How to Update Your MacBook Air Laptop

Apple issues updates for the operating system on your MacBook Air from time to time to introduce new features and, perhaps more importantly, fix bugs and improve security.

The method for updating your MacBook Air varies depending on the version of macOS or OS X currently on the iPad. One method applies to MacBook Air laptops with macOS Big Sur (11) through macOS Mojave (10.14); the other applies to macOS High Sierra (10.13) and earlier.

Before updating your MacBook Air, make sure to have a good backup in place. Most of the time, you won't run into any problems, but it's always a good idea to have a backup.

How to Update MacBook Air: macOS Mojave and Later

macOS Mojave (10.14) introduced a new way to check for operating system updates. Here's how it's done:

Select System Preferences from the Apple menu in the Finder or select its icon in the Dock.
Select Software Update.
If your MacBook Air finds a new update, select Update Now.

If your MacBook doesn't find a new update, a message appears that says, "Your Mac is up to date." If it finds a new update, selecting Update Now begins the update process.

Depending on the size of the update, this can take a few minutes or up to an hour.

How to Update MacBook Air: macOS High Sierra and Earlier

If you have macOS High Sierra (10.13) or an earlier operating system, such as OS X El Capitan (10.11) or Yosemite (10.10), you'll update your MacBook Air using a slightly different route.

Open the App Store on your MacBook Air.
In the menu bar at the top of the App Store window, select the Updates tab.
If a software update is available, select Update.

Depending on the size of the update, this can take a few minutes to nearly an hour. When the update finishes, your MacBook Air restarts.

How to Make a Backup Before Updating

While a backup is rarely ever needed when updating a MacBook Air, it's still a good idea to make a backup in case something goes wrong during the update process. The easiest way is to use the Mac's built-in Time Machine app.

Connect an external storage device to your MacBook, such as a Thunderbolt, USB, or FireWire hard drive.
From the menu bar, select the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the Mac screen.
Select System Preferences.
Select Time Machine > Select Backup Disk.
Select the external drive you're using and then select Encrypt backups.
Select Use Disk.

This begins the backup process, which is regularly and automatically repeated in the future if you keep Time Machine linked to your storage device in the On position.

Check Available MacBook Storage Space: Learn More

Can Your Mac Run the Latest Operating System?

One other thing you may want to do before updating is to check the compatibility of your MacBook Air with the macOS version you want to download and install.

If you are upgrading to macOS Big Sur (11), your MacBook Air must have been introduced in 2013 or later and be running OS X El Capitan (10.11) or later.

Here's what you need if you plan to update to any of the following operating systems:

macOS Mojave or Catalina: MacBook Air from mid-2012 or newer, OS X Mavericks (10.9) or later
macOS Sierra or High Sierra: MacBook Air from late 2010 (or later), OS X Lion or later (Mountain Lion in the case of High Sierra)
OS X El Capitan: MacBook Air from late 2008 (or later), OS X Snow Leopard or later
OS X Yosemite: MacBook Air from late 2008 (or later), OS X Snow Leopard or later

Do the following to find out which operating system your MacBook Air has:

Select About This Mac under the Apple menu.
The current version of macOS appears in the center of the next window.
Use this information to decide whether you can upgrade.

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