Unable to download Final Cut Pro on Monterey-compatible 2019 MacBook Pro

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Level 1

4 points

Unable to download Final Cut Pro on Monterey-compatible 2019 MacBook Pro

I have just updated my 2019 macbook pro to Monterey. My surprise is that i can’t dowload Final Cut pro even if i do it in my purchased app page in the app store. The only message I get there is that I have to update to macOS 15, and my macbook is not compatible with it. The FCPX old version I had is not working in monterrey. Can someone help me? Thankyou

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Final cut pro download

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Nov 9, 2025 7:53 AM

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Answer 1

joema

Level 4

1,137 points

Nov 9, 2025 1:26 PM in response to patxi258

A USB-C SSD is much quicker than an HDD. On MacOS, SSDs should be formatted APFS. Maybe some others could comment on this.

Re Apple "forcing" people to upgrade to the latest macOS, and whether that's why you can't access older versions of FCP, here are a few thoughts:

FCP 10.5 (released in 2020) up to 10.6.8 will run on Monterey.

It's a good practice to save a copy of the FCP.app bundle before you upgrade. You just right-click and pick "duplicate" or "compress." Then at any time you can revert to that version by just shutting down your current FCP version, going to /Applications and double-clicking on the previous version. Obviously, the older version can't open a newer library, but you can export a library XML using an older version of .fcpxml on the new version and open it on the old version of FCP. So Apple does not prevent you from doing this -- there is no lockout or other mechanism. However you must have saved the previous version's .app file bundle, or get that from backups.

People doing important tasks like video editing usually have backups, whether Time Machine or otherwise. Even if you don't specifically save the FCP .app file, that gets saved automatically on a Time Machine or other backup. You can easily retrieve the older FCP .app file from there, from internet-based backups like Backblaze or any other type of backup. If you don't have backups or have never made backups, that's obviously not possible. Apple does not make the older FCP versions available on the internet. I'm not sure why.

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Answer 2

joema

Level 4

1,137 points

Nov 9, 2025 12:40 PM in response to patxi258

The newest version of FCP that runs on Monterey is 10.6.8, which is pretty old. You can look at the Final Cut Pro Release Notes to see the fixes and improvements between 10.6.8 and 11.2:

Final Cut Pro release notes - Apple Support

Another problem with staying on Monterey is that there have been no security OS patch updates since 12.7.6 in July 2024. However, I believe background updates to XProtect (Apple's built-in anti-malware tool) will continue on Monterey for a while.

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Answer 3

Nov 10, 2025 6:34 AM in response to patxi258

Ian's suggestion is great, but it depends on having enough free space on your internal drive.

How big is your drive, and - crucially - how much free space do you have?

NOTE: "free" is not the same as "available".

Check the free space in Disk Utility.

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Answer 4

joema

Level 4

1,137 points

Nov 9, 2025 10:22 AM in response to patxi258

MacOS 15 Sequoia is supported on all 2019 MacBook Pro models (13-inch two-port, 13-inch four-port, 15-inch, and 16-inch). However the only 2019 MBP supported for macOS 26 Tahoe is the 16-inch MacBook Pro. If your laptop is a 2019 MBP it should run macOS 15 Sequoia.

To verify your MacBook Pro details, click on the Apple icon at upper left, then select "About This Mac."

In Monterey, there's also a "System Report..." button for more detailed hardware info.

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Answer 5

Nov 9, 2025 11:58 AM in response to patxi258

You may get an external SSD, and install Sequoia on it to test it out, while keeping the internal on Monterey, at least until you are satisfied that Sequoia works well on your mac. FWIW, I had no trouble running Sequoia on a 2019 MacBook Pro (16") but, as always, YMMV.

Note: to boot from an external, you will first need to start your Mac in Recovery, run the Startup Security Utility and decrease the security level, as by default booting from an external is disallowed.

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Answer 6

patxi258 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 9, 2025 11:37 AM in response to joema

Hi Joema, thank you for your response. Yes, after your message I have checked that my macbook supports sequoia. I understand that your recomendation is to upgrade to sequoia and then upload FCPX isn’t it?

My only concern with this solution is that, in my understanding, but maybe I am wrong, newer versions are more demanding for my computer. Monterey is running very well in my macbook now, so I am trying to hold on it .( Does this make any sense?)

I will probably follow your advice because the other option I was thinking was to prepare my macbook in dual mode ( monterrey + high sierra ( i have been working with FCPX until recently in high sierra). Anyway i would like to listen to other options before I go to sequoia.

Thank you Joema!

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Answer 7

patxi258 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 9, 2025 12:34 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Hi Luis! I am really amazed with the number of people trying to help. Thank you.

Do you know if working with a HDD will work as quickly as an SSD? I am not sure… and I only have good old HDDs around. Is an USB good option?

Anyway one question I still have in mind is if Apple is trying to “force” everyone to upgrade to the latest OS version and thats why I cannot acess to older versions of FCP,do you know? Is an usual situation or is this just hapenning to a small quantity of people like me?

thankyou!

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Answer 8

patxi258 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 10, 2025 1:24 AM in response to joema

I have decided to give and opportunity to sequioa, after taking into account all the things you have explained. What I am planning is to make directly the update in the computer and check if everything is ok and running fluidly. if it is not the case I will make a clean monterey ( or other OS ) installation again.

I never do any backup copy of the app because I thought that they would be available in the app store. But I am clearly wrong so I will do it from now on.

I will tell you the final decision after checking how it works. Thank you very much for your help.

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Answer 9

Nov 10, 2025 3:21 AM in response to patxi258

No need to bother with an external HDD/SSD . . . just create a new Volume on your MBP with Disk Utility and install Sequoia on that.

Creating the volume takes under a minute and the volume has no precise size as it is flexible and can expand or shrink according to what you put on it.

If you decide Sequoia is fine you can simply delete the volume in seconds and update your Mac normally.

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Answer 10

patxi258 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 10, 2025 10:00 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Luis and Ian, I finally had made the update witout any partition.( Its a long story but before writting to this community in my desperation I made a clean Monterey instalation trying to check if in my previous update something had gone wrong. When I saw that i couldn’t download FCP either is when I decided to write here.

if sequoia does nor satisfy me, it will be quite easy to, again, do my clean Monterey instalation.thats why I have decided to go this way. )

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Answer 11

joema

Level 4

1,137 points

Nov 10, 2025 10:43 AM in response to patxi258

FCP is in an .app "application bundle" in your /Applications folder. See attached screencap of mine as shown in Finder. In Finder, you just right-click "Final Cut Pro.app" and pick Duplicate, or "Compress." I then give it a file suffix so I can easily remember what version. See attached image.

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