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Install Macos Big Sur Unsupported Mac

Big Sur on unsupported Mac

Installing Big Sur on an unsupported Mac can’t be done the regular way through System Preferences > Software update. However, if the machine’s not too old, there’s still a way to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac using a specially developed patcher tool.

However, there are ways to install macOS Big Sur at least on some of the unsupported Macs like the mid-2012 or the early-2013 MacBook Pro. MacOS Big Sur Supported Models Apple MacBook 2015 and later. Now only the last step remains: install macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac. Just look for the file InstallAssistant.pkg that you downloaded. Open it and the macOS Big Sur installer will appear. Select the disk partition to install the new system and the macOS Big Sur installation process will begin. To install macOS Big Sur on an unsupported Mac we must do it on a disk partition and from macOS Catalina. This way if something goes wrong, we can always continue using our Mac as if nothing else. To make a partition follow these steps: Click on the magnifying glass and look for the app Disk utility. Up click on Create partition. The guide to install macOS Big Sur on Mac not supported. Here are the steps to follow: Start the InstallAssistant.pkg package. Connect the USB stick. Use Disk Utility to initialize the key as “extended macOS (Journaled)” by creating a partition like “GUID”. Open the Terminal and write: sudo / Applications / Install macOS Beta.app.

Big Sur Workaround

At first glance, it may seem impossible to install macOS Bug Sur on a machine that’s not supported. If you are using a Mac that’s too old and go to its Software Update section, you will see that you are simply not allowed to install the Big Sur upgrade. If, however, you are determined to get Big Sur on your Mac, it may still be done in a roundabout way, by using a specially-developed patcher that you can download from here.

Depending on how old your Mac is, the patcher may or may not enable you to install Big Sur – some Macs are just too old, and even the patcher cannot make it possible for the latest macOS to be installed on them.

Review

On the linked page (from where you can download the patcher), you can find notes that show for which Mac models (and hardware compositions) the patcher is most likely to work and for which it’s not recommended to try it. Carefully look through those notes and if it turns out that your Mac doesn’t have the necessary prerequisites, it’s best if you don’t try the patcher as it will probably not work and may cause unnecessary complications that could be difficult to fix. There is a reason why the latest macOS isn’t supported on older Mac models. The system requirements of Big Sur are higher than what most of the older models can effectively handle and so, unless you are certain that your Mac can run on Big Sur (check the notes in the link), it would probably be best if you kept its current macOS, that it can run stably.

Important Note

Also, it is important that you back up your important data – even if your Mac model and hardware composition are compatible with the patcher according to the notes, you should still make sure that any important data you don’t want to lose is safely backed up.

Another thing to mention is that, if you are using FireVault, you need to have it turned off, or else the patcher will probably not work.

The last precaution before you start with the Big Sur installation is to download the current macOS that you have on your Mac/MacBook onto a USB stick so that, should there be a problem with the Big Sur installation, you can always install the older macOS onto the machine using the USB stick.

With all that out of the way, here’s how you can use the Big Sur patcher to upgrade your unsupported Mac to the latest macOS.

How to install Big Sur on unsupported Mac

To install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac, you must first create a bootable USB drive using a special patcher app. Then you need to use the USB drive to install Big Sur on the unsupported Mac, and, lastly, you must install the needed patches.

Creating a bootable USB stick using the Big Sur patcher.

Clean Install Macos Big Sur Unsupported Mac

The first phase of the process involves creating a bootable USB drive with the help of a special patcher, so here’s how to do that:

  1. Start by getting an empty USB stick with enough space on it – it is recommended the stick has at least 16 GB free storage space (the more, the better).
  2. Plug the empty USB stick into your Mac, go to Spotlight (the magnifying glass icon in the top-right), type Disk Utility, and hit Enter.
  3. Select the View icon in the top-left and select Show All Devices.
  4. Click on the USB drive from the left panel, and select Erase.
  5. In the Erase window, make sure that the format is set to Mac OS Extended and click on Erase.
  6. After the USB drive is erased, close the Disk Utility, open your browser, and go to the page where the patcher is (here is the link to it again). DO NOT remove the USB stick from your Mac – it must stay plugged into the computer during the next steps.
  7. Look at the right side of the page, where it says Releases (you may have to scroll down a bit), and select Latest.
  8. You will see the latest available patch and down below, under assets, you will see the download link/links for it. Click on the first link and download the file on your Desktop.
  9. Next, close the browser, open the patcher, and when a window pops up on your screen, double-click on the Patched Sur icon.
  10. When macOS asks you if you are sure you want to open the app, select Open and select Start from the newly-opened window.
  11. Next, the patcher will automatically detect what Mac model you are using and show you what Big Sur features will work on it and what features won’t be available – select Continue in that window.
  12. If you want, read the guide that appears on your screen and click Continue again.
  13. On the next page, make sure that the “Release” option is selected, and click on Continue.
  14. In the next screen, select Update, and then click Continue.
  15. Wait until the download finishes and then click on Download macOS 11.0.1 (or whatever macOS version is shown).
  16. Wait for the loading process to complete (it’s likely going to take quite a lot of time, so be patient), provide your Mac password, and click on Continue.
  17. Next, select the name of the empty USB stick and then select Continue, and Continue again on the next page.
  18. The following process could take quite some time, so be patient, wait for everything to be finished, and then close the window. Once the process is complete, macOS Big Sur will be downloaded onto the empty USB stick and will be ready to be installed on your Mac. To close the window, click on Patched Sur in the top-left and select Quit Patched Sur.

Installing macOS Big Sur

Once you have the bootable USB stick ready, it’s time to install Big Sur on your Mac.

  1. Shut down your Mac and when it powers down completely, start it back up, and immediately after pressing the power button, press and hold the left Option (Alt) key.
  2. Once you get a screen with three different options, select the one labeled Install macOS Big Sur. If you don’t get that screen and your Mac starts normally, repeat the previous step until you get the screen with the three options.
  3. When your Mac loads to a screen with four different options, do the following if the current macOS on the computer isn’t Catalina but one that is older. If your current macOS is Catalina, skip steps 4 to 7 and go directly to step 8.
  4. Select Disk Utility and then click on Continue.
  5. Click on the View icon from the top and select Show All Devices (like you did in one of the earlier steps).
  6. In the left panel, select the drive on which the current macOS is installed (should be the one shown at the top).
  7. Next, click on Erase, make sure that the format is set to APFS, and select Erase.
    • Important!: this action will erase everything on the selected hard drive, so it is important to have previously backed up data you wouldn’t want to lose. If you haven’t done that, restart your Mac, back up your data, and then erase the drive.
  8. Once the drive is erased, go back to the screen with four options, select Install macOS Big Sur, and click Continue, and then Continue again.
  9. Agree to the Terms and Conditions, on the next page, select the drive on which you’d like Big Sur to be installed, and select Continue. This will begin the installation of Big Sur and, again, depending on a number of factors, this process could anywhere between 45 minutes to 3 hours (or more).

Patiently wait for the installation to complete and once your Mac starts again, you will have Big Sur installed onto it. If you have performed a fresh install of Big Sur (if you’ve first erased your previous OS, you will have to go through several normal setup steps that are very easy to complete).

Macos Big Sur Patcher

Installing Necessary Patches

The last phase of the Big Sur installation is to install several important patches to make your Mac function properly.

Install Macos Big Sur On Unsupported Mac

  1. Once the computer starts after the Big Sur installation, and you complete any required setup steps (in case you’ve performed a fresh install of the OS), open the icon of the bootable USB drive.
  2. Open the Patched Sur app and select the Patch Kexts.
  3. Click Continue, enter your password and click on Continue again.
  4. Once the patches are installed, the app will ask you to restart your Mac, so click on the Restart to Finish option and wait for the computer to restart.
  5. If your Mac is a very old one, one thing that could help it run smoother is to go back to the Patcher, select Settings, and click on the Disable Animations option. We also recommend selecting the Clean Leftovers button to get rid of any unnecessary files and free up some space on the computer.

Once this is finished, your Mac will be ready for use with the macOS Big Sur installed on it. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask them in the comments section below.

Install Macos Big Sur On Unsupported Mac Github

  1. The official version of macOS Big Sur is released
    macOS Big Sur brings the combination of powerful strength and beautiful appearance to a new level. The carefully crafted new design allows you to fully experience the charm of the Mac; the Safari browser is ushered in a major update, waiting for you to enjoy; the map app and the information app are loaded with new functions for you to explore; more transparent privacy permissions, protection More thoughtful.
    macOS Big Sur 11 release date: 2020.11.12
  2. Unsupported models and problems
    According to the summary of macrumors, unsupported Macs can be divided into several situations:
    Mac models that officially support macOS Catalina but are not supported by macOS Big Sur:
    – These Macs can run Big Sur normally, but Wi-Fi cannot work normally. (This type of model is the easiest to run Big Sur perfectly through the patch, currently it is only a Wi-Fi problem.)
    You can follow the steps below, this article is mainly for this type of model.
    2012 and Early 2013 MacBook Pro
    Not officially supported in macOS Catalina, but are fully capable of running both Catalina and large Sur with a Metal-compatible GPU and upgraded Wifi/BT card. Mac can be patched to run macOS Catalina normally, and it may be patched to run macOS Big Sur: – These Macs can currently launch Big Sur, but there is currently no Wifi or graphics acceleration support. This type of model requires additional steps to solve installation problems. Early-2008 or newer Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro: MacPro3,1
    Macmini5,x (systems with AMD Radeon HD 6xxx series GPUs were almost unusable when running Catalina and will be under Big Sur as well.)
    MacBook5,2
    Xserve3,1*
    *Not officially supported in macOS Catalina, but are fully capable of running both Catalina and large Sur with a Metal-compatible GPU and upgraded Wifi/BT card.
    Completely unsupported Mac:
    This type of model does not need to consider installing Big Sur.
    Macmini2,1
    — The 2007 iMac 7,1 is compatible with Catalina and potentially Big Sur if the CPU is upgraded to a Penryn-based Core 2 Duo, like a T9300.
    2006-2008 MacBooks:
    MacBook4,1 (as with Mojave and Catalina, we’ll get on our own here, but Big Sur are going to be running on this machine!)
    2008 MacBook Air (MacBookAir 1,1)
    All PowerPC-based Macs
    All 68k-based Macs
  3. Download macOS Big Sur
    Mac App Store
    Open the App Store and directly search for macOS to download.
    After the download is complete, you can see that Install macOS Big Sur is located in the application (Application) directory.
    Baidu SkyDrive DMG Mirror
    Please visit: https://sysin.org/article/macOS-Big-Sur/
    After downloading, double-click to open the dmg file, and drag Install macOS Big Sur to the application (Application).
  4. Patch Tool Download
    (1) Hax.dylib: link 1
    (2) big-sur-micropatcher
  5. Installation method: new installation or upgrade installation under the current system
    (0) Prerequisites
    Make sure the Mac is currently running on macOS Catalina.
    (1) Boot to recovery mode (recovery mode)
    When booting or restarting, press and hold Command + R until the splash screen (Apple logo) appears.
    If there is no recovery partition, you need to press Command + Option + R to start Internet Recovery.
    (2) Disable sip (System Integrity Protection)
    Utilities -> Terminal Enter the command csrutil disable and press enter.
    (3) Disable compatibility check
    Continue to execute commands in the terminal:
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    nvram boot-args=”-no_compat_check”
    (4) Restart, start macOS Catalina normally
    (5) Disable libraries validation
    Open the terminal and execute the command:
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    sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.libraryvalidation.plist DisableLibraryValidation -bool true
    (6) Insert library
    Put the downloaded Hax.dylib file in the home directory, namely /Users// directory, and execute the command in the terminal:
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    launchctl setenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES $PWD/Hax.dylib
    (7) Start to install macOS Big Sur
    Clean install
    Before starting the installation, we open the “Disk Utility” to create a new APFS volume, and then double-click Install macOS Big Sur in the application to start the installation. Select the newly created volume as the target disk. After the installation is complete, it will automatically boot to the new system.
    After installation, you can delete the APFS volume where the original system is located, leaving only the Big Sur system.
    Upgrade installation
    Double-click Install macOS Big Sur in the application to start the normal installation. The installation target partition selects the partition where the current system is located, that is, the upgrade installation is performed automatically.
    By default, the factory setting has only one partition named: Macintosh HD
    (8) Solve the problem of network card driver
    In some models, the wireless network card is already working (Late 2013 iMac, or your 2012/2013 model uses an 802.11ac network card instead of an 802.11n network card).
    If the wireless network card cannot work, you need to deal with it as follows:
    You need to use the method in item 7 below to create a bootable U disk. Restart the system, hold down the Option key until the boot partition selection screen appears, boot to “Install macOS Big Sur”, after booting, select “Utilities -> Terminal” and execute the following commands (three formats) Both can be supported, choose one of them, “Macintosh HD” is your default system installation partition name, replace it according to the actual name):
    1
    2
    3
    /Volumes/Image Volume/patch-kexts.sh /Volumes/Macintosh HD
    ‘/Volumes/Image Volume/patch-kexts.sh”/Volumes/Macintosh HD’
    “/Volumes/Image Volume/patch-kexts.sh” “/Volumes/Macintosh HD”
    Then restart to macOS Big Sur, at this time Wi-Fi is already normal.
  6. Installation method: fresh installation using removable media
    Tip: U disk can also be replaced by mobile hard disk, especially SSD mobile hard disk, which is faster.
    7.1, create boot media
    (1) Create a bootable U disk
    Prepare a 16G or above U disk, open “Utilities> Disk Utility”, select the U disk, click “Erase”, the format is as follows:
    Mac OS X extension (Journaled);
    GUID partition map;
    Partition name: MyVolume (The default is Untitled, which can be customized. Note that MyVolume in the terminal command below should also be changed to the same name you customized)
    Open the terminal and execute the following command:
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    sudo /Appli