So I have received a MacBook Air 11" mid 2013 from my mother and would like to downgrade it from Big Sur (unsure what specific version since its not with me rn) and is most likely on the latest boot firmware. What would be the steps to downgrading? Are they differnet in anyway to a typical reinstall in terms of process? Many thanks in advance <3
Earlier Mac models
You would need to erase the drive entirely, and install Mavericks from a bootable USB.
click here ➜ Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
Apple no longer offers Mavericks in any way, so you will need to find an installer somewhere else.
Any reason it has to be Mavericks?
Could it not be Yosemite?
It's more of preference really, since I'm a big fan of the UI design and the fact that it has a lot of community support. I do understand that the drive has to be erased since it uses HFS instead of APFS iirc. Thank you though for confirming <3
Also, if I were to get the installer for Mountain Lion, could I upgrade to Mavericks or is that not an option? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I've mainly worked with OS X Snow Leopard and similar so there isn't so much updating and whatnot.
No, however, after following that step the Mac will restart to its setup assistant again, which is what you ought to do if you want a functional Mac.
Another "however"... why do you want Mavericks? It's nearly useless from a practical standpoint. Its more useful successors (Big Sur for example) still have the same overall appearance. But if there is something specific you need from Mavericks, by all means explain.
Since you mentioned Snow Leopard, that might also work if you have a need for certain specific legacy software. You would need to find a retail, boxed Mac OS X Snow Leopard Install DVD from an aftermarket source. It — should — install on that Mac, but you would need to overcome the obvious limitation of not having a built-in optical drive.
Ask your mother to comply with these instructions: What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support.
For the PRAM/NVRAM resetting part, will this cause Big Sur to go into the installer/setup again or is it going to boot into normal Big Sur without major hassle. Thanks for the helpful link tho <3
Installing OS X Mavericks on MBA mid 2013
