User profile for user: Boschje79
Boschje79 Author
User level: Level 1
87 points

Can't install MacOs Tahoe on Mac Studio M3 Ultra

When trying to update from Sequoia 15.7 to Tahoe 26.0 all seems fine at first. It prepares the update, then reboots, a timer starts running on how long installation will take. That runs down to "Less than a minute". Then then (without a reboot) I am back at the login screen of Sequoia. When I login I get the message that there has been an unexpected reboot.


The log says this:

panic(cpu 8 caller 0xfffffe0050ee4b08): "ANEHWDevice::Failed to validate ANE register offset 0x5a8 with expected value: 0x100000ff, read register value 0\n" @ANERegisterControl.cpp:177


I've tried default software update, downloading the full installer with the "softwareupdate" tool via the Terminal. Thing is, when I do a softwareupdate --history, it does show the failed updates:


softwareupdate --history


Display Name                                       Version    Date                  

------------                                       -------    ----                  

macOS Sequoia 15.4                                 15.4       31-03-2025, 21:35:44  

macOS Sequoia 15.4.1                               15.4.1     17-04-2025, 11:56:23  

macOS Sequoia 15.5                                 15.5       12-05-2025, 23:32:03  

macOS Sequoia 15.6                                 15.6       30-07-2025, 00:11:17  

macOS Sequoia 15.6.1                               15.6.1     21-08-2025, 15:04:23  

macOS Sequoia 15.7                                 15.7       15-09-2025, 19:40:59  

macOS Tahoe 26                                     26.0       15-09-2025, 21:17:05  

macOS Tahoe 26                                     26.0       16-09-2025, 00:19:57  

Safari                                             26.0       16-09-2025, 00:33:36  

macOS Tahoe 26                                     26.0       16-09-2025, 00:59:28  

macOS 26.0                                         26.0       16-09-2025, 01:35:02  

macOS Tahoe 26                                     26.0       16-09-2025, 02:29:16  


Never had any issue with MacOs Sequoia (updated to 15.7 first today without any troubles) so I suggest it is software. Any idea on how to fix this?

Posted on Sep 15, 2025 6:27 PM

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User profile for user: FilipOfficial
FilipOfficial
User level: Level 2
196 points

Posted on Sep 15, 2025 6:47 PM

The panic you’re seeing:

ANEHWDevice::Failed to validate ANE register offset 0x5a8...

…means the installer is loading the new Tahoe kernel/driver for the Apple Neural Engine, but the hardware check fails.


This can happen if:

  • The Tahoe build you’re getting has a driver mismatch for your exact M3 Ultra revision.
  • There’s a firmware update bundled in Tahoe that isn’t applying correctly during the install phase.
  • A known launch-week bug in Tahoe 26.0 is affecting certain Apple Silicon Macs.


Steps to Try:

Here’s a sequence that’s worked for similar cases:


(1) Check for a Newer Build of Tahoe

Sometimes Apple silently reissues the same version with a fixed build number.

In Terminal:

bash
softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 26.0

Then check the build number in About This Mac → System Report → Software after download (before install). If it’s newer than your current installer, try again.


(2) Install via macOS Recovery

Shut down your Mac.

Hold Power until “Options” appears.

Choose Options → Reinstall macOS.

This pulls the latest signed installer directly from Apple’s servers and bypasses some of the live-update process that’s triggering the ANE panic.


(3) Try Safe Mode Install

Boot into Safe Mode (hold Shift after selecting your startup disk in the boot picker).

Then run the Tahoe installer from there — this can prevent certain kernel extensions from loading during the upgrade.

Erase-Install on an External Drive (Non-destructive test)

Use a spare SSD, format it APFS, and install Tahoe cleanly to it.

If it boots fine, the issue is with the in-place upgrade path; if it still panics, it’s a firmware/driver bug.


(4) Escalate to Apple

Given the ANE-specific panic, this is likely something Apple needs to patch.

File a Bug Report here for your specific Mac model: Product Feedback - Apple


My Take

This isn’t a storage, network, or generic corruption problem — it’s almost certainly a Tahoe 26.0 + M3 Ultra ANE driver issue. Until Apple pushes a fixed build, your best bet is either: Install via Recovery (which sometimes pulls a patched build), or wait for 26.0.1 or a supplemental update.

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Can't install MacOs Tahoe on Mac Studio M3 Ultra

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