how best to update early 2015 macbook air

elka242 Said:

"how best to update early 2015 MacBook air: I have a macbook air early 2015 that's high sierra 10.13.6 version. What's the best way to update it the OS?[...]"

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About Updating the macOS:

Determining which Update(s) will Install:

I. Verify Compatibility:

A. Start Here: Learn About Compatibility and how to Identify your Specific Mac Model - Apple Support

B. How to Verify:

I Reveal your Model:

What is the Model of your Mac? To find out...

1. Go to: Apple menu
2. Click: About this Mac
3. View: Second Line-Down

then...

II. Compare the Results:

See if the Model you found is shown here:

• macOS Ventura is Compatible with these Computers - Apple Support
• macOS Monterey is Compatible with these Computers - Apple Support
• macOS Big Sur 11 Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• macOS Catalina 10.15 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• macOS Mojave 10.14 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• macOS High Sierra 10.13 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• macOS Sierra 10.12 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• OS X El Capitan 10.11 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• OS X Yosemite 10.10 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support

III. If Compatible:

Back Up your Mac First:  Be certain you Create a Time Machine Backup of your Mac, so that way you can have something to restore your Mac from, should anything go wrong with the reconfiguration.

Once Apple releases Sonoma (very soon), the most recent three versions of macOS will be (Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma). An 11" or 13" Early 2015 MacBook Air can go as high as Monterey, but no higher. So upgrading that machine to Monterey might give you about a year during which it can run one of "the most recent three".

According to MacTracker, Apple shipped those MacBook Airs with either 4 GB or 8 GB. If your MacBook Air has only 4 GB, you might be able to run a more recent version of macOS, but whether the performance would be OK might be another matter.

Note that if you upgrade to Catalina, Big Sur, or Monterey:

• 32-bit applications will stop working
• iTunes will go away in favor of separate applications: What happened to iTunes? - Apple Support

elka242 Said:

"how best to update early 2015 macbook air: [...]It's working fine now, though sometimes at work, I can't use the wifi anymore, I'm guessing because my OS is outdated. I'm a little worried that if it ain't broke don't fix it. I rarely take it to work anyway and have other computers I can use, but the other concern is security, of course. So two questions: Is it worth trying to update? If so, what's the best, foolproof way to do that?"

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Using an Older Mac at Work:

Ask for a new login key from work. Perhaps it has expired? I would also speak with the Technical Department and the Network Administrator.

If you stay with High Sierra, you may want to download and use Firefox.

These days, Apple bundles Safari upgrades with macOS upgrades, so sticking with High Sierra means being stuck with an old version of Safari. The main version of Firefox no longer supports High Sierra, either. However, you can get Firefox ESR (Extended Service Release) for High Sierra. According to this article, on Mozilla's Web site, Mozilla will offer "critical security updates" for Firefox 115 ESR up until September 2024.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-users-macos-1012-1013-1014-moving-to-extended-support