Install Macos Big Sur Unsupported Mac

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How to Install macOS Big Sur on an Unsupported Older Mac Laura Angelica updated on 2020-09-25 16:26:16 The latest and more advanced Mac operating system was announced at the Worldwide Developer Conference by Apple. MacOS Big Sur, also known as macOS 11 is a great catch as it comes with numerous new features such as redesigned icons and menu. The latest macOS update is already here and Big Sur arrives with important features, unfortunately, several Mac models aren’t compatible. Can you install Big Sur MacOS on an unsupported Mac? You should know that this is something you must do at your own risk, your Mac may not work properly and various problems may occur in this.

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Big Sur On Imac 2011

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.

Macos Big Sur Compatibility

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

Macos Big Sur Download

Summary

Imac Late 2013 Big Sur

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!