Catalina System Preferences shows update badge, but no updates are available

I just upgraded to Catalina, and now my System Preferences icon in the Dock shows an update badge with an annoying little “1” in it:

So far, so similar to this old question. Unlike that question, though, when I open up System Preferences, the Software Update icon has the same update badge, so I can at least see where the Dock icon is getting its badge from:

When I actually click on Software Update, though – surprise, surprise! – there are no updates available (last checked today at 9:43, which is ten minutes ago):

Update settings are set to be as automatic as possible:

The contents of com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist are:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" ""> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>AutomaticCheckEnabled</key> <true/> <key>AutomaticDownload</key> <true/> <key>AutomaticallyInstallMacOSUpdates</key> <true/> <key>ConfigDataInstall</key> <true/> <key>CriticalUpdateInstall</key> <true/> <key>LastAttemptBuildVersion</key> <string>10.15.4 (19E266)</string> <key>LastAttemptSystemVersion</key> <string>10.15.4 (19E266)</string> <key>LastBackgroundSuccessfulDate</key> <date>2020-03-26T12:47:19Z</date> <key>LastFullSuccessfulDate</key> <date>2020-03-26T12:47:05Z</date> <key>LastRecommendedMajorOSBundleIdentifier</key> <string>com.apple.InstallAssistant.Catalina</string> <key>LastRecommendedUpdatesAvailable</key> <integer>0</integer> <key>LastResultCode</key> <integer>2</integer> <key>LastSessionSuccessful</key> <true/> <key>LastSuccessfulDate</key> <date>2020-03-26T12:47:05Z</date> <key>LastUpdatesAvailable</key> <integer>0</integer> <key>PrimaryLanguages</key> <array> <string>en-GB</string> </array> <key>RecommendedUpdates</key> <array/> <key>SkipLocalCDN</key> <false/> </dict> </plist> 

(Note that LastUpdatesAvailable is 0, as you’d expect it to be.)

So why is the main screen in System Preferences convinced that there are updates available, even deluding my Dock icon into believing it too? Is there some preference file or cache somewhere that I can delete/flush to make System Preferences reevaluate this existential crisis it seems to be going through?

4 Answers

Check/uncheck automatic software updates in system preferences, then go to the advanced panel and just click OK. Worked for me.

The other tips didn't work for me in the beginning, but this exact sequence did, hope this will provide some additional clarification:

1. Uncheck "Automatically keep my Mac up to date"
2. In "Advanced..." uncheck "Check for updates"... OK
3. Close the System Preferences Panel (this step is important)
4. Re-Open System Preferences, you will notice that the badge has disappeared from the Dock icon
5. Check "Automatically keep my Mac up to date"

If you are using MacOS Catalina 10.15.4, follow the steps below:

1. Open Terminal and run the following commands one by one:

   defaults delete com.apple.systempreferences AttentionPrefBundleIDs; killall Dock defaults delete com.apple.systempreferences DidShowPrefBundleIDs; killall Dock rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.preferences.softwareupdate.plist sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.preferences.softwareupdate.plist 

2. Reboot to safe mode by following steps in this article.

3. Check for updates by going to

   Apple icon -> System Preferences -> Software Update

4. Reboot to normal mode

I had to do a variant of AdNauseum's answer. I did not have "Automatically keep my Mac up to date" checked, only under Advanced did I have "Check for updates" and "Download if updates are available" checked.

What eventually solved it for me, without doing reboots, was like this:

1. Open "System Preferences", "Software Updates" panel,
2. In "Advanced..." uncheck "Check for updates",

3. Close "System Preferences" window.

4. Re-Open "System Preferences" (for me, it still showed the badge)

5. Open "Software Updates" panel,
6. In "Advanced..." re-check "Check for updates",
7. Close "System Preferences" window.

Then, repeat steps 1..7 and then it should then be gone for good.

[MacOS sometimes behaves like Windows did a few decades ago. Go figure. :-)]