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Upgrade Older Mac To Catalina

The downside is that if you have an older Mac, you simply cannot install the enhancement file on the Mac App Store. But not all parts are out of place. You can download a macOS Catalina Patcher from a developer known as DOSDude1. The patch allows you to install Catalina on an older Mac. Part 2: How to Upgrade to macOS Catalina 10.15. If you are already using a stable version of macOS, then you can just upgrade to the latest macOS Catalina easily. To do this, you can go to the official website of Apple, visit the Mac's App Store, or go to its Software Update settings. (No Macs that can run Snow Leopard can be upgraded to Catalina or Big Sur, which would solve the problem, too.) Apple has instructions on installing a terminal release of Mac OS X or macOS for its. NOTE: If your Mac came with macOS Catalina, you can restart your Mac while holding down Shift-Option-Command-R to enter Internet Recovery Mode and install the operating system that came with your Mac. Otherwise, follow the steps below to install Catalina back on your Mac. Connect your Mac to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Experience Mac to the fullest with a refined new design. Enjoy the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages. Get even more transparency around your privacy.

Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Big Sur

Older

The following models are supported:

  • MacBook (2015 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2013 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later)
  • Mac mini (2014 or later)
  • iMac (2014 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro (2013 or later)

To see which model you have, click the Apple icon in your menu bar and choose About This Mac.

Make sure you’re ready to upgrade.

Before you upgrade, we recommend that you back up your Mac. If your Mac is running OS X Mavericks 10.9 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS Big Sur. You’ll need the following:

  • OS X 10.9 or later
  • 4GB of memory
  • 35.5GB available storage on macOS Sierra or later*
  • Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
  • Some features require a compatible internet service provider; fees may apply.

Upgrading is free and easy

Upgrading from macOS Catalina 10.15 or Mojave 10.14?

Go to Software Update in System Preferences to find macOS Big Sur. Click Upgrade Now and follow the onscreen instructions.

Upgrading from an older version of macOS?

If you’re running any release from macOS 10.13 to 10.9, you can upgrade to macOS Big Sur from the App Store. If you’re running Mountain Lion 10.8, you will need to upgrade to El Capitan 10.11 first.

If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store.

  • OS X 10.9 or later
  • 4GB of memory
  • 35.5GB available storage on macOS Sierra or later*
  • Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
  • Some features require a compatible internet service provider; fees may apply.

For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Big Sur:

  • MacBook (2015 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2013 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later)
  • Mac mini (2014 or later)
Upgrade older mac to catalina os
  • iMac (2014 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro (2013 or later)

Siri

Requires a broadband internet connection and microphone (built-in or external).

Hey Siri

Supported by the following Mac models:

  • MacBook Pro (2018 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2018 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)

Dictation, Voice Control, and Voice Memos

Requires a microphone (built-in or external).

Spotlight Suggestions

Requires a broadband internet connection.

Gestures

Requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.

Force Touch gestures require a Force Touch trackpad.

VoiceOver gestures require a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, or Magic Trackpad.

Photo Booth

Requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built-in or external) or USB video class (UVC) camera.

FaceTime

Audio calls require a microphone (built-in or external) and broadband internet connection.

Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built-in or external), or a USB video class (UVC) camera; and broadband internet connection.

Apple TV

High dynamic range (HDR) video playback is supported by the following Mac models:

  • MacBook Pro (2018 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro (2019) with Pro Display XDR
Upgrade

Dolby Atmos soundtrack playback is supported by the following Mac models:

  • MacBook Air (2018 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (2018 or later)

Sidecar

Supported by the following Mac models:

  • MacBook (2016 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2018 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (2016 or later)
  • Mac mini (2018 or later)
  • iMac (late 2015 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro (2019)

Supported by all iPad models with Apple Pencil support:

  • 12.9-inch iPad Pro
  • 11-inch iPad Pro
  • 10.5-inch iPad Pro
  • 9.7-inch iPad Pro
  • iPad (6th generation or later)
  • iPad mini (5th generation)
  • iPad Air (3rd and 4th generation)

Continuity Camera

Requires an iPhone or iPad that supports iOS 12 or later.

Continuity Sketch and Continuity Markup

Requires an iPhone with iOS 13 or later or an iPad with iPadOS 13 or later.

Handoff

Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C and iOS 8 or later.

Instant Hotspot

Requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity, a Lightning connector or USB-C, and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.

Universal Clipboard

Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C and iOS 10 or later.

Upgrade Older Mac To Catalina Os

Auto Unlock

Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later or an iPhone 5 or later.

Approve with Apple Watch

Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 6 or later or an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 13 or later.

Apple Pay on the Web

Requires a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air with Touch ID, an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or later, or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later.

Phone Calling

Requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.

SMS

Requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 or later and an activated carrier plan.

Home

Requires an iPhone with iOS 12 or later and a configured Home app.

AirDrop

AirDrop to iOS and iPadOS devices requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C and iOS 7 or later.

AirPlay

AirPlay Mirroring requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).

Upgrade Older Mac To Catalina

AirPlay for web video requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).

Peer-to-peer AirPlay requires a Mac (2012 or later) and an Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later.

Time Machine

Requires an external storage device (sold separately).

Maps electric vehicle routing

Requires an iPhone with iOS 14 and a compatible electric vehicle.

Maps license plate restrictions

Requires an iPhone running iOS 14 or an iPad running iPadOS 14.

Boot Camp

Allows Boot Camp installations of Windows 10 on supported Mac models.

Exchange Support

Requires Microsoft Office 365, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, or Exchange Server 2010. Installing the latest Service Packs is recommended.

Windows Migration

Upgrade

Upgrade Older Mac To Catalina Version

Supports OS X 10.7 or later and Windows 7 or later.

App Store

Available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries and regions.

Photos

The improved Retouch tool is supported on the following Mac models:

  • MacBook Pro (15-inch and 16-inch models) introduced in 2016 or later
  • iMac (Retina 5K models) introduced in 2014 or later
  • iMac (Retina 4K models) introduced in 2017 or later
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
  • Apple Books
  • Apple News
  • App Store
  • Automator
  • Calculator
  • Calendar
  • Chess
  • Contacts
  • Dictionary
  • DVD Player
  • FaceTime
  • Find My
  • Font Book
  • Home
  • Image Capture
  • Launchpad
  • Mail
  • Maps
  • Messages
  • Mission Control
  • Music
  • Notes
  • Photo Booth
  • Photos
  • Podcasts
  • Preview
  • QuickTime Player
  • Reminders
  • Safari
  • Siri
  • Stickies
  • Stocks
  • System Preferences
  • TextEdit
  • Time Machine
  • TV
  • Voice Memos
  • Activity Monitor
  • AirPort Utility
  • Audio MIDI Setup
  • Bluetooth File Exchange
  • Boot Camp Assistant
  • ColorSync Utility
  • Console
  • Digital Color Meter
  • Disk Utility
  • Grapher
  • Keychain Access
  • Migration Assistant
  • Screenshot
  • Screen Time
  • Script Editor
  • Sidecar
  • System Information
  • Terminal
  • VoiceOver Utility

Upgrade Older Mac To Catalina Free

  • Arabic
  • Catalan
  • Croatian
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Traditional Chinese
  • Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • English (Australia)
  • English (UK)
  • English (U.S.)
  • Finnish
  • French
  • French (Canada)
  • German
  • Greek
  • Hebrew
  • Hindi
  • Hungarian
  • Indonesian
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Malay
  • Norwegian
  • Polish
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Portuguese
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Slovak
  • Spanish
  • Spanish (Latin America)
  • Swedish
  • Thai
  • Turkish
  • Ukrainian
  • Vietnamese

macOS Catalina was the newest operating system by Apple until macOS Big Sur succeeded it in 2020. If your Mac still runs Mojave or an even older macOS version, you'll be amazed by all the new features and improvements in Catalina. So here’s how to upgrade to macOS Catalina.

First, clear out the junk

When you do a regular upgrade, the installer replaces some files on your Mac with others, but leaves most untouched. That means that all the system junk your Mac has accumulated over the years stays there. And as you upgrade year after year, you accumulate more and more. As you can imagine, upgrading your operating system on a junk-filled Mac is rather like putting one layer of wallpaper on top of another — eventually you have to scrape it off and start again.

Likewise, it’s always a good idea to clear out the clutter before you upgrade. My recommendation, after years of experience upgrading Macs, is that you use CleanMyMac X. It’s very quick and easy to use and will get rid of clutter, making your Mac run more smoothly and freeing up tens of gigabytes of disk space. You can either let it decide what to remove or go through its scan results yourself and decide what to trash and what to keep.

Then, backup your Mac

As you will see below, there are a couple of different ways you can upgrade to Catalina, but before you decide, and certainly before you upgrade, you should make a full backup of your current Mac setup. Upgrading one OS on top of another carries very few risks, but they are not non-existent so be safe now rather than sorry later. If you use Time Machine you can make a backup with that. But the best idea is to make a complete bootable clone of your current startup disk on an external drive.

To clean install or not to clean install

Remember I said you had a couple of options for upgrading? Here they are:

  1. Regular install
  2. Clean install

A regular install places Catalina files on your startup disk over the top of whatever OS you’re currently running. It doesn’t overwrite anything else. So all your applications, documents, settings, photos, movies, and music stay where they are. Unfortunately, all the junk files your Mac has accumulated also remain there. This option is quicker in the short-term, but your Mac won’t run as smoothly in the long-term. If you choose this option, I’d definitely recommend you use CleanMyMac X to clear out the clutter, before you upgrade.

A clean install erases your startup disk completely and then installs macOS Catalina on a completely clean disk. It takes longer, but in the long run your Mac will run more quickly and more smoothly. You will have to clone your startup disk before you start, and then spend time reinstalling applications and setting them up afterwards, however.

How to do a regular install of macOS Catalina

  1. Check that your Mac can run Catalina. Here’s the list of compatible Macs:

MacBook 2015 and later

MacBook Air 2012 and later

MacBook Pro 2012 and later

IMac 2012 and later

IMac Pro 2017 and later

Mac Pro 2013 and later

2. Make sure you’re connected to the internet and have a reliable connection. If you’re using a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro, plug it into mains power.

3. Launch the App Store app on your Mac and search for 'macOS Catalina.'

4. When you find it, click 'Get.'

Upgrade Older Mac To Catalina Download

5. Wait for Catalina to download and when it’s ready to install, click Continue. Type in your admin username and password, if necessary.

6. Wait for Catalina to install. Your Mac will restart several times and it may take a while, so be patient! If you are using a laptop, don’t close the lid.

7. Once it has finished installing, you can continue to use your Mac as normal.

How to clean install macOS Catalina

We have covered clean installing Catalina in more detail in this article How to Clean Install macOS Catalina but here’s a summary.

Upgrade Older Mac To Catalina

  1. Make a full bootable clone of your Mac, just in case the worst happens.
  2. Grab a USB stick that’s at least 16GB capacity, or an external hard drive or USB stick.
  3. Erase and re-format the USB stick or external disk.
  4. Create a bootable installer on the disk.
  5. Boot from the new install disk and use Disk Utility in macOS Utilities to erase your startup disk.
  6. Go back to macOS Utilities and choose install macOS, with your startup disk as the location for the install.

How To Get Catalina On Older Mac

Once it’s finished, set up your Mac, reinstall applications and restore your settings.

My apps are slow or stopped working on macOS Catalina

Okay, you’ve successfully installed macOS 10.15 Catalina. But some of your apps are no longer available. That’s a heavy blow from macOS Catalina as it no longer supports 32-bit apps. According to Apple, 64-bit apps are more memory-efficient than 32-bit ones. But for most of us it means we will lose many favorite games and applications, including Photoshop CS. To minimize the damage, you should first check how many 32-bit apps you have. It's possible to do with the same Mac maintenance app we've mentioned above.

  • Run CleanMyMac X — you can download a free edition here.
  • Click the Uninstaller tab.
  • Now, by clicking on the 32-bit tab, you will see the list of 32-bit apps on your Mac.

Next up, click the Updater tab.
Here you can update your 32-apps (and all the rest of apps) to newer versions. Many developers have already optimized their software for 64-bit architecture. With this method you’ll update all your software in one-go to make it Catalina-friendly. As you can see, I can update 17 apps with just one button.

Thanks for reading this article. Hope you will like it on Catalina!