Mac Os Big Sur Unsupported

Apple updates its macOS (previously Mac OS X) desktop and laptop operating system once a year, like clockwork, bringing new features and improvements. That’s all very well, but Apple’s most recent version of macOS – Big Sur – won’t run on any Mac older than 2013, and in some cases 2014. Which may well mean that your Mac can’t officially be updated – unless you follow this tutorial.

Mac Os Big Sur Unsupported Mac
Mac Os Big Sur On Unsupported Macs

Once done, reboot your Mac. Install future macOS Big Sur updates on unsupported Macs. Whenever there is an update for macOS Big Sur, instead of updating using Software Update in System Preferences.
Mods, you might want to sticky this if you keep getting people asking about unsupported Macs and Big Sur. Log in or sign up to leave a comment Log In Sign Up. Reddit’s Home to Apple's Latest Operating System! Created Aug 26, 2010.

Before you go ahead and follow the advice below a word of warning: there is a reason why Apple chooses not to support the new Mac operating system on older Macs. Older Macs just don’t have the necessary components or power required to cope with the demands of the more modern systems. So if you do install Big Sur, Catalina, or any recent version of macOS on an unsupported Mac don’t expect it to run smoothly.

Running big sur on another macos on an unsupported mac may also be considered against apple's terms and conditions. For information about apple's terms and conditions read: should you agree to. In this video, i will be showing you how to install macos big sur onto an unsupported mac. This update of macos, macos big sur, was released to the.

Is my Mac too old to update?

We have a macOS compatibility checker here, so you can see which versions of macOS your Mac should be able to run.

Here’s an overview of the Macs that will run Big Sur, according to Apple:

MacBook models from early 2015 or later
MacBook Air models from 2013 or later
MacBook Pro models from 2013 or later
Mac mini models from 2014 or later
iMac models from 2014 or later
iMac Pro (all models)
Mac Pro models from 2013 or later

Apple advises that macOS Catalina will run on the following Macs:

MacBook models from early 2015 or later
MacBook Air models from mid-2012 or later
MacBook Pro models from mid-2012 or later
Mac mini models from late 2012 or later
iMac models from late 2012 or later
iMac Pro (all models)
Mac Pro models from late 2013

Apple advises that macOS Mojave will run on the following Macs:

Mac models from 2012 or later
iMac Pro (from 2017)
MacBook models from 2015 or later
MacBook Pro models from 2012 or later
MacBook Air models from 2012 or later
Mac mini models from 2012 or later
Mac Pro models from late 2013 (plus mid-2010 and mid-2012 models with recommended Metal-capable GPU)

The older macOS High Sierra had a little more scope. Apple said that would run happily on a late 2009 or later MacBook or iMac, or a 2010 or later MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini or Mac Pro.

If you Mac is supported read: How to update to Big Sur.

This means that if your Mac is older than 2012 it won’t officially be able to run Catalina or Mojave. In the case of Catalina that includes all the old-style Mac Pro models, pre-‘trash can’. If you want to run , but your Mac is older than 2013/2014, the new macOS just isn’t for you, as far as Apple is concerned anyway.

However, despite this it is possible to run newer macOS versions on older Macs thanks to a patcher.

Don’t expect things to be plain sailing though – in fact you should expect to encounter problems. Be prepared for the fact that your Mac will not function optimally and you could lose data. (For that reason we recommend doing a full backup of your Mac first).

For example, many older Macs have problems with the Wi-Fi connection after installing macOS Big Sur. If you need Wi-Fi, installing the preview version is not advisable.

Running Big Sur on another macOS on an unsupported Mac may also be considered against Apple’s terms and conditions. For information about Apple’s terms and conditions read: Should you agree to Apple’s terms and conditions.

Wondering if it’s worth updating your Mac? Read: macOS Big Sur vs Catalina.

How to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac

If your Mac is more than a few years old and you try to install Big Sur on it you will hit a few hurdles – the first being the fact that Software Update simply won’t let you install the new version of macOS.

However, this doesn’t mean that installing Big Sur on an older Mac isn’t possible. It is – you just need a patch. Luckily there’s a patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on older Macs available – the big-sur-micropatcher can be downloaded from GitHub.

Note that macOS patchers cannot perform magic and not all Macs will be compatible. Before installing Big Sur on an older Mac, make sure that your Mac is compatible with the patcher. On the patch page (linked above) you will find some notes indicating the various years of manufacture. Before you upgrade to macOS Big Sur review the compatibility notes.

The procedure for updating to a new version of macOS on incompatible Macs is as follows:

First you will need to obtain the installation files for the operating system. You’ll have to obtain these using a compatible Mac. If they don’t show up in Software Update you can get the installation files from the Mac App Store.
Now you need to load these installation files onto a USB stick and prepare the USB stick for installing macOS Big Sur. We explain how to create a bootable installer of macOS in a separate article.
Next you need to obtain software that is able to trick the installation files of the version of macOS you want to install into believing that the Mac is compatible. You can download that patcher we mentioned above from GitHub. Click on the Code and Download Zip buttons.
After extracting the archive from your download you will find the file “micropatcher.sh”.
Open a terminal window and drag and drop the file into the terminal. Then run the command.
Now install macOS from your bootable installer.
In some cases, there are still tasks to be performed after the installation. These can be found in the instructions for big-sur-micropatcher. After preparing the Mac with the USB stick, start a terminal and enter “/ Volumes / Image Volume / set-vars.sh”. The script is part of the patch for macOS Big Sur and changes important settings for booting and system files.

The update can take several hours. In our case it sometimes looked like the installer had crashed during the update. In this case you should wait, as the installation is usually still in progress. Over time, better ways to update a machine may be found. Currently, the safest approach is to update using a bootable USB stick.

How to install Big Sur updates on an unsupported Mac

Once you have installed macOS Big Sur, updates will appear in Software Updates as soon as they are available. However, you should not install these, but ideally again create a USB stick with the current installation files and install the update in this way.

These steps were translated from an article by our colleagues at Macwelt.

How to run Catalina on an older Mac

You can download a macOS Catalina Patcher from a developer known as DOSDude1. The patch will enable you to install Catalina on an older Mac.

The Catalina hack doesn’t work with every Mac, but many are covered. You can see if your Mac is supported here.

DODDude1 offers a video tutorial on his website, here. We’ve simplified the steps below, but we recommend that you follow his tutorial.

Download the latest version of the Catalina patch here. (You can make a donation).
Open the Catalina Patcher app.
Click Continue.
Choose Download a Copy.
The download (of Catalina) will start – since it’s almost 8GB it is likely to take a while.
Plug in a flash drive.
Choose ‘Create a bootable installer’ from the options.
Plug the bootable installer into the Mac you wish to update.
Restart the Mac while holding the Option/Alt key. This will cause the Mac open in Startup Manager.
Choose the bootable installer drive and Enter.
Now your Mac should open in Recovery.
Choose Reinstall macOS and wait for the new version of macOS to install.
After the installation has completed, you should restart the Mac in Recovery mode again, choosing the drive that contains the bootable installer.
Now choose macOS Post Install and the required patches will be installed on your Mac so that Catalina can work.
When the patches have been applied choose Force Cache Rebuild.
Restart.
When it reboots, your Mac should now boot into a fully working copy of macOS Catalina.

If you are running a version of macOS that predates High Sierra or Mojave, you will need to format your hard drive to APFS.

We have more advice about installing macOS via a Bootable Installer here.

How to run Mojave on an older Mac

As with Catalina, a patch tool was written DOSDude1 that enables you to install macOS Mojave on an older Mac.

You can download the Mojave Patch Tool here.

How to run High Sierra and older on an older Mac

DOSDude1 wrote a similar patch for High Sierra and prior to that Sierra. With the patch installed you can go back as far as early 2008 models. It’s unlikely to run like a dream, which is why Apple advises against this course of action. But you should be able to achieve tolerable performance.

Why you shouldn’t install new macOS on an old Mac

We’d advise tech beginners against attempting this workaround: it calls for a moderate degree of tech expertise.

Remember that we’re going against Apple’s official advice on this one, which means that if something goes wrong – and that’s always a possibility with an OS install, even if you’re using official software – your warranty is unlikely to save you. Of course, it’s unlikely that your 2008 Mac would be under any warranty so that may not worry you too much.

Back up your Mac before going any further. And bear in mind two more caveats.

At some point Apple may patch this hack and prevent it working in future. So if you’re keen, and happy that the risks and difficulties are worth it for you, then jump in while you still can.

Otherwise, you might want to read How to sell an old Mac.

We’ve had a look at what’s coming in Big Sur – here’s our verdict: macOS Big Sur: should you update your Mac?

Big Sur on unsupported Mac

Installing Big Sur on an unsupported Mac can’t be done the regular way through System Preferences > Software update. However, if the machine’s not too old, there’s still a way to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac using a specially developed patcher tool.

Mac Os Big Sur Unsupported Mac

Big Sur Workaround

At first glance, it may seem impossible to install macOS Bug Sur on a machine that’s not supported. If you are using a Mac that’s too old and go to its Software Update section, you will see that you are simply not allowed to install the Big Sur upgrade. If, however, you are determined to get Big Sur on your Mac, it may still be done in a roundabout way, by using a specially-developed patcher that you can download from here.

Depending on how old your Mac is, the patcher may or may not enable you to install Big Sur – some Macs are just too old, and even the patcher cannot make it possible for the latest macOS to be installed on them.

On the linked page (from where you can download the patcher), you can find notes that show for which Mac models (and hardware compositions) the patcher is most likely to work and for which it’s not recommended to try it. Carefully look through those notes and if it turns out that your Mac doesn’t have the necessary prerequisites, it’s best if you don’t try the patcher as it will probably not work and may cause unnecessary complications that could be difficult to fix. There is a reason why the latest macOS isn’t supported on older Mac models. The system requirements of Big Sur are higher than what most of the older models can effectively handle and so, unless you are certain that your Mac can run on Big Sur (check the notes in the link), it would probably be best if you kept its current macOS, that it can run stably.

Important Note

Also, it is important that you back up your important data – even if your Mac model and hardware composition are compatible with the patcher according to the notes, you should still make sure that any important data you don’t want to lose is safely backed up.

Another thing to mention is that, if you are using FireVault, you need to have it turned off, or else the patcher will probably not work.

The last precaution before you start with the Big Sur installation is to download the current macOS that you have on your Mac/MacBook onto a USB stick so that, should there be a problem with the Big Sur installation, you can always install the older macOS onto the machine using the USB stick.

With all that out of the way, here’s how you can use the Big Sur patcher to upgrade your unsupported Mac to the latest macOS.

How to install Big Sur on unsupported Mac

To install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac, you must first create a bootable USB drive using a special patcher app. Then you need to use the USB drive to install Big Sur on the unsupported Mac, and, lastly, you must install the needed patches.

Creating a bootable USB stick using the Big Sur patcher.

The first phase of the process involves creating a bootable USB drive with the help of a special patcher, so here’s how to do that:

Start by getting an empty USB stick with enough space on it – it is recommended the stick has at least 16 GB free storage space (the more, the better).
Plug the empty USB stick into your Mac, go to Spotlight (the magnifying glass icon in the top-right), type Disk Utility, and hit Enter.
Select the View icon in the top-left and select Show All Devices.
Click on the USB drive from the left panel, and select Erase.
In the Erase window, make sure that the format is set to Mac OS Extended and click on Erase.
After the USB drive is erased, close the Disk Utility, open your browser, and go to the page where the patcher is (here is the link to it again). DO NOT remove the USB stick from your Mac – it must stay plugged into the computer during the next steps.
Look at the right side of the page, where it says Releases (you may have to scroll down a bit), and select Latest.
You will see the latest available patch and down below, under assets, you will see the download link/links for it. Click on the first link and download the file on your Desktop.
Next, close the browser, open the patcher, and when a window pops up on your screen, double-click on the Patched Sur icon.
When macOS asks you if you are sure you want to open the app, select Open and select Start from the newly-opened window.
Next, the patcher will automatically detect what Mac model you are using and show you what Big Sur features will work on it and what features won’t be available – select Continue in that window.
If you want, read the guide that appears on your screen and click Continue again.
On the next page, make sure that the “Release” option is selected, and click on Continue.
In the next screen, select Update, and then click Continue.
Wait until the download finishes and then click on Download macOS 11.0.1 (or whatever macOS version is shown).
Wait for the loading process to complete (it’s likely going to take quite a lot of time, so be patient), provide your Mac password, and click on Continue.
Next, select the name of the empty USB stick and then select Continue, and Continue again on the next page.
The following process could take quite some time, so be patient, wait for everything to be finished, and then close the window. Once the process is complete, macOS Big Sur will be downloaded onto the empty USB stick and will be ready to be installed on your Mac. To close the window, click on Patched Sur in the top-left and select Quit Patched Sur.

Installing macOS Big Sur

Once you have the bootable USB stick ready, it’s time to install Big Sur on your Mac.

Shut down your Mac and when it powers down completely, start it back up, and immediately after pressing the power button, press and hold the left Option (Alt) key.
Once you get a screen with three different options, select the one labeled Install macOS Big Sur. If you don’t get that screen and your Mac starts normally, repeat the previous step until you get the screen with the three options.
When your Mac loads to a screen with four different options, do the following if the current macOS on the computer isn’t Catalina but one that is older. If your current macOS is Catalina, skip steps 4 to 7 and go directly to step 8.
Select Disk Utility and then click on Continue.
Click on the View icon from the top and select Show All Devices (like you did in one of the earlier steps).
In the left panel, select the drive on which the current macOS is installed (should be the one shown at the top).
Next, click on Erase, make sure that the format is set to APFS, and select Erase.
- Important!: this action will erase everything on the selected hard drive, so it is important to have previously backed up data you wouldn’t want to lose. If you haven’t done that, restart your Mac, back up your data, and then erase the drive.
Once the drive is erased, go back to the screen with four options, select Install macOS Big Sur, and click Continue, and then Continue again.
Agree to the Terms and Conditions, on the next page, select the drive on which you’d like Big Sur to be installed, and select Continue. This will begin the installation of Big Sur and, again, depending on a number of factors, this process could anywhere between 45 minutes to 3 hours (or more).

Patiently wait for the installation to complete and once your Mac starts again, you will have Big Sur installed onto it. If you have performed a fresh install of Big Sur (if you’ve first erased your previous OS, you will have to go through several normal setup steps that are very easy to complete).

Installing Necessary Patches

The last phase of the Big Sur installation is to install several important patches to make your Mac function properly.

Once the computer starts after the Big Sur installation, and you complete any required setup steps (in case you’ve performed a fresh install of the OS), open the icon of the bootable USB drive.
Open the Patched Sur app and select the Patch Kexts.
Click Continue, enter your password and click on Continue again.
Once the patches are installed, the app will ask you to restart your Mac, so click on the Restart to Finish option and wait for the computer to restart.
If your Mac is a very old one, one thing that could help it run smoother is to go back to the Patcher, select Settings, and click on the Disable Animations option. We also recommend selecting the Clean Leftovers button to get rid of any unnecessary files and free up some space on the computer.

Mac Os Big Sur On Unsupported Macs

Once this is finished, your Mac will be ready for use with the macOS Big Sur installed on it. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask them in the comments section below.

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