Downgrade OSX on mcbp16

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Level 1

5 points

Downgrade OSX on mcbp16

To whom it may concern,

I am currently using a mcbp16 for work with Catalina on it 10.15.3. The OS X came standard with the laptop and I am wondering about the possibility to downgrade to a previous OS X system.

I am well aware it is a tricky question but after a year of Catalina I can confidently say that the OS X is not of my liking and among all the bugs/security issues it is detrimental for my workflow.

I wonder if there is any way, guide, crack or really anything out there that can help me achieve this. I wonder about hardware integration, might be possible but is it really this tricky?

All help is very welcomed, thank you.

A quick declaimer:

I am clearly not looking for updating anything. I tried Big Sur and looks like I would have similar issues there. I just need something simple and effective like back to 10.10 or 10.11. No more inexplicable bugs, no more password pop-up menu, no more disable SIP and so on. Just something productive.

Posted on Mar 9, 2021 4:42 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 9, 2021 4:49 PM in response to FedLepre

The OS can not be downgraded to a version older than the version the computer was delivered with.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,186 points

Mar 9, 2021 5:01 PM in response to FedLepre

The system won't allow you to install an earlier OS. If a trick is possible, the hardware in the 16" MacBook Pro would need to have been supported in the previous OS. Apple doesn't go back and make old OS versions recognize and handle the newer hardware they install in the new Macs. That is the reason you cannot normally install a previous OS version.

No more inexplicable bugs, no more password pop-up menu, no more disable SIP and so on. Just something productive.

I've never had any of those problems. Never had to disable SIP. Maybe it is the system modifications you've installed for your workflow.

It's almost a one-off model. Maybe it has some inherent hardware issues. It's still relatively new, and who knows if they will continue with them now that the M1s are on the street.

Buy a copy of Windows or use a Linux distro instead of macOS.

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Answer 3

dialabrain

Level 10

136,067 points

Mar 9, 2021 5:16 PM in response to FedLepre

FWIW, the only option you have to install a version of macOS earlier than Catalina would be to install it using a VM in Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion or VirtualBox. The problem is you can't download the installers for anything earlier than Catalina. You would have to have access to a Mac that ran an earlier version.

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Answer 4

FedLepre Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 9, 2021 5:06 PM in response to Barney-15E

Yes, but I have read that beta testing of the machine were done with Mojave. So there must be a way to hack it somehow.

Ahah, last thing I want will be to use Windows as standard os on this thing. Would make more sense to sell the laptop and get an older one, even though would be a bit of an exaggeration..

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,186 points

Mar 9, 2021 5:19 PM in response to FedLepre

Yes, but I have read that beta testing of the machine were done with Mojave. So there must be a way to hack it somehow.

It shipped in Nov 2019, so it would likely have been beta tested with 10.15. It was released with 10.15.1.

If it did run on Mojave, you would have to find the "trick." Nobody here could discuss or link to it if it existed.

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Answer 6

Mar 9, 2021 5:20 PM in response to FedLepre

FedLepre wrote:

Ahah, last thing I want will be to use Windows as standard os on this thing. Would make more sense to sell the laptop and get an older one, even though would be a bit of an exaggeration..

Windows can be installed natively using Boot Camp Assistant on Intel Macs. Windows can not be installed on M1 Macs.

Boot Camp - Official Apple Support

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