Troubleshooting Mac patching
This article provides you information on troubleshooting Mac patching-related problems.
GoTo Resolve MDM provides information about patch deployments, for example, on the Patches page, Action log, and Device page, as explained in the Patch reporting article.
If you run into a patching-related problem, read the subsections in this article.
Prerequisites of the patching feature
Patching for macOS is available for devices running the following macOS versions:
- Catalina (macOS 10.15)
- Big Sur (macOS 11)
- Monterey (macOS 12)
- Ventura (macOS 13)
- Sonoma (macOS 14)
Patch installation method
The patch installation method, which the software vendors define, can be one of the following:
- Automatic - The patch is installed automatically.
- Manual - The Miradore client cannot download and install the patch, so the device user must do it manually.
- Partly manual - Some language versions of the patch require manual installation.
Notifications and alarms sent by the Miradore client
- Allowing notifications and alarms to be displayed on your device
When an alarm or notification is about to show for the first time, the macOS system displays a pop-up for the device users to give authorization for showing notifications from the Miradore client.
If these are allowed, device users get notified, for example, about the need to restart the device after a patch is installed.
If device users don’t allow the notifications, the Miradore client is not able to show the restart requests. This setting can be modified in the System Preferences option of the OS.
- Notifications for device restart
When it is required, the Miradore client displays a notification to restart the Mac device to complete the software patch installation.
Notification that patched computer will restart in 60 seconds
After an OS patch is installed, the macOS operating system shows a notification that the patched computer will restart in 60 seconds.
If you allowed previously the macOS client to show notifications on your computer, in 0-10 minutes after the macOS notification is displayed, the macOS client displays a more user-friendly restart notification.
![](https://assets.cdngetgo.com/03/ae/2846f96f4245be456a4002d5a7cd/macos-patch-management-notification-v2.png)
Hover over the restart notification to select if you want to restart the computer, or delay the restart.
The computer does not restart if you:
- Dismiss the restart notification.
- Ignore the restart notification.
- Select Not now.
If you delay restarting your computer, the restart notification is displayed again in about 24 hours, or if you select Start patch installation now in the Actions menu in GoTo Resolve MDM.
OS upgrade limitation
The patch library provider we use for patch management lists patches only for the minor OS versions. Due to this limitation, you can update only to minor OS versions through GoTo Resolve MDM.
For example, from OS version 13, you can update to 13.1, but you cannot upgrade to version 14.
To upgrade the OS to a major version, use the Software Update option of your Mac and follow the standard software upgrade process. The menu path to the Software Update option may differ in different macOS versions. Learn more about Apple's instructions on updating software.
Identical URLs used in different patch versions
Some software vendors use the same URL for distributing the different patch versions of the product. The URL today points to one software version, but the same URL tomorrow may point to a newer version.
The patch library provider used by GoTo Resolve MDM might not update the version data in sync with the software vendors, meaning that the latest version in the patch library might differ for a while from the latest release.
If the patching URL contains a different version than the one to which the device is trying to update, the patching process stops, and the device is not updated.
The device is patched after the patch library contains the latest software version that the vendor provides.
Note: If automatic patching fails five times, the patching can be started manually from the Device page (
) with the Start patch installation now action.