Can I upgrade my MacBook Pro (OS X El Capitan) to Big Sur?

Here are some steps that may help.

1. Find the model and serial number of your Mac.
2. Identify your MacBook Pro model in this list and find the "Newest compatible operating system".
3. Upgrade to the newest compatible operating system.

If you are getting the message that it cannot be installed probably means your mac does not

meet the hardware requirements for macOS Big Sur.

Installing macOS Big Sur is dependent on the year of your mac.

Click on the top left of your screen and click on About This Mac

These are the macs that can run macOS Big Sur.

MacBook introduced in 2015 or later

MacBook Air introduced in 2013 or later

MacBook Pro introduced in late 2013 or later

Mac mini introduced in 2014 or later

iMac introduced in 2014 or later

iMac Pro

Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later

Back up your data, check your applications for compatibility, and if your MacBook Pro model is recent enough, click on High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, or Big Sur. Big Sur requires it to be a late 2013 or newer one.

(203043)

Which OS you can upgrade to will be governed by which model and year your mac is.

Click on the  top left of your screen click on About This Mac to find out the year of your mac.

Any mac that can upgrade to macOS Sierra can upgrade to macOS High Sierra.

If you find your mac can upgrade to the newer OS's like macOS Mojave 10.14, macOS Catalina 10.15, 

macOs Big Sur 11.5 I would recommend you upgrade to macOS High Sierra 10.13 first.

For High Sierra, Mojave or Catalina,

Open Safari and click on this link, 

How to get old versions of macOS – Apple Support

Go to Check Compatibility to see if your mac qualifies for the OS upgrade you want.

Then go to the Download OS section and click on the OS you want to install.

Before upgrading make a full back up of your Mac.

Check that third party apps you use have updates available for the new OS.

https://roaringapps.com

Check that your printers/ scanners etc have updated drivers and software available for the new OS.

Connect your mac to your router via cable rather than rely on WiFi.

Do not use your mac while it is downloading

and do not use any other devices that share the same internet connection.

If the App Store says ‘Open’ then it is detecting a previous download of the install app

go to the Applications folder locate Install macOS ******.app.

Move it to the Trash, empty the Trash.

Restart, click on the link again, the App Store should say ‘Get' or 'Download'.

If you want to or are able to install Big Sur, open Safari and click on the link below.

How to upgrade to macOS Big Sur - Apple Support

If you are considering upgrading to Catalina or Big Sur be warned they do not support 32bit apps.

Your Mac is probably running 32bit apps and these will need to be updated to 64bit apps,

some updates may be free, some may be paid. Use this app to discover which apps you have

are 32bit, https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/ then contact the developers of the software to see

if they are offering 64bit updates.

macOS Big Sur is compatible with these computers and if this computer is NOT Listed - it does not qualify for Big Sur.

Then follow advise from previous posting on upgrading to a newer version of macOS.

I have Mac 10.11.6 (OS X El Capitan; Can I upgrade to 10.12.1 or newer?