Once you’ve established your Mac is compatible with a particular version of OS X, you need to download the installer for that version. Finding and downloading an old version of macOS If your Mac appears in the list of supported models, then you should be able to downgrade macOS that version. Now check Apple’s technical specification pages for the version of macOS you want to install In the Overview section, you’ll see your Mac’s model name and year of releaseĤ. Click the I logo in the top left of macOSģ.
Downgrade mac os installation how to#
How to check if your Mac can run a particular OS X version:ġ. There are ways to get around that, but it’s not usually a good idea, because your Mac will usually be slower as a result. That’s because Apple periodically drops support for older Macs that can’t run later OS X releases effectively. You’re more likely to run into problems when you try to run a new version on an older Mac. In general, if you want to run an older version of macOS, it should work.
Or you might have old software that can’t be run on newer OS X versions like Catalina or Big Sur.
Older Macs often run better with earlier versions of macOS, for example. And eventually, Apple stops supporting older editions of macOS - and that means no more security patches.īut there are some good reasons to do it anyway. After all, newer versions of the operating system have more features. On the face of it, running old versions of macOS on your Mac seems counterproductive.