At the time of writing, WWDC is over and developer seeds have been sent. We look forward to all the developers and enthusiasts in our community to test the new version of macOS
We’ll expand on this thread with much more information as the day progresses, including known issues as well as patch support.
MacOS Monterey compatibility
- 2016 and later MacBook
- 2015 and later MacBook Air
- MacBook Air7, x
- MacBook Air8, x
- MacBook Air9.1
- 2015 and later MacBook Pro
- MacBook Pro11.3-5
- MacBook Pro12.1
- MacBook Pro13, x
- MacBook Pro14, x
- MacBook Pro15, x
- MacBook Pro16, x
- 2015 and later iMac
- iMac16, x
- iMac17.1
- iMac18, x
- iMac19, x
- iMac20, x
- 2017 and later iMac Pro
- 2014 and later Mac mini
- 2013 and later Mac Pro
- MacBook Pro 2013 and 2014
- MacBook Air 2013 and 2014
- 2015 MacBook
- 2014 and early 2015 iMac
+ Does not currently support any form of graphics acceleration
- Early 2008 Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro or newer:
- MacPro3.1 *
- MacPro4.1 *
- MacPro5.1 *
- iMac7.1+
- iMac8.1+
- iMac9.1+
- iMac10, x +
- iMac11, x *
- iMac12, x *
- MacBook Pro4.1+
- MacBook Pro5, x +
- MacBook Pro6, x +
- MacBook Pro7, x +
- MacBook Pro8, x +
- MacBookPro9, x (Nvidia GPU can be used on 15 “for acceleration) +
- MacBook Air or MacBook Unibody in late 2008 aluminum or newer:
- MacBook Air2,1 +
- MacBookAir3, x +
- MacBook Air4, x +
- MacBook Air5, x +
- MacBook5.1+
- Early 2009 Mac Mini or newer or white MacBook:
- Macmini3.1 +
- Macmini4.1 +
- Macmini5, x +
- MacBook5.2+
- MacBook 6.1+
- MacBook 7.1+
- MacBook8.1
- Xserve early 2008 or newer:
- 2006-2007 Mac Pro, iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini:
- MacPro1,1
- MacPro2.1
- iMac4.1
- iMac5, x
- iMac6.1
- MacBook Pro1,1
- MacBook Pro2,1
- MacBook Pro3,1
- Macmini1,1
- Macmini2.1
- – The 2007 iMac 7.1 is Catalina compatible and potentially Big Sur if the processor is upgraded to a Penryn-based Core 2 Duo, such as a T9300.
- MacBook 2006-2008:
- MacBook1.1
- MacBook2.1
- MacBook3.1
- MacBook4,1 (like Mojave and Catalina, we’ll be alone here, but Big Sur will run on this machine!)
- 2008 MacBook Air (MacBookAir 1.1)
- All PowerPC based Macs
- All based on 68k Mac
- Intel HD 4000 Drivers
- Compared to macOS Big Sur, macOS Monterey has dropped support for Intel’s Ivy Bridge graphics. This means that laptops with Intel HD 4000 GPUs will no longer have graphics acceleration like the MacBookAir5, x, MacBookPro9, x and MacBookPro10, x
Installing macOS Monterey on an unsupported Mac
Q: How to download macOS Monterey
A: The easiest way is to use tools like gibMacOS which can download macOS Monterey InstallAssistant packages directly from Apple.
Q: How do I create a USB installer after downloading the InstallAssistant package? ?
A: Install the package, it creates an app named Install macOS Big Sur in your apps folder. Create the USB installer by following this official Apple guide.
Q: Where / how can I download a patch tool?
A: Currently, there is only one patcher that will soon support macOS 12, Monterey being OpenCore Legacy Patcher. Over time, we expect many more developers to join their own implementations of the patching process:
- OpenCore Legacy Patcherby @khronokernel and @dhinakg is a completely different approach than the old OpenCore-based patching methods. It is currently the only option offering system updates via Apple Software Update like all supported Macs. While preparation uses a simple graphical interface, installing and updating Monterey is the same as on systems supported through System Preferences.
Remember that it is strongly suggested that you have a backup in place before installing new system software on your major devices, overwriting all stable versions.
Apple and all patch developers are not responsible for any potential damage or loss of data caused by the use of pre-release software or unofficial support patches. Use at your own risk.
At the time of writing, WWDC is over and developer seeds have been sent. We look forward to all the developers and enthusiasts in our community to test the new version of macOS
We’ll expand on this thread with much more information as the day progresses, including known issues as well as patch support.
MacOS Monterey compatibility
- 2016 and later MacBook
- 2015 and later MacBook Air
- MacBook Air7, x
- MacBook Air8, x
- MacBook Air9.1
- 2015 and later MacBook Pro
- MacBook Pro11.3-5
- MacBook Pro12.1
- MacBook Pro13, x
- MacBook Pro14, x
- MacBook Pro15, x
- MacBook Pro16, x
- 2015 and later iMac
- iMac16, x
- iMac17.1
- iMac18, x
- iMac19, x
- iMac20, x
- 2017 and later iMac Pro
- 2014 and later Mac mini
- 2013 and later Mac Pro
- MacBook Pro 2013 and 2014
- MacBook Air 2013 and 2014
- 2015 MacBook
- 2014 and early 2015 iMac
+ Does not currently support any form of graphics acceleration
- Early 2008 Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro or newer:
- MacPro3.1 *
- MacPro4.1 *
- MacPro5.1 *
- iMac7.1+
- iMac8.1+
- iMac9.1+
- iMac10, x +
- iMac11, x *
- iMac12, x *
- MacBook Pro4.1+
- MacBook Pro5, x +
- MacBook Pro6, x +
- MacBook Pro7, x +
- MacBook Pro8, x +
- MacBookPro9, x (Nvidia GPU can be used on 15 “for acceleration) +
- MacBook Air or MacBook Unibody in late 2008 aluminum or newer:
- MacBook Air2,1 +
- MacBookAir3, x +
- MacBook Air4, x +
- MacBook Air5, x +
- MacBook5.1+
- Early 2009 Mac Mini or newer or white MacBook:
- Macmini3.1 +
- Macmini4.1 +
- Macmini5, x +
- MacBook5.2+
- MacBook 6.1+
- MacBook 7.1+
- MacBook8.1
- Xserve early 2008 or newer:
- 2006-2007 Mac Pro, iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini:
- MacPro1,1
- MacPro2.1
- iMac4.1
- iMac5, x
- iMac6.1
- MacBook Pro1,1
- MacBook Pro2,1
- MacBook Pro3,1
- Macmini1,1
- Macmini2.1
- – The 2007 iMac 7.1 is Catalina compatible and potentially Big Sur if the processor is upgraded to a Penryn-based Core 2 Duo, such as a T9300.
- MacBook 2006-2008:
- MacBook1.1
- MacBook2.1
- MacBook3.1
- MacBook4,1 (like Mojave and Catalina, we’ll be alone here, but Big Sur will run on this machine!)
- 2008 MacBook Air (MacBookAir 1.1)
- All PowerPC based Macs
- All based on 68k Mac
- Intel HD 4000 Drivers
- Compared to macOS Big Sur, macOS Monterey has dropped support for Intel’s Ivy Bridge graphics. This means that laptops with Intel HD 4000 GPUs will no longer have graphics acceleration like the MacBookAir5, x, MacBookPro9, x and MacBookPro10, x
Installing macOS Monterey on an unsupported Mac
Q: How to download macOS Monterey
A: The easiest way is to use tools like gibMacOS which can download macOS Monterey InstallAssistant packages directly from Apple.
Q: How do I create a USB installer after downloading the InstallAssistant package? ?
A: Install the package, it creates an app named Install macOS Big Sur in your apps folder. Create the USB installer by following this official Apple guide.
Q: Where / how can I download a patch tool?
A: Currently, there is only one patcher that will soon support macOS 12, Monterey being OpenCore Legacy Patcher. Over time, we expect many more developers to join their own implementations of the patching process:
- OpenCore Legacy Patcherby @khronokernel and @dhinakg is a completely different approach than the old OpenCore-based patching methods. It is currently the only option offering system updates via Apple Software Update like all supported Macs. While preparation uses a simple graphical interface, installing and updating Monterey is the same as on systems supported through System Preferences.
Remember that it is strongly suggested that you have a backup in place before installing new system software on your major devices, overwriting all stable versions.
Apple and all patch developers are not responsible for any potential damage or loss of data caused by the use of pre-release software or unofficial support patches. Use at your own risk.