To get the latest features and maintain the security, stability, compatibility and performance of your Mac, it's important to keep your software up to date. Apple recommends that you always use the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
Learn how to upgrade to macOS Big Sur, the latest version of macOS.
Check compatibility
The version of macOS that came with your Mac is the earliest version it can use. For example, if your Mac came with macOS Big Sur, it will not accept installation of macOS Catalina or earlier.
If a macOS can't be used on your Mac, the App Store or installer will let you know. For example, it may say that it's not compatible with this device or it's too old to be opened on this version of macOS. To confirm compatibility before downloading, check the minimum hardware requirements:
- If you’re running any release from macOS 10.13 to 10.9, you can upgrade to macOS Big Sur from the App Store. If you’re running Mountain Lion 10.8, you will need to upgrade to El Capitan 10.11 first. If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store. Learn more about how to upgrade.
- Apple's OS X El Capitan in October got off to the fastest-ever one-month start for a Mac operating system., also tagged by Apple as OS X 10.11, was released on the last day of September: 31 days later it had been installed on another 25% of all Macs, bumping its total to 27%, according to U.S. Formatting samsung ssd 950 for mac via pc.
- Sep 30, 2015 El Capitan 10.11.6 is now released as the latest version of Download El Capitan. For OS X El Capitan users this update is recommended. The upgrade to OS X El Capitan v10.11.6 enhances your Mac's reliability, performance and protection and is advised for all users. Solves a problem that can prevent parental control accounts from saving settings.
- OS X El Capitan (10.11) on Unsupported Macs macOS Extractor and MacPostFactor are apps that guide you through patching and installing OS X El Capitan (10.11), Yosemite (10.10), Mavericks (10.9), or Mountain Lion (10.8) on your older Mac. This thread focuses on OS X El Capitan.
- macOS Catalina 10.15 hardware requirements
- macOS Mojave 10.14 hardware requirements
- macOS High Sierra 10.13 hardware requirements
- macOS Sierra 10.12 hardware requirements
- OS X El Capitan 10.11 hardware requirements
- OS X Yosemite 10.10 hardware requirements
OS X El Capitan on Unsupported Macs. MacOS Extractor, OS X Patcher, and MacPostFactor are apps that guide you through patching and installing OS X El Capitan (10.11), Yosemite (10.10), Mavericks(10.9), or Mountain Lion (10.8) on your older Mac.
Download macOS using Safari on your Mac
Safari uses these links to find the old installers in the App Store. After downloading from the App Store, the installer will open automatically.
How To Downgrade Os X El Capitan To Lion
- macOS Catalina 10.15 can upgrade Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite or Mavericks
- macOS Mojave 10.14 can upgrade High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks or Mountain Lion
- macOS High Sierra 10.13 can upgrade Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks or Mountain Lion
Safari will download the following older installers as a disk image named InstallOS.dmg or InstallMacOSX.dmg. Open the disk image, then open the .pkg installer inside the disk image. It will install an app named Install [Version Name]. Open that app from your Applications folder to start installing the operating system.
- macOS Sierra 10.12 can upgrade El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion or Lion
- OS X El Capitan 10.11 can upgrade Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion or Snow Leopard
- OS X Yosemite 10.10can upgrade Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion or Snow Leopard
Starting with Firefox version 49, Firefox requires Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or higher. Visit this Apple Support page to find your Mac OS version.
If you're using an outdated version of Firefox on Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or earlier, the only way you can update Firefox to a secure version is to upgrade your Mac OS to a version that Apple supports. Visit this Apple Support page to learn more about upgrading your Mac.
Upgrade Os X Lion To El Capitan
While insecure versions of Firefox will continue to work on OS X 10.8 and earlier, using an up-to-date version of Firefox on a supported version of Mac OS will provide you with the best and safest user experience.