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How to go back to Mojave from Catalina

I have nothing but trouble with Catalina. Can I reinstall Mojave?

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 25, 2019 2:48 PM

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13 replies

Feb 17, 2020 12:03 PM in response to GeriSK

  1. Back up you data, if you haven't backup yet.
  2. Download Mojave installer: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210190
  3. Make bootable installer (USB stick): https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
  4. Erase your disk: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208496
  5. Start installation from USB media with bootable installer of Mojave: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904
  6. Or install macOS via Internet (recovering macOS that came with your Mac): https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250603651

Dec 3, 2019 11:21 AM in response to Flynomo

Like a million other people you have upgraded your OS to Catalina and why not. We all like the new features of new OS's and some benefits they my bring; But Oh dear, lots of things don't work like they did before. It's not what you did that was wrong, it's what you didn't do. Never upgrade an OS unless you have the install discs or bootable USB to reinstall it again.

I upgraded or rather installed Catalina but I installed it on another partition on my HD. I install or transfer apps, from my Mojave drive onto my Catalina drive. I can now test any app, for functionality and compatibility. If there are issues they can be sorted but I can still rely on Mojave to get on with what I need to do. When and if you finally get Catalina to work for you, you can trash Mojave or even install an earlier OS if your computer will take it. There are many older apps, that you may want to use or just use the space as a data storage. I would recommend keeping both OS's but please consider partitioning with two maybe three partitions. Do not rely on time machine, it may work for you in some circumstances but many people find it is more trouble than it's worth. If you follow this theory you will love your Mac more than your family, (just kidding).

Think about it, the versatility is endless and you may end up with five OS's as I have on one of my iMacs. The things I can do are endless.

Good luck and long live Mac computers.


Dec 3, 2019 5:37 PM in response to GeriSK

I don't have software issues I have Safari and Mail issues. It keeps freezing I. Safari after wakeup from sleep. Mail doesn't work right -- have to change IP every couple days -- can't use time machine as I have lost info in the past. Also no way to know what is on what backup so... And iCloud backups have lost changes on Pages docs so I don't bother... Sad... I don't use this MacBook for graphics -- have a couple others for that. Just writing and research. There have been so many updates to iOS I just haven't kept up with downloading hardcopies -- especially with automatic updates checked. Guess I will just have to restart my computer all the time and reset the IP... Oh well - could be worse. Maybe they will fix the glitches.

Dec 4, 2019 10:58 AM in response to Flynomo

This is something I used to do all the time but two years ago I decided it would be better to keep the previous OS on an external drive rather than on a partition of the internal drive. A good USB 3 external drive is more than fast enough to be a boot drive. In fact, an SSD in a USB 3 enclosure is faster than a 7200 RPM internal drive.


I strongly recommend the enclosures and drives from macsales.com -> the prices are a bit higher than what you'd find at a discount chain but the quality is much much higher. Up until 10 months ago I was using a pair of enclosures I bought from them almost 10 years ago!

Feb 17, 2020 3:10 AM in response to GeriSK

Until now I don't see any answer to the question "How to go back to Mojave from Catalina" .

I tried to help a friend who installed the upgrade to Catalina in the beginning of November.

His time machine stopped working since that time. He has many problems with older programs. There is no bootable external device with Mojave.

Perhaps I could make a bootable USB-stick on my iBook with Mojave? But how?

And would this work on my friends iMac?


How to go back to Mojave from Catalina

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