macOS 11 Big Sur is an advanced Macintosh operating system that you can install on your Mac. It has got tons of new features to enhance the user experience, like making safari browser 50% faster, new features of messages, Air Pods improvements, new-design sidebar in mail and photos, widgets in the notification bar, and many more.
Apple announced this new software on 22 June at WWDC. And this time, Apple did a big challenge and released the macOS 11 Big Sur along with iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7. Meanwhile, Apple highlighted all the new features, changes, and improvements to the current software. You can download this new operating system from various sources now. Unfortunately, some Macs can't receive macOS 11 Big Sur update and they can't install the new operating system. In this article, we will discuss how to install macOS 11 Big Sur on an Unsupported Mac with easy steps.
Part 1: Official List of Big Sur Supported Mac Models
Download the Mojave 10.14.6 Update or Combo Update in Post #1 or the update from Apple's Mac App Store and run it - the updater will reboot upon completion. Note: Update will reboot twice; each time Clover picks the correct boot partition.
macOS 11 Big Sur Developer Beta is available to download. But you have to check your Mac compatibility first. If you have the below-listed Macs then you don't have to install macOS 11 Big Sur as these models will receive an update for macOS Big Sur automatically.
- MacBook 2015 and later
- MacBook Air and Pro Late 2013 and later
- Mac mini 2014 and later
- iMac 2014 and later
- iMac Pro 2017 and later (all models)
- Mac Pro 2013 and later
Mojave is being installed onto your Mac. Once the installer is done installing, shut down your computer. This time, instead of installing Mojave again we need to install the necessary patches for Mojave to run properly. Click macOS Post Install in either the side menu or from the dropdown menu in utilities. Using DosDude1's Mojave Patch Tool, you can install a patched version of Mojave on unsupported Macs. Sit back and relax while Mojave is being installed onto your Mac. Step 8: The installation will take about 30 minutes approximately. Once the installation is successful you will see the macOS 11 Big Sur wallpaper on your Mac screen. That's it, you have installed macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac successfully. Follow the above-mentioned method to install macOS 11 Big Sur on unsupported Mac devices.
Part 2: Unsupported Mac Models of Big Sur (Not Eligible for Direct Upgrade)
On the other hand, if you have the below-listed Mac computers then you can install macOS Big Sur on those models as they are unsupported officially. You have to do some hacks to let Big Sur running on unsupported Macs.
- MacBook Air 2012
- MacBook Pro 2012 and Early 2013 MacBook Pro
- 2012 Mac Mini
- 2012 and 2013 iMac
Part 3: How to Install macOS Big Sur on an Unsupported Mac
Before the installation, make sure that you take a backup of your Mac on an external hard disk as you will lose all your data when you install the new operating system. There are several backup software like Time Machine, iCloud, Dropbox, and many more. Once you have taken a backup follow the instructions below to install macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac.
Step 1: First you need to download two files from the links below to complete the macOS 11 Big Sur installation on your unsupported Mac.
- macOS Big Sur PKG installer: https://developer.apple.com/macos/
- macOS Big Sur PKG install hack: https://forums.macrumors.com/simple-installer-hack-zip.926156/
Step 2: After you have downloaded these two files, unzip the hack and copy the hax.dylib file and then paste it to home folder.
Step 3: Click on Install Assistant.pkg to install required contents to your Mac. Make sure that you have enough space on your hard disk as the file will take 20.1 MB size on your computer.
Step 4: Now go ahead and tap on the Install button to install the software on the disk 'Macintosh SSD'. Once you click the 'Install' button then it will ask you to enter your password. Next, click the 'Install Software' button.
Step 5: Next, you have to boot your computer into Recovery mode. You can do that by pressing Command + R immediately on startup until Recovery option appears. In case if you have no recovery partition, you can press down Command + Option +R to get into Internet Recovery. After that, go to Utilities -> Terminal and type 'csrutil disable', followed by pressing the Enter button on your keyboard.
Step 6: Type the following two commands in the terminal. Once you apply the first command, type your login password, and then input the second command.
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.libraryvalidation.plist DisableLibraryValidation -bool true
launchctl setenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES $PWD/Hax.dylib
Step 7: Next, run the macOS 11 Big Sur installer app that you installed from InstallAssistant.pkg a while ago. Now click on the 'Continue' button and follow the instructions to complete the installation process.
Step 8: The installation will take about 30 minutes approximately. Once the installation is successful you will see the macOS 11 Big Sur wallpaper on your Mac screen. That's it, you have installed macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac successfully.
Follow the above-mentioned method to install macOS 11 Big Sur on unsupported Mac devices. The method is quite easy; you just have to focus on the command line and other installation procedures.
Part 4: Alternative Method to Install Big Sur on an Unsupported Mac
The above tutorial is for users who still have access to their device. However, if your Mac is unable to boot into Desktop or you are using a Hackintosh, then you should follow the alternative method instead. In this part, we will show you how to create a macOS Big Sugr bootable USB on a Windows PC and install macOS Big Sur on unsupported Mac by using that bootable media.
Step 1: Make a full backup of important files on your Mac.
Step 2: Download a copy of UUByte DMG Editor and follow the instructions to install it on your Windows PC.
Step 3: Insert a USB flash drive into PC and open UUByte DMG Editor. Now, click the Burn tab to get into the new window.
Step 4: You will see three options on Burn windows. Please import macOS Big Sur DMG file into the program and choose the USB drive name. You can also set a new name for that USB drive. And this is optional.
Step 5: Once the setting process is completed, just click 'Burn' button located at the bottom to start burning dmg file to USB on your PC. You should wait about 10 minutes for this task.
Step 6: Plug Big Sur bootable USB on your Mac and press Power + Option combine keys to open Startup Manager. At this stage, you are able to select a booting device. Click on the USB drive and start Big Sur installation process.
This part is mainly for Windows users who want to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac. The most important step is to create a bootable USB drive.
Troubleshooting:
If your system is showing any error message while installing the macOS Big Sur you can try these methods to fix it.
- Restart your Computer and continue with the installation.
- Make sure that your Mac’s date and time is correct.
- Check your Hard Drive to see that you have enough free space to carry out the installation.
- Make sure that the version of macOS Big Sur is up to date including the macOs installer
- Run first aid on your startup disk before installing macOS Big Sur to check any system files are damaged or not.
Summary
You can see that it is not hard to install macOS Big Sur on an Supported Mac. Make sure that you key in the right command lines which are mentioned above, as typing a wrong command can harm your system. Enjoy the great features that come with the macOS Big Sur on your unsupported device!
In this article, we will determine if your old Mac can still be updated to newer versions of macOS.
Most Apple devices have an average 5-year support lifespan, which means that they will receive software updates, including bug fixes, patches, and security updates over those years.
Until then, macOS and iOS devices are considered “unsupported” by Apple due to forced obsolescence of hardware.
In other words, Apple stopped supporting all its macOS and iOS devices with continuous software and operating system updates due to hardware limitations.
This is because as hardware ages, it cannot dully support newer programs that might be too advanced for its capability.
Starting with Mojave Apple did not allow older Macs to upgrade to newer macOS versions. With every new macOS release the minimum year of Mac hardware increases. While most pre-2012 officially cannot be upgraded, there are unofficial workarounds for older Macs.
According to Apple, macOS Mojave supports:
- 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)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013; Mid 2010 and Mid 2012 models)
According to Apple, macOS Catalina supports:
- 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)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
Lastly, macOS Big Sur supports these devices:
- MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
- MacBook Air introduced in 2013 or later
- MacBook Pro introduced in late 2013 or later
- Mac mini introduced in 2014 or later
- iMac introduced in 2014 or later
- iMac Pro
- Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
If you see that your Mac is older than mentioned above, you definitely can’t expect to update your device to newer macOS versions.
Does Apple still support your version of macOS?
Usually, macOS automatically updates itself once the software is rolled out to its users. But first, know which version of macOS your device is running.
To know which version of macOS you are using, click the Apple icon at the top left corner of your screen and select About This Mac.
A Window will appear showing the version of macOS running on your device.
Note: If you are using an older device, it will show that your system is called “OS X” (OS X 10.11 El Capitan is the latest) instead of “macOS” (starting from macOS 10.12 Sierra onwards).
Updating your Mac to the newest macOS versions
If Apple still supports your device, you can directly update your device from the About This Mac window by clicking “Software Update.”
This will download the latest version of macOS to your device. Alternatively, you can type “macOS <version>” on the App Store if you wish to install a specific macOS version on your device.
After the download completes, the installer will open automatically. Click Continue and follow the instructions and let it complete the process.
Make sure not to use your computer, put it to sleep, or close it slid during the installation process. Doing so may corrupt the installation files and your current system files.
Why Mac Won’t Update to Newer Versions of macOS
Usual installation problems across different versions of macOS could be:
- Incompatible Mac
- The update couldn’t be downloaded
- Insufficient storage space
Problem 1: Incompatible Mac
As stated before, newer versions of macOS do not support really old Mac devices. Always check if your device is supported by Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, or other macOS versions before updating.
Problem 2: The update couldn’t be downloaded
In downloading the macOS update, you might receive an error message that says, “Installation of macOS could not continue. Installation requires downloading important content. That content can’t be downloaded at this time. Try again later.”
Other users might find that the download progress bar might be stuck.
If you encounter these problems, the culprit might be a network error. Try these fixes:
- Check your router if you have a stable internet connection and not experiencing a network hiccup.
- If you are using a wireless internet connection, try switching to an Ethernet cable connection to ensure that the download speed is consistent.
- Lastly, check Apple’s System Status and see if The Apple Serve is live.
If the problem persists, there may be several people downloading the update at the same time. This most likely happens at the early release of the update so try downloading the update at non-peak times.
Problem 3: Insufficient storage space
In most cases, download files abruptly stop downloading if there is not enough space left in the computer, causing partial installation files to be stored in your system.
To fix this problem:
- Look for a file name called “Install macOS <version number of what you are trying to install>“. For example, “Install macOS 10.14” for Mojave, “Install macOS 10.15” for Catalina, and “macOS 11.2” for Big Sur.
- Delete the file.
- Reboot and make sure to free up more than the necessary space required for the download file.
- Download the file again.
Your device should automatically start the installation once it’s done. Otherwise, open the folder where you saved the update file and double-click it to prompt the installation.
Installing Newer Versions of macOS in Safe Mode
Some applications, startup items, or extensions might interfere with the installation process, causing it to terminate or not run the update at all.
To ensure that no other programs are causing this problem, you can install Mojave, Catalina, or Big Sur in Safe Mode.
To restart your device in Safe Mode:
- Shut down your Mac.
- Wait for 15 seconds until the device fully shuts down.
- Press the power button and press Shift as soon as your Mac starts up.
- Release the Shift key when the Apple logo appears.
From there, proceed to install the new version of the macOS you wish to upgrade to.
Do You Need to Update/Upgrade Your Mac?
Short answer: yes.
You need to update your macOS to the newest version mainly because of the security updates and performance fixes that come along with it. This ensures that your device is less vulnerable to hacks and more stable as new features are being released by Apple.
However, if you’re using a Mac that’s older than the Mac devices listed above, you might want to consider not upgrading to newer macOS versions like Mojave or Catalina.
Older devices might suffer compatibility issues with older applications once you decide to upgrade your Mac to newer macOS versions.
Especially in macOS Catalina, where Apple fully transitioned to 64-bit Mac applications, dropping full support for older 32-bit applications.
On the other hand, macOS Mojave (10.14) is the last macOS version that supports 32-bit applications.
For old Mac owners, this could be the closest to the newest macOS version that they can upgrade to while keeping most of their programs working on their device.
Installing New macOS Versions on Unsupported Macs
Even if your Mac is too old to update, it does not mean that it is impossible to install newer macOS versions to your old Mac.
You can actually install Mojave, Catalina, or even Big Sur to older unsupported Mac devices through a workaround patch.
However, keep in mind that you will experience performance issues in doing so. In most cases, you might lose data, so it is strongly recommended to create a full backup before you try these methods.
How to install macOS Mojave on Unsupported Macs
Step 1: Download macOS Mojave Patch Tool by DosDude1 from this link.
Note: NOT ALL old Mac devices are supported by this patch Tool so make sure that your device is listed under the “Requirements” section first before proceeding with the download
Step 2: For this step, you will need a 16 GB or higher USB drive and format it using Disk Utility. Go to: Spotlight (press Command + spacebar) > type “Disk Utility” and select it once it shows up.
From here, put any name you want for your USB drive, Format the USB Drive as OS X Extended (Journaled), and click Erase
Step 3: Once you finish downloading macOS Mojave Patch Tool, open it (Double-click or Right-click > Open). Click Tools >Mojave installer application to download the macOS Mojave installation file.
Note: If you get an error that the Mojave Tool does not support your Mac, you are out of luck because you will not be able to upgrade your Mac from this point.
Step 4: Once the Mojave installer has finished downloading, click the Mojave icon in the Patch Tool window. Select your USB drive on the drop-down menu and click Start Operation.
Step 5: Once completed, eject your USB drive and shut down your Mac. Do not remove your USB drive and wait for 15 seconds or until your device completely powers off.
Then, press the power button and hold down the Option key on the keyboard when you see the startup screen. You will see a series of drives on the screen and select your USB drive.
Note: If you wish to do a clean install, follow Steps 6 to 7. Otherwise, skip to step 8.
Step 6: Open Disk Utility (Menu Bar > Disk Utility).
Step 7: Click on your system drive and click Erase to format your drive. Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS and name your drive. After you successfully formatted your drive, close the Disk Utility window.
Step 8: You can proceed to install macOS on your system hard drive. Select where you want to install macOS and click Continue.
Step 9: Let the installation finish, and once it is completed, reboot back into the installer drive (same as Step 5). Click “macOS Post Install” in the side menu or the drop-down menu in Utilities.
Step 10: In the window, select the model of your Mac. The program will automatically select which patches are needed for your device, but you can also select which patches you want to include.
Step 11: Select the volume where you installed macOS Mojave and click Patch. Once it is finished, click Reboot.
Note: If the macOS failed to work properly after reboot, reboot once again into the installer drive and re-run the post installer patch. Select “Force Cache Rebuild” before rebooting.
Now, you should have a working macOS Mojave installed on your unsupported Mac.
How to install Catalina on an Unsupported Mac
Step 1: Download “macOS Catalina Patcher” from this link
Note: NOT ALL old Mac devices are supported by this patch tool so make sure that your device is listed under the “System Compatibility” section on the site above before proceeding with the download.
Step 2: You will need a USB drive with at least 8 GB of storage space to store the Catalina installation file. Plug it into your computer.
Step 3: Go to Spotlight (press Command + spacebar) > type “Disk Utility” and select it once it shows up.
From here, put any name you want for your USB drive, Format the USB Drive as OS X Extended (Journaled), and click Erase.
Step 4: Once the download finishes, open the Catalina Patcher application.
Step 5: Click Continue. Select “Download a Copy” if you do not have a copy of the latest Catalina installer. Otherwise, you can select your Catalina installer file by clicking “Browse for a copy.” Generally, the file is almost 8 GB.
Step 6: After the installation file has finished downloading or selected, click, Continue.
Step 7: Select “Create a bootable installer” from the three options.
Step 8: Select the USB drive you just formatted create a bootable drive. Once finished, shut down your Mac.
Step 9: Do not remove your USB drive and wait for 15 seconds or until your device completely powers off. Then, press the power button and hold down the Option key on the keyboard when you see the startup screen. You will see a series of drives on the screen and select your USB drive.
Note: If you wish to do a clean install, follow Steps 10 to 11. Otherwise, skip to step 14.
Step 10: This will take you to the macOS Utilities window. Open Disk Utility.
Step 11: Click on your system drive and click Erase to format your drive. Select APFS and name your drive. After you successfully formatted your drive, close the Disk Utility window and go back to the macOS Utilities window.
Step 12: Select “Reinstall macOS” under the macOS Utilities window. Wait for the program to finish the installation.
Step 13: Once the installation has finished, repeat step 9.
Step 14: Select “macOS Post Install” and continue. The program will automatically select all necessary patches to install on your device.
Step 15: Once the patches are applied, select “Force Cache Rebuild” and restart.
Once it reboots, you should have a working macOS Catalina on your unsupported Mac.
How to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac
Step 1: Download the macOS Big Sur installation file from the App Store or click this link.
Step 2: Plugin a USB drive with at least 15 GB of space. This is where you will store the Big Sur installation file.
Step 3: Go to SpotlightSearch (press Command + spacebar) > type “Disk Utility” and select it once it shows up.
Step 4: Once Disk Utility opens, click Erase.
Step 5: Name the USB drive “MyVolume” and select OS X Extended (Journaled) under Format.
Step 6: Select “GUID Partition Map” as the Scheme and click Erase. Wait until Disk Utility fully sets up the drive. Once it is finished, click Done.
Install Mojave On Unsupported Mac
Step 7: Open Terminal (Command + spacebar > type “Terminal”).
Step 8: Copy the following to the Terminal:
Step 9: Press Enter/Return. The terminal will ask for a password. Type your user login password and press Enter.
Step 10: The terminal will prompt you with a warning that says that it is about to erase the drive. Make sure to backup all important files in this drive before continuing. Once you saved all the files you need, the Terminal will show a text that says, “If you wish to continue, type (Y) then press return:” Do as it says and wait for the process to complete.
Step 11: Restart your Mac into the Startup Manager by holding Options on the keyboard while it is booting up.
Step 12: Once you are in the Startup Manager, select your USB drive “MyVolume” as the startup disk. Your Mac will enter in Recovery Mode and show you the macOS Utilities window.
Note: If you wish to do a clean install, follow Steps 13 to 14. Otherwise, skip to step 14.
Step 12: Open Disk Utility.
Step 13: Click on your system drive and click Erase to format your drive. Select APFS and name your drive. After you successfully formatted your drive, close the Disk Utility window and go back to the macOS Utilities window.
Install Osx Mojave On Unsupported Mac
Step 14: Click Install/Reinstall macOS and click Continue. This will install macOS Big Sur on your device. Please wait for it to complete and reboot.
Install Mojave On Unsupported Mac Mini
Once it reboots, you can now use macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac.
Mac Pro 7 1 Mojave
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