How to Install macOS Sonoma on an Unsupported Mac
The beta and dev version of Sonoma has been released for a while and now the first stable version of Sonoma 14.0 is coming out. I have seen dozens of bugs and issues being resolved and it is time to try out Sonoma!
Unfortunately, only the moden Mac devices are eligible for upgrade according to the official announchment of Apple. Below is a list of devcies with official Sonoma Support:
- MacBook Air 2018 and later
- MacBook Pro 2018 and later
- Mac mini 2018 and later
- iMac 2019 and later
- iMac Pro 2017
- Mac Pro 2019 and later
- Mac Studio 2022 and later
Is there any way to install Sonoma on unsupported Macs?
It is a definitely YES thanks to the developer of OpenCore Legacy Patcher, the most popular tool to help you install macOS on unsupported device.
What is OpenCore?
OpenCore is a special type of bootloader that changes the kernel requirement of each macOS so you can bypass the Apple official requirement of hardware and run unsupported macOS on your device safely.
OpenCore changes the underlaying data of SMBIOS, ACPI tables and kexts, making it possible to run macOS Sonoma on unsupported hardware demanded by Apple. Besides unsupported Mac, you can also install macOS Sonoma on Intel X86 based computers, which is usually referred as hackintosh.
Unsupported Macs Capable of Running Sonoma
According to the latest statement of OpenCore team, some of the old Macs, erased from official support list, have the capability to install macOS Sonoma on it with the help of OpenCore Legacy Patcher. The current list:
- MacBook Air 2012–2017
- MacBookPro 2012–2017
- MacBook 2015–2017
- Mac Mini 2012–2017
- iMac 2009–2018
- Mac Pr o2008–2017
Go to the About This Mac from the desktop and check out if your Mac is on this list or not. In my case, my Mac is able to install macOS Sonoma as it is 2015 MacBook Pro.
Another thing you should check is the hardware limitation when Sonoma is installed. You can check the GPU/CPU/Storage/Motherboard limitation from this page.
How to Install Sonoma on an Unsupported Mac
With the help of OpenCore, the process becomes much easier. Since the version of 1.0.0, Sonoma support is fully added to OpenCore Legacy Patcher app. Please follow the steps in below to install Sonoma on an unsupported Mac.
Note: This is a time consuming task. Please make sure you have patience!
Step 1: Backup Your Mac (Important)
This is the first and very important step before we get started. Though OpenCore is a stable and quality product, there might be chance to lost the data during installation. Please backup your data and app to an external drive for safety reason.
Step 2: Download macOS Sonoma from App Store
Open App Store on your Mac and search for ‘Sonoma’. Now, click the View button and download macOS install app from there.
Step 3: Download and Run OpenCore Legacy Patcher
Now, download the latest version of OpenCore Legacy Patcher app from here (a zip file):
Double click the zip and run OpenCore Legacy Patcher from your Mac:
Step 4: Create a macOS Sonoma Install USB
Click Create macOS Installer menu from the home screen. This will help you make a bootable USB drive for Sonoma installation. Choose Use existing macOS Installer (the downloaded app for Sonoma Install) from the pop-up window.
The app will detect the Sonoma install app in the Applications folder by default. You can now select the installer and a target USB drive to start flashing the macOS installer packages to the USB.
Wait about 30 minutes and you will have a macOS Sonoma bootable USB drive. The faster the USB drive, the less time you are waiting!
Step 5: Install OpenCore to Bootable USB Drive
A couple of modifications from OpenCore have to be written to the bootable USB so macOS Sonoma could be installed on the unsupported Mac models.
Click the Build and Install OpenCore menu from the home screen. The app starts to build the OpenCore configuration based on the hardware specs of current Mac.
Once it is done, click the Install OpenCore button to finish the preparation process.
Step 6: Boot Your Mac from OpenCore USB
To boot your Mac from USB, please shut down the Mac first. After that, hold and press Power+ Option keys to open Startup Manager. It will list all bootable drives at this time. Please choose EFI Boot from the list and your Mac gets into OpenCore menu.
Step 7: Start Installing Sonoma on Unsupported Mac
Pick up Install macOS Sonoma option from OpenCore Picker and follow the prompts to install macOS Sonoma on your unsupported Mac. There will be a couple of texts displayed on the screen. Don’t worry. It is a normal procedure of OpenCore.
Step 8: Configure Your Mac after Installation
Once the installation is completed successfully, there are a few settings you have to be made in order to run Sonoma smoothly on this unsupported Mac. This can be done with Post-Install Root Patch from the app.
More post-installation suggestions can be found out in here:
https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/POST-INSTALL.html
Troubleshooting Guide for OpenCore Sonoma
OpenCore Legacy Patcher is a great app to help you experience the latest macOS on unsupported models. However, it is not perfect! Below is a couple of issues when working with the app.
#1 Boot into a Black Screen
When booting from the USB drive, the screen is black and nothing happen. You should boot into Safe mode to start the Sonoma installation.
#2 Bluetooth Device Not Working
This is another common issue with Sonoma. Please reset the NVRAM to fix the issue.
#3 Issue with T1 Security Chip
macOS Sonoma has deprecated support for Apple T1 security chip. Hence, you can’t do the following on unsupported Mac:
- Add fingerprints
- Add card to Apple Pay
- Enable FileVault
If you have problem in running macOS Sonoma, please search the forums to find the answer:
https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh
Final Words
Testing out the new things is great and a lot of Macs are incompatible with the latest macOS Sonoma. This guide goes through all the necessary steps to help you install Sonoma on an unsupported Mac.
