I have a mdi-2015 Macbook. Upgraded to Monterey yesterday. Unhappy with the failure of Search in Mail so tried various fixes to sort this out. Unable to solve fully.
I did fully upgrade Big Sur before moving to Monterey and backed up in Time Machine.
I would now like to revert to Big Sur. However, when I plug in Time Machine I am not given the opportunity to Restore to yesterday's back up.
Any ideas how to do this?
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.13
I had to do something similar with my late 2015 iMac. I had to revert back to Mojave from Monterey.
What I did was boot into the Recovery and restored to my last TM backup of Mojave. Worked great.
I had to do something similar with my late 2015 iMac. I had to revert back to Mojave from Monterey.
What I did was boot into the Recovery and restored to my last TM backup of Mojave. Worked great.
But, there's always a but, when clicking on the desire backup a window appears saying 'You must use Migration Assistant to transfer data from this backup.
Starting with Big Sur, Time Machine no longer backs up the System volume.
To do a complete restore, you must reinstall the OS, then use Migration Assistant (from the Startup Assistant if desired) to restore the data you wish to restore.
Is there an easy way to reinstall Big Sur from Monterey other than the complex method I linked above?
I wouldn't follow any advice by MacPaw. I have no idea how complex it is, but here are Apple's instructions which seem pretty simple to me: Revert your Mac to a previous macOS version - Apple Support
I would Erase the drive completely, first. Those instructions don't reflect the need to reinstall the OS then migrate from the backup on Big Sur or later. That's how I always restored, though.
You might be able to restore from a snapshot, if you make one ahead of time: https://www.lifewire.com/roll-back-apfs-snapshots-4154969. That might not work with the split System/Data, though.
Eventually got there with a slight variation, using the Macpaw link and links from this thread. After installing Big Sur start the computer normally. You will then be given the option to restore from Time Machine.
Phew.
Let owners of 2015 Macs beware. Avoid Monterey. Big Sur is where we stop.
Thanks to all who have sought to help.
See if this Apple Knowledge Base article fits any of your situations.
Best way is to create a bootable installer.
I tried this yesterday but Time Machine doesn't show any back ups from 2021.
Or are you suggesting I restore any TM back up that I can, upgrade OS back to Big Sur and then restore my last setting from Time Machine?
I have found another web site with, what for me, will be a more complex way of doing things
What I assumed was you made a TM backup of Big Sur before you upgraded to Monterey. In Recovery, I was hoping you could simply find your last TM backup of Big Sur and restore.
Apparently the last TM backup is not showing up for you while in Recovery.. If you last TM Big Sur backup was successful, I don't know why you couldn't find it while booted into Recovery.
You may want to get help from someone with more experience if you need to take the route outlined in the macpaw article.
Well, I've done the first three things on the link, all OK. The fourth bullet doesn't apply. I don't know how to check if the firmware on my Time Machine is up to date. The sixth bullet is suicidal.
I'm going to back up now with Monterey then try to restore whatever backup can be found on the Time Machine, reinstall Big Sur and try to Restore the last backup I did with Big Sur a couple of days ago.
If it all goes pear shaped I can take it to a good Mac shop next time I am in London (once the wfh order is rescinded).
Your assumptions are correct and that is exactly what I hoped. When I enter Time Machine in normal mode the last back up is there but the Restore button is greyed out.
When I enter Recovery mode the last back up does not show up.
Aha, I have found the backup when in Recovery mode.
When asked to select a backup there is a drop down box where it says 'Restore from'. Selecting Macintosh HD - Data on James's Mac revealed the recent backups!
But, there's always a but, when clicking on the desire backup a window appears saying 'You must use Migration Assistant to transfer data from this backup.
'Reinstall macOS if necessary and then use Migration Assistant to transfer data from your backup.'
So I have restarted the Mac and am using Migration Assistant which has detected the last backup.
I am nearly ready to follow your suggestion. However, I am concerned that once I have erased the disk the option provided for installing OS will be Monterey. How do ensure installation of Big Sur on an erased Mac?
Oops was there supposed to be a link?
PS I appreciate your looking at this issue.
Added the link, sorry.
But backing up first. Cough cough.
Using Time Machine on Monterey
