The newest version of macOS, Sequoia, is finally out for modern Macs. As is with every major macOS update, Apple has chosen to drop a select few models from the update pipeline, relegating them to Sonoma (macOS 14) instead.
However, with the use of unofficial tools and/or patchers, we can bring quite a fair number of ‘unsupported’ Macs to support macOS Sequoia, with varying results. Obviously, certain features such as Apple Intelligence will be left severely crippled but the end result is very well worth it, allowing those with perfectly fine but ‘outdated’ hardware access to the latest software updates along with all its security features.
Installing macOS Sequoia on an unsupported Mac using OpenCore Legacy Patcher
Installing Sequoia is remarkably simple on unsupported machines with the use of a tool known as OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP). OCLP installs a set of device-specific patches and tweaks to ensure that the latest version of macOS will be able to boot up and run relatively smoothly.
The steps to follow are detailed below:
- Download the latest release of OCLP from the official Github releases page (2.0.1 as of the time of writing this article).
- Make sure you are on a Mac with a modern version of macOS on it.
- Run the PKG installer and complete the installation process. The ‘OpenCore-Patcher’ should now be installed onto your Applications folder.
- Run the program, and insert a USB drive of atleast 32 gigabytes onto your Mac.
- Once within the GUI, click on ‘Create macOS Installer’.
- Click on ‘Download macOS Installer’.
- Select ‘macOS Sequoia’, and hit the ‘Download’ button. The application will proceed to download around 13 GB of data.
- Once the download finishes, select your local disk (the USB drive you attached earlier). Hit ‘Yes’ when the confirmation box pops up.
- Let the installation finish – it may take some time.
- Once the installer is copied over to the USB drive, OCLP will ask whether you want to install the bootloader to the disk. Select ‘Yes’ on both prompts.
- Eject the USB drive.
- Reboot your Mac.
- Hold down the left Alt/Option button after you hear the boot chime.
- Within the bootloader, select the ‘EFI Boot’ option with the image of a yellow removable volume on it.
- Next, select ‘Install macOS Sequoia’.
- Continue through the setup process as usual.
- Once you are within the Sequoia, make sure to allow OpenCore to install the bootloader over to of your actual internal SSD/HDD.
It should be kept in mind that support for Sequoia in OCLP is still in its infancy. Additionally, there do exist certain drawbacks and missing features to OCLP’s macOS 15 install (on Intel-based machines) which is to be expected given the ageing nature of the hardware in question.
Regardless, macOS Sequoia runs remarkably well on these unsupported Macs.
