You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

User profile for user: Kush-Kush
Kush-Kush Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Mac mini late 2014 cannot get older OS than Big Sur.

Mac mini late 2014 and I cannot get an older OS than Big Sur. This is strange since it shipped with Yosemite. Big Sur is completely too cumbersome and renders the computer useless. Apple guarantees that earlier OS are available, but once you download them you are told that they are too old for your system. Is this a case of the little guy being forced into upgrading when they cannot afford it? Sierra Mojave and Catalina are all unusable. How to proceed?

Mac mini, macOS 11.6

Posted on Aug 13, 2022 8:50 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
20,395 points

Posted on Aug 14, 2022 5:08 AM

First, you can not install an older OS on top of a newer. That is true with most any OS.


what you will need to do is download your desired installer then create a bootable USB version:

How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


Then when booted into the installer, you will need to completely erase your internal drive (it will have a version of Disk Utility on it). Because of this, you will need a second drive to make a backup of all your data.


Once the internal drive has been erased, you can then install the old operating system that you wish to use.


View in context

Similar questions

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: woodmeister50
woodmeister50
User level: Level 7
20,395 points

Aug 14, 2022 5:08 AM in response to Kush-Kush

First, you can not install an older OS on top of a newer. That is true with most any OS.


what you will need to do is download your desired installer then create a bootable USB version:

How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


Then when booted into the installer, you will need to completely erase your internal drive (it will have a version of Disk Utility on it). Because of this, you will need a second drive to make a backup of all your data.


Once the internal drive has been erased, you can then install the old operating system that you wish to use.


Reply

Mac mini late 2014 cannot get older OS than Big Sur.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up