Catalina (10.15) is the latest stable release of Apple's macOS. You will see some of the recent apps can only work on this version. And you have to upgrade macOS accordingly. However, only a small portion of Mac models are eligible for direct upgrade offered by Apple. What 's to do if you want to use Catalina on an unsupported Mac? This tutorial will show you how to install macOS Catalina on an unsupported Mac model.
- Install Mojave On Unsupported Mac Mini
- Install Mojave On Unsupported Macbook Pro
- Install Mojave On Unsupported Macbook Pro
- Install Macos Mojave On Unsupported Macbook
- High Sierra Patcher Dmg
- Install Mojave On Unsupported Macs
1. Why macOS Catalina?
macOS Catalina is the last iteration of the macOS series, after which Apple has now moved to macOS 11 Big Sur. Not all Mac users will install Big Sur so soon after its release because they'll be waiting for all the major bugs to be fixed in an 11.x update. But there's also another reason: Big Sur is only meant for certain models of MacBooks and iMacs.
Install Mojave On Unsupported Mac Mini
And some of the apps can not work on an old version of macOS, such as High Serria or Serria. You will receive the following messages if you try to run an app that only supports Catalina and later versions. You have to upgrade macOS to Catalina in such a case if the app is very important for you.
The same is true of Catalina as well, but Catalina is a more mature version and brings a lot of features to the table, such as the improved Siri, customizable smart lists, the new AI-based Photos app, better Notes search, refreshed Safari, and so on. Probably the most important change is the deprecation of iTunes into three separate entities for Music, TV, and Podcasts. That's why a large portion of users still prefer Catalina even if their device is compatible with Big Sur.
2. Official Support List by Catalina
- 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.
- Click “Tools” and then click “Download macOS Mojave” in the dropdown menu when it appears. Click continue, and then select where you will save the installer. Once the Mojave installer has finished downloading, select the Mojave icon in the macOS Mojave Patcher window. Select your Mojave installer.
- How to install macOS Big Sur on unsupported Mac models? Step 1: Create a Backup. Step 2: Download Big Sur Patcher File. Step 3: Open the macOS Big Sur Patcher file. Step 4: Insert USB Drive. Step 5: Install macOS Bir Sur on Unsupported Mac. Install macOS Big Sur on unsupported Mac: Some common errors and their fix.
It is possible, thanks to a little tool called the macOS Mojave Patcher 1 created by a fellow that goes by dosdude1. I have an iMac 2011 that I use (it’s not my primary or even my secondary machine, but one I use mainly for Quora) and so I thoug. When installing, ensure your system is plugged in to power, or the update will not be installed. Insert your desired USB drive, open Disk Utility, and format it as OS X Extended (Journaled). Open the 'macOS Mojave Patcher' tool, and browse for your copy of the macOS Mojave Installer App.Ensure that the tool successfully verifies the app.
Unfortunately, as in the case of Big Sur, macOS Catalina also does not support very old models of Apple devices. Here is the official support list. If your device is from an older year, you cannot upgrade to macOS Catalina the usual way.
- 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)
In addition, your video card will need to be pre-metal, and it works with specific series of GeForce, Radeon, and Intel graphics cards.
3. Unofficial Support List by Catalina
Thankfully, there's a way to patch macOS Catalina on your older system, which extends the list of supported devices. However, you will need to download macOS Catalina dmg file, burn it to a USB drive, and then install Catalina on your Mac by booting from the USB installer. The process is shown below and it works with the following unsupported Mac models.
- MacBook Pro Early 2008 or newer
- MacBook Air Late 2008 or newer
- Mac Mini Early 2009 or newer
- MacBook Early 2009 or newer
- iMac Early 2008 or newer
4. How to Create a macOS Catalina Bootable USB
UUByte DMG Editor is a fantastic disk image management utility for Apple's DMG files. Not only can you burn a DMG to a range of media storage devices but you can also extract files without having to mount the DMG as a virtual drive. Besides, it is a cross-platform application that works well on both Windows and macOS. This means you can create a bootable Catalina USB installer on a Windows PC.
Although it is meant for experienced users, the user interface, navigation, and feature layout have been simplified so even beginners can jump right in and get comfortable with the software. Here's the process in the form of steps you can duplicate on your Mac.
Warning: Please back up your Mac first before taking into real actions. This might brick your EFI chip with multiple EEPROM definitions.
Step 1: Download DMG file of macOS Catalina from the following sources. These site offer the latest version of the macOS Catalina, please download a copy to your Mac.
- Download Link 1: https://themacgo.com/macdownload/
- Download link 2: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/NW4r628CM
Step 2: Insert a USB drive and install UUByte DMG Editor application on a Mac or PC.
Step 3: Launch UUByte DMG Editor and select the 'Burn' option on the main page.
Step 4: On the inside page, hit the 'Browse' button and select the DMG file from your local storage. Check if your USB drive is displayed in the field below the DMG image field. If not, click on 'Change' button to select the correct drive.
Step 5: All you need to do is name your drive and hit 'Burn' button. You will see the progress as the USB installer is created.
When you see the success message, close UUByte DMG Editor and eject the drive. It is now ready for you to use in the macOS Catalina installation process described in the next section.
5. Install macOS Catalina on Unsupported Mac
Now, follow the steps shown below carefully to load the installer, erase your local disk, and install macOS Catalina from USB drive you created in above step.
Step 1: Boot Mac from USB Installer
To do this, insert the installer and hold down the Option key as you restart your Mac. In the Startup Manager, choose the drive name that you used in the installer creation process. You won't be able to use the mouse here so use the arrow key to select your drive and hit Enter.
Step 2: Wait Catalina Installer to Be Loaded
This could take a few minutes so be patient. Don't worry if the screen goes blank or if the progress bar looks like it's frozen. Don't do anything at this point.
Step 3: Erase Local Hard Drive
When macOS Catalina installation wizard is loaded, you'll be able to see macOS Utilities window with several options. Choose Disk Utility option and then Continue. In Disk Utility, choose your hard drive (usually Macintosh HD) and hit Erase, which you will see in the top menu bar.
In the popup window, make sure the Format is set to APFS and hit Erase, leaving everything else as it is. You may want to change the name of the local HDD but you can leave it as Macintosh HD. Exit Disk Utility, which will take you back to the macOS Utilities window.
Step 4: Start Installing Catalina on Unsupported Mac
This time, in macOS Utilities, please choose Install macOS and then hit Continue. Hit Continue again to confirm the operation. When you see the license terms, hit the Agree option. You may need to do this twice for confirmation. Choose Macintosh HD (or however you renamed your local hard drive) and hit Install.
Wait for the installation to complete. This may take up to an hour or more depending on your system configuration and other factors.
Frequently Ask Questions
There are several known issues when installing macOS Catalina on ansupported Mac. However, it has less impact on daily usage.
No Tab for All Photos in Photos App. You will find this minor issue when using Photos app on Catalina. To fix this, you should right click any photo in Photos app and select 'Show in All Photos' from pop-up menu.
GPU acceleration not available. You will see a performance downgrade when playing games because the full video accleration is not available in Radeon HD 5xxx or 6xxx series video card.
WiFi not working. If you could not join any WiFi network, then you should use this command to fix it manually: sudo networksetup -setairportnetwork en1 SSID PASSWORD
Summary
Definitely, it is not a simple task to install macOS Catalina on an unsupported Mac. You have to complete the task manually, which is more challenging than a direct update being pushed by Apple official. However, the above tutorial proves to be fine on most of unsupported Macs we listed in Section 3. Now, enjoy using macOS Catalina on an officially unsupported device!
If your Mac is running macOS High Sierra (10.13), you may not be able to get new versions of certain apps to work. For instance, Lightroom and Photoshop's latest versions might not be compatible, which means you will need to upgrade to a higher version like macOS Mojave (10.14). This article shows you how to upgrade or do a clean install of macOS Mojave on a Mac currently running macOS High Sierra. Of course, this assumes that your Mac supports macOS Mojave.
If you're doing an upgrade, you can directly download and run Mojave installer app on your High Sierra system. The process is simpler than doing a clean install because you won't need an external USB drive for installation. The first method is explained below.
Warning: Not all Mac models are eligible for upgrading to macOS Mojave. Please check the hardware requirement first.
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Method 1: Direct Upgrade from macOS High Sierra to macOS Mojave
Since the first release of macOS, Mac users can directly upgrade to a new version via macOS installer app, which you can get from App Store. This is the official way to upgrade macOS from old version to a new version.
Step 1: The first step whenever you install a new OS version is to take a back up of your data, so you can do that now via Time Machine on an external drive.
Step 2: Go to Mac App Store and search for 'Mojave'; alternatively, you can open this link provided by Apple. (It is recommended to use Safari browser if you're using the link.)
Step 3: Mojave installer app is pretty big and you have to wait some time to fully download it from Mac App Store.
Step 4: When the download is finished, the app (called Install macOS Mojave) will be open automatically. Now, follow the instructions on your screen to complete the installation.
Pros:
- Simple enough and no extra step.
- Less error and no data loss.
- Completely free of charge.
Cons:
- Can not find macOS Mojave app in Mac App Store.
- May download a damaged copy of macOS Mojave app .
- Your Mac should be working normally.
This method is much easier so most people use this way to upgrade to a higher version of macOS once that is no longer the latest version. However, it is not always working as expected and you may see error like the following one:
If you can not get in your Mac or you prefer to do a clean install, then the direct upgrade is not suitable. You need to create a bootable macOS Mojave USB drive first and use it to install Mojave on your Mac. Hence, this is an indirect way to upgrade to Mojave from High Serria. We will share more details about this method in next section.
Method 2: Upgrade from High Serria to Mojave via Clean Install (Bootable USB)
A clean install ensures that your hard drive is wiped clean and formatted before installing a new version of macOS, which means your apps and data will all be gone. Sometimes, that's the desired result, especially when your Mac is running slowly because of heavy data and you want to refresh it along with the upgrade to the latest or at least a higher macOS version. If you need to do a backup, do that now using Time Machine and an external drive. You will also need an additional external drive for the installer.
Part 1: Create macOS Mojave Bootable USB in Easy Way
There are two different approaches to create macOS bootable USB. The simple way is via third-party apps, which usally involves less steps and has a GUI. The other way is by using a set of combined text commands in Terminal app. We will go with the easy one first.
Step 1: Get a copy of macOS Mojave DMG file.
- Download Link 1: https://archive.org/download/macOS_Mojave.dmg
- Download link 2: https://sundryfiles.com/9tz
Install Mojave On Unsupported Macbook Pro
Step 2: Plug in an USB drive to your computer (PC or Mac) and install UUByte DMG Editor on it.
Step 3: Open UUByte DMG Editor software and click the 'Next' icon at the right side of Burn menu. At this time, you will be redirected to a new window.
Step 4: Click the 'Browse' button to locate the macOS Mojave DMG file you downloaded previously. And choose the right USB drive in second column.
Step 5: When the above steps are completed, hit the 'Burn' button at bottom to start creating macOS Mojave USB installer from DMG file. Wait about 5-10 minutes.
You will see a success message at the end of process and this means a bootable USB installer is ready! You can now use it to install macOS Mojave on your Mac and start the upgrade process.
Bonus: Create Bootable Mojave USB Installer on Mac via Commands
You can create any macOS bootable USB installer on a PC or Mac with UUByte DMG Editor but text command is only available on Mac. This means you should get a working Mac in order to apply this trick.
First, download macOS Mojave app from App Store. Quit the app when it is launched after download. Now, open Terminal and type in 'sudo' (without quotes) and a space, and leave it like that. Now, go to Finder and right-click on the installer file to select Show Package Contents.
Open Terminal and type in 'sudo' (without quotes) and a space, and leave it like that. Now, go to Finder and right-click on the installer file to select Show Package Contents.
Locate the file called createmediainstaller inside the Resources subfolder in the main Contents folder. Keep your Terminal window visible and drag this file into Terminal. You'll see that a location has been added after your sudo command.
Type --volume and then a space, and leave it for now. Back in Finder, go to /Volumes using the Go → Go to Folder option. You can now connect your USB drive to your Mac. From Finder, drag your device's icon into Terminal again.
Hit Enter and then enter your password for the Mac when prompted to do so. When you see the prompt on Terminal asking you if you want to continue, type Y and hit Enter.
The USB installer will be created in a few moments. Now that you have the installer ready, you can proceed to the installation part.
Part 2: How to Install macOS Mojave on Mac from Bootable USB
Step 1: Restart your Mac and hold the Option key down when you hear the startup chime.
Step 2: Select Install macOS Mojave in the list you see on your screen. You may need to use the arrow keys and the Enter button if you can't use the mouse.
Step 3: When the Utility window appears, select Disk Utility. Then, choose your main hard drive and click Erase.
Step 4: When the formatting is done, go back to the Utility window and choose Reinstall macOS.Follow the instructions on your screen to install macOS Mojave.
You have successfully done a clean install of macOS Mojave from a USB installer on a machine running macOS High Sierra. Be sure you follow all the instructions in this article, especially where the command line inputs in Terminal are concerned.
Install Mojave On Unsupported Macbook Pro
Pros:
- Universal applicable.
- Work on both PC and Mac.
- Can be used on multiple Macs once bootable USB being made.
- No need to download macOS install app when it is not available.
Install Macos Mojave On Unsupported Macbook
Cons:
- Has to install additional software or use text commands.
- Require an external USB drive.
- Installation may fail on unsupported Mac models.
High Sierra Patcher Dmg
Summary
Install Mojave On Unsupported Macs
In conclusion, you can upgrade from High Serria to Mojave in both direct and indirect way. It is up to you what kind of situation you are in. If you could find macOS Mojave app in Mac App Store, then it is recommended to finish the upgrade within the app. If not, then you can create a bootable macOS Mojave USB and use it to install macOS Mojave on your High Serria powered Mac.