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How to turn off prompt to upgrade to Catalina Software Update notification?

I've just received a notification from Software Update to upgrade to Catalina in the same manner I've always received updates to the current OS. Before Mojave the notifications to upgrade OS would come through the App Store but now it is through the Software Update.

I cannot upgrade because I've been notified by several software vendors whose software I depend upon that they are not able to run on Catalina so I will need to hold off for some time to come. Until then, is there a way to turn off this notification or am I stuck with seeing the red 1 hanging over the System Preferences on the Dock until I do?

FTR, I've disabled all the check marks in the Advanced area of the Software Update and rebooted but the "red 1" persists over the icon. I hope this isn't Apple trying a hard sell on upgrading before I am ready to.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Oct 7, 2019 12:37 PM

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Posted on Oct 8, 2019 8:18 AM

Saw this on a JAMF board, tested it- and it worked! No more Catalina update showing.


 sudo softwareupdate --ignore "macOS Catalina"'


When you are ready to update:

sudo softwareupdate --reset-ignored


Full post: https://www.jamf.com/jamf-nation/discussions/33505/ignore-catalina-upgrade-prompt-in-software-update



66 replies

Oct 9, 2019 3:04 PM in response to kemccarthy

Is there any way to disable auto update and remove the red notification badge from the settings icon? I want to update to Catalina in 6+ months once all the bugs are fixed and all my third party apps are fully supported. The red badge telling me that there is an update is annoying. I already ran the terminal command to ignore the update, but the notification badge didn't go away post reboot even though my Mac is showing as up to date



Oct 21, 2019 1:33 AM in response to Community User

Initially I thought this was a good solution, but I have had an update warning in the dock but when investigating further my updates are complete as can be seen by screenshot.

I did carry out a safari update a day or so ago, and the warning icon reappeared so I repeated the solution and all seemed O.K. for a day or so but now the icon has reappeared, is anyone else getting this problem?

Oct 8, 2019 7:36 AM in response to kemccarthy

Exactly. I'm willing to go to Catalina "IN DUE TIME"... when I have found, and adjusted my entire workflow to not rely on some legacy 32bit-only apps. That, and every x.0 launch is riddled with bugs that need a good many months to clean up (heck, Mojave is still riddled with them).


So, Apple really needs to pull head from arse and allow the "Ignore This Update" button/checkbox, OR a "Remind me in 6 months" button/checkbox.


I'm sick of their shove-it-in-your-face attitude with these updates. I guess they are copying Windows now?


My iOS12 device is doing this same nonsense about iOS13 (which is NOT ready by a long shot).



Oct 8, 2019 8:57 AM in response to kemccarthy

You can avoid the notification by simply downloading the installer. When the download is finished, do NOT install - instead, just quit (command + q) the installer. You will find it in your Applications folder. Since the app store/update process checks your hard drive for anything needed, it will see it there and will no longer notify you.

Oct 8, 2019 9:12 AM in response to Frigidman

Extremely user-unfriendly. Who is making these decisions and how do stakeholders think this benefits them to adopt an annoying and demanding approach to users? I have to wait until the applications upon which my work depends get up to speed on Catalina before I'd ever consider upgrading but Apple thinks I should be nagged into doing so?

Oct 8, 2019 9:17 AM in response to jared_e42

I tried this and didn't remove the flag. On the post, there were several others reporting likewise.


NOTE: If anyone who is not familiar with CLI tries to run the first sudo command, use this instead:

sudo softwareupdate --ignore "macOS Catalina"

The original in jared_e42's post has a dangling single quote that will not allow the command to be completed.


Thanks jared_e42 for the information. This might be worth investigating further for me.

Oct 8, 2019 9:22 AM in response to kemccarthy

Oops, if it let me edit my typo- I would!


The discussion on the Jamf page also says that the red 1 won't go away. Annoying, but not all users have the System Preferences in the dock. And while we have a corporate block, it doesn't stop it from showing in the SW update pane.


I will have to test the download the installer at home, I downloaded it on my corporate Mac to confirm that our block was working.

Oct 9, 2019 3:13 PM in response to mikeg105

I also ran the update to Mojave this morning and got the same 'up to date' message but nothing changed re the red badge. It's still showing. It's easy enough to avoid the badge by removing the SP icon from the Dock but then I have to remember to check to see if there are updates.

It would seem the badge is a bug as there is no longer any prompt to upgrade to Catalina.

Oct 10, 2019 2:16 AM in response to babowa

I tried this but it did not work, I have the Install file in applications but the update flag remains, and if I go to updates I am still asked to update to Catalina.

Like many others I do not wish to upgrade, I have just removed the system update icon from the dock because i find the red indicator distracting.

It seems to me that Apple has not recognised that there will be users that will not, for various reasons, wish to upgrade and there should have had an option built in to the app store to reject the upgrade.

How to turn off prompt to upgrade to Catalina Software Update notification?

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