How can I uninstall OS X Yosemite and return to OS X Mavericks?

1. You must have a fully bootable Mavericks system from which to boot the computer. You can then erase the volume with Yosemite, then clone the Mavericks system to the empty volume you just erased.
2. You can erase the drive and reinstall Mavericks if you have a USB Mavericks installer flash drive.
3. You can boot the computer via Internet Recovery and reinstall the original version of OS X that came with the computer. This is only feasible on models from 2011 to the present.

Since Kappy has told you that downgrading back to an older version of OS X is going to involve quite a bit of work, maybe you might what to share with us your reasons for wanting to downgrade in case we can help and save you from having to do that.

I have been thinking about this too. My reason is that I have lost both my internal and external speakers since downloading Yosemite. Could one of you guys tell me how to rectify this issue? thanks!

Hi Kappy,

I would also like to revert back to Mavericks simply because I don't particularly like the new look of Yosemite.

In your option 3. you say that is is possible via internet recovery. Could you please tell me how to do this as it seems the best option for me.

Thanks,

Happy to do so:

Install Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion Using Internet Recovery

Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.

Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:

Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.

Partition and Format the hard drive:

1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.

Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion. Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.

Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

I want to do the same thing and here's why...

I have just ordered a new Macbook Air, which will inevitably come pre-installed with Yosemite (I wanted to get it before Yosemite was released, but didn't have enough money until today)

I have an iMac and older Mac Pro, both running Mavericks, and I use Pages and Numbers for a lot of documents, via iCloud. I will want to edit these documents on the new Macbook too.

It appears that, as usual, the latest version of the iWork applications can open files edited in older versions, but the pre-Yosemite versions will not be able to open files edited in the Yosemite versions.

I do not want to upgrade my iMac and Mac Pro to Yosemite, not only because I never upgrade until two or three updates down the line (the list of panicking Yosemite installers on this forum is proof enough of the wisdom of that), but also because Mavericks has already slowed them down noticeably.

So, although it sounds like a bit of a faff, the best solution for me will be to backgrade the new Macbook Air to Mavericks

Thanks Kappy. Much appreciated.

You've just saved me endless hours scouring the web.

Thanks again,

Mike

well in my case,

I have a Mac mini (Mid 2010), with 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB 1087Mhz DDR3.

and it has just become very slow and unresponsive.

I need to return to Mavericks since I discovered Apogee Symphony sound card will not be compatible with Yosemite until December. Everything is backed up regularly on Time Machine. Can I re-install from that or is it, as you say, wipe everything and re-installl?

Hi Kappy - This is obviously a great reply - unfortunately I don't understand any of this technical lingo 😐 Like others, I don't like the esthetics of Yosemite, but that's not my issue. My issue is that I play interactive scrabble online on a website called www.isc.ro. Since I've installed Yosemite I'm unable to connect to the website. I tried changing settings in Utilities, and also tried opening while holding the control button, but have had no luck. I also tried downloading the scrabble program anew and creating a new account, still no luck. Any suggestions? Thanks, from a non-techie.

this is the worst apple software I've ever used. not only is my entire system slowed down i cannot use wireless headphones without suffering a 3 second delay in audio in any application. i cannot use more than 1 application without the entire system slowing down my icons are ****** up and my system cache needs to be constantly thrown away just to stay afloat and act like a normal computer but even that does nothing. i am on a iMac late 2012, is this seriously how apple treats its older computers ? I need to get work done and this has pretty much left my computer on its knees this is the worst upgrade I've ever downloaded on any any platform. how do i get mavericks back in simple terms? this is absolutely unacceptable.

How much free space do you have on your system disk?

If you wish to go back to Mavericks then erase the disk and reinstall the backup you made before the upgrade.

I want to uninstall because not only is the operating system slower but it has some very quirky behavior, like asking for my login twice when I open my computer from a sleep. The first password I enter kinda wakes up the computer and I see it loading and the second password finally lets me in.

I'm with you, I want to uninstall it. I HATE Yosemite! It has made my work 100x's more difficult because I have to reconnect to my WiFi every 3 seconds. Ridiculous!

Have you ever considered fixing your network?