Some Mac users have run into an error when attempting to download or install system software updates that says “Installation failed, An error occurred while installing the selected updates.” This alert comes up in the Software Update system preference panel, and has been encountered in macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, and prior versions too.

There are a variety of reasons Mac users may see the “installation failed” error when trying to download and install a particular MacOS software update, and we’ll go through some troubleshooting steps…