Already tried to turn of icloud sync with my Mac and as soon I added it back - it started to download files. Yesterday it finished downloading and I removed local copies. Today the download started back. I don't understand why it's so, I don't want to keep local copies. If I will need a file from icloud I will click 'download now' and that's it. Here's a video on how to stop mac app store keeps asking for apple id password on Free App Download on MacBook, Mac running on macOS Big Sur, Catalina or Ear.
Updating your Mac OS and apps is important, as some updates are essential for your Mac. They’re meant to improve overall security and make all processes on your computer run smoothly.
There are times when you might want to wait on installing a new big operating system (OS) update and allow yourself some time to make sure the update won’t cause any major damage to your Mac. Having an update start automatically while you’re in the middle of completing an important task can also be very frustrating.
The good news is that you can fully control your Mac’s updates, meaning you get to decide what updates to install and when. If you’re not a fan of having your computer update everything automatically, here’s how to stop your Mac from installing updates for macOS and how to control them.
How to Stop Your Mac from Installing Automatic Updates
You can manage your Mac system updates and prevent future macOS updates via your computer’s System Preferences. To stop your Mac from installing updates automatically, follow the steps below.
- Open the Apple menu on your Mac.
- Select About This Mac. In the pop-up window, you’ll see all the general information about your machine, as well as what macOS version it’s running right now.
- Select Software Update. The new pop-up window will show any updates available at the moment. You can manually choose to start the update by selecting Upgrade Now next to it.
- If you have the Automatically keep my Mac up to date box checked, then your computer will install all updates automatically. Uncheck this box to stop your device from doing it.
- When you uncheck the box, you’ll be prompted to confirm your decision. Select Turn Off Automatic Updates and enter your password to continue.
If the box for automatic updates is unchecked, your Mac won’t update automatically. To gain more control over which updates are installed on your Mac, check out the Advanced software updates settings in the same window.
How to Fully Control Your macOS Updates
Now that you’ve disabled major system updates from being automatically downloaded and installed on your Mac, you can learn to fully control how and when your computer updates.
In the same Software Update pop-up window, select Advanced to open the settings menu. Then select the boxes next to the options that you want to disable.
- Check for updates: It’s recommended to keep this checked. This enables your Mac to check for OS and security updates on a regular basis.
- Download new updates when available: This one’s self-explanatory. You can disable this if you don’t want your Mac to automatically download new updates as soon as they become available.
- Install macOS updates: When enabled, this option allows your device to install OS and security updates as soon as they’re available. Even though this is done automatically, your Mac will warn you if/when it needs to be restarted, and you’ll get options to delay the update by a few hours or longer if you wish.
- Install app updates from the App Store: If enabled, this allows your Mac to automatically update apps from the App Store. You can also change this setting in the App Store preferences.
- Install system data files and security updates: This setting, separate from the Install macOS updates setting, allows Software Update to install important security updates and some system updates that don’t require a restart automatically. It’s also recommended to keep this one checked at all times.
How to Stop Your Mac from Upgrading to Big Sur
Installing the latest version of macOS – Big Sur gives you access to a few new features and a brand new look for your Mac. However, there are some pretty serious problems with Big Sur that can discourage you from installing the update.
If you don’t want to install Big Sur on your Mac (at least yet), switching off the automatic system updates won’t help with that Big Sur notification appearing from time to time. However, as always, there’s an app for that.
The app’s called Big Sur Blocker and you can download it on GitHub. This app was created with only one purpose, and you can install it to do just that – block Big Sur from running the update. Instead of blocking various software updates, you can get the Big Sur Blocker to target this one update specifically and prevent it from running.
Should You Update Your Mac?
How To Download Mac Games
A common dilemma for many Mac users is whether you should upgrade to the latest version of macOS or not. There are many reasons to do it and just as many to avoid it. If you choose to stop big system updates in the end, make sure to still allow your Mac to install important security updates to protect your computer.
Alternatively, if you decide to run all of the updates automatically, don’t forget to backup your Mac before installing them.
Do you have automatic system and software updates enabled or disabled on your Mac? What made you enable or disable them? Share your experience with updating your Mac in the comments section below.
I’ve seen a lot of cluttered and disorganized Downloads folders on Mac. A lot. For me, at least, it’s much easier to keep my downloaded files cleaned up and organized if I download to my Desktop which I’m constantly looking at then to download to the downloads folder which I don’t pay attention to until it gets too cluttered to find anything.
So if you’re the same way, it’s good to know that you can change where Safari, Firefox, and Chrome automatically put their downloads.
So for today’s article, let’s go over how to change the default download folder on the Mac!
Luckily, the process of changing the default download directory pretty similar in the three main Mac browsers.
Change the Default Download Location in Safari
- Open the Safari app and click on the Safari drop-down menu at the top left.
- Choose Preferences.
- Make sure General tab is selected and then change the File Download Location to wherever you want.
As you can see, I’ve got mine set to “Desktop,” but you can pick an alternate location with that “Other” choice. Clicking “Other” will bring you to the familiar macOS open/save dialog box, from which you can select any folder you want to use.
If you’re feeling really fancy, you could instead change that toggle shown in my second screenshot above to “Ask for each download,” which will mean that you can file away everything you download exactly where you want it to go, every time. While this is a nifty feature but it can get cumbersome to have to choose a download location for each and every download you do.
Change the Default Download Location in Firefox
With the Firefox browser, you’ll start the same way as you did with Safari.
- Launch Firefox and click on its named menu(i.e. the FireFox pulldown menu) in the upper lefthand corner.
- Select Preferences.
- Under the General tab, at the label: Save files to click choose and select the folder you want your downloads to go to.
Again, the “Always ask me where to save files” radio button you see above will make Firefox ask you each time you initiate a download.
Change the Default Download Location in Chrome
Google made it just a teeny bit harder to change your default downloads folder in the Chrome browser, but the steps begin the same way as the other two browsers.
- Launch Chrome and select the Chrome menu from the top of your screen.
- Select Preferences.
- Scroll down the settings on the side menu until you see Advanced. Click on it.
- Choose Downloads.
- Click on Change next to Location and select the folder you want your downloads to go to.
As with Safari and Firefox, there’s a choice to make the browser ask you where to put the file you’re downloading every time.
As Steve Jobs used to say, “Oh yeah, there’s one more thing.”
Mail also uses the Downloads folder to store attachments you save, so if you’d like to be really thorough, you could change that, too.
Click on the Mail pulldown menu at the top of Mail then select Preferences. Next, under the General tab, you can change the download location just as you can with the web browsers:
So now that you’ve got all of your browsers (and Mail!) set to do exactly what you need them to, you can go forward knowing that your Downloads folder will never get too cluttered and disorganized again. Getting things done is so much easier when you stay organized.
How To Stop A Download On Mac Computer
If you’re a Mac user and enjoyed this article, you might want to check out this TechJunkie article: How To Flush the DNS in Mac Mojave.
Do you have any tips or tricks for managing downloads on your Mac? If so, we’d love to hear from you in a comment below!