How to Downgrade to macOS Monterey From macOS Ventura
Images sourced from 4K Wallpapers:https://4kwallpapers.com/gradients/macos-monterey-wwdc-21-stock-5k-5584.html
https://4k
macOS Ventura has a lot of great features that make it a solid operating system. But if you preferred your experience with macOS Monterey, you’ll need to downgrade to get it back.
Apple gives you notifications about upgrading macOS, but it doesn’t guide you on how to downgrade. Fortunately, we know the best ways to downgrade to an older version of macOS, and they work on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. So, read on to learn what they are and what works best for your Mac.
Use Time Machine Backups to Downgrade From macOS Ventura to macOS Monterey
Time Machine is a built-in utility in macOS that lets users back up their Macs to preserve files, personal information, apps, and app data in case anything is lost or damaged. It can also preserve the operating system version present on a Mac during a backup.
This means that if you already knowhow to set up and use Time Machine on your Macand made backups while you were using macOS Monterey, you have a fairly easy way to downgrade from macOS Ventura.
Before you downgrade with a Time Machine backup, back up your Mac while it’s running macOS Ventura in case you have issues with the downgrade. You’ll also need toperform a backup outside of Time Machineto transfer files you’ve created and updated since your last use of macOS Monterey onto your Mac without transferring macOS Ventura with it.
With your backups completed, you’re ready for the downgrade. To begin downgrading from macOS Ventura to macOS Monterey, plug your external hard drive (or whatever you store your Time Machine backups on) into your Mac and then restart your Mac.
While your Mac is restarting or turning back on, hitCommand + Rif you have an Intel Mac, or hold down the power button if you have an Apple silicon Mac to start it in Recovery Mode and selectOptions.
You may be prompted to select your Mac user account and type in your password, after which you will be on the macOS Recovery screen, where you’ll see multiple options. SelectRestore From Time Machine Backupand clickContinue. Then, clickContinueagain.
You’ll now be asked to select aRestore Source. Select the drive you have plugged into your Mac, and scroll through the various backups where you’ll be able to see what macOS you were running at that time. Select a backup with macOS Monterey as the operating system. We recommend selecting the last backup from before you upgraded to macOS Ventura to preserve as much data as possible.
Follow the remaining prompts to restore your Mac with your selected Time Machine backup, and your Mac will now be running on macOS Monterey!
To fully complete the downgrade, transfer the files you made during your time running macOS Ventura from your external backup. You won’t be able to keep files from applications that need macOS Ventura to run, but everything else should work just fine!
Create a Bootable Installer to Downgrade macOS Ventura to macOS Monterey
You can downgrade from macOS Ventura even if you don’t have any Time Machine backups from when you had macOS Monterey on your Mac. It’s a more involved process, but it’s possible by creating a bootable installer of your desired macOS.
A bootable installer is an installation program that is placed on an external hard drive or flash drive so it can be accessed and run even when a computer has nothing else on it.
To create a bootable installer, you need a flash drive or external hard drive with at least 14GB of free space. Then, you need to download an installer for macOS Monterey onto a Mac to put it on the drive.
you could download the macOS Monterey installer directly from the Mac App Store. You cannot manually search for it for some reason, so feel free to use the download link below.
Download:macOS Monterey(Free)
Download the installer by clicking theGetbutton, and do not open the file. Instead, go to yourApplicationsfolder and make sure the installer is in there. If it isn’t, click and drag it in there. Then plug your flash drive or external hard drive into your Mac.
If your drive hasn’t been formatted before, you’ll need to do that first. Check out our instructions oninstalling macOS from a USB driveandformatting an external hard drive for your Macfor step-by-step guides.
Once your drive is formatted, find and launch the Terminal app using a Spotlight search (Command + Space). Then, copy and paste the following command, and replace “MyVolume” with the name of the drive you’re using for the downgrade: Then, hit theReturn(or Enter) key
You’ll be prompted to input your administrator password. Type it out and hitReturnagain; note that your password won’t be visible in the Terminal window!
You’ll get a new prompt at that point—typeYand hitReturnto confirm you want to erase the volume. ClickOKwhen you get an alert that Terminal wants to access files on a removable volume.
After a loading period, Terminal should tell you the process is done, and your drive will now have the name of the macOS Monterey installer. You can now quit Terminal to get started with the installation process.
Before installing macOS Monterey on your Mac, you should back up all of your data. You otherwise risk losing all of your Mac’s data in the next steps.
To actually perform the installation and downgrade your macOS to Monterey, you have to boot your Mac into macOS Recovery, as with the Time Machine method above. To do this, restart your Mac, and hitCommand + Rif you have an Intel Mac, or hold the power button until you see theLoading Startup Optionsmessage if you have an Apple silicon Mac.
ClickOptionswhen it appears, and then when you’re in macOS Recovery, selectDisk Utility. Now, select thestartup disk from the left pane and clickErase, choosingHFS+orAPFSas the format. This will clear your Mac of everything, including its operating system.
Restartyour Mac again, holding down theOptionkey if you have an Intel Mac or holding down the power button if you have an Apple Silicon Mac.
TheStartup Managerscreen will now appear. Navigate to your USB flash drive or external hard drive with your arrow keys, and hit theReturnkey to select it. The installer will load itself; once it’s done, clickInstall macOS.
Once macOS Monterey is fully installed on your Mac, you’re able to put your files and data back on your Mac with your external backups and enjoy your downgraded Mac!
Downgrade to macOS Monterey Whenever You Like
If you’re not a fan of macOS Ventura, you can downgrade to macOS Monterey whenever you want. Either of the above methods will work on your Mac, whether it has Intel or Apple silicon chips, and let you keep most of your files and data. You’ll only lose anything that requires macOS Ventura to function.
Just remember to back up your Mac before you downgrade your operating system to ensure you don’t permanently lose all your data. We hope your downgrade goes well and our instructions help you through it!
Learn how to uninstall the macOS Sonoma beta and get back to the latest public macOS update.
It saves me hours and keeps my sanity intact.
The best features aren’t the ones being advertised.
Sometimes the smallest cleaning habit makes the biggest mess.
Your phone is a better editor than you give it credit for.
These films will leave you questioning humanity, but also wanting more.
