This guide will show you how to downgrade macOS. If you’re unable to deal with macOS Mojave issues, app compatibility, or other issues, you can switch from Mojave to macOS High Sierra.
There is no time limit for upgrading to macOS High Sierra. You can revert to macOS 10.13 in just a few easy steps.
Note that if it’s a Mac you want to downgrade to, you’ll want to open these instructions on a phone, tablet, or other computer.
There are multiple ways to downgrade macOS, and the easiest is to restore a Time Machine Backup. If you have one then you will only need to back up the new files. If you don’t have a backup handy, you should back up important files and then do a clean install of macOS High Sierra.
Before continuing, be sure to create another backup. If you have the time, you may want to do this on a different drive.
This guide assumes you want to go back to High Sierra and keep the newer APFS file system. If you’re trying to downgrade and revert to the HFS+ file system on High Sierra or earlier, you’ll need to create a bootable installer and reformat the Mac’s hard drive.
How to Downgrade macOS Mojave to High Sierra with Time Machine
The easiest way to downgrade macOS Mojave to macOS High Sierra is to use Time Machine Backup. If you have a backup made just before upgrading to Mojave, you can restore to that backup and run High Sierra pretty quickly. You’ll still want to back up new files to iCloud, DropBox, or an external drive.
Still, we recommend making another backup of your Mac in Mojave to have on hand in case something goes wrong, but if you don’t have the time or space, you can go without it.
- or connect to WiFi if you are using Wireless Driver.
- .
- Until Recovery Mode Opens.
- .
- Click .
- if you have more than one Time Machine Drive.
- The Chooser you made just before upgrading to Mojave will show you the OS version. .
- to restore and .
- Now . In most cases it is called
This will completely wipe your Mac’s hard drive and then restore that backup. This process will take some time to complete and you will not be able to use the computer during this time. While it’s in the process of completion, don’t force restart your Mac, even if it seems frozen. Make sure your Mac is connected to power for this process.
If you don’t have a Time Machine Backup, you will need to create a bootable USB with macOS High Sierra and essentially do a clean install of it and then restore your files. Useful for people who are more involved but don’t have a backup.
In cases where you need to downgrade from APFS to HFS+, you will need to do a similar process with a bootable USB drive, use Disk Utility to reformat it to macOS Extended Journal, then install the old macOS. This is a more complex process than most users will want to go into.