Can I downgrade my macOS Sonoma to Ventura?

Hi Epicene_Wildeblood,

macOS usually needs to perform some system indexing once a major upgrade completes. Because of this, it might be normal for things to feel a bit slower for the next few hours. Performance will return once indexing is complete.

If you still want to downgrade to macOS Ventura, the process consists of these general steps, and involves erasing your data:

Prepare

1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup app. Do not skip this step.
2. Sign out of your Apple ID in System Settings. This ensures that you won't have to deal with Activation Lock during the reset process.

If you have a second Mac running macOS Monterey 12.4 or later

Complete these steps to fully erase and downgrade both the firmware and macOS on your Apple silicon Mac (MBP 14"). A USB-C cable is required for this.

1. Install and open Apple Configurator from the Mac App Store on the helper Mac.
2. Download the latest IPSW restore file for macOS Ventura (13.6) on the helper Mac: https://ipsw.me/MacBookPro18,4
   1. The site linked in step 2 only provides genuine Apple download links, and downloads directly from Apple's update servers.
3. Connect the Macs together and put the 14" MBP into DFU mode. See steps 1-2 of this article: Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator - Apple Support (CA)
4. A large DFU square should appear in Apple Configurator on the helper Mac. Drag the downloaded IPSW restore file from earlier onto the DFU square, then choose to restore (not revive).
5. Wait for the process to complete. If successful, the "Hello" screen or the Setup Assistant should appear on your 14" MBP. Skip to the last section.

If you don't have a second Mac

Complete these steps to erase and downgrade macOS on your Apple silicon Mac (14" MBP). The system firmware and backup copy of Recovery will remain on the latest version (Sonoma 14.0).

1. Prepare a bootable installer for macOS Ventura: Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support (CA)
2. Fully erase your Mac, but don't reinstall macOS yet.
   1. Apple's guidance is here: Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon - Apple Support (CA)
   2. This method might be easier: How To Fully Erase A Mac Using Recovery A… - Apple Community
3. Shut down your Mac.
4. Press and hold the power button (Touch ID) until Startup Options begins to load.
5. Connect the bootable installer made earlier, then select it and choose Continue.
6. Activate your Mac and reinstall macOS Ventura.

Restore your data

Once macOS is reinstalled, you'll need to restore your data. Unfortunately, if a backup wasn't made before upgrading to Sonoma, you'll need to manually copy your data back in and reinstall your apps.

Epicene_Wildeblood wrote:

Is there any way to uninstall Sonoma and reinstall Ventura? (Sonoma is slower).

Unfortunately, I did not disc image the previous OS before updating.

Thanx

Apple MacBook Pro 14" 2021; M1 Max chip

Slower...?

I would never advocate for falling back on a state of the art 2021 M1 Max .

This is not a Sonoma issue, there must be a conflict — I would spend my effort on resolving the issue at hand.

you can get a good look at your User/System config. and reveal conflicts or issues, you can download/run this trusted utility https://etrecheck.com

If you need help interpreting the report you can post it here in its entirety in the "Additional Text" box in the editing toolbar below, in your reply.

Falling back can be done erasing, reformatting, initializing the internal parent drive.. and then reinstalling the macOS, restoring your user data from backup. How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

MacBook-Pro ~ %

sudo softwareupdate --list-full-installers 

Password:

Finding available software

Software Update found the following full installers:

* Title: macOS Sonoma, Version: 14.0, Size: 12555162KiB, Build: 23A344, Deferred: NO

* Title: macOS Ventura, Version: 13.6, Size: 11657005KiB, Build: 22G120, Deferred: NO

In addition to being slower on my 2021 Macbook Pro with Apple M1 Max, it is playing **** with my apps. Safari, Firefox, and Vivaldi will work, then all freeze. You need to Force Quit, then reboot, which is an issue. This happens whenever you try to use Zoom or online Microsoft almost immediately. But it will just freeze at any time.

This is the bigger problem because my messages have disappeared on my desktop, Outlook. With it freezing my online version, I can't use my computer to get my emails. I can see the emails, the new ones come in, but you can’t see the actual messages. If you uninstall Outlook and reinstall from Office 365, it works for about 15 minutes, then the messages disappear.

Plus, Microsoft Teams, if you try to use will immediately crash. These are big problems for me because I use Outlook and Teams as my primary means of attorney work. Spent the better part of the day today trying to fix it, but I finally realized I have multiple Zoom court hearings and many client meetings I can’t do because my computer will not work. I really hesitated to download Sonoma. Now I wish I had listened. This is costing me thousands and thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Plus, potential sanctions if these things freeze up while I'm addressing a judge.

I warn you to be wary of this download. I wish I had listened to my gut and not done this.

Yeah, Sonoma doesn't work with some of my most important programs, but they certainly don't make it easy to roll back...

BenNevis2 wrote:

Yeah, Sonoma doesn't work with some of my most important programs, but they certainly don't make it easy to roll back...

for your important programs—

if in doubt search the developers website or contact their: Support/Help/FAQ/Known issues/compatibility/updates...

Contact a third-party vendor - Apple Support

Contact a third-party vendor - Apple Support

The dust has not settled as the upgrade rolls out, point updates to follow, third party app updates etc.

It is a major effort to rollback, yes but can be done.

I upgraded to Sonoma 14.0 and found that I can no longer print to my local printer from a remote server using Microsoft Remote Desktop. The specifics are that my company runs its accounting software (QuickBooks) on a remote server. It is necessary to print accounting reports and checks from QuickBooks on my local printer. Microsoft Remote Desktop provides for this connection in its connection setting, allowing the remote server to "redirect" print jobs to my local printer. There is some discussion of this Sonoma issue on the attached link.Problem with using Microsoft Remote Desktop redirected printers w/Sonoma 14.0.

Unfortunately, I am the Company person who determines the upgrade. I was not aware of this issue with Sonoma, nor would I have normally tested compatibility with Microsoft Remote Desktop. I guess if a company had a group dedicated to exhaustively testing updates to software, this would have been discovered.

I'm with the ones complaining. I installed Sonoma on my M1 MBAir. Under Ventura, it was *very* stable. I might get a crash once every few months, if that. With Sonoma, the problems started within 48 hours. The computer would randomly freeze, forcing me to restart. Often it would restart just as I was about to give my presentation. The mouse or trackpad becomes inoperable just seconds before the crash. Wifi is slow to reconnect. The only saving grace is that the recovery from the crash is fast. Not sure that is much consolation. All the advice I've read says trying reinstalling or updating programs. I am using literally nothing that is not mainstream: Office, Chrome, Adobe, the usual. None presented ANY problems prior to Sonoma, and all programs are updated regularly as needed. This is frustrating beyond belief. Even my Windows machine doesn't do this. So much for Apple's vaunted seemless user experience.

It's a nightmare. After updating to Sonoma on my M1 iMac with 16BG it became so slow, that it is not usable with normal applications anymore. I checked the system in different ways without any result. It's just slower. So be warned before you update! Because it does not make any sense to me to go back to Ventura and be faced with problems might not be fixed in near future, I guess it's time to leave the apple cosmos after more than a decade. The best option is a linux based system and sell my iMac. You did a horrible job, apple! Good bye.

Thank you for this lengthy explanation re: how to get my new MacBook Pro to allow me to install Ventura. I don't know why I should spend $1300 on a refurbished M1 machine, then have to sit here following these instructions for hours. Sonoma is broken, everyone seems to know it. My new-to-me refurb cannot connect to Bluetooth with Sonoma running. Who is going to recompense me for my wasted time? A new (or refurb) product costing over 1k ought to function right out of the box.

I've been a Mac customer for 35 years. This kind of BS makes me want to escape the Walled Garden of Apple.

I wish I'd read this before I had the same problem. Trying like mad to revert to 14.0 from the upgrade I did to 14.3 which rendered my teaching software unusable - also my livelihood.

I hope you worked it out.

FWIW, Sonoma is certainly not slower on my M1 MacBook Air or my iMac Pro. As leroy stated, I would not downgrade and would look elsewhere for the cause.

What was your company's advice when you consulted them about moving up to Sonoma?

" I guess if a company had a group dedicated to exhaustively testing updates to software, this would have been discovered. "

Most companies do have such groups.

I have the same issue but I see a lot of un-useful and unrelated chat here for which I would have been banned already.