macOS Sierra Available as an Automatic Download Starting Today - MacRumors
Skip to Content

macOS Sierra Available as an Automatic Download Starting Today

Starting today, Apple is making the new macOS Sierra operating system available as an automatic download to customers running OS X El Capitan in order to encourage them to update.

Customers who have auto downloads enabled will see macOS Sierra start to download automatically, but it will not install without express user permission.

012-macos-sierra-970-80
Apple shared the news with The Loop and says the update will only be downloaded on computers that meet the specs for macOS Sierra and have an adequate amount of storage space.

Apple is also being smart about the download. If your computer is low on space, macOS Sierra will not download. In addition, if it has downloaded and your computer starts to get low on space, the download will be automatically deleted.

Customers who do not want to upgrade to macOS Sierra can manually delete the update to keep from being prompted to do the install, and the download can be turned off by disabling automatic downloads. Disabling the feature can be done by going to System Preferences -> App Store and unchecking "Download newly available updates in the background."

automaticupdatessierra
Automatic downloads of macOS Sierra will be rolling out to customers over the next week.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Popular Stories

iOS 27 on iPhone 17 1

iOS 27 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday May 2, 2026 8:43 am PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, and there are already many rumored features and changes for iPhones. The first developer beta of iOS 27 will likely be available immediately following the keynote, and a public beta typically follows in July. Following beta testing, the software update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Why You Might Want to Wait to Buy a MacBook Pro

Friday May 1, 2026 3:43 pm PDT by
Apple refreshed the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max models in March 2026, but depending on your needs and interests, you might want to skip this generation because there's something better in the works. The M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models have faster chips, but the same design that Apple has used since 2021. An updated design with new display technology and faster ...
macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

Apple to Unveil macOS 27 Next Month With These New Features

Friday May 1, 2026 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple will unveil its latest software platforms during its WWDC 2026 keynote on Monday, June 8, and one of them will be macOS 27 for the Mac. The first developer beta of macOS 27 will likely be available immediately following the keynote, and a public beta typically follows in July. Following beta testing, the software update should be released to all users in September. macOS 26 is known ...

Top Rated Comments

Schwyz Avatar
125 months ago
*hurriedly disables auto updates*
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ToM7 Avatar
125 months ago
somebody there did homework with Microsoft
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MagMan1979 Avatar
125 months ago
OMG this place truly is troll heaven... Nothing but a bunch of whiney little bi__hes here!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BornAgainMac Avatar
125 months ago
I bet people will complain about this below.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
125 months ago
But you're not, so no worries.

For those who are, turning off automatic updates should be already done.
It should be off default. If not it’s the wrong angle to take Mr. Holier than thou
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleFan91 Avatar
125 months ago
I don't get why people are upset about this. How is it any different than iOS? Actually the only difference is that it can be disabled as where iOS does it automatically. I guess I'm not understanding why people are complaining about it unless it's because it's Apple and people here complain more about Apple lately than on Android Central.
[doublepost=1475518967][/doublepost]
quick -- how can we spin this negative?!
Look above, somehow they already are.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)