To update or upgrade the Macintosh Operating System (macOS):

• Log in to the Mac with an Admin account. In most cases your primary login account will be an Admin account.
  
  
• Under the Apple Menu, select About This Mac.
  
  
   
• Note the macOS version shown.
  (Apple supports the three newest macOS versions. Currently, Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia are the macOS versions supported by Apple. The next will will likely be released Fall 2025, at which time, Ventura will drop from the supported macOS list.)
  
  
• You may now click on the "Software Update" or "More Info..." button in the "About This Mac" window. 
  
  
• Alternatively, under the Apple Menu select System Preferences / System Settings. In System Preferences / Settings, select the Software Update icon.
  
  
• In Software Update, you'll see Sequoia if you are running Ventura or Somona or no *Upgrade* option if you are already running Sequoia (until the next macOS version is released.)
  
  
• If you see an "Upgrade* option (Sequoia), you'll see a "More info..." link just below that which will take you a "Sequoia" page. If you also have upgrades for Ventura or Sonoma, you'll see a second "More info..." link below that. That link will allow you to install the updates for your current macOS version. 
  You may opt to install the newest macOS offered by clicking the "Upgrade Now" button.
  
     
  
  
• If you see no *Upgrade* option, but only updates, click the "Update Now" button to install those updates.
  
  
  
  
• In some cases after a new macOS is released you may see the *Upgrade* option, but the Upgrade fails when you try to install it. Within a month or two after that new macOS version is released by Apple, Rice OIT may opt to block the upgrade until it is determined how well behaved the new macOS is in our environment. Once Rice OIT determines that a new macOS version is a good citizen in the Rice environment, the block will be removed and you'll be able to install the new version.
  
  
• For assistance with either updates or Upgrades, please submit a help request using the Help Desk Ticket link under OIT Forms on the Office of Information Technology Technical Support page at https://https://kb.rice.edu/72371/