Restrict automatic software update on Mac

Hey, Thanks for reaching out to us.

Navigate to Policies. You can either create a new policy or choose to edit an already existing policy.
Please navigate to macOS-> OS updates and choose the ‘Notify only’ option from the drop-down list next to the ‘Choose your OS update settings’ option. This will only notify the user of a software update via AppStore and no automatic update will be initiated. Please note to associate targets and save the policy.

Kindly use the help link for more info on the same.

Cheers!
Grace Baker
Hexnode MDM

On deploying the policy, although the settings are configured and the user is also not able to change the settings. Is there a way I can set the default on their devices, but they can change it later on as per their wish.

Hey @deborah, Thanks for reaching out to us.

Yes, you can do so by deploying a script to the devices using the Execute Custom Script action.

On deploying the above script, automatic download of OS updates will be turned off by default. However, the user would be able to re-configure the setting using administrator credentials by navigating to System Preferences/Settings > Software Update.

Hope this helps with your query.

Regards
Eren Schwarz
Hexnode UEM