Some M1 Mac owners are missing the macOS 12.1 update — but there's a fix

macOS Monterey preview (Image credit: Bryan M. Wolfe / iMore)

What you need to know

Some M1 Mac owners are reporting that they can't install macOS 12.1.
While the download and installation process begins, it never completes.
A potential fix has been posted to Twitter and is embedded below.

Some owners of fancy new M1 Macs are finding that they can't download and install the latest macOS Monterey update — no matter how fast that lovely Apple silicon happens to be.

Yeah, it won't even load -- and downloading the installer got me stuck at 52 minute mark. Sigh.Yeah, it won't even load -- and downloading the installer got me stuck at 52 minute mark. Sigh.— Christina Warren (@film_girl) December 14, 2021 December 14, 2021

According to reports from across the internet, the macOS 12.1 update keeps getting stuck, refusing to complete while others simply can't see the update at all. That's a big shame, too, with macOS 12.1 adding support for SharePlay and more. However, there does appear to be a fix that is working for some people and it might just work for you, too.

Check it out and cross your fingers:

Can’t find the Monterey 12.1 update? Use Activity Monitor to force quit https://t.co/xAYVJUJY2a.NRD.UpdateBrainService to see it, and then do it again to Download it. I don’t know what this is, I don’t know why it works, but it worked on my M1X MBP and M1 Mac mini.#macadminsCan’t find the Monterey 12.1 update? Use Activity Monitor to force quit https://t.co/xAYVJUJY2a.NRD.UpdateBrainService to see it, and then do it again to Download it. I don’t know what this is, I don’t know why it works, but it worked on my M1X MBP and M1 Mac mini.#macadmins— Jon Lonergan (@jonlonergan) December 14, 2021 December 14, 2021

Another option appears to be to boot into recovery mode and install macOS 12.1 that way, although that's more of a nuclear option as of right now. The method mentioned in the tweet above seems to work for the vast majority, thankfully.

As ever, the best Mac is a Mac running the very latest release and that's no different in this instance, either. The addition of SharePlay could be enough of a reason for some to update, although improvements to Photos and Messages are also worth checking out, too. Unfortunately, Apple has officially delayed Universal Control, so don't expect that to be part of this download. For now, we cross our fingers and hope that Apple manages to get it into an update this spring.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.