macintosh hd cannot be downgraded

Hi, I tried downgrading from ventura to big sur and followed the steps written here

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

I get stuck when choosing the OS installation disk and it writes "macintosh hd cannot be downgraded". How can I solve it? Thanks.


MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 11.7

Posted on Apr 4, 2023 8:01 AM

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Posted on Apr 4, 2023 8:20 AM

Once booted to the USB installer, you will need to erase the drive by using the instructions in this Apple article:

Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon - Apple Support


Those instructions are assuming you are using Recovery Mode, but just skip down to the section for Disk Utility since you are booted from a macOS USB installer instead of Recovery Mode. The interface is the same at that point.


Make sure to have a good backup of your files before erasing the drive since erasing the drive will destroy all data on that drive which is not backed up.


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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 4, 2023 8:20 AM in response to tomyaacov

Once booted to the USB installer, you will need to erase the drive by using the instructions in this Apple article:

Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon - Apple Support


Those instructions are assuming you are using Recovery Mode, but just skip down to the section for Disk Utility since you are booted from a macOS USB installer instead of Recovery Mode. The interface is the same at that point.


Make sure to have a good backup of your files before erasing the drive since erasing the drive will destroy all data on that drive which is not backed up.


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macintosh hd cannot be downgraded

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