There are a few cause why you might want to install an old version of macOS or Mac OS X. Perhaps you are relying on software you have discovered does n’t exploit properly with the newest edition of macOS and you require to downgrade macOS . Maybe you are a developer and you need to be running multiple versions of macOS so that you’re able to be sure that your software runs correctly on them . Or maybe you just do n’t wish the version of macOS that you have installed .
If you just require to downgrade the latest variation of the Mac operating system to the one before then you might find it helpful to read : How to return a macOS Sequoia to Sonoma . If you ’ve been die hard the beta and require to stop , learn : How to move out the macOS Sequoia beta .
In this article , we will help you install older reading of macOS on your Mac . We ’ll take the air you through all the footmark for installing an older interlingual rendition of macOS on your Mac – from making indisputable your Mac can course the version , to where to get the honest-to-god version of macOS from , and how to deploy the old version on your Mac . We ’ll extend various method and we ’ll also explore some of the issues you might meet along the way .
New Macs won’t run older versions of macOS.
Unfortunately , if your Mac is head for the hills a New version of the macOS you wo n’t be able to just instal an old version on top of it . You will have to whole pass over your Mac before you may install an older version of macOS or Mac OS X. Not cracking on completely pass over your Mac ? There are options . You could set up the edition you require on an external drive , or you could melt two or more translation of macOS alongside each other . take aboutinstalling macOS on a disjoined volume(also get it on as treble booting ) orrunning it on a separate movement .
Best way to install an old version of macOS
There are multiple method acting you may use to instal an older version of the Mac operating system on your Mac . The most appropriate method for you will reckon on a telephone number of factor include whether you need to run more than one version of macOS .
Below we will look at the following options :
We also have dedicated articles for these unlike method acting that go into more detail , you ’ll discover links below .
New Macs won’t run older versions of macOS.
Check your Mac can run the older macOS version
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
First you take to confirm that your Mac will be able to melt the adaptation of macOS or Mac OS X you want to install .
As a guide , expect your Mac to be able to run any reading of macOS or Mac OS X that was support when that Mac launched , and any that were released in the few age at once follow your purchase .
New Macs won’t run older versions of macOS.
Now for the bad news : It is unlikely that your Mac will be able-bodied to run a version of macOS or Mac OS X that is older than the one that was set up on it when you buy it . You may find you ca n’t install an old version of Mac OS X on a unexampled Mac because the driver for the computer hardware in your new Mac plainly do n’t exist in the previous software program , so it ca n’t run . If you require to be given sure-enough versions of OS X on your Mac , you postulate to get an elder Mac that can persist them .
However there may be elision , for example , if you corrupt a Mac in 2017 , but the spec had n’t changed from the herald , or the model was really acquaint a few years earlier , you may notice you could turn tail an older version of macOS on it .
To aid you find out what versions of macOS your Mac supports we have a full lean ofwhich Macs ply each version of Mac OS X and macOS .
likewise , if you were hoping to install newer version of macOS on an old Mac you might rule that you ca n’t . This is because newer versions of macOS lean to throw off support for older mac . We have a separate article aboutinstalling a young macOS on an older Mac .
Back up your Mac
Foundry
Most of the physical process for installing an old translation of macOS entail you will need to wipe your Mac . You will therefore postulate to make a backup of anything you do n’t want to lose .
unremarkably our advice would be to employ Time Machine to back up your Mac , which is a great solution if you have a Time Machine backup from before you update macOS . The problem with Time Machine is that it makes a perfect backup , including the operating system , so you would just reinstall the translation of macOS you are trying to revert from .
If you have a Time Machine backup from before you updated macOS you could apply that – but make certain to back up any fresh data point that you wo n’t desire to fall back when you pass over your Mac .
If you do n’t have such a musical accompaniment , you need a backup of your data that wo n’t include the operating system . We have some suggestions for backup options here : expert backup package for Mac , but you could just replicate your files , leaflet , photo and music onto an external drive . We discuss thebest ways to back up a Macseparately .
If , like us , you practice iCloud you may find that a lot of what you postulate is actually in the cloud rather than on your Mac . Our advice would be to be absolutely sure that everything you necessitate is in the swarm before you pass over your Mac though : we are so accustomed to everything being in the swarm we can forget about the thing that are n’t .
Restore an old macOS from an old Time Machine backup (if you have one)
If you have a Time Machine backup from before you updated your Mac to the new macOS it ’s quite easy to revert to the one-time variation – but you will lose any new datum you have created since the update , so we urge that you save things like raw files and picture to an external drive before you revert using Time Machine .
How to revert to an old macOS using Time Machine
Here are the footstep you need to take to convalesce an sure-enough macOS from a Time Machine backing :
Remember that if you recover from an old backup you will drop off the data point you have add since update to the edition of macOS you wish to uninstall , so back up any new data before you do this .
Here ’s more onhow to doctor your Mac from a Time Machine backup .
If you do n’t have a Time Machine back up try one of the other options detailed below .
Downgrade to the version of macOS that shipped on your Mac
You might like to try the undermentioned method of downgrading your Mac to the interlingual rendition of macOS it shipped with or the near version still available . ( It did n’t actually work for us when we assay , perhaps because our cyberspace connection was n’t good enough , but it should solve in hypothesis ! )
This has been a feature in macOS Recovery since macOS Sierra 10.12.4 , and it should reinstall whatever version of the macOS your Mac shipped with , consort to Apple . However , this choice is allow for Intel - powered Macs .
One of the benefit of this option is that it might not lead in your Mac being wiped as reinstalling macOS this way should n’t remove information from your Mac . However , we still advocate you make a backup just in case .
Apple explains that to reinstall the version of macOS your Intel - powered Mac send with you should shut out down your Mac and then , as the Mac restarts , press Shift - Option / Alt - statement - R together ( this is not gentle one - handed ! )
Here are the step Apple describes :
If you have an M1 or later Mac you will only see the option to reinstall the edition of macOS you are running , and you wo n’t be able-bodied to install any macOS senior than Big Sur anyway .
Download the version of macOS you require and install it using a bootable installer
If you do n’t have a Time Machine backup from before you set up the new reading of macOS , and Recovery did n’t bid the choice to revert to the original variation of macOS your Mac shipped with , your next better option is to download the installer for the version of macOS ( or even Mac OS X ) you wish to set up and employ it to create a bootable USB macOS installer so you could instal it on your Mac .
As with the other options above , this operation will require you to blue-pencil everything on your Mac , so make a relief of anything you do n’t require to misplace – but do n’t back up using Time Machine because if you convalesce files from that you ’ll also be recovering the version of macOS you do n’t need to use .
You will necessitate to get your hands on the version of the Mac operating organisation you desire to install . We have a freestanding clause abouthow to get sure-enough rendering of macOS or Mac OS X , which includes links to where to download each version of macOS , so if you have n’t got the interlingual rendition of the Mac operating system of rules you want pop over there for advice on how to get it .
The most late are here :
Once you have downloaded the installer do n’t click to install it – you wo n’t be capable to install an old adaptation of macOS over a new reading unless you follow the process tocreate a bootable USB macOS installerdetailed below .
How to install an old macOS using bootable installer
To revert to an older version of macOS this way you need to employ a process bang as a clean install , which we look at in more detail here : How to do a clean install of macOS.You will be wiping your Mac and installing the edition of macOS you require on a fair slate .
Run an older macOS on an external drive
campaign a version of macOS on an outside ride is a great solution if you wish to continue to launch the version of macOS currently install on your Mac .
It is potential to run a version of macOS or Mac OS X on an external storage gimmick plugged into your Mac .
Rather than go through the steps here , we ’ll direct you to this article about how to runHow to run macOS on an external drive .
Once you have installed macOS on the outside campaign all you need to do is curb Option / Alt down when you start up your Mac you’re able to prefer to boot from that effort .
The benefit of this method is you do n’t call for to wipe your Mac . The disadvantage is that the erstwhile version of macOS might go lento .
Run an older macOS in a partition or volume
Another great option , if you do n’t want to be restrain to running just one version of macOS , is to set up the other version ( or reading ) on a sectionalization or volume on your Mac .
Whether it ’s a partition or volume depends on the version of macOS that is principally installed on your Mac . It ’s a heap easier to install a adaptation of macOS on a mass , but only newer versions of macOS support volume .
We look separately athow to run two versions of macOS on disjoined partitions / volumes .
Install an older macOS in a virtual machine
IDG
Before we expect at how to instal a version of macOS on a practical machine we need to look at Apple ’s ending - user licence agreement . This is a effectual minefield . Read aboutApple ’s Terms and Conditions and the EULA here .
Since Mac OS X 10.7 versions of the Mac operating system are only licensed to be track down in a virtual machine if the server Mac is running the same version . This means that installing an OS X 10.8 VM on a Mac running another version of OS X is a encroachment of the 10.8 software package license agreement . The newest rendering of OS X that can lawfully be run in a practical machine with a different OS X host is Snow Leopard ( 10.6 ) .
The solution here is too execute the host versions of the OS that you want , as long as you have the software licence from Apple .
Despite this , VMware Fusion and Parallels do sustain OS X client as well as server versions .
Another matter to note is that Apple ’s end user agreement does permit you to launch the Mac OS on two virtual machine on one information processing system , but these practical machines can not be used for business ( unless you ’re a registered Apple developer ) .
Also bear in thinker , as we bring up earlier , Macs can not bring up into an OS X version older than the one they shipped with when Modern , even if it ’s on a virtual auto . If you need to run older translation of OS X on your Mac , you need to get an sometime Mac that can run them .
Several software system parcel make it possible to run multiple versions of the Mac o ( and even Windows ) on your Mac . These includeParallels , VMware Fusion , Virtual Box . Find out which is undecomposed by scan : Best VM for Mac : Parallels , VMware , VirtualBox compared .
you may also run Windows and use Windows apps the same way , take : How to run Windows apps on a MacandHow to install Windows on a Mac .
