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User profile for user: maximusfowler
maximusfowler Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

How to downgrade from Big Sur to Catalina? Catalina is no longer available in the app store

I would like to downgrade my OS from Big Sur to Catalina, so that I can use refind again (which stopped working in Big Sur).


However, when I click the click the apple link to download Catalina (e.g. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-catalina/id1466841314?mt=12) it open the mac app store and then displays a message:

"Item Not Available: The item you’ve requested is not currently available in the U.S. store."


When I search for Catalina in the App Store I also can't find it.


How can I find Catalina to downgrade to it? I would also be ok with downgrading to another version of OS X (e.g. High Sierra).

Mac mini, macOS 10.14

Posted on Jun 30, 2021 5:23 AM

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User profile for user: James Brickley
James Brickley
User level: Level 5
5,074 points

Jun 30, 2021 5:39 AM in response to maximusfowler

  1. Backup your data because you are going to need to erase the internal disk
  2. Shut down the Mac, boot into Safe Mode by holding SHIFT (flushes system caches, etc.) then Shutdown fully
  3. Boot normally
  4. Try the hidden link to Catalina in the App Store again: (macOS Catalina 10.15)
  5. Once it downloads, do not run the installer, if it launches, quit it
  6. Use the link below to create a bootable macOS installer for a flash USB drive (16GB+)
  7. Hold Option while booting and select the USB drive to boot the installer
  8. Delete your internal drive with Disk Utility completely
  9. Install Catalina to the internal drive
  10. Restore your backup


How to get old versions of macOS:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372


How to create a bootable installer for macOS:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

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How to downgrade from Big Sur to Catalina? Catalina is no longer available in the app store

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