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I see on the OS Sierra page, that a late 2010 Macbook Air is accepted. I have a MacBook Air (the serial number identifies it as a late 2010 mac) that is the 10.6.8 version. Can it update?
MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
I have a Late-2010 Macbook Air with the fastest processor (2.13GHz Core 2 Duo) and most memory that was available at the time. I upgraded to MacOS Sierra, and I had a horrible time of it. The processor was always overloaded, and the fan was always running. I couldn't even browse the web, because the fan would immediately kick in and the whole computer would slow down.
In contrast, I downgraded back to MacOS X 10.11 El Capitan, and now the same Late-2010 Macbook Air is totally happy! No more processor overloads, no fan kicking in, and I can use Chrome again with no strain. It just works again.
So while Apple says a Late-2010 Macbook Air is acceptable for MacOS Sierra, I would recommend holding off as long as you can (if not forever.) It really cripples your experience.
The 2009 Mac Mini is considered unacceptable for Sierra by Apple, and that also has a Core Duo processor like the Late-2010 Macbook Air, which makes me wonder why the Air was ever considered OK...
I have a Late-2010 Macbook Air with the fastest processor (2.13GHz Core 2 Duo) and most memory that was available at the time. I upgraded to MacOS Sierra, and I had a horrible time of it. The processor was always overloaded, and the fan was always running. I couldn't even browse the web, because the fan would immediately kick in and the whole computer would slow down.
In contrast, I downgraded back to MacOS X 10.11 El Capitan, and now the same Late-2010 Macbook Air is totally happy! No more processor overloads, no fan kicking in, and I can use Chrome again with no strain. It just works again.
So while Apple says a Late-2010 Macbook Air is acceptable for MacOS Sierra, I would recommend holding off as long as you can (if not forever.) It really cripples your experience.
The 2009 Mac Mini is considered unacceptable for Sierra by Apple, and that also has a Core Duo processor like the Late-2010 Macbook Air, which makes me wonder why the Air was ever considered OK...
I just installed Sierra on my 2010 MacBook Air as well and already I hate it! I cleared up all my memory space to help speed things up in general but this is like 100 steps back from what I had before.
...now I gotta go find out how to do this downgrading...
aniyaitaliana, the only way I know how to downgrade is to do a clean install (formatting your hard drive and installing the OS from USB drive.) If you google "Clean Install El Capitan" you'll find instructions for making your own bootable USB drive. You will need the "Install OS X El Capitan" app on a Mac somewhere in order to create your own bootable install media. Make a full backup of your Mac hard drive before you do this, and you can transfer your data back after you do a clean install.
I totally agree with you.
My Late 2010 MBA:
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz
2GB RAM
I have tried the Sierra and it was disaster, when High sierra has been announced I thought it would be great for my old mac, however it was still a disaster for my Late 2010 MBA. I downgraded back to EL Capitan, and it was great.
The requirements can be found here:
https://www.apple.com/macos/how-to-upgrade/#hardware-requirements
Yeah I know, at one part it says it accepts late 2010 MacBook Airs, but then in another part, it says 10.7.5 is required.
My Mac is a late 2010 model but it runs 10.6.8.
if you can update to 10.11 now for free from the app store you can install that. After September 20 this may no longer be available so put it in your account ASAP and after Sep 20 you can still download it if you have not already done so. If you do not do this you very likely will no longer be able to download or purchase 10.11 any longer, and you will need to purchase 10.7.5 from Apple. It is available in some but not all Apple Stores depending on your location. It $19.95 and it be the only legal way to obtain a usable OS that will facilitate the update to Sierra.
http://www.apple.com/shop/product/D6106Z/A/os-x-lion
before proceeding it is highly suggested you make a time machine backup of your current system.
Can a late 2010 Mac upgrade to Sierra?
