How to install macOS Device Support updates on a managed macOS device

Posted on Jun 26, 2025

Recently, I wanted to test some scripts on the macOS Tahoe developer beta by installing it into a virtual machine - the host computer runs macOS Sequoia and I’m not in a position (nor am I brave enough) to update it directly. However, when prompted to install the macOS Device Support update by UTM, I received the following error message:

Can’t install the software because it is not currently available from the Software Update server.

Why this happens

Chances are that if you see this error, your Mac has a management profile that configures it to fetch updates from a custom Software Update server, and the macOS Device Support update for the beta hasn’t been made available on that server.

You can tell if your Mac uses a managed Software Update server by navigating to System Settings → General → Software Update. If you see a banner that says “Updates for this Mac are managed by $ORGANISATION_NAME”, then you will need to install the update yourself.

(If updates on your Mac are not managed by an organisation, this blog post will still help you by showing you how to install the update manually.)

How to fix it

You’ll need administrator access to your Mac to carry out these steps.

  1. Navigate to the Apple Developer downloads section.
  2. Find the “Device Support for macOS” item in the “Operating Systems” section and download it.
    • Don’t worry if the quoted macOS version is newer than the version of macOS you’re trying to install in your VM - it’ll still work (for example, the Device Support update for macOS 26 Beta 2 will still let you install Beta 1, as well as any other prior releases of macOS).
  3. Install the .pkg like you would normally. Enter your Mac password or use Touch ID when prompted.
  4. Restart UTM and try installing your VM again.