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Using Migration Assistant between High Sierra and Catalina

Hi, I have an old iMac that only supports up to MacOS High Sierra and a brand new out the box iMac that's running MacOS Catalina.


can I use migration assistant to transfer everything from the old Mac to the new one or do both Mac's have to have the exact same Mac OS version?


Thanks :-)

Posted on Jan 5, 2020 9:03 AM

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Posted on Jan 5, 2020 9:08 AM

Yes, you can use Migration Assistant. It does not matter that the OS is older, that's what Migration Manager was designed for. Use Migration the first time you boot the new Mac. It will boot into Setup Assistant and after a few screens of information it will prompt you to Migrate.


The fastest and easiest way to migrate is from your Time Machine backup connected directly to your new Mac. The second best is connecting the two Macs via Ethernet. Wi-Fi is the slowest and least reliable way to migrate and often it will not even complete.

How to move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 5, 2020 9:08 AM in response to saddact

Yes, you can use Migration Assistant. It does not matter that the OS is older, that's what Migration Manager was designed for. Use Migration the first time you boot the new Mac. It will boot into Setup Assistant and after a few screens of information it will prompt you to Migrate.


The fastest and easiest way to migrate is from your Time Machine backup connected directly to your new Mac. The second best is connecting the two Macs via Ethernet. Wi-Fi is the slowest and least reliable way to migrate and often it will not even complete.

How to move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

Using Migration Assistant between High Sierra and Catalina

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