To get a copy of macOS Mojave to install on an unsupported Mac, you have to be in the Apple Beta program but more importantly than that, you have to download it on a supported Mac. Install macOS High Sierra on unsupported Mac. Also, Mac models’ owners officially supported by the macOS High Sierra operating system may face the fact that installing the system imposes a new APFS file system, which may be undesirable for the user for various reasons.
For Mac users, the release of the newest macOS update is always a big day. What will the new interface look like? What new features are there? And, importantly, will it be compatible with my Mac? Big Sur is a significant update that is supposed to bring macOS more in-line with iOS. However, with every new update older Macs get left behind even though some devices can last for several years. If your old Mac is optimized and you’ve taken good care of it then it’s probably still running great. Although older computers may not officially support Big Sur, it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to install.
Which Macs Don’t Support Big Sur?
Whether or not your Mac officially supports Big Sur depends on the model as there is no set cut-off point. If you have any of the devices below then you’re going to have to install Big Sur the hard way:
- MacBook – mid 2010 and earlier
- MacBook Air – mid 2012 and earlier
- MacBook Pro – early 2013 and earlier
- iMac – late 2013 and earlier
- Mac Mini – late 2012 and earlier
- Mac Pro – mid 2012 and earlier
All of the devices mentioned above are now seen by Apple as obsolete products, meaning they’re no longer supported technically either by replacement hardware or through OS updates.
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MacBook Pro Issues
Some MacBook Pro users are having difficulty with Big Sur even though their device is technically compatible. Anyone with a late 2013 or mid 2014 model MacBook Pro is able to upgrade their system but may end up facing a permanent black screen. Thankfully, Apple has offered a workaround for users experiencing these kinds of issues. In spite of this, some people are still having problems and in that case the only solution is to contact Apple Support directly for help.
How To Upgrade an Older Mac To macOS Big Sur
Anyone with an incompatible Mac will have noticed that Software Update doesn’t give you the option to install Big Sur. To upgrade you’ll need a patcher to trick Software Update into thinking your computer is compatible. But before you get started, there are a few things you need to do.
First, you need to make sure you’re starting the process with your Mac running Catalina. You’ll also need a couple of USB flash drives with at least 16GB storage. These drives must be modified in Disk Utility to work as your bootable OS installer. The first flash drive is for Big Sur and the second is to be used as a backup installer for Catalina in case anything goes wrong in the process. It’s also worth taking advantage of Time Machine for an extra safety net.
Of course, you’ll also need to obtain a copy of Big Sur since it won’t be available to download automatically. There are two ways to do this. First, you can register with the Apple Beta Software Program for free to download the beta. However, using a beta version can cause issues. Instead, it’s better to register with the Apple Developer program at $99 a year to download the finished article.
Next, you’ll need to find a patcher online that will be able to trick your system into installing Big Sur even if it’s incompatible. There are a few of these around and you’ll easily be able to find one on GitHub, like user barrykn’s micropatcher. But since each patcher works in slightly different ways, it’s important you follow every step of the process to the letter. You don’t want to end up with a broken Mac, after all.
When Not To Update an Unsupported Mac To Big Sur
Just because you can install Big Sur doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. First, it’s a very complicated process as the Big Sur update is one of the most significant in recent times, making it more difficult for patches to be created. In the past, like when upgrading older Macs to High Sierra, there were ready-made patches that made life easy. Anyone who isn’t a technical wizard may have issues with Big Sur if they don’t follow guides exactly. You also need to be sure that you’re confident using the Mac Terminal, as it’s an important part of the process.
Depending on what system you’re upgrading from, you may encounter issues that affect your Wi-Fi connection, graphics bugs that slow down your system, or frequent crashes. This is because Big Sur is relying on more recent hardware that simply doesn’t exist in older models. You’ll also find that new versions of the software you use daily are built with the assumption that you have Big Sur working without any issues. Meanwhile, much older systems will need significant upgrades to even have the capability of running Big Sur in the first place.
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Catalina (10.15) is the latest stable release of Apple's macOS. You will see some of the recent apps can only work on this version. And you have to upgrade macOS accordingly. However, only a small portion of Mac models are eligible for direct upgrade offered by Apple. What 's to do if you want to use Catalina on an unsupported Mac? This tutorial will show you how to install macOS Catalina on an unsupported Mac model.
1. Why macOS Catalina?
macOS Catalina is the last iteration of the macOS series, after which Apple has now moved to macOS 11 Big Sur. Not all Mac users will install Big Sur so soon after its release because they'll be waiting for all the major bugs to be fixed in an 11.x update. But there's also another reason: Big Sur is only meant for certain models of MacBooks and iMacs.
And some of the apps can not work on an old version of macOS, such as High Serria or Serria. You will receive the following messages if you try to run an app that only supports Catalina and later versions. You have to upgrade macOS to Catalina in such a case if the app is very important for you.
The same is true of Catalina as well, but Catalina is a more mature version and brings a lot of features to the table, such as the improved Siri, customizable smart lists, the new AI-based Photos app, better Notes search, refreshed Safari, and so on. Probably the most important change is the deprecation of iTunes into three separate entities for Music, TV, and Podcasts. That's why a large portion of users still prefer Catalina even if their device is compatible with Big Sur.
2. Official Support List by Catalina
Unfortunately, as in the case of Big Sur, macOS Catalina also does not support very old models of Apple devices. Here is the official support list. If your device is from an older year, you cannot upgrade to macOS Catalina the usual way.
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
In addition, your video card will need to be pre-metal, and it works with specific series of GeForce, Radeon, and Intel graphics cards.
3. Unofficial Support List by Catalina
Thankfully, there's a way to patch macOS Catalina on your older system, which extends the list of supported devices. However, you will need to download macOS Catalina dmg file, burn it to a USB drive, and then install Catalina on your Mac by booting from the USB installer. The process is shown below and it works with the following unsupported Mac models.
- MacBook Pro Early 2008 or newer
- MacBook Air Late 2008 or newer
- Mac Mini Early 2009 or newer
- MacBook Early 2009 or newer
- iMac Early 2008 or newer
4. How to Create a macOS Catalina Bootable USB
UUByte DMG Editor is a fantastic disk image management utility for Apple's DMG files. Not only can you burn a DMG to a range of media storage devices but you can also extract files without having to mount the DMG as a virtual drive. Besides, it is a cross-platform application that works well on both Windows and macOS. This means you can create a bootable Catalina USB installer on a Windows PC.
Although it is meant for experienced users, the user interface, navigation, and feature layout have been simplified so even beginners can jump right in and get comfortable with the software. Here's the process in the form of steps you can duplicate on your Mac.
Warning: Please back up your Mac first before taking into real actions. This might brick your EFI chip with multiple EEPROM definitions.
Install Macos Catalina On Unsupported Mac
Step 1: Download DMG file of macOS Catalina from the following sources. These site offer the latest version of the macOS Catalina, please download a copy to your Mac.
Install Macos On Incompatible Mac
- Download Link 1: https://themacgo.com/macdownload/
- Download link 2: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/NW4r628CM
Step 2: Insert a USB drive and install UUByte DMG Editor application on a Mac or PC.
Step 3: Launch UUByte DMG Editor and select the 'Burn' option on the main page.
Step 4: On the inside page, hit the 'Browse' button and select the DMG file from your local storage. Check if your USB drive is displayed in the field below the DMG image field. If not, click on 'Change' button to select the correct drive.
Step 5: All you need to do is name your drive and hit 'Burn' button. You will see the progress as the USB installer is created.
When you see the success message, close UUByte DMG Editor and eject the drive. It is now ready for you to use in the macOS Catalina installation process described in the next section.
5. Install macOS Catalina on Unsupported Mac
Now, follow the steps shown below carefully to load the installer, erase your local disk, and install macOS Catalina from USB drive you created in above step.
Step 1: Boot Mac from USB Installer
To do this, insert the installer and hold down the Option key as you restart your Mac. In the Startup Manager, choose the drive name that you used in the installer creation process. You won't be able to use the mouse here so use the arrow key to select your drive and hit Enter.
Step 2: Wait Catalina Installer to Be Loaded
This could take a few minutes so be patient. Don't worry if the screen goes blank or if the progress bar looks like it's frozen. Don't do anything at this point.
Step 3: Erase Local Hard Drive
When macOS Catalina installation wizard is loaded, you'll be able to see macOS Utilities window with several options. Choose Disk Utility option and then Continue. In Disk Utility, choose your hard drive (usually Macintosh HD) and hit Erase, which you will see in the top menu bar.
In the popup window, make sure the Format is set to APFS and hit Erase, leaving everything else as it is. You may want to change the name of the local HDD but you can leave it as Macintosh HD. Exit Disk Utility, which will take you back to the macOS Utilities window.
Step 4: Start Installing Catalina on Unsupported Mac
This time, in macOS Utilities, please choose Install macOS and then hit Continue. Hit Continue again to confirm the operation. When you see the license terms, hit the Agree option. You may need to do this twice for confirmation. Choose Macintosh HD (or however you renamed your local hard drive) and hit Install.
Wait for the installation to complete. This may take up to an hour or more depending on your system configuration and other factors.
Frequently Ask Questions
There are several known issues when installing macOS Catalina on ansupported Mac. However, it has less impact on daily usage.
No Tab for All Photos in Photos App. You will find this minor issue when using Photos app on Catalina. To fix this, you should right click any photo in Photos app and select 'Show in All Photos' from pop-up menu.
GPU acceleration not available. You will see a performance downgrade when playing games because the full video accleration is not available in Radeon HD 5xxx or 6xxx series video card.
WiFi not working. If you could not join any WiFi network, then you should use this command to fix it manually: sudo networksetup -setairportnetwork en1 SSID PASSWORD
Summary
Definitely, it is not a simple task to install macOS Catalina on an unsupported Mac. You have to complete the task manually, which is more challenging than a direct update being pushed by Apple official. However, the above tutorial proves to be fine on most of unsupported Macs we listed in Section 3. Now, enjoy using macOS Catalina on an officially unsupported device!
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