What is the easiest way to downgrade from Tahoe to factory installed MacOS?

There is no 'easy' way. The only way is to completely erase your internal drive, install an older version of macOS (no older than the version your Mac shipped with), then restore your files from a Time Machine or clone you made before you upgraded to Tahoe. Alternatively, if you don't have a pre-Tahoe backup (why not?!?) you can copy files off your current drive to external storage then manually copy them back them after reinstalling macOS (i.e., you cannot use Setup/Migration Assistant for that).

Kwetlorien wrote:

Thank you.

Is there any kind of "Factory Reset" on Silicone MacBooks for such cases?

A Factory Reset for Apple Silicon computers does exist " Use the Erase All Content and Settings  "

Though, it does NOT revert the computer to a previous version of macOS, like back to macOS 15 Sequoia

As a counter balance to the idea of Downgrading the computer

Especially since this is a " MacBook Pro M3 (14 inches) " >> Apple Silicon computer

What is the users tolerance for " Risk " ?

1 - Is this your Only computer and you would not be able to live without it for a fews days if the downgrade procedure goes wrong ?

2 - Does the user have access to another Apple computer, that currently is running macOS 15 / 26 , that could be used to Revive or Restore the computer Firmware ?

3 - Does the user have at least 2 - no - make that 3 backups from a time before the computer was upGraded to macOS 26 Tahoe ?

Have a 3-2-1 Rescue Plan in place and always current

3 Backups using 2 methods and 1 off site incase of natural disaster or un-natural disaster.

Each of the above should be done to a Dedicated Single Purposed External Drive 

Below link is intended to augment what TM Backup does 

https://bombich.com

If the owner of this computer should answer NO to any of the above questions

Then downgrading the computer Is Not Recommended

One alternative, is to install an older version of macOS on a separate APFS volume (e.g. using a bootable installer on a USB key). If a Time Machine backup is not available, it's possible to use the Migration Assistant to restore selected files directly from the Tahoe APFS volume. However, care must be exercised, to avoid moving settings and applications which aren't compatible with the older version of macOS.

If you do have a Time Machine backup made with the older macOS, apply that first. You can then copy over just the user accounts from Tahoe. The Migration Assistant gives you the option to keep both the older and newer account versions so that it would be possible to update selected user files that had been modified with Tahoe. Once completed, the copied Tahoe user accounts could be removed and eventually the entire Tahoe APFS volume deleted.

Kwetlorien wrote:

I have MacBook Pro M3 (14 inches).

I have updated to Tahoe a couple of weeks ago, but the new MacOS has too many bugs, glitches and problems and I do not like it.

Is there any easy way to downgrade to factory installed MacOS on my MacBook from current Tahoe?

Would appreciate a lot any assistance.

Part 1 of 2

Restart in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts.

The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.

Safe Mode will also eliminate Third Party Software, extensions and drivers from loading.

It will only load the Minimum amount of Core Apple Processes to allow the the computer to function at a reduced Level of Performance 

Does the issue present in this mode ?

If not - there could be something in the main User Account playing up.

To further isolate this - Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac.

Then log out of the Main User account and log into the dummy account and test again if the issue persists.

If the issue is present in the dummy account - then, this appears to be a System Wide issue on the computer.

Part 2 of 2

To Drill Down further and avoid a session of Q&A, Q&A  and Q&A  

Download the Application Etrecheck  ( External Link ) directly from the Developer.

The Application is Not a " Silver Bullet "  and is  only a tool to examine the Hardware / Software used on this computer 

This is a Diagnostic Tool that makes no changes to the computer Hardware / Software used on this computer 

The application is free or paid from added features. 

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - >>>> using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last ) <<<<

Kwetlorien wrote:

Thank you.

Is there any kind of "Factory Reset" on Silicone MacBooks for such cases?

Or, the simple answer: no. 😉

Bigger picture, change is inevitable. Many major software platforms only support the most recent three versions of macOS, so at some point you’re going to be using Tahoe or one of its successors anyway. There are lots of tutorials on the web about mitigating the effects of liquid glass, etc.

neuroanatomist wrote:

Kwetlorien wrote:

Thank you.

Is there any kind of "Factory Reset" on Silicone MacBooks for such cases?

Or, the simple answer: no. 😉

Bigger picture, change is inevitable. Many major software platforms only support the most recent three versions of macOS, so at some point you’re going to be using Tahoe or one of its successors anyway. There are lots of tutorials on the web about mitigating the effects of liquid glass, etc.

Interesting interpretation of " Factory Reset " 👍

Technically, the " Erase All Contents and Setting " would qualify.

Though and in the context of what OP wants to do, not to revert to a previous versions of macOS or even a previous version of Tahoe

Owl-53 wrote:

Interesting interpretation of " Factory Reset " 👍

Technically, the " Erase All Contents and Setting " would qualify.

Agreed, I was going with the OP’s qualification of “in such cases”.

I view it as analogous to the options when using Internet Recovery, one of which installs the most recent version of macOS the computer can run, the other installs the version of macOS that was on the Mac when it shipped from the factory.

Given the complexity and risks in downgrading, you might be better served to troubleshoot whatever problems you're having.

Of course, if you want help with that, you'll have to actually tell us what's wrong...

I probably should mentioned that special consideration is needed for the Photos and the TV user libraries. I noticed that these are automatically updated by Tahoe and will not work with previous versions of macOS. There are workarounds but (again) the easiest option would be to recover these from a backup of the macOS that is the target of the downgrade.

I think KiltedTim makes a good point stating that it may be better to trying resolve your issues with Tahoe.

Based on my experience (with 8 major releases of macOS), I think it's best to create a separate APFS volume to experiment with the upgrade in your environment prior to committing. I've been testing Tahoe but continue to use Sequoia day to day. So far, I haven't come across any "show stoppers" to upgrading. Nonetheless, I'll probably wait for a least one major maintenance update before moving to Tahoe.

Thanks for pointing that out. Currently, I'm switching back and forth between Sequoia and Tahoe. I haven't noticed any suspicious interactions. One other issue, though, is related to installing macOS on an external drive. This used to work well, but Apple has imposed some restrictions when the OS is not on an internal drive. For example, Image Playground won't function unless macOS is on an internal drive. Multiple OSs on the internal drive (dual boot) avoids the restriction.

My current strategy for testing OS upgrades is to duplicate the OS and user files on a separate APFS volume and then upgrade the duplicate. This allows me to test the new OS while retaining the option to revert to the previous OS. Synching user files is performed using the Migration Assistant.

bernardusfromct wrote:

iMac m3 with os Tahoe 26.0.1

Cannot log in

Using a Bluetooth Keyboard ?

Cable the keyboard to the computer

This make the keyboard to work like a USB keyboard

Follow the directions to reset the computer password

If you can't reset your Mac login password

There are certain inherit " Risks " when dual booting as evidenced here >> Ventura and Tahoe

Random Reboot Bridge OS on Ventura - Apple Community

iMac m3 with os Tahoe 26.0.1

Cannot log in