2009 iMac OS Support

JimmyCMPIT wrote:

Apple states you can run OS X 10.13 High Sierra on an iMac made after 2006 with as little as 2GB RAM, but the findings on the forum is if you do that your system may not give you the response worth upgrading. Even 4GB RAM may not be enough to facilitate 10.13 to make it a worthwhile experience. The early 2009 iMac and the late 2009 iMac can (unofficially) be upgraded to 8GB or 32GB respectively. 8GB or more would be preferable in to accommodate the newer OS and an SSD upgrade would put new life into that system if you were willing to invest.

The macOS is not compatible to the Macs mentioned except the late 2009 iMac and newer.

Early 2009 iMac is maxed at El Capitan ( I know because I own one) and has also

been deemed obsolete.

From this page:

macOS - How to Upgrade - Apple

On this page:

Vintage and obsolete products - Apple Support

Early 2009 iMacs are obsolete and late 2009 have been moved to vintage.

that would be how long apple supports the 2009 iMac not the OS, the current OS is supported. The Mid 2007 iMac or newer supports OS X 10.13, but Apple will decide when it will change that and anyone stating claims outside of Apple would only be conjecture - and the TOS of the forums do not allow that here.

If it is High Sierra, it will be supported for quite a while. Apple doesn't announce how long they support an OS but judging by past experience, it's usually supported for at least another couple of upgrade cycles.

Apple states you can run OS X 10.13 High Sierra on an iMac made after 2006 with as little as 2GB RAM, but the findings on the forum is if you do that your system may not give you the response worth upgrading. Even 4GB RAM may not be enough to facilitate 10.13 to make it a worthwhile experience. The early 2009 iMac and the late 2009 iMac can (unofficially) be upgraded to 8GB or 32GB respectively. 8GB or more would be preferable in to accommodate the newer OS and an SSD upgrade would put new life into that system if you were willing to invest.

macjack wrote:

High Sierra is 10.13. A 2009 iMac should be capable of running High Sierra. Look for it in the AppStore.

A LATE 2009 iMac (21.5" or 27") should be able to run 10.13, an early 2009 (24" or 20") will not. The OP never state which model they have.

El Capitan is living on borrowed time so it Apple could drop

security updates for it at any time (if they haven't already).

If a products considered obsolete, software support can

end anytime.

However, it seems typically that Apple supports OS security updates

(no new features) for two versions prior to the current, i.e. in October

they released security updates for El Capitan and Sierra. When the next

"latest and greatest" macOS comes out, support for El Capitan could be

dropped.

I have a 2009 iMac which I purchased in May of 2009. I upgraded the memory to 8GM, but this model is still is not able to upgrade. When I went to the app store to upgrade and put my serial number in, it responded that my Mac could not be upgraded.

virg wrote:

I have a 2009 iMac which I purchased in May of 2009. I upgraded the memory to 8GM, but this model is still is not able to upgrade. When I went to the app store to upgrade and put my serial number in, it responded that my Mac could not be upgraded.

You apparently have an early 2009 (20" or 24") model, these cannot be upgraded to Sierra or High Sierra. It may be time to consider it's replacement if you need Sierra or HS functionality.

High Sierra is 10.13. A 2009 iMac should be capable of running High Sierra. Look for it in the AppStore.

apparently I was looking at the wrong system requirement list.

thank you for the clarification.

My mistake the system requirement are late 2009.