If your Mac boots to the desktop but graphics, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth are dead: the update wiped your root patches. Update OCLP, then run Post-Install Root Patch and reboot.
If your Mac won't reach the desktop at all: that's a boot problem, not a patch problem — go to Mac stuck on boot instead.
First, work out which failure you have
These two get conflated constantly and they have completely different fixes. Sort yourself before touching anything:
| What you're seeing | What it actually is | Where to go |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop loads, but everything is sluggish, or Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/camera are missing | Root patches were replaced by the update | Keep reading this page |
| Apple logo, progress bar that stalls, prohibited sign, or a reboot loop | OpenCore or the boot chain, not root patches | Stuck on boot |
| Update itself refuses to install or errors out partway | Usually an OCLP version too old for the target macOS | Section below on update order |
The rest of this guide assumes the first row: you have a working desktop with broken hardware.
The five-minute fix
Get the current OCLP build first.
Do not skip this because you “just installed it”. A newer macOS frequently needs a newer OCLP — running an old build against a new OS is how people turn a five-minute fix into an afternoon. Latest signed PKG is on the download page.
Open OCLP → Post-Install Root Patch.
It re-detects your hardware and the new macOS build, and lists the patches this combination needs.
Start Root Patching, then let it finish.
Several minutes is normal, longer on a mechanical drive. Don't close the lid, don't let it sleep, don't cancel because it looks stalled at “Rebuilding snapshot” — that stage is slow by nature.
Reboot, then check all three at once.
Graphics smoothness, the Wi-Fi menu bar item, and Bluetooth in System Settings. They're restored in a single pass, so if one is back they generally all are.
If Post-Install Root Patch says there's nothing to patch
Two possibilities, and they're easy to tell apart.
Your Mac genuinely needs no patches. Newer Metal Macs run modern macOS on OpenCore alone. If that's your machine, the update didn't break patches, and whatever you're seeing has another cause.
OCLP is too old to recognise your macOS build. An OCLP release predating your macOS version may report nothing applicable rather than admitting it doesn't know the build. Updating OCLP and reopening the panel resolves it.
Do not reinstall macOS to fix missing root patches. It's a several-hour detour that lands you exactly where the five-minute fix does, and it puts your data through an unnecessary risk.
Stopping macOS from updating behind your back
The reason this bites people repeatedly is automatic updates installing overnight, with no OCLP update beforehand. On a patched Mac you want updates to be deliberate.
In System Settings → General → Software Update, open the ⓘ next to Automatic Updates and turn off Install macOS updates. Leaving Check for updates on is fine — you still get told, you just decide when.
Then follow the order that never fails: update OCLP → update macOS → reapply root patches → reboot. Written down it looks tedious; in practice it's five minutes, three or four times a year.
Common questions
Did the update damage my Mac?
No. The update replaced the system volume, which discarded modifications OCLP had made to it. Your files, settings and applications are untouched, and reapplying the patches restores the previous state exactly.
Should I roll back to the previous macOS version?
Rarely worth it. Rolling back macOS is far more disruptive than reapplying patches. The exception is discovering your Mac's hardware lost support in the new version entirely — check the supported Macs list before updating, not after.
My Mac updated itself overnight and now the fans are loud and it's slow.
Classic missing-root-patch behaviour: with no GPU acceleration the CPU is drawing the entire interface, which is both slow and hot. Reapply the patches and both symptoms disappear together.