To get the latest features and maintain the security, stability, compatibility and performance of your Mac, it's important to keep your software up to date. Apple recommends that you always use the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
Learn how to upgrade to macOS Big Sur, the latest version of macOS.
Check compatibility
The version of macOS that came with your Mac is the earliest version it can use. For example, if your Mac came with macOS Big Sur, it will not accept installation of macOS Catalina or earlier.
If a macOS can't be used on your Mac, the App Store or installer will let you know. For example, it may say that it's not compatible with this device or it's too old to be opened on this version of macOS. To confirm compatibility before downloading, check the minimum hardware requirements:
A preview of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion was publicly shown at the 'Back to the Mac' Apple Special Event on October 20, 2010. Mac Os X Mountain Lion Vs El Capitan; Is Mac Os X Mountain Lion Still Supported; Can I Update My Mac From Lion To El Capitan; Mac Os X Mountain Lion Upgrade To El Capitan; macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop. I have also made a Mountain Lion bootable usb pen whilst in the El Capitan environment and here's how I did it without ANY command line. It's real easy, take your Mountain Lion app image, place on the desktop, right click show package contents open contents folder open SharedSupport folder. Keep getting stuck on 'Installing on 'Macintosh HD' and 'About 24 minutes remaining' for an hour or two, then it comes up with something like 'It was not possible to install El Capitan', which I'm fully aware; however it doesn't seem to give me any obvious option to revert to OS X 10.6.8. Open that app from your Applications folder to begin installing the operating system. MacOS Sierra 10.12 can upgrade El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, or Lion; OS X El Capitan 10.11 can upgrade Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard; OS X Yosemite 10.10can upgrade Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard.
- macOS Catalina 10.15 hardware requirements
- macOS Mojave 10.14 hardware requirements
- macOS High Sierra 10.13 hardware requirements
- macOS Sierra 10.12 hardware requirements
- OS X El Capitan 10.11 hardware requirements
- OS X Yosemite 10.10 hardware requirements
Os X Mountain Lion Vs El Capitan
Download macOS using Safari on your Mac
Safari uses these links to find the old installers in the App Store. After downloading from the App Store, the installer will open automatically.
- macOS Catalina 10.15 can upgrade Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite or Mavericks
- macOS Mojave 10.14 can upgrade High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks or Mountain Lion
- macOS High Sierra 10.13 can upgrade Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks or Mountain Lion
Os X Mountain Lion To El Capitan Drive
Safari will download the following older installers as a disk image named InstallOS.dmg or InstallMacOSX.dmg. Open the disk image, then open the .pkg installer inside the disk image. It will install an app named Install [Version Name]. Open that app from your Applications folder to start installing the operating system.
- macOS Sierra 10.12 can upgrade El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion or Lion
- OS X El Capitan 10.11 can upgrade Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion or Snow Leopard
- OS X Yosemite 10.10can upgrade Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion or Snow Leopard