Level 1

13 points

Failed To Personalise the software update. Please try again

Hi all

I am at my wits end with this MacBook Pro M1.

I am never able to install any update that comes. To get into Sonoma (and because i had issues previously updating) i contacted apple and they basically had me reinstall MacOs then update and then restore from my backup. I am not doing this every time an update comes out)

Is there a way to fix this? I have tried a number things including below

1: Safe mode (which does not work)

2: Re-install MacOs completely (works but is not ideal) then restore all my files from a backup.

3: Contact apple support (again said to do above which i did for Sonoma but again for the new update its doing the same issue again)

4: followed the instructions on the Apple website if you get an error installing macOS.

Any help would be grateful as it's driving me insane.

Macbook Pro M1

Sonoma V14 - trying to upgrade to 14.1.1

16GB Ram

1TB Hard Drive (not even half full)

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Nov 14, 2023 12:48 PM

Best reply

Henry B.

Level 9

78,713 points

Posted on Jan 18, 2024 4:05 PM

I am going to add another data point to this discussion.

I have encountered exactly the same issue, but on an M2 Max MacBook Pro. Absolutely none of the solutions discussed above (or anywhere else for that matter) have solved the problem.

I was instructed by Apple Support to have an Apple service centre perform a "Revive" procedure, though the tech in the service centre warned me this would likely not work either - and he was correct. The only remaining solution is a main logic board replacement, since likely there is a corruption of the security firmware built into the Apple Silicon M2.

Nice going Apple. First computer I've ever owned requiring a main logic board replacement because its own "security" refused to allow an OS upgrade.

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23 replies

MadMax889 Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 20, 2024 12:21 PM in response to MadMax889

***UPDATE***

I have been playing with this for a while, the issue always seemed to occur/start after I had transferred my data via the transfer wizard from my old 2013 MacBook Pro (High Sierra). So thought I would fresh install the new macbook M1 and then manually transfer all my files (software is easy to get). Since doing this I have had no issues at all.

Must be something to do with the settings or the way High Sierra is set up causing the update function not work.

Henry B.

Level 9

78,713 points

Jan 20, 2024 4:20 PM in response to MadMax889

Re the most recent posting by "MadMax889" stating:

"I have been playing with this for a while, the issue always seemed to occur/start after I had transferred my data via the transfer wizard...."

This is an interesting observation. I wonder how many people who have this problem (myself included) originally used the data transfer wizard to migrate data and applications from an "old Mac" to a "new Mac".

Clearly there are a number of different causes for the "Failed to personalize the software update..." error. The easiest of these causes to solve is when something is blocking the installer's attempt to authenticate the Mac with Apple's server. Solutions like using a bootable standalone installer, or installing while in "safe mode", helps get around this issue. The cause for the problem MadMax889 and I have encountered is more insidious, likely related to an inability of Apple's software update server to authenticate the Mac's identity buried in the Apple Silicon (or previous T2 chip), causing the server to reject installation of the software update. This latter problem is very difficult to fix - and it seems to me Apple's support people really have no clue how to do this either. Sometimes it can be done with a very complete wipe and "de-registration" of the Mac followed by "reactivation" of the Mac as if from brand new followed by reinstallation of everything manually - there is a complicated Youtube video explaining how to do that. However, if all else fails it requires a main logic board replacement. As to the root cause for why this happens in the first place - just possibly use of "migration assistant" is one cause. Regardless, this seems to me a vulnerability in the Mac system software design the engineers should have anticipated.

Mar 5, 2024 1:19 PM in response to MadMax889

Hi @MadMax889 - the thread is showing a little jumbled up for me in terms of chronology. Did you manage to do this with fresh install as stated above and is it working okay? How did you know what to do for this or was it a google/youtube situation?

I have gotten the same message for past two days, so would like to try your fix, Interestingly I also did a data transfer wizard from 2013 MacBook pro and I think the operating system was around High Sierra if I remember rightly.

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

MadMax889 Author

Level 1

13 points

Mar 9, 2024 10:54 AM in response to eva-marie241

Apologies for the delay I missed your message initially. So I bought the new to me m1 MacBook pro and started the transfer wizard straight away. Then started having the issues. Re-installed Mac OS a number of times which would initially work with the updates.Once I carried out the transfer wizard it would cause the issue again. I re-installed Mac OS again did the updates and manually transferred my files and re-installed my apps manually (a long process but worth it in the end for a working system) and all has been ok since. No issues whatsoever. Hope this clarifies.

HWTech

Level 9

56,900 points

Mar 9, 2024 1:38 PM in response to eva-marie241

eva-marie241 wrote:

Hi @MadMax889 - the thread is showing a little jumbled up for me in terms of chronology.

Apple recently made some changes to the forum and it defaults to a Sort By "Best" view which is broken (at least in my opinion since it places the upvoted replies first, then seems to randomize the other posts). You can change the "Sort By" order to "Oldest" if you want a traditional style thread & timeline. This option is located on the right just below the initial post or any of the highlighted upvoted "Best" posts.

If you are logged into the forum with your AppleID, then you can change the default Sort order in your forum preference options, but this saved preference will only work while you are logged into this forum. I'm not aware of any way to have a forum cookie to set it to a default Sort By option if you are just browsing the forum otherwise. It is annoying and some contributors have already provided feedback to Apple about the broken nature here.