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When migrating from an old Mac to a new Mac, do both computers need to be on the same operating system for the transfer to complete correctly?

When migrating from an old Mac to a new Mac, do both computers need to be on the same operating system for the transfer to complete correctly? This is something I'm wondering because I'll be buying a new Mac later this year and I'm still running Mojave.


Any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

Posted on Jun 5, 2021 11:23 AM

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Posted on Jun 5, 2021 12:24 PM

The transfer should work as long as the old Mac does not have a newer version of the OS. The new Mac can and usually does have a newer version of the OS. Then things work fine, e.g. Mojave (old Mac) to Big Sur (new Mac).


5 replies

Jun 18, 2021 11:10 AM in response to roboticroby

Agree other comments, BUT you may need to upgrade the operating system of your NEW Mac, because it might not have the most recent upgrade installed ( your old Mac might be up to date)- I made this annoying discovery when booting my new Mac, and tried to migrate ( which TOO helpfully pops up immediately upon booting up the new machine, rather than FIRST checking for an OS upgrade being available). THEN, annoyingly, the upgrade is extremely slow ( 4+ hours for 13 GB ) to be downloaded, due to Apple's SERVERS being overloaded- my internet provider was NOT at fault!

When migrating from an old Mac to a new Mac, do both computers need to be on the same operating system for the transfer to complete correctly?

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