Can I downgrade Monterey to Big Sur?.
If you’ve updated your Mac to macOS 12 Monterey but are still experiencing stability issues or aren’t thrilled with the new features, you always have the option to revert back to Big Sur.
You have several ways to downgrade macOS Monterey to Big Sur (such as restoring an old Time Machine backup or using Internet Recovery). But a method that works on any Big Sur compatible Mac involves wiping Monterey and installing Big Sur via a bootable USB drive.
Note. If your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, or Mac mini came with macOS Monterey, you won’t be able to upgrade to Big Sur or another version of macOS.
Back Up Your Mac
Downgrading from macOS Monterey to Big Sur will result in data loss. Therefore, before you start, we highly recommend setting up Time Machine. Because Time Machine backups from macOS Monterey are fully compatible with Big Sur, you shouldn’t have any problems migrating your data after downgrading.
If you’re already using Time Machine, just choose Time Machine > Back Up Now from the menu bar. If not, follow these steps.
1. Connect an empty external hard drive or SSD to your Mac. Ideally, it should match or exceed the capacity of your internal storage.
2. Click the Apple icon in the menu bar and choose System Preferences > Time Machine.
3. Click the “Select Backup Disk” button.
4. Select your external drive and select “Use Disk”.
5. Wait while Time Machine formats and backs up your Mac to an external drive.
Also, you can manually copy any important files and folders to an external drive before you start. If you don’t have a spare external device, try uploading your files to iCloud Drive (if you’re signed in with your Apple ID) or another cloud storage service with enough free space.
Download macOS Big Sur Installer
After backing up your Mac, you should download the macOS Big Sur installer from the App Store. It is 12 GB, so please wait 1-2 hours for the download to complete.
1. Select the link below to open the macOS Big Sur download page on the Mac App Store. If you’re not using Safari, select “Open the App Store” after clicking the link.
2. Click the Get button.
3. Select Download to download the Big Sur installer to your Mac’s Applications folder.
4. When your Mac has finished downloading the Big Sur installer, it will attempt to launch the installer – select Exit or press Command + Q to exit it.
Format the Flash Drive
Next, you should focus your attention on creating a bootable macOS Big Sur USB drive. To do this, you will need an empty flash drive with a capacity of at least 16 GB. Then you must format it with Mac OS Extended File System.
1. Connect your flash drive to your Mac.
2. Open the launcher and select Other > Disk Utility.
3. Control-click the flash drive in the sidebar of Disk Utility and select Erase.
4. Enter a drive name and set the format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Then select “Erase” again.
5. Wait while Disk Utility finishes formatting the drive.
6. Select Done and exit Disk Utility.
Create Bootable Big Sur USB
Now that you have finished formatting the drive, you should use the Mac terminal to create a bootable Big Sur USB drive.
1. Open the launcher and select Other > Terminal.
2. Enter the following command into the terminal window, replacing drive_name with the name of the flash drive:
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Big Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/diskname
3. Press Enter. You need an administrator password, so enter it and press Enter again.
4. Enter Y to confirm that you want to erase the flash drive. If you see a pop-up message asking you to give the Terminal permission to access the flash drive, click OK.
5. Wait for the Terminal to finish creating the Big Sur bootable USB drive. Exit it as soon as you see that the installation media is now available.
Enable External Booting on T2 Macs
If you are using an Intel Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip inside, you must enable a specific setting that allows you to boot from external media via macOS Recovery. This does not apply to macOS devices running on Apple Silicon (such as Mac M1 computers).
1. Open the Apple menu and select Restart.
2. Hold down the Command and R keys and select Restart again. Keep holding until you see the Apple logo. macOS Recovery will appear momentarily.
3. Select Utilities > Launch Security Utility from the menu bar.
4. Select “Enter macOS Password” and enter your administrator password. Also enter your Mac’s firmware password (if required).
5. Check the radio button next to Allow booting from external or removable media.
Note. If you have trouble installing macOS Big Sur later, open this screen again and set Secure Boot to Medium Security or No Security.
6. Exit the startup security utility.
7. Open the Apple menu and select Power Off.
Boot From the Flash Drive
You must now boot your Mac from the USB drive to enter macOS Recovery for Big Sur. However, the process is slightly different depending on whether you are using an Intel Mac or an Apple Silicon Mac.
Important: If you are using an Intel Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip, be sure to enable boot from external media by following the instructions above before continuing.
Intel Mac
1. Turn off your Mac.
2. Hold down the Option key and turn it back on to open the boot selection screen.
3. Select your macOS Big Sur bootable USB drive and click Continue.
Apple Silicon Mac
1. Turn off your Mac.
2. Turn it on again by holding down the power button. Release when you see the message Loading launch options.
3. Select your macOS Big Sur bootable USB drive and click Continue.
Erase macOS Monterey
In macOS Recovery for Big Sur, you must use Disk Utility to wipe your Mac’s internal storage. If you haven’t already, this is your last chance to exit recovery mode and back up your files.
1. Select Disk Utility > Continue from the macOS Recovery Menu.
2. Select Macintosh HD in the sidebar and click Erase.
3. Keep the default name and format – Macintosh HD and APFS – unchanged.
4. Select Erase again to confirm. If you see a Delete Volume Group button, select it.
5. Select Done.
6. Close Disk Utility (choose Disk Utility > Exit Disk Utility from the menu bar). Your Mac should be back in the macOS recovery menu.
Install macOS Big Sur
Now you can install macOS Big Sur on your Mac.
1. Select Reinstall macOS Big Sur > Continue from the macOS Recovery for Big Sur menu.
2. Select Continue in the macOS Big Sur installer.
3. Agree to the license terms and select Macintosh HD as the installation location. Then select Continue and follow all the instructions on the screen to install the operating system.
Setup Big Sur & Migrate Data
After installing macOS Big Sur, your Mac may ask you to connect to the internet so it can activate itself. Use a wired connection or select the Wi-Fi icon in the top left corner of the screen to connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
After that, you will come across a setup assistant. Select your country or region and follow the on-screen instructions to set up a fresh copy of macOS Big Sur on your Mac.
If you’re using Time Machine, select the From Mac, Time Machine Backup, or Startup Disk option to restore from a Time Machine backup.
Or you can restore your data after you finish setting up your Mac. To do this, open the launchpad and select Other > Migration Assistant.
macOS Monterey to Big Sur Downgrade Complete
The instructions above should have helped you successfully migrate from macOS Monterey to Big Sur. If you want to upgrade to Monterey later, simply open the Apple menu and choose System Preferences > Software Update > Update Now. In the meantime, don’t forget to apply all Big Sur glasses updates with the software update tool.
Can I downgrade Monterey to Big Sur?
Can I downgrade Monterey to Big Sur?
How to Downgrade From macOS Monterey to Big Sur