Can't install MacOs Tahoe on Mac Studio M3 Ultra

That is very interesting. Maybe your Mac Studio already has the required firmware version. Could you please check this in

About this Mac - More Info… and at the bottom click on System Report…

Under Hardware Overview: you will find System Firmware Version:

In my case it is 13822.1.2

Which version do you have?

Reinerkl wrote:

Hello All. Thanks so much for the hint with the DFU. After having a call open with Apple support since Tuesday, tried every approach described in this forum so far - even willing to erase the disk and start from scratch, finally after trying the DFU approach this morning from a MacBook Pro to a MacStudio Ultra 3 it worked. You do not need to prepare a USB stick for that, all is done through the USB cable. I am writing from my Tahoe 26 MacStudio right now. Again thanks for this information, I did not wanted to wait any longer for a fix. So if you are willing to start fresh - this is the way.

Hi, thank you for the useful update.

Could you clarify if it was sufficient to use the "DFU Firmware Revive" via the MacBook Pro, which keeps your data, or if you needed the drastic "DFU Firmware Restore", which wipes out the SSD, according to the instructions provided by HWTech below?

Hi Folks. Long time reader, first time poster - but thought I would chime in as (somehow) I managed to successfully update my M3 Ultra Studio to Tahoe this morning.

My machine was originally running Sequoia 15.6.1 (so not the latest version) and I tried going direct from this to Tahoe, rather than going via 15.7. The first time I attempted the update the computer crashed and restarted with the message "Your computer was restarted because of a problem".

When I did a

softwareupdate --history

command after the restart it did not show any Tahoe update, unlike what the OP mentioned.

I tried applying the update again, and it went through the motions of the normal update process (i.e. a black screen with a white progress bar) but then the three connected Dell displays went completely blank and to sleep. I thought at that stage the update had failed, and was going to force restart the computer...but I am glad that I didn't, as around 10 minutes later everything came back up and it had been updated to Tahoe.

Not sure what I have done differently here - but if there's anything debug or info I can produce on my machine to help others diagnose and work around the issue let me know.

hummersallad2 wrote:

Performed the DFU restore yesterday without issues so now I have Tahoe 26. Made a new and complete Time Machine backup right before the restore. But after running the migration assistent I noticed that none of my files had been transferred. Although the migration process appeared to work normally and went through all 1,5 million files none were actually transferred. No apps, no settings, no documents although they are included and visible in the backup. Tried three times but no files were transferred.

Could it be some mismatch between my user account and my files? Permissions problem?

Talked to a Sr Apple support person who was as confused as I.

Yes, I could have stayed on 15,7 but since I had already successfully and updated iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro to 26 without any issues I decided to do the DFU restore. That there would be problems with migration wasn't on my radar. I just expected it to work.

Any ideas/suggestions?

You can Erase All Content & Settings, then try using Setup Assistant during initial setup to migrate from a Time Machine backup.

Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support

Now when things have calmed down it seems clear that my only complete backup, the one on the SSD, was damaged or somehow corrupt. But all I needed from that backup was the Applications folder which was not stupidly not included in my "normal" backup. One funny thing. When I made my final attempt to restore the complete backup and got a Time Machine error message, the disk icon changed from a green Time Machine icon to a normal yellow HD icon. I have since been able to manually copy all the apps to another drive, just for safe keeping. And only copied the ones that I really need/use to the system disk.

Now when I have salvaged everything that wasn't on my normal backup I ran First Aid on that SSD to see if it found anything. But no, no problems found. Strange because something was obviously wrong.

Anyway, all that matters is that I have a complete system that so far appears to behave as expected.

Since this is a really odd experience I don't think anybody else will face the same problems. So as far as I can tell DFU restore and a reliable total Time Machine backup is the way to go until Apple comes up with an official solution!

Very big thanks to all for helping me solve this nightmare! 🙏🏼

If you run DFU revive the files will not be erased but as far as I know no one has been able to install Tahoe that way. It seems the only way is to run DFU restore which completely erases your drive and all files. So having at least one Time Machine backup that you know is OK is essential. Best to have more than one reliable Time Machine backup. If not, you might end up with nothing!! A true nightmare.

Be prepared that this is a risky process or wait for Apple to provide an official solution!

I trusted my latest backup on a new SSD but that was a huge mistake. Thanks to another backup, make an hour earlier on an older HDD I was able to piece together a complete Tahoe system. Definitely no fun but that was my only option! So far everything works great and maybe it will continue that way but who knows what will happen next time I update Tahoe?

hummersallad2 wrote:

Now when things have calmed down it seems clear that my only complete backup, the one on the SSD, was damaged or somehow corrupt.

I have since been able to manually copy all the apps to another drive, just for safe keeping. And only copied the ones that I really need/use to the system disk.

Anyway, all that matters is that I have a complete system that so far appears to behave as expected.

Since this is a really odd experience I don't think anybody else will face the same problems. So as far as I can tell DFU restore and a reliable total Time Machine backup is the way to go until Apple comes up with an official solution!

Very big thanks to all for helping me solve this nightmare! 🙏🏼

You are most welcome. Thanks for the update and such a detailed report.

Hopefully this will help others to realize that it may take a bit of work, research, and experimentation on the user's part to get things working....plus not everything is related to a Tahoe issue. Yes, you started out with a Tahoe issue which then merged into a corrupt backup issue independent of the Tahoe issue. I wish more people would trust the process & realize our suggestions do serve a purpose in analyzing & troubleshooting systems even if they seem non-sensical.

Great work on your part and thanks for keeping your mind open to various possibilities. Hopefully you will enjoy Tahoe.

https://iboysoft.com/howto/cant-install-tahoe-mac-studio-m3-ultra.html

If you are about to pee your pants to get Tahoe, these are some fixes.

I would go with backing up your data to your server farm then make a genius appointment so they can flash your system.

Least amount of risk, least amount of headache.

That's funny because I've been running Tahoe for a week now and it's running great. DFU Restore is the only install method.

Yep in the same boat as you guys. tried 5 times via installer and 2 with downloaded installer through command line.

Contacted Apple support. Chat was useless. Spoke to an actual escalated support - they are aware of the issue and do not need any more information. They have no ETA on the resolution. They basically saying try with next release but we can't guarantee the successful outcome :(

What bugs me the most is - this is your newest ultra chip and you didn't bother testing upgrade on it = what the actual "file"???!!??!

DFU is only for firmware revives or restore. OS installation is not an option that way. Something else must have been done, namely updated firmware (another user posted that is what an Apple Store did for them) before they upgraded you to Tahoe.

The DFU Firmware Revive method seems to work and I have a MacBook Pro running Tahoe so that is a possible solution. However, if Apple can provide a more convenient solution I would definitely prefer that. Hypothetically, do you think that will happen or is the DFU Firmware Revive method the only possible solution? Meaning that I either have to fix it myself or visit an Apple Store…

Imagine wrote:

Just for context, I need Tahoe to test specific software as part of my beta testing process. I’m well aware of the pros and cons of new updates, but testing in Tahoe is essential for me. I was hoping a proper update would be available by now, or at least a workaround.

Usually it is a good idea to install to another volume or external drive. Or better yet to another Mac in case a firmware update goes wrong or perhaps install it into a VM since that should be sufficient for testing purposes for most apps. It is generally not a good idea to upgrade the main critical system especially so soon after release since there will always be issues.

Just saying I would never want to risk my main system if I cannot be without it working properly (or working at all).

Hopefully this will help others to avoid having these issues.

Strange development. Before trying to downgrade to Sequoia I tried to restore my "normal" backup although it does not include any apps. It is on slow HDD so restoring took about 3 hours but it worked! Everything looked as it should but of course no apps. Then I attached the SSD with the complete but faulty backup and now it generated an error message saying that it could not be used by Time Machine. That meant that I instead could access the folders, locate all the apps simply drag them to the apps folder on the Mac Studio. So far this works. Have started several apps and since all settings were provided by the other backup, they work! To my big surprise I myst add. I am, however, expecting to see some manageable problems with license files etc but this might actually work 😂

I am on CEST so it is time for bed. Will continue tomorrow and continue to report.

BTW, I am posting this from Mac Studio and Tahoe 26!!