[Tutorial]Download and Install Older Versions of macOS(OS X)

Summary: This post explains three ways to install older versions of macOS/OS X on your Mac, including Time Machine, Recovery mode, and a bootable USB installer. You can install macOS Sonoma and older macOS/OS X on the device.

install older version of Mac os

It is recommended to keep your Mac updated to the latest version of macOS to maintain security, stability, and compatibility, improve the performance of your Mac, and experience the newly added features.

However, the latest macOS Sequoia or the currently installed one may fail to satisfy you, such as the Mac runs slowly after update, it is not compatible with the software you prefer to use, etc. Thus, you want to install older versions of macOS(OS X) on your Mac. Then, this post is right for you. Stay tuned to know more.

Which version of macOS can my Mac run?

In the first place, you need to check whether the earlier version of macOS you want to install supports running on your Mac. The earliest version of macOS your Mac can run is the one that came with the Mac.

If you bought a Mac shipped with macOS Catalina, you can not reinstall macOS Mojave and earlier on it. As for Apple Silicon Mac with macOS Big Sur installed when leaving the factory, only macOS Big Sur and later versions are compatible due to the transition from Intel x86 architecture to ARM architecture.

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But not all the macOS versions newer than the one that came with your Mac can be installed. Apple drops support for older Macs when releasing new macOS. For example, macOS Sequoia is not compatible with MacBook Air produced before 2020.

Therefore, it's necessary to check the compatibility between your Mac model and the macOS you are going to install. You can identify your Mac model from the Apple menu > About This Mac > Overview, it shows the Mac model info such as MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020), then visit the following links to check compatibility:

Back up Mac and erase Mac before downgrading macOS

If you start to directly install macOS after downloading the installer, it won't succeed. Because you can not install an earlier version on the top of the current one. You need to completely erase your Mac startup disk before installing an earlier version of macOS or OS X with Time Machine or the Recovery mode.

Bear in mind that formatting Macintosh hard drive will erase all your contents on the Mac. Thus, you'd better back up your Mac before wiping the drive. You can choose to back up Mac with Time machine, upload important files to cloud storage, or transfer them to external storage. In this way, you can get your files back after reinstalling macOS.

erase Macintosh HD

Method 1. Install older macOS With a Time Machine backup

If you have backed up your Mac with Time Machine before you update to the current macOS, you can restore the Mac to the previous macOS with the Time Machine backup. Here's how:

Connect your Time Machine backup drive to your Mac.
Boot your Mac into Recovery mode.
Choose Restore from Time Machine in macOS Utilities and click Continue.
Choose your Time Machine backup drive, then click Continue.
Select the backup before updating macOS by date, then click Continue.
Select the Mac internal hard drive to receive the backup content and click Restore.
Restart your Mac.

restore with Time Machine backup

Method 2. Revert Mac to original macOS in Recovery mode

If there is no Time Machine backup, you can still revert an Intel Mac to an older macOS or OS X in the recovery mode. This method applies to reverting an Intel Mac to the macOS version that came with the Mac.

Instead of booting Mac into the standard recovery mode with Command + R keys, you need to press and hold Shift + Option + Command + R until the spinning wheel appears on the screen. It will boot your Mac into Internet Recovery mode. Then select Reinstall macOS and follow the onscreen guide to install the original macOS.

Mac internet recovery mode

If the installation fails, check this guide for solutions: Fix Could Not Find Installation Information for This Machine

If you receive an error regarding the disk format, fix it with this tutorial: This Disk is Not Formatted as Mac OS Extended? Fixed!

Method 3. Restore MacBook to older OS via a bootable installer

Perhaps, both the macOS that came with your Mac and the one you have backed up with Time Machine before updating are not the versions of macOS you want to install on your Mac. Then, you can restore MacBook to an older OS via a bootable macOS installer. Any compatible macOS is supported with this method.

It needs a clean external drive with enough storage for the macOS installer and should be formatted as APFS for macOS 10.13 and later, or Mac OS Extended for macOS 10.12 and earlier. Then you need to download and install the old macOS onto the drive.

Step 1. Get older versions of macOS

When you update your Mac to the latest macOS, you can easily download the installer from the Apple menu > System Settings > General > Software Update or in the Mac App Store. But if you search for macOS Monterey, macOS Big Sur, or other earlier versions of macOS/OS X in the App Store, it doesn't display in the results, because Apple doesn't index these entries in the Mac App Store.

You can directly download the latest macOS Sequoia, recent macOS Sonoma, and macOS Ventura in the Mac App Store, but how to get older versions of macOS? To download old macOS Monterey, Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, and macOS High Sierra from the App Store, use the links below. Click the link and choose Open App Store.app, then click on the Get button to download.

get older macOS from App Store

In addition, you can get installers of macOS Sierra, OS X EI Capitan, OS X Yosemite, and earlier from Apple.com. Safari downloads the installer as a disk image named InstallOS.dmg or InstallMacOSX.dmg.

Note: After downloading the macOS installer on your Mac, it will open automatically, you should quit the process and not install macOS now.

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Step 2. Install older macOS onto the drive

Connect the bootable installer to your Mac.
Boot Mac into Recovery mode and open Terminal.
Type or paste the command of the target macOS in Terminal, and replace MyVolume with the name of your volume.

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app

Then, follow the steps below:

Press Return to enter the command.
Type your administrator password if asked and press Return again.
Type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return.
Click OK when an alert appears to allow the Terminal to access the volume.
Wait for the copy to complete, quit Terminal, and eject the volume.

install downloaded macos onto the drive

Step 3. Install old macOS on your Mac via the bootable installer

On Apple Silicon Mac:

Press and hold the power button to turn on the Mac and release the key when you see the startup options.
Select the bootable installer newly created, then click Continue.
When the macOS installer opens, follow the onscreen instructions to complete such a task on your M1, M2, and M3 Apple Silicon chip Macs.

On Intel-based Mac:

Turn on the Mac and immediately hold the Option key.
Release the Option key until your bootable volume appears.
Select the bootable installer newly created. Then click the up arrow or press Return.
Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.

install macOS via bootable installer

The bottom line

After reading this post, you know how to install older versions of macOS or OS X on your Mac. There are three methods to install older macOS. Depending on your case, you can choose to install the macOS backed up with Time Machine, the macOS that came with your Mac in Recovery mode, or any other compatible macOS via a bootable installer.

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