And then, you've decided to download an older version of Mac OS X. There are many reasons that could point you to this radical decision. To brainstorm with, some of your apps may not be working properly (or simply crash) on newer operating systems. Also, you may have noticed your Mac's performance went down correct after the last update. Finally, if you lot desire to run a parallel copy of Mac Os Ten on a virtual machine, you besides will need a working installation file of an older Mac Bone X. Further down nosotros'll explicate where to get i and what bug you may face up down the route.

A list of all Mac Os Ten versions

We'll be repeatedly referring to these Apple Bone versions below, and so information technology's good to know the basic macOS timeline.

Cheetah ten.0 Puma x.1 Jaguar 10.ii
Panther 10.iii Tiger ten.iv Leopard 10.5
Snowfall Leopard 10.six Panthera leo ten.7 Mount Panthera leo ten.8
Mavericks 10.9 Yosemite x.ten El Capitan 10.11
Sierra 10.12 Loftier Sierra x.xiii Mojave 10.14
Catalina x.xv

STEP 1. Prepare your Mac for installation

Given your Mac isn't new and is filled with data, y'all will probably need plenty free infinite on your Mac. This includes not just infinite for the OS itself but as well infinite for other applications and your user data. One more statement is that the free infinite on your disk translates into virtual retentivity and so your apps have "fuel" to operate on. The nautical chart below tells you how much free space is needed.

Note, that information technology is recommended that you install OS on a clean drive. Next, you lot volition need enough disk space available, for example, to create Recovery Partition. Hither are some ideas to free up space on your drive:

  • Uninstall large unused apps
  • Empty Trash Bin and Downloads
  • Locate the biggest files on your calculator:

Get to Finder > All My Files > Arrange past size

Then you can move your space hoggers onto an external drive or a deject storage.

If you aren't comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, there are some dainty automatic "room cleaners". Our favorite isCleanMyMac as it's most simple to employ of all. It deletes system junk, onetime broken apps, and the rest of subconscious junk on your drive.

CleanMyMac X - Smart Scan complete

Download CleanMyMacfor OS 10.4 - 10.8 (costless version)

Download CleanMyMac for Bone 10.ix (free version)

Download CleanMyMacfor Os 10.10 - 10.14 (costless version)

Step two. Get a copy of Mac OS Ten download

Normally, it is assumed that updating Os is a one-way road. That'southward why going back to a past Apple Os version is problematic. The main challenge is to download the OS installation file itself, because your Mac may already be running a newer version. If you succeed in downloading the OS installation, your adjacent step is to create a bootable USB or DVD and and then reinstall the Bone on your calculator.

How to download older Mac OS X versions via the App Shop

Mac operating system download


If you once had purchased an erstwhile version of Mac Bone 10 from the App Shop, open up it and go to the Purchased tab. There you'll notice all the installers you can download. However, it doesn't always piece of work that mode. The purchased section lists only those operating systems that you had downloaded in the past. Only here is the path to check it:

  1. Click the App Store icon.
  2. Click Purchases in the peak card.
  3. Roll down to discover the preferred Bone X version.
  4. Click Download.

This method allows yous to download Mavericks and Yosemite past logging with your Apple ID — only if you previously downloaded them from the Mac App Shop.

Without App Store: Download Mac Os version as Apple tree Developer

If you are signed with an Apple Programmer account, yous tin can get admission to products that are no longer listed on the App Store. If you desperately demand a lower Os 10 version build, consider creating a new Developer business relationship amid other options. The membership cost is $99/year and provides a bunch of perks unavailable to ordinary users.

Still, go on in mind that if you visit programmer.apple.com/downloads, you can only notice 10.iii-10.6 Os X operating systems in that location. Newer versions are not available because starting Mac Bone X Snow Leopard 10.7, the App Store has become the simply source of updating Apple OS versions.

Purchase an older version of Mac operating system

Apple OS Versions

You tin buy a boxed or email version of past Mac Bone X straight from Apple. Both volition toll y'all around $20. For the reason of being rather antiquated, Snow Leopard and earlier Apple versions can only exist installed from DVD.

Buy a boxed edition of Snow Leopard 10.six
Go an email copy of Lion 10.7
Go an electronic mail copy of Mountain Lion 10.8

The email edition comes with a special download code yous can utilise for the Mac App Store. Note, that to install the Panthera leo or Mount Panthera leo, your Mac needs to be running Snowfall Leopard so you tin can install the newer OS on top of it.

How to become macOS El Capitan download

If you are wondering if you tin can run El Capitan on an older Mac, rejoice as it's possible too. But before your Mac tin can run El Capitan information technology has to be updated to OS X 10.6.8. So, here are main steps you should accept:

1. Install Snow Leopard from install DVD.
2. Update to 10.vi.8 using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.

"I can't download an one-time version of Mac OS X"

If y'all have a newer Mac, there is no concrete pick to install Mac Os versions older than your electric current Mac model. For instance, if your MacBook was released in 2014, don't wait it to run any Os released prior of that time, considering older Apple OS versions only do not include hardware drivers for your Mac.

Mac os x download

But as it ofttimes happens, workarounds are possible. In that location is still a run a risk to download the installation file if you have an access to a Mac (or virtual car) running that operating system. For instance, to get an installer for King of beasts, y'all may ask a friend who has Lion-operated Mac or, once once more, fix a virtual machine running Lion. So yous will need to ready an external drive to download the installation file using OS 10 Utilities.

After you've completed the download, the installer should launch automatically, but you can click Abolish and copy the file you demand. Below is the detailed pedagogy how to exercise it.

STEP 3. Install older OS X onto an external drive

The post-obit method allows y'all to download Mac OS X Panthera leo, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.

  1. Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
  2. Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
  3. Within OS X Utilities, cull Reinstall Os Ten.
  4. Select external drive as a source.
  5. Enter your Apple tree ID.
How to download old Mac OS X versions

Now the OS should start downloading automatically onto the external drive. Afterward the download is complete, your Mac volition prompt you lot to do a restart, only at this point, you lot should completely shut information technology downward. Now that the installation file is "captured" onto your external drive, you lot can reinstall the OS, this time running the file on your Mac.

  1. Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
  2. Connect the external drive.
  3. Go to external drive > Os X Install Data.

Locate InstallESD.dmg disk paradigm file — this is the file you need to reinstall Lion Os X. The same steps are valid for Mountain Lion and Mavericks.

How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions

If your Mac runs macOS Sierra 10.12 or macOS High Sierra 10.13, it is possible to revert it to the previous system if you are not satisfied with the feel. Yous can do it either with Fourth dimension Automobile or by creating a bootable USB or external bulldoze.

Instruction todowngrade from macOS Sierra

Instruction todowngrade from macOS Loftier Sierra

Didactics todowngrade from macOS Mojave

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Catalina

Before you practise it, the best advice is to back your Mac up so your most important files stay intact. In add-on to that, it makes sense to make clean upwards your Mac from old system junk files and application leftovers. The easiest way to do it is to run CleanMyMac Ten on your machine (download it for free here).

Visit your local Apple Store to download older Bone X version

If none of the options to get older Os X worked, pay a visit to nearest local Apple Store. They should take image installations going back to Bone Leopard and earlier. You tin also ask their assistance to create a bootable USB drive with the installation file. So here you are. We hope this article has helped you to download an old version of Mac OS 10. Beneath are a few more than links you may find interesting.