A: If your Mac had official support in macOS Catalina, it will be able to be patched to run Big Sur with minimal issues. If your Mac was unsupported before the release of macOS Catalina, support. Aug 13, 2021 Once you have taken a backup follow the instructions below to install macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac. Step 1: First you need to download two files from the links below to complete the macOS 11 Big Sur installation on your unsupported Mac. MacOS Big Sur PKG installer: https://developer.apple.com/macos/. 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. And get even more transparency around your privacy.
author ：gc(at)sysin.org, Home page ：www.sysin.org
Please visit the original link ：https://sysin.org/article/install-macos-11-on-unsupported-mac/, Check out the latest version of . Reprint please keep the original link .
In this video, I am going to show you how to install the latest version of macOS Big Sur (11.2) on an Unsupported Mac (2010-2013)Link to the patcher (Shout-o.
Friendship tips ： Please back up the data before installing the system ！
The author tests one Mac mini 2012 later, No longer Big Sur Official support list , Use the following method , Already working perfectly Big Sur.
1. macOS Big Sur Official release
macOS Big Sur
A new look ,
Whatever you want to do .
macOS Big Sur Take the combination of powerful strength and beautiful appearance to a new height . Best app for sketching pro. A brand new design with elaborate design , So that you can fully feel Mac The charm of ;Safari Browser ushers in a major update , When you have a good look ; Map app And information app Full of new features , You can explore ; More transparent privacy rights , Protection is also more thoughtful .
macOS Big Sur 11.0 release date: 2020.11.11
2. Official list of support
MacBook 2015 and later Learn more
MacBook Air 2013 and later Learn more
MacBook Pro Late 2013 and later Learn more
Mac mini 2014 and later Learn more
iMac 2014 and later Learn more
iMac Pro 2017 and later (all models)
Mac Pro 2013 and later Learn more
3. Unsupported models and problems
according to macrumors Summary of , Unsupported Mac It can be divided into several situations ：
Official support macOS Catalina But not by macOS Big Sur Supported by Mac Model ：
-- these Mac Can operate normally Big Sur, however Wi-Fi Not working properly .（ This type of machine is the easiest to run perfectly with patches Big Sur, Now it's just Wi-Fi The problem of .） Os x 10.8.0 dmg.
You can follow the steps below , This paper focuses on this type of aircraft .
- 2012 and Early 2013 MacBook Pro
- MacBookPro9,x
- MacBookPro10,x
- 2012 MacBook Air
- MacBookAir5,x
- 2012 and 2013 iMac
- iMac13,x
- iMac14,x
- 2012 Mac mini
- Macmini6,x
- 2010-2012 Mac Pro*
- MacPro4,1
- MacPro5,1
*Not officially supported in macOS Catalina, but are fully capable of running both Catalina and Big Sur with a Metal-compatible GPU and upgraded Wifi/BT card.
Mac Can be patched and run normally macOS Catalina, And it could be patched to run macOS Big Sur：
-- these Mac Now you can start Big Sur, But there's no Wifi Or graphics acceleration support .
This type of machine requires additional steps to solve the installation problem .
- Early-2008 or newer Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro:
- MacPro3,1*
- MacPro4,1*
- MacPro5,1*
- iMac8,1
- iMac9,1
- iMac10,x
- iMac11,x (systems with AMD Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx series GPUs were almost unusable when running Catalina and will be under Big Sur as well.)
- iMac12,x (systems with AMD Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx series GPUs were almost unusable when running Catalina and will be under Big Sur as well.)
- MacBookPro4,1
- MacBookPro5,x
- MacBookPro6,x
- MacBookPro7,x
- MacBookPro8,x
- Late-2008 or newer MacBook Air or Aluminum Unibody MacBook:
- MacBookAir2,1
- MacBookAir3,x
- MacBookAir4,x
- MacBook5,1
- Early-2009 or newer Mac Mini or white MacBook:
- Macmini3,1
- Macmini4,1
- 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
- MacBook6,1
- MacBook7,1
- Early-2008 or newer Xserve:
- Xserve2,1*
- Xserve3,1*
*Not officially supported in macOS Catalina, but are fully capable of running both Catalina and Big Sur with a Metal-compatible GPU and upgraded Wifi/BT card.
Totally unsupported Mac：
This type of machine does not need to be installed Big Sur.
- 2006-2007 Mac Pros, iMacs, MacBook Pros, and Mac Minis:
- MacPro1,1
- MacPro2,1
- iMac4,1
- iMac5,x
- iMac6,1
- iMac7,1
- MacBookPro1,1
- MacBookPro2,1
- MacBookPro3,1
- Macmini1,1
- 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, such as a T9300.
- 2006-2008 MacBooks:
- MacBook1,1
- MacBook2,1
- MacBook3,1
- MacBook4,1 (as with Mojave and Catalina, we'll be on our own here, but Big Sur will be running on this machine!)
- 2008 MacBook Air (MacBookAir 1,1)
- All PowerPC-based Macs
- All 68k-based Macs
4. download macOS Big Sur
Mac App Store
open App Store Search directly macOS Download it .
After downloading , You can see Install macOS Big Sur Located in the application （Application） Under the table of contents .
Baidu SkyDrive DMG Mirror image
Please visit ：https://sysin.org/article/macOS-Big-Sur/
After downloading , Double-click to open dmg file , take Install macOS Big Sur Drag and drop to the application （Application） Next .
5. Patch tool download
(1) Hax.dylib： link 1
(2) big-sur-micropatcher
6. Installation mode ： New installation or upgrade installation under the current system
(0) Prerequisite
Make sure Mac The system currently running is macOS Catalina.
(1) Boot to recovery mode （recovery mode）
When starting or restarting , Hold down Command + R Don't play it until the splash screen （Apple logo） appear .
without recovery Partition , Need to press Command + Option + R, Will start Internet Recovery.
(2) Ban sip (System Integrity Protection)
Utilities ( Utilities ) -> Terminal（ terminal ） Enter the command csrutil disable press return .
(3) Ban compatibility check
The simpsons road rage vs hit and run. Continue to execute commands in the terminal ：
(4) restart , Normal start macOS Catalina
(5) Ban libraries validation
Open the terminal and execute the command ：
(6) Insert library
Will download Hax.dylib Files in home Under the table of contents , namely /Users/< Your username >/ Under the table of contents , Execute commands at the terminal ：
(7) Start installation macOS Big Sur
New installation
Before you start installing , We turn on “ Disk tools ” Create a new one APFS Dossier , Then double-click in the application Install macOS Big Sur Start installation , Target disk select the newly created volume , After installation , Will automatically start to the new system .
After installation, you can delete the original system APFS Dossier , Keep only Big Sur System .
upgrade installation
Double click.. In the application Install macOS Big Sur Start normal installation . The target partition of the installation selects the partition where the current system is located , That is to automatically upgrade and install .
By default , Factory settings have only one partition , be known as ：Macintosh HD
(8) Solve the problem of network card driver
On some models , The wireless network card is working properly （Late 2013 iMac, Or your 2012/2013 The model uses 802.11ac The network card has been replaced 802.11n network card ）.
If the wireless card doesn't work , It needs to be handled as follows ：
You need to use the following 7 The method of article , Create and launch U disc . Restart the system , Hold down Option Key until the boot partition selection screen appears , Boot to 'Install macOS Big Sur', After starting , choice “Utilities ( Utilities ) -> Terminal（ terminal ）”, Execute the following command ( All three formats can support , Choose any one ,“Macintosh HD” Is your default system installation partition name , Replace.. According to the actual name )：
And then restart to macOS Big Sur, here Wi-Fi It's normal .
7. Installation mode ： New installation with mobile media
Tips ：U Disk can also be replaced by a mobile hard disk , especially SSD mobile hard disk drive , Faster .
7.1、 Create boot media
（1） Create a start U disc
Prepare one 16G Or above U disc , open “ Utilities > Disk tools ”, choice U disc , Click on “ erase ”, The format is as follows ：
- Mac OS X Expand （ Journal style ）;
- GUID Partition map ;
- Partition name ：MyVolume（ The default is Untitled, You can customize , Note the following terminal command MyVolume Also change it to the same name you defined ）
Open the terminal , Execute the following command ：
Be careful ： After creation , The partition name will be automatically changed to ：/Volumes/Install macOS Big Sur
（2） Create a boot partition （ Warning ： Test only , It is not recommended to use ）
Warning ： If you use the following 7.3 and 7.4 Step operation , Will modify the system automatically created EFI The contents of the volume .
If you use Bootcamp Installed Windows 10 Dual system , And use ” Start partition “ Instead of U Disk start , There is only one 'EFI Boot' Icon , however Windows Of 'EFI Boot' Icon disappear , Will not be able to start to Windows.
In addition, after the system is installed , 'EFI Boot' Unable to delete .
open “ Disk tools ”, Click on ” Partition “ Button , Create an approximately 16G Of “macOS Expand （ Journal style ）” Partition （ Not APFS volume ）, Name it Install, Execute the command to write ：
Be careful ： After creation , The partition name will be automatically changed to ：/Volumes/Install macOS Big Sur
7.2、 take big-sur-micropatcher Unzip and put it in home Under the table of contents , namely /Users/< Your username >/ Under the table of contents
7.3、 function micropatcher.sh
Open the terminal and execute the command ：
7.4、 function install-setvars.sh
Continue to execute at the terminal ：
7.5、 Automatic patch execution
Restart the system , Hold down Option Key until the boot partition selection screen appears , Two additional icons will appear 'Install macOS Big Sur' and 'EFI Boot', choice 'EFI Boot', From now on 'EFI Boot' Partition start , Waiting for a few seconds will automatically shut down （ It may shut down in an instant ）, The process will do the following ：disabling SIP, disabling authenticated root, and enabling TRIM on non-Apple SSDs.
Mac Os Big Sur Incompatible Apps
Tips ： If you're not sure which one to choose 'EFI Boot' Icon , For example, it has been installed Windows Dual systems may have extra 'EFI Boot' Icon , Can be U Pull out the disk and plug it in again , Watch the icon change to determine . In fact, the icon of mobile media is different .
7.6、 Start installation macOS Big Sur
Reboot , Hold down Option Key until the boot partition selection screen appears , choice Install macOS Big Sur, After starting , choice “ Disk tools ”, Erase the system partition （ The default name is “Macintosh HD”, Format selection APFS）, Start installation .
Mac Os Big Sur On Unsupported Mac
7.7、 Solve the problem of network card driver
On some models , The wireless network card is working properly （Late 2013 iMac, Or your 2012/2013 The model uses 802.11ac The network card has been replaced 802.11n network card ）.
If the wireless card doesn't work , Again using U Disk boot to 'Install macOS Big Sur' Partition , After starting , choice “Utilities ( Utilities ) -> Terminal（ terminal ）”, Execute the following command ( All three formats can support , Choose any one ,“Macintosh HD” Is the default name , Modify according to the actual name )：
7.8、 restart
here Wi-Fi The repair was successful ,macOS Big Sur It's fully operational .
8. About reporting errors ：BIErrorDomain Error 2
This error is usually due to insufficient disk space on the destination , Usually 35GB The space left and right . If Install app Not placed in “ Applications ” Under the table of contents , The same error message will appear .
9. Additional steps
about 2012、2013 Model year , Official support macOS Catalina But not by macOS Big Sur Supported by Mac Model ,Mac It's working perfectly , But some old models , It takes some extra steps , See the following instructions ：
You start with creating a bootable USB with info from this post. Just pick Big Sur instead of the mentioned High Sierra.
Building/installing the patcher
After that follow these instructions,on how to install and use the OpenCore Legacy patcher.
Mac Os Big Sur Download
Remarks
- Erase/format the MAC HD/SSD before installation !! I really think that this does it more simple for the installer !!
- 'Mac OS Extended(journaled)' with an old non SSD HD
- With en SSD use 'APFS'
- The Mac rebooted several times during install.
- Don't remove the USB until at the very end.
- If you, like me, have a Mac which need the legacy video acceleration support please note that the Mac have a painfully slow display update before you have applied the 'Post-Install volume Patch'.
- Updating the Mac from Big Sur 11.4 to 11.5, made the messages.app stop working fixed in release 0.2.4
- Please note that 'Nightly Builds' are available but are for testing purposes only !!!