El Capitan System (10.11) requirements for upgrade
This tip is part of a series of tips for : Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5 (end of PowerPC hardware), 10.6 (end of PowerPC software), 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, 10.10, 10.11 El Capitan,
10.12 Sierra (beginning of MFA authentication), 10.13 High Sierra (beginning of APFS), 10.14 Mojave (end of 32 bit apps), 10.15 Catalina, 11.0 Big Sur, 12.0 Monterey
10.11 is not to be confused for 11.0 Big Sur. 5 years separate their release.
10.11 can only be upgraded to Mac OS 12, Monterey. no Mac OS 13.x Ventura compatibility exists with El Capitan Macs. Conversely, Ventura compatible Macs can't run El Capitan directly, although they may be networked.
10.12.4 or later is necessary for the separate multifactor authentication code field to appear on the Mac. When upgrading an older machine and logging in the App Store, be sure to put any code in the tail end of your password of the password field logging in to the App Store.
If a Mac shipped new with 10.11 it can be updated to 10.14 Mojave direct from the Mac App Store. If it is not running 10.12 yet, but was prebundled with 10.11, it can be upgraded to 10.12 first, then upgraded to 12.0 Monterey if it meets Monterey's requirements on the link.
The MacBook without the Pro or Air moniker with the Machine ID of 9.1 from early 2016, and the iMac Late 2015 with the Machine ID of 16,1 are the oldest Macs that can upgrade Monterey that shipped with El Capitan. All other Mac series have an OS of Yosemite or older which can be upgraded to Monterey.
Backup your data first.
Go to Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Date and Time and select the closest time server to set your time, and do so. Download based on manual time may fail, especially on older systems where the system time is not set right.
Note, some downloads from Apple do not work in Safari for earlier Mac OSes, see this tip if you find you can't download them anymore, to find a browser that will work. Additionally the certificates may make a download appear not available.
How to download macOS - Apple Support offers instructions to get the download link for El Capitan installs on top of older operating systems.
Please note: Night Shift, and two factor authentication needed to unlock AppleID accounts did not come about until 10.12.4 on Mac OS.
Some downloads may error out because of date. This thread discusses how to force the date:
I followed instruction on resetting os x … - Apple Community
El Capitan, is no longer supported in syncing the most current iPhones. See this tip if you are planning on getting an iPhone 14, or 15 model.
If a Mac is already running 10.12, and it is older than 10.12, you must format a separate GUID HFS Plus partition to install 10.11 or earlier on it. The reasoning is starting with High Sierra HFS Plus is automatically formatted on SSD and thumb drives.
If a Mac has 10.8 on it, it can be upgraded to 10.13 High Sierra if it doesn't meet 10.14's requirements but does 10.13's.
If a Mac has 10.7.5 or later on it, it can be updated to 10.12 Sierra if it meets 10.12's system requirements. 10.12's availability just became known to the author of this tip on October 1, 2018.
These tips all refer to the client version. If you are using Mac OS X server, please check: Server forums
for more posts on Mac OS X Server.
Some important dates:
September 17, 2018, Apple released iOS 12. Synchronizing with it needs El Capitan or newer on a Mac.
El Capitan is only available to those who downloaded it before, or have 10.6.8 installed. Sierra is available to
those with preloaded 10.7 or later Macs. Either one can be installed on its own partition to allow compatibility with older apps while synchronizing iTunes with iOS 12.
September 25, 2017, Apple replaced Mac OS Sierra with Mac OS High Sierra on the Apple Mac App Store.
September 20, 2016, Apple released Mac OS Sierra and changed the minimum system requirements of its operating system.
September 30, 2015, Apple released Mac OS X 10.11, El Capitan.
December 8, 2015: Apple fixed issues with Image Capture scanning that existed with 10.11.0, and 10.11.1, with the release of 10.11.2 at least for the Canon Pixma MX922, and probably other multifunction printers and scanner...
January 19, 2016: Apple released 10.11.3.
January 27, 2016: Apple has updated support links for several printers on 10.11.
March 12, 2016: This tip got updated with additional links from January 27, 2016 updates, and manufacturer El Capitan Printer and Scanner drivers.
March 21, 2016: 10.11.4 was released.
May 16, 2016: 10.11.5 was released.
July 18, 2016: 10.11.6 was released
July 19, 2017: 10.11.6 Security update was released: Security Update 2017-003
September 20, 2016, Apple released Mac OS 10.12, Sierra. El Capitan is no longer available except to people who purchased machines with it, and purchased it for download before Sierra's release.
Apple has now made the official releases for El Capitan through Mojave available on their support pages:
How to download macOS - Apple Support 10.11 El Capitan
How to download macOS - Apple Support 10.12 Sierra
How to download macOS - Apple Support 10.13 High Sierra
macOS - Official Apple Support 10.14 Mojave
There has been limited success installing 10.11 directly onto 10.8.5.
Note: The 6 GB file takes approximately 37 minutes at 25 Mbps. After
which point you'll have to check through the license agreement and then it will proceed with the installation of about 24 minutes. That 24 minute installation may be longer depending on the capacity and memory support of your system, and should not be regarded as an exact time. If it takes longer than 2 hours in the 24 minute process, feel free to post on the forum to ask if there is something that might have been overlooked.
Before installing, be sure to backup your data:
Backup now, or forever hold your peace - Apple Community
iPhoto moved to the Pictures App which loses some capabilities in Mac OS X 10.10.2 and later. This tip explains how to keep both:
Apple iPhoto and Photos on the same install
And make sure your system is otherwise functional.
Also if you are upgrading from 10.6.8 or earlier, please read this tip first, as the "free" upgrade may cost a lot more, given that Apple
has not supported a software allowing older applications since the release of 10.7:
Upgrading to 10.7 and above, don&… - Apple Community
Then look at the software reports after 10/1/2015 on http://roaringapps.com/apps?platform=osx
Don't just consider the table having a green circle saying that it is compatible as people have been testing with pre-release versions of 10.11, and may have reported it in there. The only release version of 10.11 tests could have been performed on 9/30/2015 or later.
There are some known issues with Microsoft Office that they have listed on their knowledgebase and they have issued 14.5.6 & 14.5.7 of Office 2011 to address these.
El Capitan Compatible printer and scanner models that are on Apple's knowledgebase article are available. Additional entries are on printer websites with Apple software update links below:
Gestetner Printer (January 27, 2016)
NRG (January 27, 2016)
Printers on the article that are not reflected by those downloads have El Capitan drivers available directly from their vendors, as listed below:
HP - http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04473034 has more direct info about compatible printers on their support documents page including 10.11 compatibility.
Canon has this page to find if your printer is El Capitan Compatible:
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/self-help-center/Mac-O SX-Compatibility/
Kodak has a generic 7.9 driver for all in one printers and El Capitan: http://support.en.kodak.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17378/selected/true
Dell's listing is here: http://www.dell.com/support/Article/us/en/19/SLN299394/EN
Samsung gave me the Yosemite & El Capitan printers via their online support chat, as they have not made a specific page for these:
Sl-C1810, Sl-C1860, SL-C410, SL-M2020, Sl-M2070, SL-M2835, SL-M2875, SL-M2885
There may be open source drivers that work as well, that have not be investigated by me, though are put on my own personal FAQ*: http://www.macmaps.com/printersx.html
10.11.2 patches some issues with 10.11 and automatic document feeder scanning from the Canon Pixma MX922, and may help other scanners that no longer had their Image Capture interface for the document feeder.
Also found with another copy of 10.11.2, was the Canon MX922 was automatically recognized on launch, and with waiting for the dialog, it was able to locate the right drivers to download automatically.
I'm watching responses to my thread here to find out if there are other printers other than that which I own:
Some good news, and a question
Apple has released RAW camera update for 10.11 here:
Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 6.17
Additional updates may come with a newer version, and can be searched on your favorite internet search engine.
From http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/#hardware-requirements
Apple lists the following models whose Machine ID found in your System Profiler application.
Compatible with most features:
- MacBook (Early 2015) [8,1]
- MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) [5,1 or 5,2]
- MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) [3,1]
- MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) [2,1]
- Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) [3,1]
- iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) [7,1]
- Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) [3,1] *
- Xserve (Early 2009) [3,1]
Note: Sierra and High Sierra are just as compatible as El Capitan with most software, and add multifactor authentication and more web browser compatibility. These Macs will work with Sierra (up to September 24, 2017) and High Sierra (up to September 23, 2018) . If there is no indication that your software only works on El Capitan, consider upgrading these Macs to a higher operating system:
- MacBook (Late 2009 or newer) 6,1
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer) 6,1
- MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer) 3,1
- Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer) 4,1
- iMac (Late 2009 or newer) 10,1
- Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer) 5,1
Mojave is also very compatible with El Capitan software. Its successors Catalina, BIg Sur, Monterey, Ventura, and Sonoma are very different in that they require all 64 bit software and drivers. However, if you find a Mojave compatible computer and are trying to replace your El Capitan compatible computer, this offers the least pain in upgrading after High Sierra. These are the machines compatible with Mojave up to October 6, 2019:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or newer) [model identifier 8,1 or later]
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer) [model identifier 5,1 or later]
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer) [model identifier 9,1 or later]
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer) [model identifier 6,1 or later]
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer) [model identifier 12,1 or later]
- Mac Pro (Late 2013; Mid 2010 and Mid 2012 models with recommended Metal-capable graphics cards) [model identifier 5,1 or later]
* Note: As the model #s are very similar to 10.8, 10.9, and 10.10, it is possible that the solution that allows earlier Mac Pros to be used may be feasible for 10.11.
That solution is here: 1,x to 2,x not officially supported solution (for Mountain Lion) No one has yet reported trying this on anything later. Note, the 2018 El Capitan Security updates do not work well with these older Mac Pro models.
Other models mentioned for unique features of 10.11 include:
- MacBook Pro (2012 or newer) [9,1]
- MacBook Pro with Retina display (Mid 2012 or newer) [10,1]
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer) [9,1]
- MacBook Pro (Early 2011 or newer) [8,1]
- MacBook Pro (Late 2008 or newer) [5,1]
- MacBook Air (2012 or newer) [MD508LL/A, 5,1]
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer) [5.1]
- MacBook Air (Mid 2011 or newer) [4,1]
- MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer) [3,1]
- Mac mini (2012 or newer) [6,1]
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer) [6,1]
- Mac mini (Mid 2011 or newer) [5,1]
- Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer) [4,1]
- iMac (2012 or newer) [13,1]
- iMac (Late 2012 or newer) [13,1]
- iMac (Mid 2011 or newer) [12,1]
- iMac (Early 2009 or newer) [9,1]
- Mac Pro (Late 2013) [6,1]
- Mac Pro (Early 2009 with AirPort Extreme card, or Mid 2010 or newer) [4,1]
10.11.1, 10.11.2, 10.11.3, 10.11.4, 10.11.5 Combo, and 10.11.6 are also available.
Another similar tip for 10.11 compatibility on audio applications is here:
What’s New in El Capitan 10.11.2 - Apple Community
One person wrote a tip how to use a second Mac to get the installer for El Capitan onto their machine:
Erased Hard Drive, can't reinstall OS X E… - Apple Community
Issues with certificates can be resolved by modifying the computer's time.
Need to create an older installation flash drive? Apple explains how for El Capitan and higher.
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
* Links to my pages may give me compensation.
