If you are a Mac owner who has installed the new operating system Monterey on your device but for some reason, now you want to downgrade, our simple guide will help you to do everything correctly without data loss. Needless to say, downgrading isn’t an easy process and you have to know all the steps to complete it successfully.
Why to Downgrade?
Some users have installed Monterey just because it’s a new system and they might expect too much from it. Of course, it has some benefits and new features compared to Big Sur and any other previous version, but the main problem is Monterey is a new system, and it may have some troubles with its work. For example, many users experienced some applications that couldn’t be launched and run normally on Monterey. If those apps are very important for them (for example, for work), then, without a doubt, these people would want to downgrade back to Big Sur.
Another important moment is bugs and errors in Monterey. This is a new system, and as any new operating system, it may work with errors. For many users it can be annoying or just unacceptable to work on their devices. This is a wise reason to downgrade.
In fact, the public version of Monterey will be available on Oct. 25, and this system will be in upgrades to MacBooks with M1 chips and new AirPods. When the public version of this operating system will be generally available, you can easily install it on your device. Before you do it, please check that your device is compatible with the new system, and then backup your computer just to prevent losing something important. Just go to System Preferences, find Software Update, and there you can find MacOS Monterey, and click Upgrade. You will have to wait until the new system is downloaded and installed on your computer. After the device restarts, you will be using a new operating system!
How to Downgrade?
Have you completely decided you need to downgrade from macOS Monterey to Big Sur? Follow our hints to do it without any problems!
- Download the installer package with Big Sur on your computer. Please be informed that you cannot just click on this application in Monterey because it would say this app cannot be loaded.
- Create a USB installer drive. You will need a USB drive (make sure it doesn’t have any important information because all data will be erased). You have to run a command in a terminal to make a bootable installer for the Big Sur operating system.
- Create the backup of your current data with Time Machine. When you will install a previous version of the operating system, this process will need free space to be completed successfully, and if you do not want to lose all the data from the device, a backup is a must-have!
- Run the installer file from the USB drive. This will help you to install Big Sur on your device again. Be informed this is not a fast process at all, so you should be patient.
- Restore the backup. This is also a slow process, especially if you have a lot of important information in the backup. Users say they spent about 4-5 hours to complete 500Gb of data on their Macs. So, prepare a fresh coffee and donuts!
- Set up your account again when the process is completed. When the Big Sur is installed, you will need to set up your computer like you did when you have turned it on for the first time (specify your country, region, account details, etc.)
Of course, the downgrading process isn’t that complicated and you can do it by yourself, but in some cases, there could be unexpected problems. Needless to say, you can contact Apple support and ask them questions about how to solve your issue correctly. Please remember that you should make a backup of your data, and if you did it correctly, you cannot lose anything. All the important information from the computer will be saved in the backup. You can easily install the new system and have all your data on your device again.
