gets lazy and falls 2-3 clicks behind, so if you click on an item in finder for instance, the display finally updates to shiw you clicking on the previous thing you had selected. Then the next item or app you open, it finally selects the previous item in finder, whether thats 3 seconds or 30 minutes apart. By the time you notice its happening, you might have moved some folders into random places, scribbled over an image, dragged parts of your floating ui off into space, who knows, but you’ll find out a few clicks from now. I was looking for a feature improvement that sonoma made that would make it worth putting up with all its bad behavior, but i could find none. Good luck.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I’m downgrading back to Ventura right now. Sonoma has been an unstable mess. My favorite new feature is when the gui just gets lazy and falls 2-3 clicks behind, so if you click on an item in finder for instance, the display finally updates to shiw you clicking on the previous thing you had selected. Then the next item or app you open, it finally selects the previous item in finder, whether thats 3 seconds or 30 minutes apart. By the time you notice its happening, you might have moved some folders into random places, scribbled over an image, dragged parts of your floating ui off into space, who knows, but you’ll find out a few clicks from now. I was looking for a feature improvement that sonoma made that would make it worth putting up with all its bad behavior, but i could find none. Good luck.

On which Mac are you having these issues? Did you clean install Sonoma or did you do an in-place upgrade from a prior macOS release? I've got Sonoma on nearly every Mac in the house and, with only a small minor handful of glitches here and there, it's the most stable that I've used since Big Sur. Nothing will top the stability of Mojave, though. Nor El Capitan before it.