The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.

You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site.

We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.

nez94 Author

Level 1

4 points

mac updates

it says im the admin but every time i go to update my mac, it says i can't because i need to be an owner. how can i fix this?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Apr 7, 2023 6:42 AM

Top-ranking reply

Randall_2023

Level 5

4,860 points

Posted on Apr 7, 2023 7:30 AM

You can try this from Terminal. After the updates are completed that error should no longer occur.

sudo softwareupdate -i -a -R

Description:

-i Install

-a All appropriate updates

-R Automatically restart (or shut down) if required to complete installation.

View in context

Similar questions

2 replies

Top-ranking reply

Randall_2023

Level 5

4,860 points

Apr 7, 2023 7:30 AM in response to nez94

You can try this from Terminal. After the updates are completed that error should no longer occur.

sudo softwareupdate -i -a -R

Description:

-i Install

-a All appropriate updates

-R Automatically restart (or shut down) if required to complete installation.

Owl-53

Level 10

123,799 points

Apr 7, 2023 7:54 AM in response to nez94

Much the same type of question though related to upGrading from macOS 12 Monterey to macOS 13 Ventura

link below

Help me become the owner? - Apple Community

The Questions asks by the First Two Contributors BobTheFisherman and HWTech are crucial question in regard to this issue

The the Third Contributor P. Phillips ( me ) bring up addition information related to the Difference between Admin Accounts and Owner Accounts

https://eclecticlight.co/2021/07/18/last-week-on-my-mac-the-perils-of-m1-ownership/

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

mac updates