Can I use macOS installed on an external drive between a M1 and M2 Mac?

Situation: I currently have a M1 Mac running Ventura that I use for both work and personal use. When I use it for work I boot to an external thunderbolt drive that has company software installed.


I also have a MacBook Pro that I'm considering upgrading - I would like to do the same setup for the new MacBook so that I can use the external drive interchangeably between devices.


I can't find any information on whether the drive I'm currently using will work interchangeably between my M1 Mac and a M2 Mac or if both devices need to be M1 Macs. (the support articles/threads I've found only say it won't work with Intel Macs which isn't what I'm looking to answer).


Thanks in advance!

Posted on Feb 6, 2023 02:27 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 7, 2023 04:51 AM

wessasaurusrex wrote:

Situation: I currently have a M1 Mac running Ventura that I use for both work and personal use. When I use it for work I boot to an external thunderbolt drive that has company software installed.

I also have a MacBook Pro that I'm considering upgrading - I would like to do the same setup for the new MacBook so that I can use the external drive interchangeably between devices.

I can't find any information on whether the drive I'm currently using will work interchangeably between my M1 Mac and a M2 Mac or if both devices need to be M1 Macs. (the support articles/threads I've found only say it won't work with Intel Macs which isn't what I'm looking to answer).

Thanks in advance!


There would be no functional difference between the M1 and the M2 and booting to your external drive.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 7, 2023 04:51 AM in response to wessasaurusrex

wessasaurusrex wrote:

Situation: I currently have a M1 Mac running Ventura that I use for both work and personal use. When I use it for work I boot to an external thunderbolt drive that has company software installed.

I also have a MacBook Pro that I'm considering upgrading - I would like to do the same setup for the new MacBook so that I can use the external drive interchangeably between devices.

I can't find any information on whether the drive I'm currently using will work interchangeably between my M1 Mac and a M2 Mac or if both devices need to be M1 Macs. (the support articles/threads I've found only say it won't work with Intel Macs which isn't what I'm looking to answer).

Thanks in advance!


There would be no functional difference between the M1 and the M2 and booting to your external drive.

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Can I use macOS installed on an external drive between a M1 and M2 Mac?

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