You’ve installed the macOS 12 beta software on your Mac to test-drive all-new macOS 12 features. However, a boatload of bugs and unexpected problems may have dampened your excitement, and now you’re looking for a way to migrate from macOS 12 Monterey to macOS Big Sur. Take a breath! In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of downgrading from macOS 12 Monterey and reverting to macOS 11 Big Sur.
How to Downgrade from macOS 12 Monterey to macOS 11 Big Sur (2021)
Note that downgrading your Mac will completely wipe macOS 12 from your hard drive. So be sure to back up your Mac if you don’t want to lose your files, programs, documents and other important data. You can use an external hard drive or a cloud storage service like DropBox, iCloud or OneDrive to save your files. After securing your data, let’s move on to the guide!
Make sure you allow booting from external media on T2-chip Macs
If you’re using a 2018 or newer MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Mac mini, make sure you enable booting from external media. If you have the Startup Security Utility enabled on your Mac, make sure you are allowed to use a bootable external drive.
- First, restart your Mac.
2. Now hold Command+R keys When the Apple logo appears on the screen. It will put your Mac into Recovery Mode.
3. Then, “Vehicles” Select in the Menu Bar and Startup Security Utility.
Next up, you need to enter your firmware credentials and then check the box. Allow booting from external media.
note: The firmware password is different from the administrator password and Apple ID password. Make sure you remember the correct password to access the Startup Security Utility.
Create a Bootable macOS Big Sur USB Install Drive
Before you downgrade your Mac and delete macOS 12, you need to download macOS 11 from the App Store. Make sure you have a copy of macOS Big Sur on an external hard drive for the easiest way to downgrade. To do this, Follow our complete guide to create a bootable macOS Big Sur USB installer drive.
Erase Your Hard Drive
Now it’s time to wipe the hard drive before reinstalling macOS Big Sur. Again, I urge you to back up your Mac before taking this radical step.
- To get started, make sure your Mac is connected to a stable internet connection. Now, click apple icon in the upper left corner andRestart” from the drop-down menu.
2. Next, hold Command+R keys. Make sure you press the keys until your computer restarts. It will put your computer into Recovery Mode.
3rd place, “Disk Utility” In the OS X Utilities selector. After that, click on Go on to progress further.
4. Startup Disk and then Click the “Delete” button at the top of the window.
5. Now, enter a new name for the hard drive Like Macintosh HD. When the drive is deleted, its name will change to the name you just selected. If your Mac uses HFS+, make sure you select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the format list.
However, if your Mac is using APFS, Choose APFS from the format list. If there is a schema, select GUID Partition Map. Finally, “delete“.
Once done, you can exit Disk Utility from the drop-down menu in the upper left corner of the screen to return to the OS X Utilities selector.
Reinstall macOS Big Sur on Macs That Come Preinstalled with macOS Big Sur
It’s worth mentioning that if your Mac came with macOS Big Sur pre-installed, you can easily install macOS Big Sur. Just restart your Mac while holding down the button. Shift+Option+Command+R Combo to enter Internet Recovery Mode and then install macOS 11.
Reinstall macOS Big Sur on Macs that don’t ship with macOS Big Sur
If your Mac didn’t come with macOS Big Sur, follow these steps:
- Make sure your Mac is connected to the internet. Now, plug the bootable hard drive into your Mac. Then click on apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen andRestart” from the drop-down menu.
2. Now hold Option/alt key while your computer is restarting (keep pressing Option until the Apple logo disappears after restarting).
3. Next, you will see the option to choose a startup disk. Select your bootable USB drive with macOS Big Sur from the list of startup disk options.
4th place, “Go on” in the setup window.
macOS Big Sur installs like a standard update. Note that you will need to accept the license terms before the software restarts on your Mac.
Restore Settings from Time Machine Backup
Using the most recent backup of your Mac saved in Time Machine, you can easily restore the saved settings. To restore a recent Time Machine backup after downloading macOS 12 Monterey to macOS Big Sur, follow these steps.
- Make sure your Mac is connected to a stable internet connection. After that, click on apple menu select it in the upper left corner of the screen and Restart.
2. Now hold Command+R keys as soon as it hears the start-up bell. Make sure to hold down the keys until your computer restarts.
3. Then, “Restore from Time Machine BackupIn the OS X Utilities selector ” and “Go on“.
4. Next, click on Go on Again. Next, select Support The source where your Time Machine backup is stored.
5. Next, click on Go on and then select the latest macOS Big Sur backup on the drive. After that, click on Go on.
This much! Your Mac will now start restoring from the Time Machine backup and then reboot. You will have to wait patiently as the whole process will take some time.
Downgrade from macOS 12 Monterey and Safely Revert to macOS Big Sur
So you can downgrade from macOS 12 Monterey and revert to macOS 11 Big Sur. Beta versions of software often come with bugs and unexpected issues. So it’s always better to install them on a secondary device. In this way, even if you encounter an unexpected problem, your business will not be affected. Anyway, let me know what you think about the macOS 12 beta and what kind of issues you’re encountering.
