How to Get an Old Imac Up to Par Again

macOS Monterey arrived on Macs in October 2021, some people have installed Monterey and love it, others have installed the updated merely to regret it later on. Perchance you discovered that an app you lot rely on no longer works or is buggy, peradventure you just hate i of the new features, or perhaps there is a problem with Monterey  - or a subsequent update to Monterey - that makes yous wish y'all hadn't installed it.

Luckily it is possible to downgrade, merely unfortunately, Apple doesn't make information technology as like shooting fish in a barrel as it could.

This article will help you lot downgrade from whatever version of the Mac operating system to an older version - and so if you lot are looking to downgrade from Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan or even 1 of the Big Cat versions of Mac OS 10, then read on!

Alternatively, yous could protect yourself from being lumbered with an operating organisation that doesn't run the way yous want it to (or doesn't run the apps you demand) by installing it on a separate volume (likewise known as dual booting) or running it on a split drive, so, maybe after reverting back to an older macOS, you might like to try that instead.

Why downgrade macOS Monterey

Monterey is a great update to the Mac operating system with some useful features and some iOS inspired changes (read: macOS Monterey vs Big Sur). Nonetheless when Monterey launched in October 2021 not all the promised new features were available - and fifty-fifty now in February 2022 we are however waiting for one of the headline new features: Universal Control. That's assuming your Mac can even accept advantage of all the new features in Monterey. If you lot accept an Intel Mac information technology is probable that you lot will be missing out on some of Monterey's all-time features. Read: Some Monterey features don't work on Intel Macs.

The lack of headline features might not be the only badgerer if you have installed macOS Monterey. Some other problem (which is shared with Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, and High Sierra), is that each time Apple updates the operating system with new features some users encounter problems and vulnerabilities with the new software. Since Apple introduced Monterey there have been a number of problems with Monterey. For instance, the macOS 12.two update, which itself bought a number of bug fixes, has left some users experiencing fast battery drain that seems to exist related to a Bluetooth mistake. More here: What'due south in macOS Monterey 12.2: New features, bug fixes and a bug.

There may be other reasons why you need to revert to an older version of the Mac operating system. Perhaps you upgraded to a newer version of macOS only to find that an app you rely on doesn't work. Perhaps you take discovered that the version of Photoshop you own no longer works, for case. There were a lot of apps that didn't work in Catalina for example. These days the issue with apps non working tends to relate to whether you are running an M1 or Intel Mac, but software issues are a common issue. Come across: Which apps are compatible with M1 Macs?

Or maybe you need to run an older version of the macOS on a Mac you are using to test apps as office of your job. In which case yous may be looking to run multiple operating systems on the same auto. Nosotros take this more detailed article that looks at various means to install old versions of macOS here.

Unfortunately downgrading to an older version of macOS (or Mac Os 10 every bit it was previously known) isn't as simple as finding the older version of the Mac operating system and reinstalling it. One time your Mac is running a newer version it won't allow you to downgrade information technology that fashion. But it is still possible to downgrade your Mac.

We'll run through the steps to downgrade your Mac in this article. If you lot are wanting to downgrade from a beta version of macOS nosotros have a separate article dealing with downgrading from a beta version of macOS here.

How to downgrade from Monterey to Big Sur

Chances are y'all arrived on this article considering you have updated to Monterey and regret it. Luckily right now information technology is still relatively like shooting fish in a barrel to downgrade back to Big Sur.

At that place are a few methods you can use to downgrade from Monterey to Big Sur, click the link to go to that section of this guide:

• Yous could recover your Mac as it was when you were running Big Sur from a Fourth dimension Machine backup
• Yous could reinstall macOS Big Sur using a bootable installer

We'll look at the various options and how y'all can downgrade from Monterey below.

Note that if you are on an M1 Mac you won't be able to revert to a version of macOS before Large Sur.

How to downgrade from Big Sur to Catalina

If y'all have arrived on this article because you have updated to Large Sur and regret it. Click on the links to leap to these methods to downgrade from Big Sur to Catalina:

• You could recover your Mac as information technology was when you were running Catalina from a Fourth dimension Machine backup
• You could reinstall macOS Catalina using a bootable installer

Nosotros'll look at the various options and how yous tin can downgrade from Big Sur beneath.

How to downgrade from Catalina to Mojave

Maybe it'south Catalina you lot want to downgrade. The options are similar to those above then the following steps should also enable you to restore Mojave - or fifty-fifty High Sierra or before on your Mac if you lot want to. Read on to find out what to practise.

Backup your Mac beginning!

Before you lot beginning the procedure of downgrading your Mac, you should support your Mac. The reason for making a back upward is that during the downgrade process you will completely wipe your hard drive - and so if there is anything you don't desire to lose brand sure you have a copy of it.

All the same, you shouldn't use Apple tree'south Fourth dimension Automobile to make this item fill-in, because if you recover from a Time Machine backup made in macOS Monterey y'all volition recover Monterey too (and likewise for any macOS yous are running). Instead back up whatsoever recent changes and documents using another support tool. We take a few suggestions hither: Best backup software for Macs.

Hopefully you have an older Time Machine back up from before you upgraded as this volition make the downgrade process a lot easier. Ideally you volition accept had your backup drive plugged in making regular backups of your Mac, or at least you volition accept fabricated a backup prior to upgrading to Big Sur (which is something we always advise when updating an Os). With your pre Monterey Time Machine backup in hand you tin recover your motorcar from before the update and then copy back whatever files you created subsequently you installed Monterey.

Information technology's possible that you lot could get past without any backup at all if all your files are stored in iCloud, but Fourth dimension Machine backs up your settings too, which can exist comforting to recover, and we have been caught out in the past when we assumed everything we needed was in the cloud, only to later discover that one app we relied on didn't have its information backed up.

How to downgrade macOS using Fourth dimension Machine

The simplest way to reverse an Bone update is to restore from an earlier Fourth dimension Machine fill-in - one y'all made earlier upgrading to Monterey (or Big Sur, or Catalina if you want to go dorsum further). If you prefer to use an alternative to Time Car, such as Carbon Copy Cloner (which has a complimentary thirty-day trial or costs £thirty.ninety/$39.99), you should still be able to revert to the older version of the OS using our guide. Yous might also similar to check out our recommendations for the all-time backup software for Mac.

It needs to exist a complete backup of your organisation from earlier the upgrade. That fill-in can be on a direct connected external disk, hooked upward past USB or Thunderbolt. Or it tin can be on a Time Motorcar compatible network drive. Read this communication virtually making a support of your Mac: How to support a Mac.

Earlier nosotros begin, information technology's important to note that when you restore from a backup, y'all'll wipe everything on your startup disk. That means any work you lot've done since you upgraded to Monterey (or whichever version of macOS y'all are running) will be lost. That might include songs you lot'd imported, or photos y'all'd added.

Then… dorsum it up to a spare external drive or at the very least make a re-create of whatsoever files you've created or modified since yous upgraded. If you've got photos in the Photos app and you don't use iCloud Photo Library, manually export them to an external disk so you can re-import them later.

If you apply iCloud heavily you may find that everything y'all have added since updating is bachelor via iCloud merely check!

Here's how to recover the earlier version of the macOS using Time Machine:

1. Plug your Time Machine disk into your Mac.
2. Restart your Mac.
3. If you lot take an Intel Mac concur downward Command + R until the Apple tree logo appears. If you have an M1 Mac y'all need to press and hold the on push button until the Options menu comes up.
4. When the options announced on screen, choose 'Restore From Time Auto Backup' and click Go along.
5. The next screen volition show the words Restore from Time Machine, click Keep again.
6. Next, select your Restore Source - this should exist your backup bulldoze.
7. The side by side screen shows all your backups over time, pick the final one you made prior to updating to the newer version of the Mac operating system. (You lot tin can see which version of macOS the back up was made in).

As we said in a higher place, if yous are on an M1 Mac you won't be able to revert to a version of macOS before Big Sur.

At present that you have restored the older version of macOS you tin recover the files yous created since from your separate backup.

But what if you don't accept a Time Car support?

How to reinstall an older macOS via Internet Recovery

Depending on the age of your Mac, and whether it is an Intel  model at that place might be an pick to recover the original version of macOS information technology shipped with via Internet Recovery.

Unfortunately this won't work on M1 Macs as they don't take Internet Recovery. Information technology also won't work if your Mac predated Catalina.

Follow these steps to reinstall the version of macOS your Mac came with:

1. Turn off your Mac.
2. Restart information technology while holding downwards Shift + Pick/Alt + Command + R to enter Net Recovery Style.
3. Cull the Reinstall macOS option.
4. Click Install.

This will allow you to install the original operating system that your Mac shipped with.

Note that this method volition erase your Mac, so exercise make sure you have a back upwards of of import files.

How to reinstall Big Sur or older with a bootable installer

If you don't take a backup or the Internet Recovery method doesn't work all is not lost. You lot tin can install Large Sur, Catalina or an older version of macOS on your Mac, merely you will demand to wipe it first, which could mean you will lose your data if you don't back it up. Remember backing it upward with Time Machine won't be useful here as you would recover Monterey along with your data.

Step ane: Get the installer

The start stage of this method is to get the installer for the version of macOS yous require. In this example Big Sur, just the aforementioned would be true of Catalina or whatever other version (with the prerequisite that your Mac needs to be able to run it). Nosotros accept links to various versions of macOS below. If you lot require another version of macOS run into this article: How to download old versions of macOS.

Currently you can grab the Large Sur installer from the Mac App Store, here'due south how:

1. Click on this link which volition open the Mac App Store on the Big Sur folio.
2. Click Get.
3. The Software Update window upwards from System Preferences volition open showing the latest version of Big Sur. Confirm that you want to download the software, you'll also see a alarm that you are downloading an older version of the OS, ignore information technology. (Similar to the message beneath). Wait while the macOS downloads - it may take a while.
4. In one case it'south downloaded DO NOT click on Open - yous don't desire to install it notwithstanding.

If you are looking for an older version of macOS the process is the same. For example, you can grab macOS Catalina from this link to the Mac App Shop and the Mojave installer can be obtained from the Mac App Store via this link which volition open the Mac App Store on the Mojave folio.

Step 2: Create a bootable installer

You won't simply be able to install Big Sur over Monterey, or for that matter Catalina over Big Sur, but in that location is a way to get the older version of macOS on your Mac: now you have the installation files you can make a bootable installer.

To make a bootable installer from which you tin can reinstall the older macOS yous volition need a memory stick with at least 15GB space. You'll need to reformat that drive and ready it in Disk Utility and so apply Terminal to input the createinstallmedia command for the version of macOS you are installing.

In the case of Large Sur this is:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Large\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

We recommend that you lot follow the steps outlined in this commodity: How to create a bootable installer of macOS to create your bootable installer.

Step 3: Use the bootable installer to downgrade your Mac

Now you lot have your bootable installer you should be able to install the older version of macOS from it.

1. Connect the bootable installer to your Mac.
2. Open System Preferences and click Startup Disk.
3. Choose the external bulldoze with your installer as the startup disk and click Restart.
4. Your Mac volition shutdown and restart in Recovery style.
5. You will need to connect to Wi-Fi considering your Mac volition need to connect to the net during this process. Access Wi-Fi settings from the Wi-Fi menu.
6. Select Reinstall macOS from Utilities.
7. Click Proceed.

Allowing booting from external media on T2 Macs

If you are using a Mac with a T2 Chip then you lot demand to ensure that you enable booting from external media or this will non work! To do this you lot need to access Recovery Mode and and so choose Startup Security Utility from the menu. Here you will see a number of options including those for Secure Boot and those for Allowed Boot Media. It is in this second section that you will find Permit booting from external or removable media. Y'all will need this selected to boot from a bootable drive.

What if the one-time macOS won't install?

If the above doesn't work yous may need to completely wipe your Mac before reinstalling macOS from the bootable drive.

Footstep i: Wipe your Mac

If the above doesn't work you may need to erase your Mac. Nosotros explicate in detail how to erase a Mac in this commodity: How to erase a MacBook or Mac: restore to factory settings and we advise that yous follow that tutorial.

The method by which you wipe your Mac will depend on which Mac you own. If y'all have an M1 Mac or an Intel Mac with a T2 chip (many from 2018 onward do) the process in macOS Monterey is incredibly easy. You simply open Arrangement Preferences and and then click on the new Erase All Content And Settings option in the System Preferences menu.

If your Mac is older, or yous aren't running Monterey, you will need to erase your Mac post-obit these steps, which are besides detailed in the tutorial nearly wiping a MacBook or Mac. We recommend that you follow that tutorial equally there are a lot of steps y'all should take to ensure that you don't create more problems for yourself.

1. Enter Recovery mode (by starting up your Mac while pressing and holding  Command + R on an Intel Mac or pressing and holding the on switch on an M1 Mac).
2. Once in Recovery you can enter Deejay Utility.
3. In Disk Utility select your hard drive. Brand sure you take Delete Volume Group selected so you delete both the Macintosh Hard disk and Macintosh HD Data.
4. Click on Erase. You will need to cull APFS or HFS+ - recent macOS versions use APFS, if you are going back to HFS+ then we recommend you read the notes about APFS and HFS+ beneath because that is more tricky.

Step 2: Apply the bootable installer to downgrade your Mac

Now you have deleted your Mac you tin can reinstall macOS from your bootable installer.

1. Restart your Mac holding the Pick key if you take an Intel Mac, or pressing and holding the Ability push button on an M1 Mac.
2. When the Startup Manager appears choose the USB stick and click Enter.
3. The installer will outset to load. Once information technology has loaded cull Install macOS.
4. Wait while macOS installs on your Mac.

Now your Mac should install the older version of the operating system.

How to downgrade from APFS to HFS+

It may be a picayune more complicated if y'all are reverting from Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave or High Sierra to a version of the macOS that predates them because Apple switched to a new file system (at least on SSD-equipped Macs) in High Sierra. Fusion Drives and Hard Drives got a similar file system change in macOS Mojave.

However, it is possible to switch back. When Apple stopped trying to make APFS work on Fusion Drives dorsum when it was beta testing High Sierra (an early version of the beta did support it on Fusion Drives), the company issued the following instructions to downgrade from the APFS version to a HFS+ version.

It is possible that y'all may have to follow these instructions in downgrading if you have installed Mojave on a Fusion drive or hard drive and want to revert to High Sierra or earlier. Similarly, if you installed High Sierra on a Mac with an SSD and wanted to revert to Sierra.

1. Create a bootable installer every bit above.
2. Printing Option/Alt as you start up your Mac.
3. Choose the bootable installer as your startup disk.
4. Select Disk Utility.
5. Choose Show All Devices.
6. Cull your bulldoze and click on Erase.
7. Change the format to MacOS Extended (Journaled).
8. Change the name of your drive to something else.
9. Quit Deejay Utility.
10. Choose Reinstall macOS and select the new drive proper name as your target.
11. Once in Setup Assistant choose to migrate your information from your Time Machine back upward (Time Machine isn't using APFS, yet, so this should work, for now).

How to avoid problems when y'all downgrade macOS

Reversing an upgrade carries with it a number of wrinkles and pitfalls.

Most of these are due to changes in file formats and settings betwixt versions of the Os. So, for example, if y'all create a document or work on a file in a new version, whether it's a beta or full release, of macOS and then effort and open it in an older version, it may not work.

To mitigate this, it'southward wise to consign any documents yous've created or worked on in the newer OS in a standard file format. So, for example, if you use Scrivener or Ulysses, export documents as RTF files. That way, if the native files don't survive the contrary upgrade, you'll be able to re-import the RTF files.

Take screenshots of preferences and settings

Whenever you perform a make clean install of macOS, which is what yous're doing hither, information technology'south a good idea to take screenshots of any custom settings you've created in apps or in Organisation Preferences. That makes it easier to re-create them subsequently.

You lot should too make a note of user account and password details for annihilation you've ready while running the new version of the Os. If yous don't use iCloud or Chrome to synchronise bookmarks, it's a expert idea to export those and brand a copy.

And unless you're using the migrate data option outlined to a higher place, you'll also need installers and licence codes for apps yous use. If those are downloads from the Mac App Store, you lot tin can simply re-download them from the Purchased department in the App Store. If not, make sure you can download them from the vendor's website. If y'all don't utilize a password director to store licence codes, brand sure you've got a copy of them earlier yous starting time.

Synchronise

If you use Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive or whatsoever other form of cloud storage, make sure your data is in sync before you offset the procedure of reversing an upgrade. It'southward easy to forget that the files that live in your Dropbox folder, or case, are local files and that while synchronisation is frequent, the loss of an net connexion will prevent it and you lot could have files in your local folder that oasis't even so been copied to the cloud.

Clicking on the cloud service's logo in your carte du jour bar should tell you whether synchronisation completed successfully and files are up to engagement.

If you utilise Gmail, iCloud post or any other IMAP server for your email, make certain it's up to engagement and any drafts yous've composed recently take been synchronised. If you use a POP3 business relationship you'll have to manually back upwards the mail service database and restore information technology subsequently you lot reverse the upgrade. Or, if you simply have a few messages you lot need to keep, forward them to a Gmail business relationship - you could set one upwards particularly for that purpose.

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Source: https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/downgrade-macos-3581872/

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