I have MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015), OS X EL Capitan. Why can't I upgrade?

Back up your data, check your applications for compatibility, and click on High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, or Monterey. They're full-version upgrades and won't appear in the Updates list.

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I have a similar question BUT: I have a 2015 MacBook Pro running El Capitan, backed up to an external SSD. Over the years, it's become slower and "buggy" so I'd like to reinstall the El Capitan OS. I cannot upgrade beyond El Capitan because I have earlier versions of Illustrator and Photoshop that I own. Updating higher up the chain disables these appls.

What is the simplest and most easy to understand way to achieve this reinstall? I would then migrate everything from my SSD to the MacBook Pro once the OS has been reinstalled.

Your help would be very appreciated.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Steve

Thaks, BDAqua: your download link took me to was "InstallMacOS.pkg". Is this your directions on how to do a "reinstall of El Capitan"?

I have not yet tried it.....want to be sure that I'm not going down the wrong road. I have to remain at El Capitan 10.11.6 to avoid losing my Adobe AI/PS functionality. Is the link taking me to a fresh clean copy of El Capitan? Does this mean that once the install is done, I'll be able to do the migration from my SSD? If so, I'm in your debt! Just please explain what I'm doing before I jump off the cliff. Used to do re-installs easily BUT that was at least 8 years ago and I'm getting old. No nerve as I used to have in the old/younger days!

I've done all of the normal maintenance steps, zapped the PRAM, used Cocktail and MalwareBytes, etc.......BUT....the performance of my Mid 2015 MacBook Pro is so much slower than when I got it.....

Please confirm that I'm doing the right thing.......and THANK YOU!!!

My MacBook Pro has a 512 GB SSD so I think it'll work......BUT.....after backing it up to the external SSD, do I have to do anything other than just click "install"?

Do I have to select anything like "erase and install" or whatever? Not familiar with "GUID" although the MacOS Extended Journal is vaguely familiar....

Pretend that you're telling a 74 year old guy how to accomplish this erase and install. BTW, I'm 74....

Thanks, BDAqua..........all I need to do is get a list of steps so I'm not surprised with a question during the install process and I should be fine. Will eventually install Big Sur but not until I no longer need to guard my older Adobe appls. Also still waiting for Ashlar to introduce the Ver 12 Xenon 3D modeling upgrade so I need to keep using the MacBook Pro with El Capitan on which the Ver 11 of Xenon runs well....

Thank you also for your patience..........

Steve

Niel,

I'm having the same issue as the OP. But none of your links to the different OS work for me except the one for Monterey. When I click on the others a new blank tab comes up. It appears that Monterey is the only OS available in the App Store. Like the OP, I am stuck at 10.11.6 with no way to up grade higher. I don't want to go to Monterey on this old machine.

Mark

I actually called Apple before I tried to do that clean, fresh El Capitan install just to be sure. They provided me with their own 10.11 El Capitan disk image to do the install....and, after 2 hours with Apple, on hold much of the time, it turns out that the "normal" install would NOT happen. The tech called in some higher level techs to help and no one was able to figure out why I kept being taken back to my old El Cap. desktop...........at one point in the procedure, I was taken to a High Sierra install option BUT I couldn't use it because my last 2, purchased appls. (remember when you could actually buy NOT subscribe to an appl?) will not function on anything higher than El Capitan.......so I am outa luck, apparently. Apple tech implied that the new copy of El Cap. was installed BUT I see no difference in the operation and my backed up SSD drive wasn't used for needed......repeating that all I wanted to do was replace the orig. installed El Cap OS with a fresh copy to help clean things up and regain some of the fresh, "out of the box performance" as delivered from Apple in 2015. I just don't get it......

I'm going to try this again, BDAqua.......I see no operational improvement after talking with Apple and I suspect that the clean install did NOT happen......if my desktop hasn't changed, then the El Cap OS remains as it was before.

2 hours wasted although the Apple Tech was very nice and did her best.....just not sure why a clean reinsll/install is so hard to accomplish, especially for Apple experts....

Steve

....and I'll need the luck too. The last time that I did a clean reinstall, it was so fool proof and automatic. This is the first time that I had to deal with things like the various HD reforming and partitioning........

Thanks, BDAqua!

Steve

Steve...

https://itunes.apple.com/app/os-x-el-capitan/id1147835434?ls=1&mt=12

http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2019/cert/061-41424-20191024-218af9ec-cf50-4516-9011-228c78eda3d2/InstallMacOSX.dmg

That should install 10.11 on your SSD if it's GUID & MacOS Extended Journaled format.

Hi Steve, this talks a later OS but should be very close to the same...

How to Format a Drive with GUID for macOS High Sierra, Mojave Installation - The Mac Observer

OK, good luck my friend.