is there a way to update the OS on a MacBook Air which is from 2014. I have contacted apple and so far, all they have done is have me reload the operating system.
I have been on the phone with them on and off for the last 4 hours trying to get this accomplished.
Please help!!!
Click on this link to read how to get different versions of macOS - https://support.apple.com/HT211683
- This article also has links to system requirements for each OS version which you should check against your exact computer model. Note some of the model identifier articles are outdated. For any model produced in the last 5 years or so you should use the system requirements links for each OS version instead. This web site also has a reliable presentation of model and OS version compatibility: https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility
- Make sure you have more RAM than what is noted as "minimum" for any particular system or your computer may run slowly.
- You may find you need to use Safari to get links for High Sierra and later using the Mac App Store application to open a functioning page.
- Sierra, El Capitan, and Yosemite download as a .pkg. Click on this to have a converted version placed in your Applications folder as an "Install OS..." application. Run the installer and follow the directions.
- Upgrades may take some time (up to an hour or more) to install, with restarts and blank screens.
Back up your data in case something goes wrong --> Back up your Mac with Time Machine - https://support.apple.com/HT201250 or use a cloning tool.
Check if your old apps will still work with with the OS you want to install - https://roaringapps.com/apps This is particularly critical if you are upgrading to Catalina or newer, as older 32 bit apps will no longer work.
Click on this link to read how to get different versions of macOS - https://support.apple.com/HT211683
- This article also has links to system requirements for each OS version which you should check against your exact computer model. Note some of the model identifier articles are outdated. For any model produced in the last 5 years or so you should use the system requirements links for each OS version instead. This web site also has a reliable presentation of model and OS version compatibility: https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility
- Make sure you have more RAM than what is noted as "minimum" for any particular system or your computer may run slowly.
- You may find you need to use Safari to get links for High Sierra and later using the Mac App Store application to open a functioning page.
- Sierra, El Capitan, and Yosemite download as a .pkg. Click on this to have a converted version placed in your Applications folder as an "Install OS..." application. Run the installer and follow the directions.
- Upgrades may take some time (up to an hour or more) to install, with restarts and blank screens.
Back up your data in case something goes wrong --> Back up your Mac with Time Machine - https://support.apple.com/HT201250 or use a cloning tool.
Check if your old apps will still work with with the OS you want to install - https://roaringapps.com/apps This is particularly critical if you are upgrading to Catalina or newer, as older 32 bit apps will no longer work.
It doesn't need a nerd to follow what is basically a cookbook set of instructions. You open the link to the Mojave updater provided in the main article in Safari so it opens the Mac App Store app. You download the updater, you run the updater app in your Applications folder and sit there for an hour or so. I just provide a set of instructions so you do not need to take my word for it and you can actually learn something about using a computer. Realize we are all volunteers here. I appreciate your kind words showing appreciation for my efforts to help you.
By the way, all the rest of that "nerdy" stuff is to make sure you really are not just launching into blindly following a bunch of update instructions and don't come back here in a day or so saying your computer is working horribly slowly because of what we told you to do, or half of your applications have stopped working.
I'll add that we have absolutely no idea about your capability with things. 'Nobody on the Internet know you're a dog' as the saying goes. We assume some basic familiarity with computer usage but if we start having to write out every single step and 95% of the users don't need it in that detail then it is a waste of our effort doing it in that detail. Anyway, a lot of the step by step stuff is in the links I post so if Apple has already done the work then that level of detail's only a click away and it saves us a lot of time replicating it. Gives us more time to help appreciative users.
This answer seems to assume that I am truly a computer nerd, which I am not. Not helpful.
updating OS to 10.14.6 on a MacBook Air which is from 2014
