Ventura magically updated to Sonoma 😱

[H2SO4]

Restrict Software Update with a configuration profile
AutomaticallyInstallMacOSUpdates
AutomaticDownload
AutomaticCheckEnabled
all set to false, payload scope System
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/softwareupdate
Apple Configurator https://apps.apple.com/app/id1037126344
iMazing Profile Editor https://apps.apple.com/app/id1487860882
ProfileCreator https://github.com/ProfileCreator/ProfileCreator

Woudl it not just be easier to block the IP addresses?

 

[bogdanw]

Woudl it not just be easier to block the IP addresses?

To each his own
Hosts is unreliable. With a firewall (Little Snitch, LuLu) you could block all connections for softwareupdated.

With SIP disabled, you can stop softwareupdated from even starting.
I haven’t tested these:

sudo launchctl bootout system/com.apple.softwareupdated
sudo launchctl disable system/com.apple.softwareupdated
sudo launchctl bootout system/com.apple.mobile.softwareupdated
sudo launchctl disable system/com.apple.mobile.softwareupdated

 

[H2SO4]

To each his own
Hosts is unreliable. With a firewall (Little Snitch, LuLu) you could block all connections for softwareupdated.

With SIP disabled, you can stop softwareupdated from even starting.
I haven’t tested these:

sudo launchctl bootout system/com.apple.softwareupdated
sudo launchctl disable system/com.apple.softwareupdated
sudo launchctl bootout system/com.apple.mobile.softwareupdated
sudo launchctl disable system/com.apple.mobile.softwareupdated

Yeah I suppose. Blocking it like that seems even better.

 

[katbel]

To each his own
Hosts is unreliable. With a firewall (Little Snitch, LuLu) you could block all connections for softwareupdated.

I followed your input -thanks-and created a Profile using iMazing Profile editor from App Store
and the following commands I found in another forum
Install the app.

Select “Manifest Repository Updates” from the main menu.

Reload Profiles.

Restart the app.

In “General”, give a name to the profile (Defer-MajorUpdates)

Set “Removal date” Some date in the future.

In “Payload scope” select “System”

In “Target Device Type” select “Mac”

Then in the left vertical menu, select “Restrictions”

Click “+ Add Configuration Payload”

Make the window wider so you see the menu across the top.

Select “Updates”

Select “Defer Major OS Software Updates “

Add 90 to “Deferred Major Software Updates Delay”

File>Save

File>Install

You will be prompted to allow it. Search for “Profiles” in “System Settings”

After a reboot, it worked.
Edit 2024.01.16. Added missing “Deferred Major Software Updates Delay” the default is 30.

On my computer worked instantaneously and finally in System Prefs -Software Update
I only have macOS Sonoma mentioned, without all the blah blah about it, yeah!

 

[bogdanw]

Select “Defer Major OS Software Updates “

Add 90 to “Deferred Major Software Updates Delay”

Defer is unless at this point in time. Sonoma could be hidden with a profile until 12/25/2023.
Links to Apple's documentation
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...de-notification-forever.2367582/post-31689711
Software release dates https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/use-mdm-to-deploy-software-updates-depafd2fad80/web

 

[katbel]

Defer is unless at this point in time. Sonoma could be hidden with a profile until 12/25/2023.
Links to Apple's documentation
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...de-notification-forever.2367582/post-31689711
Software release dates https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/use-mdm-to-deploy-software-updates-depafd2fad80/web

I guess you meant useless: what do you suggest we do to fix it?

 

[halledise]

would not this work in terminal with sonoma inserted for big sur?
sudo /usr/sbin/softwareupdate --ignore“macOS Big Sur” …

oops. apparently - one 'cannot block major updates after 10.15.5'

 

[katbel]

Defer is unless at this point in time. Sonoma could be hidden with a profile until 12/25/2023.
Links to Apple's documentation
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...de-notification-forever.2367582/post-31689711
Software release dates https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/use-mdm-to-deploy-software-updates-depafd2fad80/web

Ok, I tried it myself following what you wrote before and this is what I did

Select “Manifest Repository Updates” from the main menu.

Reload Profiles.

Restart the app.

In “General”, give a name to the profile (Block-MajorUpdates)

Set “Removal date” Some date in the future.

In “Payload scope” select “System”

In “Target Device Type” select “Mac”

Then in the left vertical menu, select “Software Update”

Click “+ Add Configuration Payload”

Make the window wider so you see the menu across the top.

Uncheck all Automatically Update

File>Save

File>Install

You will be prompted to allow it. Search for “Profiles” in “System Settings”

After a reboot, it worked.

I left the previous profile as well because it removes all the detail of Sonoma that bothers me

 

[bogdanw]

I guess you meant useless: what do you suggest we do to fix it?

Sorry for the typo. Yes, it is not useful in my opinion because Sonoma is still shown. There is no easy way to hide Sonoma now. I consider Sonoma better than Ventura and I would upgrade to Sonoma 14.3.

 

[katbel]

Sorry for the typo. Yes, it is not useful in my opinion because Sonoma is still shown. There is no easy way to hide Sonoma now. I consider Sonoma better than Ventura and I would upgrade to Sonoma 14.3.

Not doing it yet, too many problems with RAW Photos and other issues
I miss Monterey!!

 

[bogdanw]

Not doing it yet, too many problems with RAW Photos and other issues
I miss Monterey!!

Your M2 should be highly capable of running Monterey in a virtual machine
VirtualBuddy https://github.com/insidegui/VirtualBuddy
UTM https://github.com/utmapp/UTM

 

[halledise]

Your M2 should be highly capable of running Monterey in a virtual machine
VirtualBuddy https://github.com/insidegui/VirtualBuddy
UTM https://github.com/utmapp/UTM

or, more simply, backup then full erase and reinstall monterey.
2022 Airs shipped with monterey - well, mine did

 

[katbel]

or, more simply, backup then full erase and reinstall monterey.
2022 Airs shipped with monterey - well, mine did

Alas I cannot , my Studio shipped with Ventura and after long searching and reading I've found I can't
Lucky you!💖 I was hoping mine still had Monterey
Is your Air a M2 machine?

 

[Ben J.]

Alas I cannot , my Studio shipped with Ventura and after long searching and reading I've found I can't
Lucky you!💖 I was hoping mine still had Monterey
Is your Air a M2 machine?

Even if your mac came with Ventura, it doesn't mean the mac model can't run on earlier OS. If this is your model, scroll down toward the end you'll see that it originally shipped with macOS 12.4 Monterey. Any MBA with the M2 was, AFAICS. Everymac.com is a great resource BTW.

 

[halledise]

Alas I cannot , my Studio shipped with Ventura and after long searching and reading I've found I can't
Lucky you!💖 I was hoping mine still had Monterey
Is your Air a M2 machine?

yup. sure is.
as yours came with ventura, that’s it i’m afraid.
apple have been including firmware updates in os upgrades hence no can downgrade anymore 😏

 

[halledise]

Even if your mac came with Ventura, it doesn't mean the mac model can't run on earlier OS. If this is your model, scroll down toward the end you'll see that it originally shipped with macOS 12.4 Monterey. Any MBA with the M2 was, AFAICS. Everymac.com is a great resource BTW.

katbel has a mac studio

 

[katbel]

Even if your mac came with Ventura, it doesn't mean the mac model can't run on earlier OS. If this is your model, scroll down toward the end you'll see that it originally shipped with macOS 12.4 Monterey. Any MBA with the M2 was, AFAICS. Everymac.com is a great resource BTW.

Thanks but alas I have a Mac Studio M2
Anyway EveryMac has always been a great website .

 

[chrfr]

apple have been including firmware updates in os upgrades hence no can downgrade anymore 😏

That’s incorrect. Firmware updates don’t block macOS downgrades; it’s always possible to downgrade to the earliest version of macOS that shipped on a given model. Even if someone got an M2 MacBook Air delivered today with Sonoma on it, it’s still possible to put Monterey on that computer.

 

[halledise]

That’s incorrect. Firmware updates don’t block macOS downgrades; it’s always possible to downgrade to the earliest version of macOS that shipped on a given model. Even if someone got an M2 MacBook Air delivered today with Sonoma on it, it’s still possible to put Monterey on that computer.

are you sure about that?
pretty sure you can't downgrade a 15" Air.
if so, why can't katbel downgrade her Studio to monterey?
(actually it shipped with ventura so i just answered my 2nd question

 

[Ben J.]

are you sure about that?
if so, why can't katbel downgrade her Studio to monterey?
(actually it shipped with ventura so i just answered my 2nd question

Everymac.com says all the M1 mac Studios can run 12.3 and later, and M2 Studios 13.4 and later. Downgrading is a question of creating a bootable installer. I've done it myself several times on the latest OSes, and it's not very difficult. I don't know anything about apple "blocking" downgrades with firmware.

 

[halledise]

Everymac.com says all the M1 mac Studios can run 12.3 and later, and M2 Studios 13.4 and later. Downgrading is a question of creating a bootable installer. I've done it myself several times on the latest OSes, and it's not very difficult. I don't know anything about apple "blocking" downgrades with firmware.

agree that it’s no biggy to reinstall from a bootable usb stick - and i’m not disagreeing with you - but there is a limit to ‘downgradeability’ (if that’s a word?).
otherwise, theoretically, one could downgrade a newer machine to big sur or even catalina …
according to Apple Communities … 'You cannot run a version of macOS that is older than what a Mac shipped with.'

 

[chrfr]

are you sure about that?
pretty sure you can't downgrade a 15" Air.
if so, why can't katbel downgrade her Studio to monterey?
(actually it shipped with ventura so i just answered my 2nd question

Yes, I’m absolutely certain. The 15” M2 Air first shipped with a special build of 13.4 so that’s as far back as that can go. The M1 Studio models first shipped with 12.3, and the M2 Studio models first shipped with the same build of 13.4 that the 15” Air came with so that’s as far back as those can go.
The limitation is that you cannot downgrade the OS to a version earlier than what that specific model first came with- not what that specific computer was shipped with. I got a 15” M2 Air in at work this week which came with 14.0 installed, but that can be downgraded to 13.4 just the same as the first ones we got.

 

[bogdanw]

The last 10 comments would make a great new thread “Downgrading M2 Macs”. I feel there would be quite an interest for that.

 

[Fishrrman]

halledise wrote:
"according to Apple Communities … 'You cannot run a version of macOS that is older than what a Mac shipped with.'"

Let's parse this out.
Say, the M2 Studio "shipped with" 13.4 originally (when first introduced).

Then, at some point during production, a new OS is introduced (let's say OS 14) and the M2 Studios began "shipping with" that, instead.

Nothing was changed "hardware-wise" on the computer.
Physically, it's the same as when first introduced.
It's just getting a newer version of the OS.

But... it will STILL RUN the OS that it "originally" shipped with -- OS 13.4.

 

[halledise]

halledise wrote:
"according to Apple Communities … 'You cannot run a version of macOS that is older than what a Mac shipped with.'"

Let's parse this out.
Say, the M2 Studio "shipped with" 13.4 originally (when first introduced).

Then, at some point during production, a new OS is introduced (let's say OS 14) and the M2 Studios began "shipping with" that, instead.

Nothing was changed "hardware-wise" on the computer.
Physically, it's the same as when first introduced.
It's just getting a newer version of the OS.

But... it will STILL RUN the OS that it "originally" shipped with -- OS 13.4.

yes, i understand all that.
my point is i can’t run catalina for example on my M2 Air.
i’m limited to monterey at the earliest.
katbel is limited to ventura for said Studio - which is where those comments started.
no one is disputing your statements 👍
firmware updates