Check Internet Connection. Most Mac apps range from hundreds of MBs to a couple of GBs. Update Office from the Mac App Store. If you downloaded Office from the Mac App Store, and have automatic updates turned on, your apps will update automatically. But you can also manually download the updates: Open the Mac App Store from your Dock or Finder. In comparison, injection-based plugins are not as secure, since they make changes directly to the user registry. Cross-platform support – The same Outlook web add-in and business logic will work across desktop apps (Mac and Windows), the web (includes Outlook.com), and mobile (iOS and Android).

1. Mac Will Not Update To 10.14
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Installing updates in your Mac is a pretty straightforward exercise, which usually takes only a few clicks. In most cases, your Mac will alert you through a pop-up in the Notification Center when updates are available. Sometimes, you may find that an update has downloaded already, and your job is to install it.

Truly, macOS is getting better and smarter after each release, hence, earning a reputation as a robust OS. Despite this, macOS has its own problems; sometimes, there can be hiccups when installing updates.

Mac Stuck While Installing Updates

Some users have complained that a macOS update will not finish downloading. For some of them, their Macs get stuck midway of a macOS update. All they see is a progress bar that has stuck at 50%, or something similar. Please note that this issue has been reported to occur, even when users haven’t initiated an update or upgrade.

What to Do If a Mac Update Will Not Finish Downloading

If you cannot finish downloading Mac updates for some reasons, then you need to check out the section below for our recommended solutions.

Preliminary Measures

Before performing any system update, be sure to create a backup of your sensitive data. You have two options to back up your Mac: Time Machine or a third-party Mac backup tool. Time Machine is already built into macOS. But if you encounter issues while using the built-in backup tool, there are several great alternatives.

Other than this, check if you have at least 30GB of free space before updating macOS. Sometimes, insufficient storage space could hinder the installation. If this is the likely reason, make some room by deleting unnecessary files in Safe Mode. First off, remove the partly downloaded macOS file from your Mac. Be sure to remove its icon from the Launchpad as well.

Alternatively, you can use a robust repair tool, such as Outbyte MacRepair, to automate the process. This tool will not only remove space hogs, such as unneeded apps, but it will also get rid of all the junk on your Mac to restore efficiency.

If your Mac is still frozen, here are some other ways to attack the problem and, hopefully, resolve the issue:

Step #1: Find Out If the Installation Process Is Still Going on

Before you conclude that your Mac has frozen, sit it out for a few more hours. As painful as it is, it may be the best solution to your purportedly aborted update. You need to realize that some updates can take up to 16 hours to complete. The progress bar only provides the best guess. Sometimes, things get slowed down by processes running behind the scenes. So, if your Mac stuck at 30% for the last few hours, it doesn’t mean it is not installing the software.

Usually, when Apple releases a macOS update, many users rush to grab it, causing problems with Apple’s servers. Taking this into account, you need to check the System Status page to see if there are any known issues.

You should also check if there is an issue with your connection. Sometimes, things are quicker when you are on a wired connection. On top of this, consider canceling the download, then start again.

Step #2: Refresh the Update

If the above trick didn’t resolve the problem, try to jumpstart the stuck update. Here are the steps:

1. Press and hold down the Power button for about 30 seconds.
2. Press the Power button again to restart the computer.
3. After it reboots, try installing the update again.
4. To check if the macOS installation is still running, press the Command + L keyboard combination. This trigger will bring up more details about the update, such as the time remaining for the update to finish installing.

At times, while installing updates, Mac may freeze. If that is the case, then run through these steps:

1. Restart your Mac via the above process.
2. If nothing happens, go to the App Store and click Updates. The installation process will pick up from where it left off.
3. Also, check the progress by pressing the Command + L combo again.
4. Note that the App Store isn’t the only place to get Mac software. You can get the same software from Apple’s official site. The good thing about downloading software from Apple’s website is that it has a Combo Updater, which has the essential system files to update macOS.

Step #3: Install Updates or macOS in Safe Mode

If you have established that, indeed, your Mac got stuck while installing the update, then the next thing you should try is to boot your Mac in Safe Mode. To do so, follow this process:

1. Start your Mac, then immediately press and hold down the Shift key.
2. Release the key when you see the login window.
3. Your Mac will now boot into Safe Mode, where you can fix your issue.

Step #4: Reset the NVRAM

If the problem is still present, try resetting the NVRAM. The Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) is a memory section that your Mac uses to store specific settings like screen resolution and volume settings.

To reset the NVRAM, follow the steps below:

1. Restart your computer, then immediately, after you hear the startup sound, hold down the Command + Option + P + R keyboard shortcut.
2. Release the keys when you hear the startup sound again. The NVRAM will reset, and your Mac will restart automatically.
3. The update should resume.

Step #5: Reinstall macOS in Recovery Mode

If nothing else works, then your best shot is to reinstall the updates in Recovery Mode. Here is how to do it:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Restart the computer, then hold down the Command + R combo immediately to enter Recovery Mode.
3. Once in Recovery Mode, you will see some options. Pick Install new OS to reinstall macOS.
4. When the process completes, everything should be fine.

Step #6: Clean Install macOS from External Drive

If the macOS update will still not finish downloading, try reinstalling the OS from an external drive. To perform a clean installation of macOS, you need to create a bootable USB installer drive. This drive should have at least 12GB of storage space. Once the USB is ready, here is what you should do to format the drive using the journaled extended format:

1. Download the macOS from the App Store.
2. Connect the USB drive to your computer.
3. Go to Applications and choose Disk Utility.
4. Now, select thumb drive > Format.
5. After that, name your USB as Untitled, and then choose OS X Extended.
6. Click Erase to continue.
7. Your USB is now formatted, so you can open the Terminal and try downloading macOS again.

Wrapping Up

While hiccups rarely occur while installing updates, it is always good to know what to do if a Mac update will not finish downloading. Hopefully, the above steps helped you to get the installation back on track. But if macOS update will not finish downloading even after attempting the above solutions, there is no need to panic. Just raise the problem with Apple Support.

If you encounter any issue while resolving the problem, let us know in the comments section below.

Apple’s MacBook lineup is the perfect example of the company’s ‘It Just Works’ philosophy. Unlike iOS, macOS is open for more customization to end-users. For example, you can download and install an application from the Mac App Store and the web. I would advise sticking with the Mac App Store to download apps on the Mac for security and convenience. Installing software from the Mac App Store usually only takes a few clicks. But what happens when something goes wrong?

Sometimes you might run into issues while downloading apps from the Mac App Store. You might encounter files that say they’ve downloaded despite evidence to the contrary, or face verification errors or other installation difficulties.

Whether apps fail to download, you get errors while purchasing apps, or even experience App Store page, we'll show you how to solve common Mac App Stor downloading problems.

Before we start with troubleshooting steps, it’s always advisable to backup your Mac in case something goes off the tracks.

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1. Check Internet Connection

Most Mac apps range from hundreds of MBs to a couple of GBs. If you are using a slow or poor internet connection, you might encounter download issues on the Mac App Store. First, launch Safari or your preferred Mac browser and check if you can access any website without issues. If you can access several webpages on the browser, then your internet connection is fine. Otherwise, turn off your Mac's Wi-Fi and re-enable it.

You can also check Speedtest or Fast.com to check the current internet speeds. You can also reboot the Wi-Fi router or implement some of the Wi-Fi signal troubleshooting tips to boost your router's network signal.

2. Empty Mac App Store Temporary Download Cache Folder

You can try emptying the Mac App Store temporary download cache folder and try downloading the app again. Follow the steps below to empty the Mac App Store download cache folder.

Step 1: Go to the Apps folder and find the Terminal app. Alternatively, you can use Command + Space keys and search for Terminal.

Step 2: Copy the command below.

Step 3: It will open the Mac App Store download cache folder.

Step 4: Select them and move the folders to Trash.

Step 5: Once you’ve closed the folder, you can re-download any apps that were causing problems.

3. Force Quit Mac App Store

If your Macbook fails to download apps from the App Store, force quitting and relaunching the app can restore it to regular functionality. There are several ways to force quit the App Store on your Mac. Check them out below.

Use Keyboard Shortcut

The easiest way to Force Quit an active application (the App Store in this case) is using the Command + Option + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut. Hold these four keys together while the App Store window is open and the app and other related processes will be stopped till you relaunch it.

Use the Force Quit Applications Menu

Step 1: With the App Store window open in the foreground, tap the Apple icon on the menu bar, and select 'Force Quit' or 'Force Quit App Store.'

That will launch the 'Force Quit Applications' menu.

Step 2: Make sure the App Store is highlighted and tap the Force Quit button.

Step 3: Select Force Quit on the confirmation prompt to proceed.

Force Quit Using Activity Monitor

Step 1: Tap 'Command + Spacebar' to get launch the Spotlight search.

Step 2: Type Activity Monitor into the search field and double-tap Activity Monitor in the result pane.

Step 3: Select the App Store from the list of processes and tap the 'x' icon at the Activity Monitor's top-left corner.

Step 4: Select Force Quit from the pop-up.

You can check now if the downloading starts working again or not.

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4. Disable VPN

If your Mac is connected to a VPN, it will fail to download region-locked apps from the App Store. You can either shut down your VPN or modify your VPN's Split Tunneling settings to exclude the App Store.

5. Check Apple’s System Status Page

Sometimes the issue may not be a problem on your end. Check out Apple's System Status Page. Here, you can see information about the status of Apple's services, such as iCloud, the App Store, and more. If a particular service has a red icon next to it, then it's down.

In such cases, you have no option but to wait for Apple to fix the issue on their end.

6. Error While Purchasing Apps

You might see a peculiar 'We could not complete your purchase: Unknown Error' message when buying apps. This problem occurs when you use multiple Apple IDs.

Make sure to prefer the same Apple ID you used to purchase apps on the Mac App Store.

7. Update macOS

Mac App Store failing to download apps issue might be due to a buggy build released by Apple. Usually, the company is quick to troubleshoot such critical issues. You should go to the System Preferences menu and update macOS to the latest version.

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Start Downloading Apps Again

Go through the steps above and fix the Mac App Store’s problematic download behavior. Whenever I run into such issues, the Force Quit trick does the job for me. What about you? Which trick worked for you? Share your findings in the comments section below.

Next up:Looking to stay organized on your new Mac? Read the post below to find the best Mac apps to keep things organized.

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