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Upgrade from Mountain Lion to El Capitan or higher

I received a 2015 iMac from a friend with 16 g and 1 T storage. I wiped it clean and turns out it has Mountain Lion. I'm trying to upgrade the OS but can't find anything higher to download or in the app story. I found that I need to go to El Capitan, High Sierra and then Mojave would be fine. Is this possible or are the older OS no longer available? The Migration Assistant calls for an ethernet cable, not WIFI which I don't have. I need to do that as well.

Posted on Apr 18, 2021 4:53 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 18, 2021 7:45 PM

Click on this link to read how to get different versions of macOS - https://support.apple.com/HT211683

- 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.


Before upgrading, back up your data in case something goes wrong. See this support document: 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. To check for those, try this 32 bit application scanner application --> https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/


1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 18, 2021 7:45 PM in response to Helen Page1

Click on this link to read how to get different versions of macOS - https://support.apple.com/HT211683

- 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.


Before upgrading, back up your data in case something goes wrong. See this support document: 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. To check for those, try this 32 bit application scanner application --> https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/


Upgrade from Mountain Lion to El Capitan or higher

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