For the first time in years, Apple has discontinued support for macOS Sierra for some computers.This is the company's decision
According to one version, Apple thus enhancesrequirements in order to stimulate the purchase of new devices. Other irrefutable circumstances entailing the emergence of unsupported computers are missing. Often this version is justified - with a few tweaks and additions, a tool from dosdude 1 called macOS Sierra Patcher solves the problem of the "incompatibility" of many computers with this version of the operating system. In this guide, we’ll show you how to install macOS 10.12 Sierra on older versions of the Mac, which, according to the manufacturer, are incompatible with this operating system.
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Today's list of devices supporting macOS 10.12 Sierra includes:
- MacBook (Late 2009);
- iMac (Late 2009);
- MacBook Air (2010);
- MacBook Pro (2010);
- Mac Mini (2010);
- Mac Pro (2010).
For comparison, it’s worth taking a look at the table with a list of computers on which it is possible to install Sierra using macOS Sierra Patcher:
It is worth noting that in the case ofspecific computers, according to the table, problems may occur. The most common is the lack of Wi-Fi due to the presence of an incompatible BCM 4321 card in some devices. The problem is often solved by replacing the card. Other devices (such as the MacBook Pro (2008/9) work so well that they do not require any modifications and only make you wonder why Apple found them incompatible.
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Using one of the models listed in the table and want to test Sierra on it? Follow our instructions for creating a modified installer.
MacOS Sierra installation instructions for unsupported Mac versions
1) Find a flash drive with a capacity of 8 GB or create a partition on an external hard drive.
2) Format with the GUID partition table and Mac OS Extended file system through the Disk Utility application.
3) Download a copy of macOS Sierra 10.12. To download it through the App Store, you will need access to a supported machine. However, downloading directly or through a macOS virtual machine circumvents this limitation.
4) Make sure the Install macOS Sierra application that you downloaded is located in the / Applications folder.
5) Download macOS Sierra Patcher from the developer dosdude.
6) Disable SIP on the machine where you are goinginstall sierra. SIP must be disabled throughout the installation and even after it. Do not worry: although this somewhat reduces the level of security, this is not the end of the world, and OS versions prior to El Capitan do not include SIP at all.
To disable SIP, reboot your Mac into the recovery partition of your current OS X, launch Terminal and run the following command – “csrutil disable”.
7) When everything is ready, launch the macOS Sierra Patcher application.
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8) In this application, click on the Sierra installation icon and specify the path to your copy of macOS Sierra in the / Applications directory.
9) Click the Volume icon to select a partition to create a modified installer.
10) Then click “Start Operation ...”. Enter the password upon request. Sierra Patcher will create a modified macOS installer on the selected partition, which is able to work on unsupported devices.
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After creating the installer, Sierra Patcher will display Complete !. The disk partition or USB drive should now be labeled “OS X Base System” instead of the previous name.
11) While turning on the computer, hold down the Alt/Option key. This will allow you to select your boot device—in our case, a USB drive.
12) Select the required device from the list to start downloading from it.
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13) After running macOS installer, follow itinstructions by selecting the hard drive of your computer as the partition where the installation will be performed. If you are installing from scratch, use Disk Utility (located in the Utilities section of the installer) to clear the target partition first. This is recommended for a complete reinstall. However, if you want to save an existing OS X installation or just upgrade, run the installer without clearing the disk.
Now the installation should begin. Follow its progress, as in the middle of the process a reboot will occur, after which your actions will be required.
14) When the reboot starts, holdAlt / Option key to open the boot device selection screen again. If you miss the reboot, don’t worry: the computer will try to boot, but it will not be able to do this. Just hold the power button until it turns off, and turn it on again, remembering to hold the Alt / Option button.
15) On the boot device selection screen, select the section with the installer again.
16) After loading the installer, you need to install patches that allow you to run Sierra. Instead of running the Install Sierra program, select macOS Post Install.
17) Post Install should automaticallyidentify your Mac model. Check that it is defined correctly; if it is not, select your option from the drop-down list. Our MacBookPro 5.5 software detected correctly. If you are not sure which model you have, look for it by name and year of release, or use Mactracker for Mac or iOS.
18) After choosing the right model, the programwill automatically select the most relevant patches for your machine. If you are not sure what you are doing, do not change anything. We can recommend Recovery Partition Patch, which makes it possible to boot from the recovery partition. This is the only necessary patch not included by default.
19) Make sure that the partition you are oninstall patches is the partition of your Mac where you have written the OS. Don't install them on a USB partition or anywhere else. After that, click the button to install the patches and reboot. Please note that you do not need to check “Force Cache Rebuild” as shown in the image. This option is only useful in cases where your patches are not working for some reason.
20) During the last reboot, hold down the Alt / Option key. This time, instead of the installation section, select the target where you installed the system. Ours is called Macintosh HD.
Now the computer will boot and complete the installation. Confirm its completion. You will receive a new Sierra installation on your de jure unsupported Mac. If some things like Wi-Fi and USB do not work after the installation, download the installation section again and apply patches again.
It's all!
Patcher is still being updated, which gives hopeon the possibility of working with future versions of Sierra. It seems that most El Capitan users will still be able to upgrade: everything, including Siri, works great on our MacBook Pro 13 ″ 2009 release. A recent update to the tool even allowed you to receive macOS updates through the AppStore.
Important!If you are using Hackintosh instead of the real oneMac, there is no need for a patcher. All that is required is to stop using SMBIOS, after which the computer will be recognized as a supported device. The patcher is only needed for factory MacBooks.
Using a Mac incompatible with Sierra? Let me know in the comments if the instruction allows him to start a new life.