Mac Stuck After Update Fixes | Generated by AI
Your MacBook Air M2 getting stuck on the “Software Update Complete” screen after clicking Continue (with no further response, spinning wheel, or progress) is a somewhat commonly reported issue during/after macOS Tahoe (macOS 26) installations or post-update boots, especially on Apple Silicon machines like yours. It often relates to the final setup phase hanging, third-party software conflicts, disk issues, or a glitch in the post-install process.
Don’t worry—your data is usually still safe, and this is typically fixable without a full erase. Here’s a step-by-step troubleshooting guide based on what works for most users in similar situations:
1. Force Restart and Retry
- Press and hold the power button (Touch ID button) for about 10 seconds until the Mac fully shuts down (screen goes black, no fans/lights).
- Wait 10–30 seconds, then press the power button once to turn it back on.
- It may boot right back to the same “Software Update Complete” screen—try clicking Continue again.
- If it loops or hangs again, repeat the force shutdown 2–3 times. Sometimes it needs a few attempts to “unstick” the post-update setup.
Many users report that after a few force restarts, it proceeds to the desktop or finishes any pending setup.
2. Boot into Safe Mode
This loads macOS with minimal extensions/drivers, which often bypasses whatever is causing the hang (e.g., incompatible login items, kernel extensions, or background processes).
For your M2 MacBook Air:
- Shut down the Mac completely (hold power button if needed).
- Press and hold the power button until you see the startup options window (shows your boot disk/volume).
- Select your startup disk (usually “Macintosh HD”).
- Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
- Release Shift once it starts booting.
- Log in if prompted (it may take longer the first time).
- If you reach the desktop in Safe Mode:
- Let it sit for a few minutes—it may finish any pending update tasks.
- Restart normally (without Shift) from the Apple menu.
- If it still hangs after Safe Mode boot, proceed to the next steps.
3. Reset NVRAM (Non-Volatile RAM)
This clears temporary settings that can interfere with boot/update processes.
- Shut down the Mac.
- Press the power button, then immediately hold Option + Command + P + R.
- Hold for about 20 seconds (until you hear the startup chime twice or see the Apple logo appear/disappear twice on M-series Macs).
- Release and let it boot normally.
4. Boot into Recovery Mode and Run Disk Utility
If the above doesn’t work:
- Shut down.
- Press and hold the power button until startup options appear.
- Click Options > Continue to enter macOS Recovery.
- Select your user/language if prompted.
- From the utilities window:
- Choose Disk Utility > Continue.
- Select your main drive (usually “Apple SSD” or “Macintosh HD” in the sidebar—click View > Show All Devices if needed).
- Click First Aid > Run (repair the disk and container if errors show).
- Quit Disk Utility when done.
- Back in Recovery, you can also try Reinstall macOS (choose Tahoe if available—it reinstalls the OS without erasing your data/apps).
- If reinstall hangs again, exit and restart normally first.
Additional Tips
- Make sure you’re connected to power (charger plugged in) and a stable Wi-Fi network—some post-update steps require internet to finalize.
- Disconnect any external devices (USB drives, hubs, displays) before trying the above—they can sometimes cause conflicts.
- If you have a recent Time Machine backup (or can access one from another Mac), that’s great insurance, but most people don’t need to restore from it here.
- If none of this gets you past the screen after several tries (e.g., stuck looping for hours/days), it may need a clean install from Recovery (which erases data—back up first if possible via Target Disk Mode to another Mac) or Apple Support/hardware check.
If you try these and let me know what happens (e.g., does Safe Mode work? Any error messages?), I can narrow it down further. Hang in there—this is frustrating but usually resolvable! If it’s still under warranty/AppleCare, contacting Apple Support directly (via chat/phone or Genius Bar) is also a good move—they can run remote diagnostics.