Unlock Your Mac's Full Potential: Install Unsupported macOS Versions

Installing an unsupported version of macOS on your Mac requires some extra effort compared to a regular upgrade. You'll need to download the installer, create a bootable USB drive, patch the drive to enable support for your Mac, and complete the installation process. Keep in mind that you may experience performance issues, need to lower or disable System Integrity Protection, and face unexpected delays. To simplify the process, we recommend using the OpenCore Legacy Patcher, an all-in-one tool that allows you to download, install, patch, and boot macOS on your target machine. For older versions of macOS, consider using patchers provided by dosdude1. Be ready to troubleshoot any problems you may encounter along the way by searching online for solutions related to your hardware or installation mistakes. Utilize online resources such as the OpenCore Troubleshooting documentation and our "Tips for Troubleshooting OpenCore" section below.

Before You Begin

To proceed with the process, a Mac that runs an outdated version of macOS compatible with OpenCore and a minimum 16GB USB flash drive are required. It is important to note that all contents on the flash drive will be erased.

If a newer Mac is available, it can be used to create the installation media with some modifications on the installation drive during setup. This is useful in case the older machine does not support USB 3.0 as transferring a macOS installer of approximately 12GB to an external drive will be necessary.

To begin, download the latest version of OpenCore Legacy Patcher and install it in the Applications folder on the Mac. Launch the application and select "Create macOS Installer" from the menu.

To begin, you must decide if you want to download macOS directly from Apple's servers or create an installer from an existing macOS installer in your Applications folder. If you do not have an installer ready, simply select "Download macOS Installer" when prompted.

Once you select this option, wait for the patcher to download the list of available macOS installers. You will then be prompted to choose the version you wish to install. The three most recent releases will be listed, with the latest version at the bottom. These versions will be fully updated to the latest available release.

If you wish to install Monterey on an unsupported Mac, download macOS 12.6.4. For Big Sur, download macOS 11.7.5. To access older versions, select the "Show all available installers" option.

After selecting your desired version, wait for the download to complete. If the download fails, keep trying and consider disabling any VPN you may be using to improve your chances of success.

After completing the download, the patcher will verify it and ask for permission to copy to your Applications folder. Once granted, check the folder for the “Install macOS Ventura” application (or whichever version you chose) to ensure the download was successful.

To proceed, click on “Flash Installer” or choose “Create macOS Installer” from the main menu and select the “Use existing macOS installer” option. The app will prompt for access to removable drives, grant it and select your desired USB drive as the installer.

The patcher will now create your installation media, which may take some time and appear unresponsive. However, data will soon be written to the drive, so patience is key.

Once the patching process is complete, ensure that the patcher reports a successful completion before removing your drive. However, we're not quite finished yet.

To enable your Mac to boot from the newly created installer, you'll need to build and patch OpenCore onto your USB drive. Navigate to the "Settings" option on the main OpenCore Legacy Patcher menu to access a list of available options.

Refer to the image below for a better visual representation of the process.

To install your chosen version of macOS onto a Mac, begin by selecting the model from the drop-down box. To find the model, boot up the Mac, click on the Apple logo, hold the Option key, and select “System Information”. From there, select “Hardware” and find the “Model Identifier” listed in the hardware overview. This is the model you want to select in the OpenCore Legacy Patcher. Once you have made your selection, click “Return to Main Menu” and then select “Build and Install Open Core”. Wait for the patcher to finish building a version of OpenCore that is tailored to your Mac. Next, select “Install to disk” and choose the USB drive that you used to create the installer. The patched version of OpenCore will be applied to your USB installation media. You can now eject your USB drive and remove it or leave it connected if you are installing to the same machine.

Before proceeding with the installation process, it is important to note that everything on your drive, including user accounts and data, will be preserved. However, to be safe, it is highly recommended to back up your Mac using Time Machine.

To begin the installation process, shut down the Mac you wish to install macOS on and insert the USB drive that you have created. Then, power on the machine while holding down the Option button on your keyboard. You will see multiple volumes appear, select the "EFI Boot" option with the OpenCore logo and use the arrow button or Enter key to boot.

Afterwards, choose the "Install macOS Ventura" option (or the corresponding version of macOS you wish to install).

Once the installer has started, wait for the Apple logo and progress bar to appear. This may take a few minutes as the installation environment loads from your USB drive. Once your Mac has started up, select “Install macOS Ventura” or the version of macOS you wish to install, and click “Continue”. Follow the installer as usual, authorizing changes, unlocking any encrypted drives, agreeing to the license agreement, selecting a partition for installation, and waiting for the installation to complete. Remember to keep an eye out for any placeholder images that may appear.

During the installation process, your Mac will restart several times. Don't worry if the progress bar seems to be stuck at certain times, unless nothing happens for a few hours. However, if your Mac keeps returning to the beginning of the setup after each restart, turn it off by holding down the power button, then boot it up while holding "Option". Choose the option accompanied by the grey Mac hard drive icon and repeat as needed. Once the installation is complete, your Mac will restart one final time and you can log in and start using your desktop. Check out the new version number by going to Apple > About This Mac. There are just a few more steps left to complete the process. If your USB drive is still connected, you will see a prompt to install OpenCore to your primary hard drive, allowing you to boot your Mac without the need for a USB drive. Simply click "OK" to get started.

After downloading and launching the OpenCore Legacy Patcher, navigate to Settings and verify that your machine selection is accurate. Once confirmed, return to the main menu and choose the “Build and Install Open Core” option. Wait for the builder to finish before selecting “Install to Disk” when the prompt appears.

Next, select the drive where macOS is installed and then choose the partition (do not choose the USB drive).

Finally, restart your computer to apply the changes, but make sure to remove the USB drive first. When your Mac reboots, hold the Option key and select the EFI Boot (OpenCore logo) option.

Remember to keep the placeholders:

To disable the boot picker on your Mac and have it load as normal, simply run OpenCore Legacy Patcher and disable the "Show boot picker" option in the Settings. You can still access the boot picker by holding the Esc key when selecting "EFI Boot" from the macOS boot options, which can be accessed by holding Option as your machine reboots. After installing OpenCore to your main macOS installation using the "Build and Install OpenCore" option, run OpenCore Legacy Patcher one last time and select "Post Install Root Patch" from the menu to check and install any required post-installation patches.

Getting Ventura installed on your Mac may require some additional steps depending on your device. If you encounter any issues during installation, try erasing your USB installation drive in Disk Utility and reformatting it as APFS before creating the installation media again. Installing OpenCore to the USB drive with the same configuration should help resolve most issues.

If you're still experiencing problems, try recreating your USB installer, switching out your USB drive, or using a different USB port. Resetting NVRAM and disabling System Integrity Protection from within OpenCore settings may also help. Enable the "Verbose" flag under OpenCore settings and install it to the disk to troubleshoot any issues.

If none of these solutions work, consider trying a different version of macOS, such as Monterey or Big Sur.

Installing macOS Ventura on a mid-2012 MacBook Air has proven to be a smooth process with no major issues. The system runs adequately for its age and the latest version of Safari is a nice addition. AirDrop also works seamlessly with our Apple Silicon MacBook Pro. Updating the system is easy via the System Settings and Software Update, but it's important to keep regular backups in case anything goes wrong. However, some drawbacks may occur depending on your machine. For example, enabling System Integrity Protection on Ventura may brick the volume, leaving your Mac more vulnerable to attacks. Additionally, older Macs may experience worse performance than expected. If you decide to remove OpenCore from your EFI volume, ensure that you have a supported old version of macOS ready to install as doing so will break your current macOS installation. To remove OpenCore, open Terminal on your Mac under Applications and Utilities and run the specified command.

Remove Open Core to Install Previous Versions of macOS

Create a mount point for the “EFI” partition on your primary internal disk by using the command “sudo mkdir /Volumes/EFI”. Enter your password when prompted. Next, mount the EFI partition by using the corresponding label found in the “IDENTIFIER” column. For instance, if the EFI partition identifier is disk0s1, type “sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/EFI”. After mounting the partition, locate “EFI” under “Locations” in the sidebar of Finder. Alternatively, navigate to the “EFI” partition by using the “Go to Folder” option and typing “/Volumes/EFI”.