macOS upgrade from 10.11 (El Capitan) to 12.3 (Monterey)

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A_Mac_Dummy Author

Level 1

4 points

macOS upgrade from 10.11 (El Capitan) to 12.3 (Monterey)

Hi there!

I wonder if the following can be readily and safely done:

1— upgrading existing macOS from 10.11 (El Capitan) to 12.3 (Monterey) directly, then

2— reverting back to 10.11 (El Capitan) simply by restoring a recent backup (Airport Utility)

HARDWARE:

CONCERNS FOR POSSIBLE REVERTING BACK TO EL CAPITAN:

(i) Running (64-bit) Monterey OS on a relatively old hardware might cause a significant performance reduction;

(ii) Existing 32-bit licensed software won't work with Monterey 64;

(iii) Trial version of a new 64-bit software may NOT be worthwhile over and above the drawbacks with (i) (ii).

Has anybody successfully downgraded macOS by restoring from backups?

Any other suggestions for upgrading to perhaps another macOS version?

Posted on Mar 23, 2022 1:09 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

PRP_53

Level 10

85,837 points

Mar 24, 2022 2:15 AM in response to A_Mac_Dummy

Point # 11 - Do you have a Rescue Plan In-Place. This comprises having 3 Backups using 2 methods and 1 Off Site incase of Theft, Loss or Natural Disasters. A Time Machine Backup is very useful and can be used to Revert to Previous Working macOS.

Point # 12 - For addition purposes - two Tested Bootable Clones each to separate external drives. This is insurance incase the upgrades goes sideways. At least one Tested Clone and / or Time Machine Backup should be Off - Site

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Answer 2

PRP_53

Level 10

85,837 points

Mar 25, 2022 9:32 AM in response to A_Mac_Dummy

Yes Mojave is the last version of macOS to still support 32 bit anything.

Depending on your software needs - considering Catalina and above would involve a lot of updates or upgrades of existing Applications, extension and drives and / or finding replacements for those that do not offer 64 Bit Applications.

That may involve a Cost $$ Factor versus the return it may offer.

You are welcome and thank you too.

Do come back to the Apple Support Communities ( ASC ) in the future, if / or when additional question may arise

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Answer 3

A_Mac_Dummy Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 25, 2022 9:21 AM in response to PRP_53

Thank you, P. Phillips

Having two backup disks I am regularly making backups over the time machine; but no tested bootable clone disk yet.

It would be wise to buy a new disk and make one before trying macOS upgrade.

After looking into it a bit more, I suspect that it would be best to upgrade this current Macbook to macOS 10.14 (Mojave) to keep 32-bit application support (for existing licensed software).

What do you think?

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macOS upgrade from 10.11 (El Capitan) to 12.3 (Monterey)

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