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links to Mac OS do not work

I need to downgrade my operating system from Monterey to Big Sur or Catalina and the links on the Apple site do not work.

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Nov 9, 2021 7:23 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 9, 2021 9:19 AM

You can find links to various macOS installers within this Apple article as well as optional instructions for creating a bootable macOS USB installer (use Safari or a Chromium based browser to access the installer links since it has been reported that Firefox may not be able to open the links to the App Store):

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372


FYI, you will need to install Mojave if you want to use any 32 bit apps. Also If you have Big Sur or Monterey installed, then Mojave will keep notifying you that it cannot use the new APFS volume associated with Big Sur/Monterey.


You need to make sure to have a backup of all your data before attempting to install an older version of macOS in case something goes wrong. Dual booting is always a pain and you may find yourself spreading your files across the two macOS installs. Be very careful with how & where you store your data.

9 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 9, 2021 9:19 AM in response to SpikerFrisco

You can find links to various macOS installers within this Apple article as well as optional instructions for creating a bootable macOS USB installer (use Safari or a Chromium based browser to access the installer links since it has been reported that Firefox may not be able to open the links to the App Store):

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372


FYI, you will need to install Mojave if you want to use any 32 bit apps. Also If you have Big Sur or Monterey installed, then Mojave will keep notifying you that it cannot use the new APFS volume associated with Big Sur/Monterey.


You need to make sure to have a backup of all your data before attempting to install an older version of macOS in case something goes wrong. Dual booting is always a pain and you may find yourself spreading your files across the two macOS installs. Be very careful with how & where you store your data.

Nov 9, 2021 7:50 AM in response to SpikerFrisco

yes. You will not be able to run applications that are 32 bit, and applications that are windows applications and need the intel chip. Apple has instructions to do this but doesn’t really want you to do this, and so they make it hard.


Here is an article from Macworld/UK which talks about how to do it: https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/downgrade-macos-3581872/

links to Mac OS do not work

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