How to downgrade to Sonoma on Macbook Pro M4

The M4 Macs were released along with macOS 15.x Sequoia. Only older model Macs which were available prior to the release of Sequoia can be downgraded to Sonoma (even if they were still being sold new & shipped with Sequoia). However, any Macs that existed prior to the release of macOS 15.x Sequoia were just M1, M2, and M3 models. The M4 was introduced along with Sequoia.

Here is an Apple article which clearly states which Macs are compatible with Sonoma. No 2024 MacBook Pros are listed....in fact the last MBPro model compatible with Sonoma is from 2023. And there is no mention of an M4 in that list.

macOS Sonoma is compatible with these computers - Apple Support

If your Mac is in that list, then you can create a bootable macOS 14.x Sonoma USB installer in order to perform a clean install of Sonoma.

The software issues you describe are likely cause by one or more third party apps you have installed. You need to make sure all third party apps are compatible with Sequoia (including the latest minor patch version) and those apps are at their most recent versions. Also, anti-virus software, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software & VPNs are the usual culprits when a computer is having issues. Uninstall these types of apps by following the developers' instructions and hope that it removes all traces of those apps (sometimes remnants of those apps can remain behind to cause problems).

You can also run the third party app EtreCheck and post the complete report here so we can examine it for possible clues.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting an EtreCheck Report - Apple Community

You may want to try disconnecting all external devices just in case one of them is causing a problem with your Mac.

You probably had issues with this system before upgrading the OS (or with the old computer if you migrated everything), but just did not realize it. An OS upgrade just makes existing problems worse or can reveal issues that went unnoticed before. I see it all the time. I suggest you should try to resolve the issues with Sequoia instead of trying to reinstall macOS (assuming the Mac can be downgraded).

FYI, before upgrading to a new major version of an OS, people should always make sure all of their third party software is fully supported & compatible with the new OS. Same goes for any external hardware that is used with the computer.

At the Time of Release of M4 Computers, the computer would have had a Special Build of macOS 15 Sequoia

I know as I purchased a M4 Mac Mini which arrived to me on October 28, 2024

The specific Build would have been required as it contained unique Apple Drivers required specifically for the New M4 Chip Set

The Unique Build of macOS 15 Sequoia was version macOS 15.0  ( 24A8332 ) which was Not Seen on older Apple Silicon Computer or Intel Computer

The next Unique Build of Sequoia installed was macOS 15.1  ( 24B2083 ) specific to M4 Computer

Subsequently there was yet another Unique Build macOS 15.1.1 ( 24B2091 ) specific to M4 Computer

It was only at Sequoia 15.2 that the Special Builds of Sequoia aligned across older and newer M4 Apple Silicon computer

That Build was macOS 15.2 ( 24C101 )

So with this in mind it would be reasonable to conclude this machine can not be downgraded to macOS 14 Sonoma

Even if you could " force it somehow.. "

Due to the unique Apple Drives Required for M4 Chip Set would portable be missing in macOS 14 Sonoma

Attempting to do this downgrade could Brick the expensive machine

reinstall the shipping software

How to reinstall macOS

Recovery (both M1/M2/M3/M4 and Intel) — How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

What I see here— (?)

The current stable release of Sequoia including bug fixes, security updates is macOS 15.2

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

There is no need to apologize to all.

It can get confusing when comparing two machine at the same time, be it yours or your friends

As for not longer relevant

Hum, look at this as, a possible Helping Others who may look in and experience a similar issue 😎

xpfighter wrote:

Thanks a lot for your reply, this is really helpful. I must be missing something.... And my post is no longer relevant.

If you post the complete EtreCheck report, we would be happy to examine it to see if we can help you improve the performance & behavior of your Mac.