How to connect to the outside world, when the connections are good in OS Lion

divingfe wrote:

Have a Mid 2012 MacBook Pro, Changed OS from Catalina back to Lion 10.7.5, in order to update to Mojave (or High Sierra). When I opened Lion for the first time, and started the sign-in process, I was (and am still) unable to proceed into the iCloud sign in. It doesn't recognize my ID or password.

Apple has raised the minimum system requirements for iCloud over the years. As Limnos points out, the current minimum requirement is High Sierra (10.13.*) – which is six major versions ahead of Lion (10.7.*).

Also can't connect to the web etc--any of those things. I have a good internet connection (supposedly), with either Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

The security protocol originally used for https connections was found to be insecure – and there was a movement to upgrade Web sites and browsers everywhere to use a better one. Lion is so old that its version of Safari doesn't support the new protocol, so when you attempt to access modern https sites, most of them will reject the offered security method as being too insecure. (Even third-party browsers for Lion are so old that they may be unable to handle modern https security, or may have trouble browsing the Web because of other Web changes.)

You may have trouble accessing the App Store from Lion for a similar reason.

I'm stumped as to how to proceed. Between High Sierra and Mojave, the HD formats changed to AFRS. I have an iMac running High Sierra, and some much later Macs as well.

You will probably need to get back to High Sierra or Mojave in stages, with the help of a modern Mac or PC, and the Support article How to download and install macOS - Apple Support . (Recently, Apple has made some old versions of macOS directly visible in the App Store, but this article is still useful.)

An alternative is to use another Mac that is compatible with High Sierra to create a bootable USB installer out of the High Sierra kit. That requires entering Terminal commands exactly as specified, so you may want to use the method that I outline below.

Step #1

Install El Capitan or Sierra. Do not erase your old Mac. Download the .DMG image for El Capitan or for Sierra, as a data file, and get the .DMG file onto the old Mac. Because the Support article is behind a https link, you might want to use a modern computer to download the .DMG file, as a data file, to a USB drive, for transfer to the old Mac.

Once the .DMG file is on the old Mac, you can double-click (open) it to mount the disk image and proceed with any steps needed to extract and run the installer application.

Step #2

Once the old Mac is running El Capitan or Sierra, install High Sierra directly from the old Mac. (I believe you can use the App Store link in the Support article, or just search for High Sierra in the App Store.). You may want to make a bootable clone backup of the El Capitan or Sierra installation before doing the High Sierra upgrade, just so that you will have a falling-back-point if something goes wrong.

If your internal disk is a SSD, the High Sierra installer will automatically convert it from HFS+ format to APFS format. Later macOS installers might not do this automatic conversion.

Step #3

Optionally upgrade from High Sierra to Mojave.

Not sure if this could be it:

System requirements for iCloud - Apple Support

“iCloud is supported on the following OS versions or later: […] macOS High Sierra 10.13 on a Mac"

What exactly is happening when you say you cannot proceed? Please describe your steps and where it fails. Note that old systems may not support two factor authentication. If that is the issue, try entering your authentication code immediately after your password on the same line. Two-factor authentication for Apple Account - Apple Support

What if I use two-factor authentication on a device running older software?

"If you use two-factor authentication with devices running older OS versions—like an Apple TV (2nd or 3rd generation)—you might be asked to add your six-digit verification code to the end of your password when signing in. Get your verification code from a trusted device running iOS 9 and later or OS X El Capitan and later, or have it sent to your trusted phone number. Then type your password followed by the six-digit verification code directly into the password field."

• Use your iMac to create a bootable installer for High Sierra.

• Use that bootable installer to install High Sierra on the MacBook Pro.

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Don't fret about the drive format of the MBP. With Lion already installed, the format - Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - is just fine to accept High Sierra.

• Once you have High Sierra installed, upgrade the MBP directly to Mojave by downloading the upgrade installer from the App Store.

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

If necessary, the installer will automatically make any change required to the startup drive format when the upgrade to Mojave is applied.

This is really more of an older macOS issue. I have requested this thread be moved to a forum where you might get better help with this. I know from recent experience that it can be tricky trying to work across the HFS+ - APFS divide back in the High Sierra and later days.

I already requested this be moved to a forum better suited for this topic.