How do I download an older version Monterey

Apple only provides the last full installer version which is 12.3. Any older Monterey versions no longer exist unless you downloaded them earlier and saved them to external storage. That 12.3 installer is an aggregate of 12.0.1, 12.1, 12.2, 12.2.1, and now 12.3 changes.

See How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support

ainsophaur wrote:

I'm currently running Big Sur 11.6.3 on my Mac Mini. But, I'd like to upgrade to Monterey 12.1 because of its compatibility with other programs.

How do I find that installer and only upgrade to 12.1? I don't want to go all the way to 12.3.

< Title: macOS Monterey, Version: 12.1, Size: 11872104KiB, Build: 21C52>

Older version of Monterey can be download from the Terminal.app to see the list of available installers copy & paste:

softwareupdate --list-full-installers

to download your macOS 12.1, you would enter the following, copy & paste:

sudo softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 12.1

Once download the 12.1 will be sitting in your Applications folder: "Install macOS Monterey.app"

Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app

Terminal User Guide for Mac - Apple Support

How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

After you make a bootable installer you will have to erase/reformat/ initialize the drive as new.

restore your user data from a Backup—

restore items backed up with Time Machine

Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support

Some references here—

Revert your Mac to a previous macOS version


https://support.apple.com/en-lamr/guide/mac-help/mh15216/10.15/mac/10.15

ainsophaur wrote:

I'm currently running Big Sur 11.6.3 on my Mac Mini. But, I'd like to upgrade to Monterey 12.1 because of its compatibility with other programs.

How do I find that installer and only upgrade to 12.1? I don't want to go all the way to 12.3.

I see now you are simply upgrading from Big Sur to Monterey of course there is no need to to erase/revert—it is a simply an upgrade— you just run the installer after it downloads. No need for the USBbootable installer

I might update that 11.6.3 to the stable release 11.6.5 first... 11.6.5 (20G527) (March 14, 2022)

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/get-macos-updates-mchlpx1065/mac

ainsophaur wrote:

I tried this and was able to download 12.1, but it wouldn't install. It through up and error saying something along the lines of "Download error" during the installation.

So, I tried downloading 11.6.5 first, and it failed.

Any other ideas?

Saying it failed does not speak to where and how it failed if you are want support here...

I do know right now Apple servers are having major issues across the board. Try again at later time/day

My Terminal goes no further than scanning. Full stop.

MacBook-Pro ~ % sudo softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 11.6.5
Password:
Scanning for 11.6.5 installer

Previous version data base:

https://mrmacintosh.com/macos-12-monterey-full-installer-database-download-directly-from-apple/