An error in Apple’s macOS software upgrade process causes problems for Mac system administrators and mobile device management implementations.
As microMDM pointed out, the problem arose after the release of macOS Big Sur version 11.1. There were widespread reports from system administrators who could not see the software update or who could not download and install it.
Apparently, the cause of the problem is the fact that the macOS 11.0.1 and macOS 11.1 hosts request that the update servers be sent for macOS 11.0.1 instead of the next available software update. Therefore, the server rejects the request because a machine already has 11.0.1 installed.
This specific error appears to be related to MDM log profiles. Both MicroMDM and other system administrators have corroborated this.
As such, deleting the MDM profile should fix the problem. Of course, this is not always an option for certain MDM deployments.
While it looks like a reboot could mitigate the problem, there could still be issues with downloading the update, as the “condition that caused it to fail the first time” can be re-enabled.
The solution to the situation is also made worse by the fact that Apple has stopped providing standalone installers for macOS software updates with Big Sur. Therefore, there is no option to manually upgrade to the new version of Big Sur. Updates must come from Apple’s servers.
Other issues include the fact that Apple Silicon kills the option for third-party processes to write a software update command.
At this point, Apple is certainly aware of the problem here. Therefore, a solution to the problem in macOS 11.2 is likely to come.