Base build is not compatible for this install method - macos upgrade

If you have a managed configuration profile to delay software updates this issue will occur - even if your Mac is now outside the delay period - just having the profile causes this problem. This only seems to impact Macs running macOS 13.4. I believe this is due to some confusion around there being two versions of the 13.4.1 update (there is a different version for Macs announced at WWDC23).

If macOS update/upgrade fails, the usual recommendation is:

Backup.

Reboot the router and maybe connect to it via Ethernet cable and then keep household's other network traffic to the minimum.

Reboot the Mac in safe mode and try again to update/upgrade.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support (IE)

oh, and remove all 3rd party virus apps (Avast, Bitdefender, Intego, MacAfee, Norton, ESET NOD32 etc) and 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up" apps (CleanMyMac, MacKeeper etc). They produce only obscure errors and money loss.

I Have same issue, devices managed by Microsoft Intune,

to resolve it you have to disable or ask admin to disable / exclude you from policies below:

1. Enforced Software Update Major OS Deferred Install Delay
2. Enforced Software Update Minor OS Deferred Install Delay
3. Force Delayed Major Software Updates
4. Force Delayed Software Updates

I've raised the ticket to Microsoft support but their resolution was helpful.

To resolve this issue, consider the following steps:

1. Check System Requirements: Make sure that your Mac meets the minimum system requirements for the macOS version you are trying to upgrade to. Apple provides official documentation listing the supported Mac models for each macOS version.
2. Compatibility with Install Method: Ensure that the install method you are using (e.g., upgrading through the App Store, macOS installer, or bootable USB) is appropriate for the macOS version you want to install.
3. Backup Your Data: Before attempting any upgrade, it's crucial to back up all your important data to prevent data loss in case something goes wrong during the upgrade process.
4. Check for Software Conflicts: Some third-party software or utilities on your Mac might be causing conflicts with the upgrade process. Try uninstalling any non-essential software and disabling login items, then attempt the upgrade again.
5. Download Latest macOS Version: If you are trying to upgrade using an older macOS installer, visit the Mac App Store or Apple's official website to download the latest macOS version directly for radio pie.

bon, je viens de trouver le problème et finalement Moses-wz avais raison !

Nous avons un profil réservé aux mises à jour et un profil "restriction globale". Il s'avère que dans ce fameux profil "restriction globale" il y a une section "update delay" (voir photo). Il y avais bien un délais de mise à jour actif sur ce profil.. du coup en passant tout en "no delay" la mise à jour s'installe directement et sans problème.

j'utilse SimpleMDM comme serveur MDM. Du coup je vous conseil de vérifier vos profils pour voir si des options de mises à jour ne sont pas caché.

Hello all,

I did my lab test with the device below:

macOS Ventura M1 chip OS Ventura 13.4 (ABM not joined)

MDM is Intune by Microsoft.

I did the test 3 times

First time:

I've set a deferral policy by options which is build-in on Intune portal, see the flow of updates:

13.4 > 13.4.1 ERROR > 13.4.1 (a) the rapid patch which Appel withdrawn it because of issues ERROR > 13.4.1 (c) [ERROR] "Base build is not compatible for this install method reserve"

ERROR = getting error "Base build is not compatible for this install method reserve"

I'm decided to disable the build-in deferrals in Intune MDM portal see below:

It was helpful until the rapid patches.

So, I'm completely unassign security group from that restriction profile (it unassign all endpoint from that enforcement ) and write a custom XML and continue my tests.

The next test is with custom XML profile

13.4 > 13.4.1 OK > 13.4.1 (c) OK | No issues no errors.

I wiped the test device re-activate it, repeated my test | No issues no errors.

Every test, I was verifying that profile applied to it, se it here :

Try to download the full Ventura 13.4.1 installer from App Store and install it in safe mode (just in case). BTW have you used any macOS beta versions? Is the Mac your own or maybe your employer's (who might have some control over it)?

If that fails, I'd wait for macOS 13.5 or Sonoma, and then try again, maybe with a clean install.

@James Robson

Good call, my device has a configuration profile. So we know what the culprit is. Do we also know what possible workarounds are? My company tells me to reinstall the whole OS in recovery mode and I can hardly believe that this is the only way...

My device also has a configuration profile to delay software updates.

@GoTTi74 I solved the issue by reinstalling the OS, and it's not as bad as it seems. The download takes a while, but the actual install wasn't very different than a regular update. Safe mode isn't necessary.

Thank you for letting me know @yoshicarroll. I’ll give it a try later when I’m in the office. Initially I assumed that a reinstall will wipe the whole disk but since it won’t, this seems to be the way to go.

The only way to get around this (that I could figure out), other than the reinstall yoshicarroll suggests, is to have your company exclude Macs running macOS 13.4 from the delay profile. It only seems to impact 13.4 specifically, so 13.3.1 for example is fine and once you have 13.4.1 installed that is fine too. The policy applying the delay configuration profile just needs to exclude macOS 13.4.

The issue I had was that I was already on 13.4 and couldn’t upgrade to 13.4.1 and our company didn’t want to change the MDM policies and suggested that the very limited number of affected laptops reinstall the OS, which actually worked fine for me.

Are you able to confirm whether you got this information from Apple somewhere and provide a reference if so? We have the same issue and have started using config profiles to stagger our update visibility across our company. Luckily we have a workaround in that we can use Jamf to send a Download command to prepare the update for installation by the user. But it's happening so often now that it's becoming too cumbersome.

Sorry I don't have a reference from Apple regarding this. One of my colleagues said there is information about the problem on the Macadmins Slack Channel. Mostly what I've gleaned is based on in-house testing. Looks like this thread on Jamf Nation describes the issue (and a workaround if you're a Jamf house):

https://community.jamf.com/t5/jamf-pro/the-base-build-is-not-compatible-for-this-install-method/m-p/295103

Yeah, we're seeing this issue too since the latest point releases of Ventura on 3.X. I work for one of the big three accounting firms in the US and we're seeing a substantial amount of tickets to our helpdesk for the specific issue. I did see this issue in beta testing and didn't get much from Apple from a resolution POV. I had to keep just trying and trying and eventually I got to upgrade. But it required me to remove all the software update setting from our MDM to get it to work, which is what we are doing for the individual customers that cement tickets based on this problem. And to be clear, we did not see this issue prior to this point releases so the issue should not be related to our MDM policy since they were working previously.