I also have a YouTube video going over the whole process.
Requirements:
- Early-2008 or newer Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro(MacPro 3,1 and 4,1, iMac 8,1 and 9,1, MacBook Pro 4,1, 5,1 5,2, 5,3,5,4, and 5,5)
- Late-2008 or newer MacBook Air or Aluminum Unibody MacBook (MacBookAir 2,1, MacBook 5,1)
- Early-2009 or newer Mac Mini or white MacBook (Macmini 3,1, MacBook 5,2)
- Early-2008 or newer Xserve (Xserve 2,1, Xserve 3,1)
Machines that ARE NOT supported:
- 2006-2007 Mac Pros, iMacs, MacBookPros, and Mac Minis (MacPro 1,1 and 2,1, iMac 4,1, 5,1, 5,2, 6,1 and7,1, MacBook Pro 1,1, 2,1, and 3,1, Macmini 1,1 and 2,1)
-- The 2007 iMac 7,1 is compatible if the CPU is upgraded to a Penryn-based Core 2 Duo, such as a T9300.
- 2006-2008 MacBooks (MacBook 1,1, 2,1 3,1 and 4,1)
- 2008 MacBook Air (MacBookAir 1,1)
-- Note: Make sure SIP is disabled on the system you intend to installHigh Sierra on. If it's not or you're unsure, just boot into your Recoverypartition of your currently installed copy of OS X, open Terminal, andrun 'csrutil disable'.
Things you'll need:
- A copy of the macOS High Sierra InstallerApp. This can be obtained from the Mac App Store using a machinethatsupports High Sierra, or by using the built-in downloading feature of the tool. In the Menu Bar, simply select 'Tools > Download macOS High Sierra...'
- A USB drive that's at least 8 GB in size
- A copy of the tool - Download here (Current version: 2.7.0, SHA1: 73f180d30200ef5f6d900440fe57b9c7d22bd6bf)
-- View changelog and download older versions here
Known issues:
- Trackpad (MacBook5,2 affected only). The trackpad in the MacBook5,2isn't fully supported in High Sierra. While it works and is fully usable,High Sierra detects it as just a standard mouse, preventing you fromchanging some trackpad-oriented settings.
How to use:
1. Insert your desired USB drive, open Disk Utility, and format it as OS X Extended (Journaled).
2. Open the 'macOS High Sierra Patcher' tool, and browse for your copy of the macOS High Sierra Installer App.
*Ensure that the tool successfully verifies the app.
3. Next, select your USB drive in the Target Volume list, and click 'Start Operation.'
4. When the operation completes, boot your target unsupported Mac offthe USB drive you just created by holding down the Option key while turning on the machine, and selecting the drive.
Note: Only perform steps 5 and 6 if you intend to do a clean install.Otherwise, you can simply skip these steps and install to your volumecontaing a previous version of OS X, and it'll do an in-place upgrade.
5. When the installer boots, open Disk Utility from the Utilities menu, or by double-clicking it in the Utilities window on the bottom left corner of the screen.
6. Select the disk or partition you want to install on, and erase it,ensuring to use either Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or APFS as the filesystem type.If formatting an entire drive, ensure GUID is selected.
-- Please note that if you use APFS, you will not have a bootable Recovery partition.
-- It is recommended that you only use APFS if the target drive is an SSD.
-- If you decide to use APFS, a custom booting method will be installed by the post-install tool, as the firmware of these unsupported machines does not natively support booting from APFS volumes. It is not quite as clean as native booting, but will not cause any issues while running High Sierra. A demo of the modified booting process can be viewed here.
7. Install macOS normally onto the desired volume.
8. When the install completes, reboot back onto the installer drive.This time, open the 'macOS Post Install' application.
9. In the application, select the Mac model you are using. The optimalpatches will be selected for you based on the model you select. You canalso select other patches of your choosing.
-- The 'i' button next to each patch will show more details about the respective patch.
10. Select the volume you have just installed macOS High Sierra on, andclick 'Patch.' When it finishes patching, click 'Reboot'. It may sitthere for a few moments rebuilding caches before rebooting.
-- If for somereason the system fails to work correctly after rebooting, boot backinto your installer drive, run the post install patch again, and select'Force Cache Rebuild' before rebooting. This isn't necessary under mostcircumstances.
11. When it reboots, it should now boot into a fully working copy ofmacOS High Sierra.
Additional Info:
- If selected in the macOS Post Install tool, your High Sierra install will have a program named 'Patch Updater' located in your /Applications/Utilities folder. This program will alert you when new updates to patches are available for your machine, and will prompt you to install them. If you do not have Patch Updater installed, but would like it, you can download and run the script found here to do so.
Updates
System updates, such as 10.13.1, should install normally if 'Software Update Patch' was selected in the macOS Post Install tool, or installed using the Patch Updater program. If for some reason updates aren't showing up, or you did not apply the patch, you can install it manually using the script found here.
-- If the machine does not start up properly after applying a system update, you will need to boot off your patched installer volume, and re-run the post-install patch on your High Sierra volume. Ensure you select 'Force Cache Rebuild' before rebooting.
FAQ:
Q: The tool created the USB drive successfully, but when booting, the progress bar hangs a bit more than half way.
A: Check your copy of the Install macOS High Sierra App. If you're using thelatest version of the tool, you must be using the latest version of theInstall macOS High Sierra App. Version 1.1 ofthe patch tool and older support older versions of the installer app.
Q: The patch tool gives me errors, such as 'Error copying files...'.
A: Check to make sure your USB drive is writeable. Try re-formatting it, or just try a different USB drive.
Q: The patch tool gives me a 'Mounting Failed' error
A: Check to make sure your Install macOS High Sierra App is the correct one.It should be around 5GB in size. If you used the 'Skip App Verification' option, you have most likely selected an invalid app thatdoesn't contain the necessary files.
Q: I cannot open my copy of Install macOS High Sierra with the patch tool.
A: If you downloaded the copy linked above, it is distributed inside aDMG file. You must open this file (mount it) to access the InstallmacOS High Sierra App you need to select.
Q: I don't see my hard drive partition in the installer screen or in the post-install tool.
A: Make sure FileVault is disabled, or use the instructions found here to unlock it manually using Terminal.
Q: I get a 'NO' symbol when starting up after successfully installing High Sierra.
A: Make sure you have run the post-install patch on the correct volume, as detailed above in steps 8-10.
Q: I get a 'NO' symbol when starting up from the patched USB drive
A: Check the supported/not supported list at the top of this page. Ensure your machine is in the supported list.
Q: My iSight camera doesn't work after installing High Sierra
A: Make sure you properly remove (using the program's uninstaller, not by simply dragging the application to the Trash) all virtual machine software installed on your machine, such as VirtualBox, VMWare, etc.
Q: I get 'NSURL' errors when trying to update my machine or use the App Store
A: This is usually the result of having an invalid CatalogURL set. To revert to stock, simply run 'sudo softwareupdate --clear-catalog' in Terminal, and then run the software update patch script located above.
Q: Safari, App Store, and/or Mail stopped working after installing a system update
A: Download and run the Onyx application, select 'Maintenence' at the top, then click the Run button.
Q: I get a 'No packages were eligible for install' error when attepting to install High Sierra
A: This is due to your system's date and time being set incorrectly. To fix it, you can either boot into your current OS X install and set the date, or you can use Terminal after booting from your patched USB installer drive to set the date. Instructions to set the date using Terminal can be found here.
Dec 06, 2019 DosDude Catalina Patcher is a popular third-party tool that allows users to patch the MacOS Catalina installer on otherwise unsupported Macs.
Apple updates its macOS (previously Mac OS X) desktop and laptop operating system once a year, like clockwork, bringing new features and improvements. That’s all very well, but Apple’s most recent version of macOS – Big Sur – won’t run on any Mac older than 2013, and in some cases 2014. Which may well mean that your Mac can’t officially be updated – unless you follow this tutorial.
- Liked this video? Subscribe for more: I'll be showing you how to install macOS High Sierra on an unsupported Mac.Tool: http://.
- Overview macOS High Sierra Patcher, the successor to macOS Sierra Patcher, is an easy-to-use tool that allows anyone to install macOS High Sierra on unsupported Macs. What's new in macOS High Sierra Patcher Version 2.7.0.
- 63.2k members in the osx community. Reddit's community for users, developers, and hackers of Mac OS X – the desktop operating system from Apple.
- Apple's latest desktop software, macOS Sierra, is only officially supported on Macs from late-2009 and up. But there are some ways to install the new OS on older devices. Here's the hack you.
Before you go ahead and follow the advice below a word of warning: there is a reason why Apple chooses not to support the new Mac operating system on older Macs. Older Macs just don’t have the necessary components or power required to cope with the demands of the more modern systems. So if you do install Big Sur, Catalina, or any recent version of macOS on an unsupported Mac don’t expect it to run smoothly.
Is my Mac too old to update?
We have a macOS compatibility checker here, so you can see which versions of macOS your Mac should be able to run.
Here’s an overview of the Macs that will run Big Sur, according to Apple:
- MacBook models from early 2015 or later
- MacBook Air models from 2013 or later
- MacBook Pro models from 2013 or later
- Mac mini models from 2014 or later
- iMac models from 2014 or later
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro models from 2013 or later
Apple advises that macOS Catalina will run on the following Macs:
- MacBook models from early 2015 or later
- MacBook Air models from mid-2012 or later
- MacBook Pro models from mid-2012 or later
- Mac mini models from late 2012 or later
- iMac models from late 2012 or later
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro models from late 2013
Apple advises that macOS Mojave will run on the following Macs:
- Mac models from 2012 or later
- iMac Pro (from 2017)
- MacBook models from 2015 or later
- MacBook Pro models from 2012 or later
- MacBook Air models from 2012 or later
- Mac mini models from 2012 or later
- Mac Pro models from late 2013 (plus mid-2010 and mid-2012 models with recommended Metal-capable GPU)
The older macOS High Sierra had a little more scope. Apple said that would run happily on a late 2009 or later MacBook or iMac, or a 2010 or later MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini or Mac Pro.
If you Mac is supported read: How to update to Big Sur.
This means that if your Mac is older than 2012 it won’t officially be able to run Catalina or Mojave. In the case of Catalina that includes all the old-style Mac Pro models, pre-‘trash can’. If you want to run , but your Mac is older than 2013/2014, the new macOS just isn’t for you, as far as Apple is concerned anyway.
However, despite this it is possible to run newer macOS versions on older Macs thanks to a patcher.
Don’t expect things to be plain sailing though – in fact you should expect to encounter problems. Be prepared for the fact that your Mac will not function optimally and you could lose data. (For that reason we recommend doing a full backup of your Mac first).
For example, many older Macs have problems with the Wi-Fi connection after installing macOS Big Sur. If you need Wi-Fi, installing the preview version is not advisable.
Running Big Sur on another macOS on an unsupported Mac may also be considered against Apple’s terms and conditions. For information about Apple’s terms and conditions read: Should you agree to Apple’s terms and conditions.
Wondering if it’s worth updating your Mac? Read: macOS Big Sur vs Catalina.
How to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac
If your Mac is more than a few years old and you try to install Big Sur on it you will hit a few hurdles – the first being the fact that Software Update simply won’t let you install the new version of macOS.
However, this doesn’t mean that installing Big Sur on an older Mac isn’t possible. It is – you just need a patch. Luckily there’s a patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on older Macs available – the big-sur-micropatcher can be downloaded from GitHub.
Note that macOS patchers cannot perform magic and not all Macs will be compatible. Before installing Big Sur on an older Mac, make sure that your Mac is compatible with the patcher. On the patch page (linked above) you will find some notes indicating the various years of manufacture. Before you upgrade to macOS Big Sur review the compatibility notes.
The procedure for updating to a new version of macOS on incompatible Macs is as follows:
- First you will need to obtain the installation files for the operating system. You’ll have to obtain these using a compatible Mac. If they don’t show up in Software Update you can get the installation files from the Mac App Store.
- Now you need to load these installation files onto a USB stick and prepare the USB stick for installing macOS Big Sur. We explain how to create a bootable installer of macOS in a separate article.
- Next you need to obtain software that is able to trick the installation files of the version of macOS you want to install into believing that the Mac is compatible. You can download that patcher we mentioned above from GitHub. Click on the Code and Download Zip buttons.
- After extracting the archive from your download you will find the file “micropatcher.sh”.
- Open a terminal window and drag and drop the file into the terminal. Then run the command.
- Now install macOS from your bootable installer.
- In some cases, there are still tasks to be performed after the installation. These can be found in the instructions for big-sur-micropatcher. After preparing the Mac with the USB stick, start a terminal and enter “/ Volumes / Image Volume / set-vars.sh”. The script is part of the patch for macOS Big Sur and changes important settings for booting and system files.
The update can take several hours. In our case it sometimes looked like the installer had crashed during the update. In this case you should wait, as the installation is usually still in progress. Over time, better ways to update a machine may be found. Currently, the safest approach is to update using a bootable USB stick.
How to install Big Sur updates on an unsupported Mac
Once you have installed macOS Big Sur, updates will appear in Software Updates as soon as they are available. However, you should not install these, but ideally again create a USB stick with the current installation files and install the update in this way.
These steps were translated from an article by our colleagues at Macwelt.
Macos High Sierra Patcher Tool For Unsupported Macs Windows 7
How to run Catalina on an older Mac
You can download a macOS Catalina Patcher from a developer known as DOSDude1. The patch will enable you to install Catalina on an older Mac.
The Catalina hack doesn’t work with every Mac, but many are covered. You can see if your Mac is supported here.
DODDude1 offers a video tutorial on his website, here. We’ve simplified the steps below, but we recommend that you follow his tutorial.
- Download the latest version of the Catalina patch here. (You can make a donation).
- Open the Catalina Patcher app.
- Click Continue.
- Choose Download a Copy.
- The download (of Catalina) will start – since it’s almost 8GB it is likely to take a while.
- Plug in a flash drive.
- Choose ‘Create a bootable installer’ from the options.
- Plug the bootable installer into the Mac you wish to update.
- Restart the Mac while holding the Option/Alt key. This will cause the Mac open in Startup Manager.
- Choose the bootable installer drive and Enter.
- Now your Mac should open in Recovery.
- Choose Reinstall macOS and wait for the new version of macOS to install.
- After the installation has completed, you should restart the Mac in Recovery mode again, choosing the drive that contains the bootable installer.
- Now choose macOS Post Install and the required patches will be installed on your Mac so that Catalina can work.
- When the patches have been applied choose Force Cache Rebuild.
- Restart.
- When it reboots, your Mac should now boot into a fully working copy of macOS Catalina.
If you are running a version of macOS that predates High Sierra or Mojave, you will need to format your hard drive to APFS.
We have more advice about installing macOS via a Bootable Installer here.
How to run Mojave on an older Mac
As with Catalina, a patch tool was written DOSDude1 that enables you to install macOS Mojave on an older Mac.
You can download the Mojave Patch Tool here.
How to run High Sierra and older on an older Mac
DOSDude1 wrote a similar patch for High Sierra and prior to that Sierra. With the patch installed you can go back as far as early 2008 models. It’s unlikely to run like a dream, which is why Apple advises against this course of action. But you should be able to achieve tolerable performance.
Why you shouldn’t install new macOS on an old Mac
We’d advise tech beginners against attempting this workaround: it calls for a moderate degree of tech expertise.
Remember that we’re going against Apple’s official advice on this one, which means that if something goes wrong – and that’s always a possibility with an OS install, even if you’re using official software – your warranty is unlikely to save you. Of course, it’s unlikely that your 2008 Mac would be under any warranty so that may not worry you too much.
Back up your Mac before going any further. And bear in mind two more caveats.
At some point Apple may patch this hack and prevent it working in future. So if you’re keen, and happy that the risks and difficulties are worth it for you, then jump in while you still can.
Macos High Sierra Patcher Tool For Unsupported Macs Free
Otherwise, you might want to read How to sell an old Mac.
We’ve had a look at what’s coming in Big Sur – here’s our verdict: macOS Big Sur: should you update your Mac?