macOS 12 Monterey: Operating System Downgrade Guide
Before Downgrading macOS 12 Monterey
If your Mac originally shipped with macOS 12 Monterey, then that is its default version of macOS, and no earlier versions can be installed. If you’ve upgraded to macOS 12 Monterey from another version, then you can go back — and it’s not too difficult. Downgrading your Mac from macOS 12 Monterey to a prior version is especially simple if you created a Time Machine backup before the macOS 12 Monterey upgrade.
The most essential way to downgrade your Mac to another compatible version of macOS is by downloading the macOS to a bootable installer, completely resetting your computer, then installing the new version. Remember, downgrading macOS requires erasing your Mac’s built-in hard drive storage, which is necessary to remove macOS 12 and install another compatible version.
Use Apple’s Support Resources!
We’ve been through the process a few times, and this process has quite a few steps and details. We recommend following along with Apple’s guide for how to create a bootable installer for macOS. It has all the information you need to download your preferred version, to format a bootable installer, and then to install macOS. Each step is important, and some are more detailed than others, so take your time!
Assign your Mac’s Firmware Password
Before doing anything, we recommend assigning your Mac’s firmware password. This is useful in the event that your built-in drive is erased and cannot be accessed. New users should follow along with Apple’s guide on how to set a firmware password on your Mac.
- Hold Command + R while starting your Mac.
- In the macOS Recover menu, select Utilities > Startup Security Utility.
- Enter your administrator password and configure the Firmware Password:
- Enter a firmware password, something simple and memorable.
- Select No Security.
- Select Allow booting from external or removable media.
- Quit the Startup Security Utility.
Erase internal storage drive
You may need to erase the built-in storage drive to reinstall a past version of macOS from the internet. Before doing that, make sure to set up and verify your Mac’s firmware password before erasing anything. That way you can access the Mac’s built-in drive after it’s been erased.
When reformatting, Macs intended to use macOS 10.12 Catalina or earlier need their built-in drives formatted to Mac OS Extended, and may need to boot from Internet Recovery to do that. All Macs using macOS 10.13 and above will reformat their built-in drives to APFS.
- Do not continue unless you’ve verified your Mac’s firmware password.
- Hold Command + R while starting your Mac.
- In the macOS Recovery menu, select Disk Utility.
- Select your Mac’s built-in storage and erase it (Erase Volume Group).
Reinstall macOS
Once the internal drive is erased, you can boot your Mac into Internet Recovery mode to install the original version of macOS that shipped on your Mac. Once that process is complete, you can relink your Apple ID, restore any Time Machine backups, and even upgrade macOS again. Learn more on Apple’s page about how to reinstall macOS.
- Restart your Mac.
- Intel: Hold the Option key while restarting your Mac and wait for the volumes screen to appear.
- Apple Silicon: Hold the power button until the startup options appear.
- Select Reinstall macOS and follow the on-screen instructions.
Create Bootable Installer
The method for creating a bootable installer requires another drive formatted for macOS Extended. Once that’s prepared, you can download your preferred version, format it to your external drive as a bootable installer, and then install it by starting your Mac with the bootable installer.
- Erase and reformat a USB storage drive with at least 14GB storage.
- The drive must be formatted as macOS Extended to work. APFS cannot be used for bootable installers.
- Use the Terminal utility and the “createinstallmedia” command to apply the macOS installer to your USB storage device.
- Restart your Mac with the bootable installer.
- Intel: Hold the Option key while restarting your Mac and wait for the volumes screen to appear.
- Apple Silicon: Hold the power button until the startup options appear.
- Enter your firmware password, select the macOS installer, and follow the on-screen instructions.
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