How to fix the UNTRUSTED_CERT_TITLE error in macOS

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Some Mac owners experience the unrusted_cert_title error when trying to reinstall macOS. This problem occurs when the Mac system clock is not set correctly, and you may encounter a chicken-and-egg problem: without a macro program installed, there is no easy way to set the clock that will allow the macro program to be installed.

To establish a secure connection, many encryption algorithms require an up-to-date clock. The encryption system wants to check if the digital certificate confirming the integrity of the software has not yet expired. If the data embedded in the certificate is earlier than the release date or later than the expiration date, the software is properly locked – and MacOS, unfortunately, spits out an error, since this feature has not yet been accounted for in Mojave.

What causes the UNTRUSTED_CERT_TITLE error on macOS

This error is caused by incorrect date and time settings. Apple servers use the system time to establish a secure connection. If the system time is not set correctly, the servers will block the connection request for security reasons. Simply put, the servers were unable to verify the operating system certificate because the system time settings are incorrect.

To fix the UNTRUSTED_CERT_TITLE error on macOS

Change the date and time settings in the Settings section

You can use this method if you are still using an older macOS operating system.

1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
2. Select Date and time.
3. Click the lock icon and enter your administrator name + password.
4. Click the Date and time button and set the time manually.
5. Uncheck Automatically set date and time and select the current date from the calendar.
6. Rotate the clock to the current time, then click Save.
7. Now install the operating system and see if the error persists or not. Disable the automatic time setting.

Changing the date and time using the terminal

Use this method if you no longer have access to an older version of macOS.

1. Open Utilities, select Terminal. Open Terminal from Utilities.
2. Enter the following command and press Enter :
   date
3. This command displays the current system date and time. It may have been reset to 2001 for some reason, so reset it in time. To do this, type the following command and press Enter:
4. date -u [month] [day] [hour] [minute] [year]
5. A two-digit sequence based on UTC can be replaced by square brackets. As shown below, this is the current time when you type this command. The U.T.C. is used instead of other time zones to avoid problems. Type the command exactly like this:
6. date -u 1030011519
7. Check the time again by re-typing the first command.

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Carter Blakefield