Then, you've decided to download an older version of Mac Os X. There are many reasons that could point y'all to this radical determination. To begin with, some of your apps may not be working properly (or simply crash) on newer operating systems. Also, you may accept noticed your Mac'due south performance went down right after the last update. Finally, if you want to run a parallel copy of Mac OS X on a virtual auto, you lot also volition demand a working installation file of an older Mac Os X. Further down we'll explain where to get i and what problems y'all may face down the road.

A listing of all Mac OS X versions

We'll be repeatedly referring to these Apple Bone versions below, so it's good to know the bones macOS timeline.

Cheetah x.0 Puma 10.i Jaguar 10.2
Panther x.3 Tiger x.4 Leopard ten.5
Snow Leopard 10.six Lion ten.7 Mountain Lion 10.eight
Mavericks 10.9 Yosemite 10.ten El Capitan ten.eleven
Sierra 10.12 Loftier Sierra 10.13 Mojave 10.xiv
Catalina 10.15

STEP i. Prepare your Mac for installation

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

Note, that it is recommended that you install OS on a make clean bulldoze. Next, y'all will need enough disk space available, for case, to create Recovery Division. Here 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 computer:

Become to Finder > All My Files > Conform by size

And then you can move your space hoggers onto an external bulldoze or a cloud storage.

If you aren't comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, in that location are some nice automatic "room cleaners". Our favorite is CleanMyMac as it's virtually simple to use of all. Information technology deletes system junk, erstwhile broken apps, and the rest of hidden junk on your drive.

CleanMyMac X - Smart Scan complete

Download CleanMyMac for Os ten.4 - 10.8 (free version)

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.nine (free version)

Download CleanMyMac for Os 10.10 - 10.14 (free version)

Stride 2. Get a copy of Mac Bone X download

Ordinarily, it is causeless that updating Bone is a one-style road. That's why going dorsum to a by Apple tree OS version is problematic. The principal 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 next footstep is to create a bootable USB or DVD and and so reinstall the OS on your computer.

How to download older Mac Os X versions via the App Store

Mac operating system download


If y'all once had purchased an old version of Mac OS 10 from the App Store, open information technology and go to the Purchased tab. There you lot'll find all the installers you can download. However, information technology doesn't always work that way. The purchased section lists only those operating systems that you had downloaded in the past. But hither is the path to check it:

  1. Click the App Store icon.
  2. Click Purchases in the pinnacle menu.
  3. Scroll downwardly to discover the preferred OS X version.
  4. Click Download.

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

Without App Shop: Download Mac OS version as Apple Developer

If you are signed with an Apple Developer account, you can get admission to products that are no longer listed on the App Shop. If you desperately need a lower OS 10 version build, consider creating a new Developer business relationship among other options. The membership cost is $99/yr and provides a bunch of perks unavailable to ordinary users.

Nevertheless, keep in heed that if you visit developer.apple tree.com/downloads, you lot can only detect x.three-10.6 OS X operating systems in that location. Newer versions are not bachelor because starting Mac OS X Snow Leopard x.seven, the App Store has become the only source of updating Apple Os versions.

Buy an older version of Mac operating system

Apple OS Versions

You can buy a boxed or e-mail version of past Mac OS X directly from Apple. Both volition cost you around $20. For the reason of being rather blowsy, Snowfall Leopard and before Apple versions can only be installed from DVD.

Buy a boxed edition of Snow Leopard 10.half-dozen
Get an e-mail copy of Lion x.7
Get an email re-create of Mount Panthera leo ten.8

The email edition comes with a special download code you can use for the Mac App Store. Notation, that to install the King of beasts or Mountain Lion, your Mac needs to be running Snow Leopard then yous can install the newer OS on top of information technology.

How to become macOS El Capitan download

If you are wondering if you can run El Capitan on an older Mac, rejoice as information technology'south possible too. But before your Mac can run El Capitan it has to be updated to OS X ten.half-dozen.8. So, here are chief steps you should have:

1. Install Snow Leopard from install DVD.
two. Update to 10.6.eight using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.

"I tin can't download an old version of Mac Bone 10"

If you accept a newer Mac, there is no physical option to install Mac Bone versions older than your current Mac model. For instance, if your MacBook was released in 2014, don't wait it to run whatsoever OS released prior of that fourth dimension, considering older Apple tree Os versions just exercise not include hardware drivers for your Mac.

Mac os x download

But as it often happens, workarounds are possible. There is still a hazard to download the installation file if you have an access to a Mac (or virtual motorcar) running that operating system. For example, to get an installer for Lion, y'all may enquire a friend who has Panthera leo-operated Mac or, in one case again, ready up a virtual car running Lion. Then you will need to set an external drive to download the installation file using Bone X Utilities.

After you've completed the download, the installer should launch automatically, simply y'all can click Abolish and copy the file you need. Below is the detailed instruction how to practice it.

STEP 3. Install older Bone 10 onto an external drive

The following method allows you to download Mac Bone X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.

  1. Start your Mac holding downward Command + R.
  2. Set up a make clean external drive (at least ten GB of storage).
  3. Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS 10.
  4. Select external drive as a source.
  5. Enter your Apple ID.
How to download old Mac OS X versions

Now the Bone should start downloading automatically onto the external drive. Later on the download is complete, your Mac volition prompt you lot to do a restart, but at this signal, you should completely shut it downward. Now that the installation file is "captured" onto your external drive, you tin reinstall the Bone, this time running the file on your Mac.

  1. Kick your Mac from your standard drive.
  2. Connect the external drive.
  3. Go to external bulldoze > OS X Install Data.

Locate InstallESD.dmg deejay image file — this is the file you need to reinstall Lion Os X. The aforementioned steps are valid for Mount Lion and Mavericks.

How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions

If your Mac runs macOS Sierra 10.12 or macOS Loftier Sierra ten.13, it is possible to revert it to the previous system if you lot are not satisfied with the feel. You can do it either with Time Machine or by creating a bootable USB or external drive.

Didactics to downgrade from macOS Sierra

Instruction to downgrade from macOS High Sierra

Teaching to downgrade from macOS Mojave

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Catalina

Before you do it, the best advice is to dorsum your Mac upwardly so your most important files stay intact. In addition to that, it makes sense to clean up your Mac from old system junk files and application leftovers. The easiest mode to exercise information technology is to run CleanMyMac 10 on your auto (download it for free here).

Visit your local Apple Store to download older OS Ten version

If none of the options to go older OS X worked, pay a visit to nearest local Apple Shop. They should accept image installations going dorsum to Bone Leopard and earlier. You lot can likewise enquire their assistance to create a bootable USB bulldoze with the installation file. So here you lot are. We hope this article has helped you to download an onetime version of Mac Os X. Below are a few more links you may find interesting.