2019 27” iMac 1TB SSD, 460.87 GB available, 16GB memory
macOS Sonoma 14.6.1
This is a problem of long standing, exists on other Macs, and has been passed along via Migration Assistant since Sienna or thereabouts.
iMac (2017 – 2020)
Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and check to see if there's a Safari update lingering in the background.
If not, startup in Safe Mode followed by a normal restart to see if that clears the issue.
see > Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support
To send Apple Feedback about this issue,
use > Feedback - macOS - Apple
and > Feedback - iMac - Apple
Hmm... I do not think that Migration from the previous Mac is the problem. I say that, because I started Migrating my settings and user data over from as far back as 2006 and then have Migrated to 6 different Mac's over the years.
Try temporally turning off Auto Software Update, then use Safe Mode followed by a normal restart to see if that helps.
Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support
Moot point to this issue, but I'm using one of our old 2012 Mac mini's with a 1T SSD and 16GB of RAM running Catalina as a Media Server.
Try this trick, remove the icon from the Dock, drag SWUpdate back to the Dock.
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve had occasion to start up in Safe mode for other reasons, and the problem has persisted. I think I have also sent feedback to Apple about this, but it can’t hurt to do it again.
It’s an irritant rather than a show-stopper, so I’ve let it slide for years. I am still running Server on a mid-2010 Mac Pro (I know, I know), and it has the same problem. I suspect that it has something to do with a failed software update that left some kind of cruft in the System folder.
Yep, it occurred to me that the problem affects all users, so not in userland.
I followed your suggestion to turn off autoupdate. Apparently, badging is not part of that control panel, because after turning off autoupdate, safe booting, checking status of problem (still there) and regular booting, the badging of the System Settings icon in the Dock and System Settings:General show one update, but when System Settings:General:Software Update is selected, a lookup runs and then it reports no update. Software IS current.
Thanks; no change. I suspect that this problem migrates when I select “system files” when using Migration Assistant. At some point, I’m going to do a clean install and migrate without as much of the cruft as I can stand. If that fails, I’ll build out a new user from scratch, which is probably not a bad idea anyway.
Oh, since it travels with Migration Assistant, it’s probably in ~/Library somewhere. I forked this install over to an M2 MacBook Air, and the problem persisted.
Why does Software Update badging say I have an update when my software is up to date?
