How to Install MacOS Catalina 10.15 on an Unsupported Mac, iMac, Mac Pro or Mac Mini in 2022

Remember boot key is the 'Alt/Option' Key on the LEFT SIDE of the keyboard!

In this video I will show you you how to install macOS 10.15 Catalina on an unsupported Mac.

To be clear this guide shows you how to install Mac OS Catalina, it is up to you to backup your data first and use Catalina at your own risk, I am not responsible for any loss of data etc...For me as you can see I installed Catalina and it worked for me, however due to unforeseen circumstances I can't help with all install steps if it doesn't work out for you. I also can't support or guide you on the use of additional Apps you may install like for example Office (word, powerpoint, excel), Final Cut Pro, Photoshop etc... they may work - they may not. However do help others in the comments if you get Apps to work what other are struggling with.

Using dosdude1 Patcher; I have successfully installed MacOS Catalina 10.15 onto a 2008 MacBook Pro and you can to on your Intel Mac!
You will need a USB stick and a copy of MacOS Catalina 2020 and the patcher.

The USB stick I have used and works with MacOS Catalina is this one;

You can download this from dosdude1 website;

The same Macbook, Macbook Air, Macbook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini & Mac Pro that were compatible with MacOS Mojave work with Catalina 10.15.

One Final note at the time of making this video, MacOS Catalina is currently on 10.15.3 so a newer version might be available but I would still recommend dosdude1 Catalina Patcher with with newer versions.

Known compatible devices;
• Early-2008 or newer Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro:
• MacPro3,1
• MacPro4,1
• MacPro5,1
• iMac8,1
• iMac9,1
• iMac10,x
• iMac11,x (systems with AMD Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx series GPUs will be almost unusable when running Mojave. More details are located in the Known Issues section below.)
• iMac12,x (systems with AMD Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx series GPUs will be almost unusable when running Mojave. More details are located in the Known Issues section below.)
• MacBookPro4,1
• MacBookPro5,x
• MacBookPro6,x
• MacBookPro7,1
• MacBookPro8,x

• Late-2008 or newer MacBook Air or Aluminum Unibody MacBook:
• MacBookAir2,1
• MacBookAir3,x
• MacBookAir4,x
• MacBook5,1

• Early-2009 or newer Mac Mini or white MacBook:
• Macmini3,1
• Macmini4,1
• Macmini5,x
• MacBook5,2
• MacBook6,1
• MacBook7,1

• Early-2008 or newer Xserve:
• Xserve2,1
• Xserve3,1

[Backyard_Trails]

My wife said “it can’t be done” but boom 🤯 I was able to do it because of you’re clear instructions thank you 🙏 so much!!!

[banksj]

This was one of the best done videos on YT I have seen. All accurate information, easy to understand and step by step. Fantastic

[jean-paulescalera]

Hello Matt, I was recently given a late 2011 13-inch MacBook Pro with 16GB of ram and 500GB HD. I installed a Crucial MX500 SSD and a new battery. I found your excellent and clear tutorial, followed it closely and installed Catalina today. Works perfectly! Thank you for this great video and all the best to you!

[sherabawethu]

This was incredibly helpful and perfectly explained. I installed Catalina on my MacBook Pro late 2009 :) Thank you so much Matt!

[ur_fav.libra_]

I cant believe how helpful this video was. I talked to two apple employees and none could figure out what was going on. This tutorial was so useful and i can finally use the mac i bought that was used before.

[artvslifewithpheelix]

Dude, I should write you a personal email, for four days I've been tearing what little hair I have left out, you saved my sanity and my old gaming setup! You rock! Almost in tears...

[sarkarjan]

10/10 for your presentation. simple and concise. hats off to you. you naturally gifted to explain things in my opinion.

[tariqqadiri]

Thank you Mate, you literally saved me from buying a new MacBook pro, i got Macbook Pro late 2011, i was stuck with 10.12.4, massive massive respect to u mate. keep the good work up.

[johncookjr]

Thank you so much for this video. My girl friend got me a 2013 iMac refurb for my birthday. I wasn’t able to run excel and other stuff I need for work from home. Found this video and now everything works perfectly. Saved us having to return a birthday present. Cheers!

[anthonylisa]

i can honestly say this is the most straight forward tutorial i have every used. flawless. thank you so much.

[dazzion]

Hello Matt, very clear video! I'm thinking of upgrading to catalina my 2009 macbook pro: do you reckon catalina is the easiest one to install in order to just obtain some security updates? also, did you actually lose any files in the procedures? Many thanks!

[sandrasmith]

Your video had a great solution and support whenever I watch it this again work for me flawlessly. Thanks for the help!

[johnmarkzimm]

Wow, you really got this old mac setup nice. I have the exact Mac Book Pro. A) how did you get it to use 8 gig of Ram b) have you thought about installing a second SSD and using raid 0 to get a bit more speed out of your mac?

[SabinaBeryoza]

Thank I can’t express how grateful I am. It took me two days to find a way how to fix this. You saved me big time! 🤩🙏🏻 Wish you all the best! 🥳

[stricklyfashion]

I upgraded to 500GB SSD and upgraded my RAM to 8GB first and then this Saved my $50 2009 iMac! Runs super fast! MVP!!

[ymwbmke]

I guess at the end of the day, you have to trust the people writing the code for the patcher to NOT be malicious in their coding. So hard to trust people now a days and unless you are into IT Sec Forensics and know what to look for, you just have to hope they are legit. Thanks for taking the time to make the video!

[bomb]

Worked amazing on my MacBook Air 2011 11”. You are an amazing person with amazing knowledge and I wish the best for you, brother.

[MarcusAuyrelius]

Thank you for this video! Brought back some life into my '08 iMac after installing a ssd today.

[angiepalacios]

I bought an 20in iMac 2008. And I did the upgrade last night. It was running snow leopard. This was a straight forward and to the point. Step by step. It was not difficult at all. Thank you so much. It’s working great. Now I want to upgrade the RAM and the Hard drive to a SSD. oh yeah did is mention ONLY cost me $50USD. THANK YOH SOOO MUCH!!!!

[dougwigginton]

extremely well done. Thank you. One question. Apple pages will not downloard. is there away around this?