In this article, we are going to discuss the macOS Big Sur download error and all you need to know about the error. So read the complete article for details.

Apple released macOS Big Sur for the public masses on November 12, and people are facing a lot of issues with the same. It has a very long download time, because of that a lot of users have not been able to download the update. On one hand, some users couldn’t even download the update, those who have made progress, are also facing errors. The headline of the error is, “Installation of macOS could not continue”, and the error reads, “Installation requires downloading important content. That content can’t be downloaded at this time. Try again later.” One of the most probable reasons for this could be that Apple’s site is currently overwhelmed by users who are all trying to download this update at once. So the system from Apple’s side is completely overwhelmed. If you also believe that’s the case then you can simply try downloading the update at some non-peak hour bracket. Also, there’s a page that shows the live status of Apple Server, you can also check that to make sure that everything is alright. You will also see a dedicated section that will be labeled “macOS Software Update”. It should have a green dot, having the green dot means that there is no issue. If you see some other color, then that means that Apple is having a problem in delivering the update.

Well, one of the first things that you can do is to wait for a while and then retry downloading the macOS Big Sur update, as Apple will most probably fix the server issues quite soon.

For some users, one of the things that seem to be working is removing the beta profile from the macOS. So you can also try removing your beta profile.

And for some, merely rebooting the device seems to be solving the problem. So you can just try to reboot the device and see if it works.

There is a dedicated webpage that will show the System Status. All you have to do is go to the System Status webpage, look for macOS Software Update, if it’s green then there is no problem with the servers if it shows some other color, which means that the servers are problematic and will be fixed soon.

If the servers are alright, then there might be something wrong with your internet connection too. You can try performing a speed test on your mac. We have a dedicated article about how to test your internet speed, you can read it here.

If you have set a custom time for your mac, that might interfere with your updates. To solve that, all you have to do is follow the steps below to set the date & time to automatic. Step 1: Go to ‘System Preferences’, select ‘Date & Time’. Step 2: Check the box which says, “Set date and time automatically”. That’s it and you are done.

Not something that we are a fan of but you can reset your Mac and then try downloading the new Big Sur update. Here is how you do it: Step 1: Restart your computer. Step 2: Once, it is turned off, hold ‘Command+R’ till Apple logo appears. Step 3: Select ‘Install macOS’ from the options given, click on Continue. Step 4: Complete the installation process. That is it and you are done. You can also restore files from backup if you have created a backup using the Time Machine backup. Just follow steps 1 and 2, select ‘Restore from Time Machine Backup’.

You can also try downloading as the macOS Big Sur update is actually available on the Mac App Store.

If you are still not able to solve the macOS download error by yourself, the last step is to reach out to the nearest Apple Care available in your region. Tell them the problem that you are facing, and they will most likely fix the problem for you. So, these were all of the details about the macOS Big Sur download error, if you are facing some download, or installation error, do let us know in the comments.