Resolving macOS Update Issues: Does the M3 Chip Require Special Hardware Certification?

Not sure where you received the idea of doing " Resetting NVRAM/PRAM "

Predicated on your user byline " MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 26.0 "

From what I can find, this computer would be an Apple Silicon computer ( M1, M2,M3, M4,M5 )

Resetting either by a User Specific actions will Not Work

Reset NVRAM on your Mac and Reset the SMC of your Mac

At this point you may need to use DFU Mode

Revive or Restore the computer  Firmware  

Strongly suggest reading ALL the information to understand what is Required and what it Will Do Before moving forwards

If this is not within you comfort zone, Do Not Attempt

Take the computer to an Apple Genius Bar or an Apple Authorized Service Centre nearest your location

Have the computer evaluated by the Professionals who have the Special Hardware Software and Expertise to diagnose the issue and offer possible solutions

Make an Appointment at the Apple Genius Bar or call 1 800 MyApple and have them evaluate the computer

Other location Call Centres 

 Contact Apple for support and service

hsu192 wrote:

Thanks for your support, Owl.

I’m trying everything I can to fix this issue.

I can’t perform the revive myself because it requires another Apple Silicon Mac.

FYI, an Intel Mac can also be used. Any Mac that can run macOS 26.x Tahoe can work for a DFU Firmware Revive and Restore. Possibly even macOS 15.x Sequoia can be used....I haven't tried Sequoia yet to confirm. I know last year (or was it two years ago) once the new OS was released, that only that OS could be used on the host Mac to perform a DFU Firmware Revive/Restore.

The Apple Store previously helped me update from Sequoia to Tahoe using DFU mode, and it worked at that time.

However, the problem keeps happening again with Tahoe 26.0.1 and 26.1 whenever a new version is released.

I’ve already gone to the Apple Store and explained the situation, but they don’t have any idea how to fix it yet.

I agree with @Barney-15E. Repeated need to perform a DFU Firmware Revive/Restore indicates some underlying problem. It is either a hardware issue with your Mac's Logic Board, or you are doing something with your laptop's configuration or usage that is causing this problem. Unfortunately I have not seen any thing online about how to resolve these issues or what may be triggering them. There is very little information regarding "personalization".

Just make sure not to install any anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, or third party security software. These types of apps are not needed on a Mac and they usually cause more problems than they solve.

It is possible you are bringing the problem back when you restore from your backup after a clean install. Perhaps just migrate/restore just your macOS user account(s) instead of the System Settings & Applications & Other categories. Manually reinstall your third party apps & manually reconfigure them if they require customized settings.

I have seen several bugs with the implementation of the T2 security chip on the 2018-2020 Intel Macs so it would not surprise me there are also some bugs with the M-series Macs' secure enclave chip.

You should open up an official support ticket with Apple support and once the first tier support exhausts everything, then have them escalate your case to an engineer who has the capability of understanding these things & will collect and analyze your system logs to figure things out. It will be a long & painful process.

Thank you for that screen shot visa vie Apple M3 MAX

The only thing have seen reported was related to the M3 Ultra which was supplely fixed in Tahoe 26.0.1

https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/29/apple-releases-macos-tahoe-26-0-1-with-m3-ultra-bug-fix/

Like my two colleagues have suggested

Have the computer thoroughly Hardware Tested by the Professionals

It would be interesting to us all what the outcome may be, if you would share this ?

However, the problem keeps happening again with Tahoe 26.0.1 and 26.1 whenever a new version is released.

I’ve already gone to the Apple Store and explained the situation, but they don’t have any idea how to fix it yet.

Is it still under warranty. I'd have them do a complete evaluation. There is something wrong with the Mac if you have to DFU every update.

Ok so the big question becomes

How much Free Space is on the drive

It is usually suggest to have between 50 - 60GB of Free Space ( Not Empty Space )

The Installer maybe 13 GB for an update to 17 GB is an upGrade

The installer needs to download (13 - 17 GB ), then Expand to maybe 16 GB to 34 GB

Then and only then can the installation commence

The Boilerplate response from Apple would be found in this link below

If an error occurred while updating or installing macOS - Apple Support

Another, more involved response below

There are factors:

Some which are beyond your control and those which are totally under your control

Like poor Wifi connection

Slow wifi connection

Too many other people downloading at the same time and Apple  Servers are overloaded

Software on the computer interfering with the download process including AntiVirus Software

Notation: Disabling the AV Software may or may not solve the issue.

Removal of the AV Software may increase the chances of the download to perform as expected.

Running behind a Commercial VPN which may increase Packet losses or corruption of the download 

Turn off any Third Party Two Way Firewall and try again 

If via wifi  & too many Other devices using the wifi at the same time reducing the Bandwidth to your computer. 

Best Results are via Ethernet Cable to Router

Restart in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts. The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal 

Try Again using the Software Update Applet in System Preferences / Setting 

Worst case - Restart in Recovery Mode and choose Reinstall macOS. 

This in theory will pull the latest version of macOS this computer qualifies to run 

maybe you should elaborate

what you posted is just the content of a std

json file JSON - Wikipedia