How is this still an issue with little to no resolution from Apple? Why should I shell out cash for something that is ultimately caused by Apple themselves? I updated my 15 inch 2016 MacBook Pro w/Touch Bar to 12.1 as the update was available. Upon restart the laptop prompted me to connect to WiFi. After connecting, the laptop proceeds to “install an update” for a couple minutes and then comes back with an error message: “A critical software update is required for your Mac, but an error was encountered while installing this update.” This error message only prompts me to either Shutdown or Try Again with the latter just looping and I cannot use my laptop. I can however boot into Safe Mode but the laptop is pretty unusable in this mode. I’ve reinstalled Monterey via Recovery mode, installed Sierra via Internet Recovery (which failed) both of which did not resolve the issue. I’ve also wiped the drives and installed 12.0.1 via bootable USB to no avail.