Unable to download OS X 10.11 for MacBook Air (2015

Opa-Marc wrote:

I can only download 10.11.06.  Anyone have an idea what to do or where I can

download 10.11?

10.11.06 is a version of 10.11 Apple typically only makes available the latest sub-version of any OS version. You cannot download 10.11.00

Here's the 10.11 download link http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2019/cert/061-41424-20191024-218af9ec-cf50-4516-9011-228c78eda3d2/InstallMacOSX.dmg

Opa-Marc wrote:

Yosemite 10.10.05 is installed on the laptop (after a clean install).

I download OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 combo update via support.apple.com/nl-be/106389 .

I get a file OSXUpdcombo10.11.6.dmg.

I double-click – get a window with the file OSXUpdCombo10.11.6.pkg

I double-click on that file and a new window opens with 'Warning – for this update is OS. X version 10.11 required. When i closed that warning window, the installation end.

There's your problem. You downloaded a combo updater kit – not a full version kit.

Mac OS X 10.0 through 10.8 were originally paid upgrades.

• Mac OS X 10.0 through 10.6 shipped on optical discs. Apple never made full versions available for electronic download.
• Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8 shipped on USB flash drives and were also available through the App Store. The App Store copies had to be unlocked with a code purchased separately.

All major versions of Mac OS X / macOS since then have been distributed electronically for free to owners of compatible Macs, either via the App Store or via Software Update.

------

If you bought, say, Snow Leopard on optical disc, and there was an update to Snow Leopard, there usually would be two ways to get that: downloading free updaters, or downloading a free combo updater. The combo updater would be larger, but would let you, jump, say, from 10.6.0 to 10.6.8 with a single installation.

However, neither type of updater would install Snow Leopard if you did not already own it. You had to have paid for Snow Leopard in some way – either by getting it with a new Mac, or by buying the retail upgrade kit.

While El Capitan was a free upgrade through the App Store, it sounds as if Apple built a combo updater for it for the sake of people who wanted to download a smaller file to bring their El Capitan installation up to date.

-----

The kits available through the links in the Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support are full version kits. Those are the ones you want.

Opa-Marc wrote:

Yosemite 10.10.05 is installed on the laptop (after a clean install).

I download OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 combo update via support.apple.com/nl-be/106389 .

I get a file OSXUpdcombo10.11.6.dmg.

I double-click – get a window with the file OSXUpdCombo10.11.6.pkg

I double-click on that file and a new window opens with 'Warning – for this update is OS. X version 10.11 required. When i closed that warning window, the installation end.

Completely expected. The error message explains the problem. You cannot install an El Capitan update patch while running Yosemite which is a completely different OS. OS update patches are only for a specific version of the major OS. Major versions of macOS have code names such as Yosemite and El Capitan along with major version numbers such as 10.10 & 10.11 respectively.

You must download & use the full macOS installer. Again here is the link for the various macOS full installers:

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Here is an Apple article with instructions for downloading various macOS installers.

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

At this time while running Yosemite, your only options are to download macOS 10.11 El Capitan or macOS 10.12 Sierra since Yosemite no longer has access to the App Store where the macOS 10.13+ installers are located.

If this laptop has any important data on it, then I highly recommend you make sure to have a good backup before attempting to upgrade the OS.

If this laptop at one point did have macOS 10.13+ installed at some point in the past, then try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to attempt to access the online macOS 12.x Monterey installer. To install macOS Monterey using Internet Recovery Mode will require having at least 45GB of Free storage space which is only shown in Disk Utility or the System Profiler. Ignore the "Available" value shown every where else since it is misleading and is not synonymous with Free.

If your Mac is incompatible with 10.11.06, it would be incompatible with 10.11.0 as well.

An Early 2015 MacBook Air would have shipped with anything from 10.10.2 (Yosemite) to 10.11.2 (El Capitan). So it should be compatible with 10.11.6.

Ir is likely that Software Update, the App Store, and attempts to visit https sites will not work in Yosemite due to its use of outdated security protocols. Thus you may need to use a http link, or enlist the help of a more modern computer, to get the .DMG file for the El Capitan or Sierra installer.

Opa-Marc wrote:

The computer says it can't possibly update to 10.11.06. So I'm looking for an

earlier version of that operating system. Is that still available for

download somewhere?

You downloaded an OS update patch for El Capitan (10.11.6) instead of downloading the full macOS installer. I provided a link to the full macOS installers in my earlier post.

I would suggest trying Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R) to see if you can access the online macOS 12.x Monterey installer. Unfortunately some Macs will only boot to the earlier version of macOS which originally shipped with the laptop from the factory.

Opa-Marc wrote:

Yosemite 10.05 works well but when I want to update to 10.11.06 I keep getting an error message.

How are you trying to upgrade?

• Software Update?
• App Store?
• Accessing How to download and install macOS - Apple Support – which is behind a https link, even though the El Capitan and Sierra .DMG links within it are http links?
• Internet Recovery?
• Typing the http link for the El Capitan or Sierra .DMG kit into Yosemite's version of Safari by hand? (Something likely to be typo-prone)

And what is the specific error message?

Just repeating that you are "getting an error message" is not enough to help with remote troubleshooting.

lkrupp wrote:

Why would you not want to install OS X 10.11.06? It is the final version of 10.11 and therefore the most stable and bug free version of that system? Please explain.

The OP probably downloaded the 10.11.6 update patch instead of the full installer.

Once you install El Capitan or Sierra installed, you can upgrade that early 2012 MacBook Air as far as Monterey.

You may need to make an intermediate stop at High Sierra. High Sierra introduced APFS, and if I remember correctly, the High Sierra installer will automatically convert an internal SSD from HFS+ format to APFS format. The Monterey installer might expect the disk to already be in APFS format for an "in place" upgrade.

You didn't indicate whether that MacBook Air has 4 or 8 GB of RAM. Hopefully it has 8 GB, especially if you are planning on upgrading it all the way to Monterey.

Opa-Marc wrote:

I want to put an old macbook air (2015) back in order. Currently, it has the operating system

Yosemite 10.10.05.

[...]

There are eight macOS versions that your 2015 MBA can run, from Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite to macOS 12 Monterey.

You haven't given us any particular reason why you want to reinstall the oldest available OS other than your simple statement above.

Since you seem to be having such difficulty reinstalling the oldest OS, perhaps you would consider a newer OS?

Your Mac will have the longest productive lifespan with the newest available OS installed.

OS X Yosemite is very obsolete and is very limited in its ability to securely each out on the modern internet.

And though macOS Big Sur and Monterey are also no longer supported by Apple, they can currently provide better internet access than Yosemite thru Catalina.

Just a little food for thought, my friend.

Why would you not want to install OS X 10.11.06? It is the final version of 10.11 and therefore the most stable and bug free version of that system? Please explain.