Welcome to the topic “How to Install macOS on Unsupported Mac.”
If you are a pro and comfortable with the unsupported system on an unsupported machine, or you are an adventure lover that likes to experiment, below are some resolutions to install macOS on unsupported Macs.
Before you use or apply these methods, ensure that you have taken a backup of your PC.
What To Do if You Have an Unsupported Mac?
If you have an old Mac or lack the minimum hardware requirements, you can still use Apple’s Catalina on your old machine.
You will need DosDude Catalina Patcher to do so. This handy third-party tool allows you to patch the MacOS Catalina on unsupported Macs. However, remember that performance might not be the best, and you might face lagging issues.
Despite these issues, if you are still interested in installing macOS 10.15 Catalina on an unsupported Mac, here are the steps you need to follow.
How to Use Catalina on Older and Unsupported Macs
Before applying this method, remember that installing Catalina on an unsupported Mac is not recommended by Apple, and the risks are all yours.
- First, download the latest or updated version of the Catalina Patcher from DOSDude1.
- Now, Right-click on the Catalina Patcher program and click Open.
- Click again on the Continue button twice.
- Now, choose to Download a Copy.
- Next, hit the Start download button and have patience as the file is over 7GB. So it will take time to install.
- Now, connect a USB drive (ensure that it is formatted as MacOS Extended Journaled) and choose to create a bootable installer.
- Now pick your flash drive volume from the menu and click on the Start button.
- After the installation, restart the PC and press and hold the Option key when you hear the reboot sounds.
- Now again, choose your USB drive installer from the menu.
- If you are using macOS higher than Sierra or Mojave, you will have to format your hard drive to APFS so that you can complete the installation. To do this, choose Disk Utility, system volume, and click on the Erase button. Then choose the APFS format. However, if you don’t want to go through this process, select Reinstall macOS from the utility window and follow the instructions to install the macOS on your unsupported Mac.
- Wait until the installation is finished, and the relevant patches will be installed on your unsupported Mac automatically.
However, remember that it is a temporary solution as Apple can release an update anytime that can affect Patcher’s working.
How to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac
If your Mac is old and you want to install and use Big Sur on your machine, you will have to overcome a few hurdles.
However, if you want to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac, you will need a patch. You can use the big-sur-micropatcher for this purpose, and it is available on GitHub.
Note: These macOS patchers are not some kind of magic, and some of them might not work for all Macs.
However, if your Mac is compatible with the patcher, you can install Big Sur on an older and unsupported Mac. Ensure that you can backup your data before applying this method.
The steps to install Big Sur macOS on incompatible Macs are given below:
First step: partition the disk
To install macOS Big Sur on an old or unsupported Mac, we will advise you to do it on a disk partition. This is because, if any unforeseen event occurs, you can use your PC like before.
To create a partition, follow this process:
- First, click on the magnifying glass and go to the Disk utility.
- Now, click on the Create partition.
- Set the partition’s size. We will recommend you to set it to 50 GB.
- Ensure that you have selected the APFS format.
- Next, click on the Apply and OK.
Step two: download macOS Big Sur with the patch
Now you need to download the macOS Big Sur installer. You can get the installer from the Apple App Store. However, you can also download it from other online resources.
Now you have to download the patch that will help in installing macOS Big Sur on your incompatible Mac. The patch contains two files: Hax.dylib and InstallHax.m. First, copy these files to the Home or Library folder in your user account and System.
Third step: Terminal
- Now, reboot the OC and apply the codes in Terminal. Follow this process to do so:
- Reboot the system and press the Command and R key to go into Recovery mode.
- Now go to the Terminal Utilities and type this code: csrutil disable.
- Now, press Enter and type another command: nvram boot-args = »- no_compat_check»
- Reboot the system.
- After rebooting the system, enter the Terminal.
- Enter these commands and press Enter: sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.libraryvalidation.plist DisableLibraryValidation -bool true
- Now again type this command: launchctl setenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES $ PWD / Hax.dylib
- Press Enter.
Step four: install macOS Big Sur
Here comes the last step installing macOS on an unsupported Mac.
First, find this file InstallAssistant.pkg that you downloaded earlier. Open the file, and you will see the macOS Big Sur installer on your screen.
Now, choose the partition to install the macOS Big Sur on your Mac, and the process will start.
Note: The installation will be a bit slower than usual so be patient. Furthermore, sometimes installation might crash; if that happens to have to restart the installation.
After installing macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac, you will see updates in Software Updates Section when they are available. However, don’t install these directly, but create a USB stick containing the installation files and update them in this way.
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