Software update for old software

I have a "MacBook Air 10.12.6" version and i would like to update the software to 10.15. How do i do it? Should i restart my "Startup Disk"? I tried to download the software in the Apple Store but it didn't work (it said "cannot connect to the Apple Store"). What should I do?

Posted on Feb 26, 2021 8:53 AM

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Posted on Feb 26, 2021 12:54 PM

Your MacBook Air identity is not based on the operating system that you are running, but rather by its market introduction date string. You find that by selecting menu > About This Mac, and looking at the information in parenthesis on the product description line of that panel.


With the information from the above parenthesis, you use exclusively Safari to visit How to get old versions of macOS, check your hardware compatibility against what is required by Catalina, and if there is a match, then you visit the Mac App Store link to get the installer download. If your Air is not compatible with Catalina, you need to verify it against the hardware requirements for Mojave, and so forth until you are compatible.


You want to perform a Time Machine backup before any operating system upgrade. You also want to run the free Go64 application to see what 32-bit applications you currently have installed, as these will not be supported in Catalina. Likewise, you need to check with each third-party vendor, printer, and scanner vendor to see that you have product support in Catalina.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 26, 2021 12:54 PM in response to Scobydoo

Your MacBook Air identity is not based on the operating system that you are running, but rather by its market introduction date string. You find that by selecting menu > About This Mac, and looking at the information in parenthesis on the product description line of that panel.


With the information from the above parenthesis, you use exclusively Safari to visit How to get old versions of macOS, check your hardware compatibility against what is required by Catalina, and if there is a match, then you visit the Mac App Store link to get the installer download. If your Air is not compatible with Catalina, you need to verify it against the hardware requirements for Mojave, and so forth until you are compatible.


You want to perform a Time Machine backup before any operating system upgrade. You also want to run the free Go64 application to see what 32-bit applications you currently have installed, as these will not be supported in Catalina. Likewise, you need to check with each third-party vendor, printer, and scanner vendor to see that you have product support in Catalina.

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Software update for old software

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