Apple's new macOS Mojave doesn't support the old Macs prior to 2012. It was a shocking news for me too.
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I have an old, not for me actually, MacBook Pro which I purchased at the end of 2010. I was expecting Apple won't drop the support of Mojave for MacBook Pro 2010 model, at least not for this time. But I was wrong. The latest Majove doesn't support it too.
Jul 26, 2018 Upgrading the Macbook Pro 2011 to High Sierra, and Comparing it to the Macbook Pro 2017 - Duration: 13:22. FastGadgets 39,614 views. So, I want to update my MBP to Mojave, since it really have the hardware to support it. But App Store obviously won't let me download it. I've found a patcher from DosDude1 that makes the macOS compatible, but the website is offline. One significant difference with compatibility between macOS Mojave and its predecessor, macOS Catalina, is that macOS Mojave supported mid-2010 or mid-2012 Mac Pro models with a recommended Metal.
There is no need to worry. Even the oldest Windows 95 can be installed on Mac computer. There is a solution to every problem.
I don't want to upgrade my MacBook Pro right now, especially when a new model is rumored to be released in next month.
Another choice for me was to buy a graphics card which supports Metal. In fact, it was the most feasible solution for to get installed Majove on my unsupported Mac right now.
Metal is natively supported by all Macs introduced since 2012. It means the following Nvidia, AMD and Intel family cards are compatible.
-Intel HD Graphics 400, Iris 5000 & 6000 family
-Nvidia GT 600M, 700M family
-AMD R9 M family
To check which GPU (graphics processing unit) is installed on your Mac computer, click on the Apple icon in the top left corner and then click on 'About This Mac'.
There are a number of third-party vendors which sell graphics cards with integrated Metal support specifically designed for Mac computers. While searching for a compatible graphics card, I found that I could install Mojave on my MacBook Pro Mid 2010 model by using a software known as macOS Mojave Patcher Tool. Kudos to DosDude1 who developed tested, and released it as a free app.
By using this software, we could install the latest macOS version on early 2008 Macs.
Here is the step by step method to run Mojave on unsupported Macs.
The whole process can be divided into four parts.
- Part 1. Getting all the required things
- Part 2. Downloading the macOS Mojave Installer App
- Part 3. Making a bootable Mojave USB drive
- Part 4. Installing and Patching Mojave OS on the unsupported computer
We will discuss each part in details in the following paragraphs.
Part 1: Requirements to Run Mojave on Old Macs
Four things are required to get macOS Mojave installed on your forgotten-by-Apple Mac.
Macbook Pro 2011 Update Mojave 10.14
- Your Mac computer
It could be an early-2008 or newer Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro. The following models include under this category.
– MacPro3,1
– MacPro4,1
– iMac8,1
– iMac9,1
– iMac10,x
– iMac11,x
– iMac12,x
– MacBookPro4,1
– MacBookPro5,x
– MacBookPro6,x
– MacBookPro7,1
– MacBookPro8,x
It could be late-2008 or newer MacBook Air or Aluminum Unibody MacBook. The following models include under this category:
– MacBookAir2,1
– MacBookAir3,x
– MacBookAir4,x
– MacBook5,1
Mp4 video maker software, free download. It could be early-2009 or newer Mac Mini or white MacBook including the following models:
– Macmini3,1
– Macmini4,1
– Macmini5,x
– MacBook5,2
– MacBook6,1
– MacBook7,1
And it could be Xserve2, 1 and Xserver3, 1.
- A USB drive in 16GB size or above
- macOS Mojave patcher tool. Download it here.
- A copy of the Mojave software.
Part 2: Download macOS Mojave Installer Software
MacOS Mojave software can be downloaded as an Installer App from Mac App Store using the computer which supports Mojave.
If you don't have Mojave supported Mac, you can download the Mojave Installer App using patcher tool. Open the macOS Mojave patcher tool. If it doesn't open and says it is from an unidentified developer, right click on the tool's icon and click on 'Open' from sub-menu and then enter your Mac's Admin name and password. After the verification, you can open it with the left double-click.
If you don't remember your macOS password, here are the solutions to reset it.
Go to Tools in the Menu bar and then hit 'Download macOS Mojave'.
I recommend using the built-in downloader tool because it will download the latest and the compatible Installer app.
Mojave Installer app is about 5-6GB in size and it may take some time depending on the speed of your internet.
If the internet connection interrupts while downloading the file, don't worry. The downloading process will resume where it left. Simply download the Mojave software again but point it to the same location where you were already downloading and saving the installer app.
Part 3: Create a Bootable Mojave USB Drive
In order to create a bootable Mojave USB Installer drive, follow these steps.
Step 1: Insert 16GB or above USB drive into your USB port of your Mac.
Step 2: Open Disk Utility and erase the USB drive in OS X Extended (Journaled) format. Give a proper name before erasing. I gave the name 'macOS Mojave' to my USB drive.
If you are new to Mac, get the basic information about how to make a Partition, erase the current partition and how to make a bootable USB drive.
Step 3: After the drive is erased, open 'macOS Mojave Patcher' tool.
Step 4: Point the Patcher tool to the downloaded Mojave Installer app which is downloaded in Part 2.
Step 5: Now select the target USB drive you just formatted.
Step 6: Hit the 'Start Operation' button on the patcher tool and let it make the USB bootable with Mojave.
Step 7: It will show 'Complete' when the process is done.
Part 4: Installing and Patching macOS Mojave
In this fourth and final part, we will install and patch the macOS Mojave on our old Mac computer. Follow the steps below to complete the remaining procedure.
Step 1. Restart your computer and hold down the 'Option' key as soon as the Mac starts up.
Step 2: Select the USB drive, which was named as 'macOS Mojave' as the startup disk.
Step 3: If you want to upgrade your current macOS to macOS Mojave, simply use the continue button to proceed and follow step 5. But if you want to install it on another partition or want to erase the current partition first, then follow the Step 4.
Macbook Pro 2011 Update Mojave Update
Step 4: Open Disk Utility from the bottom left panel.
Select the volume you want to erase. Use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Or if you have got late-2009 and later machines with SSD drives, you can also use APFS format.
If you don't want to install Mojave on current volume, you can also create a new partition and install it there. Mojave takes approximately 18GB space on hard drive. So at least make a 25GB partition to test the new macOS.
If you want to use it for all routine work, set the partition size according to your needs. Apple message games.
Step 5: Select the volume and press 'Continue' to begin the installation process.
Step 6: The installation process takes about 20 minutes to complete. When it is done, reboot your Mac back into installer drive while holding down the 'Option' key again.
Step 7: This time select 'macOS Post Install' app from the bottom left panel.
Step 8: Select the model of your computer and the volume on which you installed Mojave and then click the 'Patch' button. The tool will automatically select the required patches according to the model of your computer.
Step 9: Press the 'Reboot' button when the patch is complete.
Step 10: The computer will reboot with macOS Mojave installed on it.
Step 11. If it doesn't work properly on the restart, boot your Mac back into the installer USB drive, select macOS Post Install again, and this time also select 'Force Cache Rebuild' option. Once the patch is complete and the cache is rebuilt, reboot.
Step 12: Upon restart, complete the setup process and start using your Mac with a Mojave operating system.
Happy Mojaving!!
For additional information and to know more about the known issues, please visit DosDune1's website. He is an awesome guy.
Note: You will see a new 'Patch Updater' app in the Applications under 'Other' folder. It will alert you when new patches are available for your computer.
Your Mac will get the future Mojave updates as other supported computer do. If you don't see the updates, or your computer doesn't work properly after applying the update, use the step 11 of Part 4 to enable all patches.
How to get updates for macOS Mojave or later
If you've upgraded to macOS Mojave or later, follow these steps to keep it up to date:
- Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu , then click Software Update to check for updates.
- If any updates are available, click the Update Now button to install them. Or click 'More info' to see details about each update and select specific updates to install.
- When Software Update says that your Mac is up to date, the installed version of macOS and all of its apps are also up to date. That includes Safari, iTunes, Books, Messages, Mail, Calendar, Photos, and FaceTime.
To find updates for iMovie, Garageband, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and other apps that were downloaded separately from the App Store, open the App Store on your Mac, then click the Updates tab.
To automatically install macOS updates in the future, including apps that were downloaded separately from the App Store, select 'Automatically keep my Mac up to date.' Your Mac will notify you when updates require it to restart, so you can always choose to install those later.
How to get updates for earlier macOS versions
If you're using an earlier macOS, such as macOS High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, or earlier,* follow these steps to keep it up to date:
- Open the App Store app on your Mac.
- Click Updates in the App Store toolbar.
- Use the Update buttons to download and install any updates listed.
- When the App Store shows no more updates, the installed version of macOS and all of its apps are up to date. That includes Safari, iTunes, iBooks, Messages, Mail, Calendar, Photos, and FaceTime. Later versions may be available by upgrading your macOS.
To automatically download updates in the future, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click App Store, then select 'Download newly available updates in the background.' Your Mac will notify you when updates are ready to install.
* If you're using OS X Lion or Snow Leopard, get OS X updates by choosing Apple menu > Software Update.
How to get updates for iOS
Learn how to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest version of iOS.
Learn more
- Learn how to upgrade to the latest version of macOS.
- Find out which macOS your Mac is using.
- You can redownload apps that you previously downloaded from the App Store.
- Your Mac doesn't automatically download large updates when it's using a Personal Hotspot.
