This message pops up when trying to update an iPhone 11 to IOS 14 on Mac running Mojave using iTunes.
iTunes is up to date.
Apple Support says my OS must be updated to Catalina to work with IOS 14.
Has anyone seen this message using an OS earlier than Catalina?
If so, did you select the option to do the Install?
Was is possible to determine what was to be updated before install began?
Did the install update your OS to Catalina?
iPhone 11, iOS 13
That is normal and will not install Catalina. See:
I had that this week when I upgraded an iPad to iPadOS 14 using iTune on my iMac running Mojave.
The download ins NOT a system software upgrade. I had Mojave when I allowed the patch and I still have Mojave. No problem.
The dowload is small and took two minutes to install. I believe it patches iTunes to allow you to continue to do backups, upgrades, and synching of your device through iTunes as before.
That is normal and will not install Catalina. See:
I had that this week when I upgraded an iPad to iPadOS 14 using iTune on my iMac running Mojave.
The download ins NOT a system software upgrade. I had Mojave when I allowed the patch and I still have Mojave. No problem.
The dowload is small and took two minutes to install. I believe it patches iTunes to allow you to continue to do backups, upgrades, and synching of your device through iTunes as before.
Great news! Thanks for the followup!.
Apple did a poor job of wording that dialog box and support article. The confusion actually started when iOS13 was released. Same thing, except no KB article, badly worded or not.
I have asked our Hosts to send that article up for review and clarification.
You should be able to update your iPhone directly from the iPhone.
Settings > General > Software Update.
If you want to use that iPhone with your Mac, then you will probably need to upgrade your OS on your Mac.
Catalina won't run any 32-bit applications. Try checking your apps with Go64.
If you have 32-bit apps you cannot update or replace with another 64-bit app, then you probably shouldn't upgrade to Catalina.
Thank you, Allan. Your answer provided the assurance I needed to upgrade my iPhone.
Your assumption about the required software update just patching iTunes also appears to be correct. There is a small ~Library/Logs/iPhoneUpdaterNN.log file which only contains a few iTunes log entries which was made at the time I installed the "Software update."
Software update required to update your iPhone
