To download the public beta of macOS High Sierra, you must sign up for the public beta program. You may have already signed up for the public iOS 11 beta, and if so, you’re almost done. After a long wait, the macOS High Sierra public beta is available for everyone to download today.
The free macOS High Sierra beta program lets you test new macOS High Sierra features on your Mac months before they’re generally available. Unlike the developer beta, which is designed to help developers run apps with macOS High Sierra, this one is focused on getting feedback from regular users. Apple can use it to fix macOS High Sierra issues and even tweak features based on what you have to say.
We’ll tell you how to sign up for the macOS High Sierra public beta, why to try the beta, why you skip installing the public macOS 10.13 beta, and what to do before installing the beta.
How to Sign Up for the Public macOS High Sierra Beta
Sign up now to join the macOS High Sierra public beta.
Installing the developer beta is almost easier, but the overall macOS 10.13 beta generally offers a friendlier experience for the average user, so we recommend this route. You don’t have to pay for anything, just register your Apple ID in the program.
- Go to the Apple Beta Software Program Website
- Register or Login
- Read and Accept the Beta Agreement
You may have already accepted the beta agreement when you signed up for the iOS 11 beta. If so, you’ve already signed up for the macOS High Sierra public beta. You just need to download and install it. You won’t be able to do this until it’s available through the Apple Beta Program and in the Mac App Store.
How to Install the Public macOS High Sierra Beta
You can install the public macOS High Sierra beta directly on your existing Mac as an upgrade. This will replace the macOS Sierra installation currently on your machine. You can create a partition or install it on a second hard drive if you prefer to test it this way. Most users will install it on a spare Mac as their primary operating system.
You won’t be able to follow these instructions until Apple releases the macOS High Sierra beta to the public, possibly “Coming soon” in a day or two.
- Follow these steps to prepare for the macOS High Sierra beta.
- Once you have a backup and are ready, you can continue.
- Sign in to the Apple Beta Program Website.
- Click Redeem Code.
- If necessary, enter the code in the Mac App Store or click Download.
- Wait for the 5+GB download to complete.
- Open the public macOS High Sierra beta installer.
- Follow the installation instructions.
Once that’s complete, you’ll be in the public beta of macOS High Sierra. If you run into too many problems, you can switch from the macOS High Sierra beta to macOS Sierra. If you’re on the fence, check out this list of reasons to install macOS High Sierra beta and reasons not to. You can also check out the new macOS High Sierra features to see if it’s something you want to try.
