Install macOS Sonoma on Unsupported Macs EASY (Step-by-Step Guide)

You can install macOS Sonoma on your Unsupported Mac with OpenCore Legacy Patcher! This video is a comprehensive full step-by-step walkthrough that anyone can follow! CHAPTERS & UPDATES BELOW

UPDATES: 3/20/24
0. WARNING: The Sonoma 14.4 Update is NOT compatible with Non-Metal Macs from 2008-2011. DO NOT INSTALL 14.4 ON THESE MODELS. Only use 14.3.1 for now.
1. Current version of OCLP = 1.4.2
2. Current version of Sonoma = 14.4
3. NOTE for 2016 & 2017 MacBook Pro's with Touch Bar! Do NOT erase the top level SSD ONLY Macintosh HD or your touchbar will not work.
4. If you get the "An error occurred preparing the software update" error, make sure you use APFS format and clear the NVRAM and try a different USB installer flash drive or disk.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher official website

Direct OCLP App 1.4.2 download

Support the OpenCore Legacy Patcher Developers (Open Collective)

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:53 Important Notes
1:37 BACKUP ALL YOUR DATA FIRST!!!
2:27 Have a backup plan.
4:16 NOTE! If you have a 2010 and older Mac you need a USB 2.0 Hub!!!
5:09 Start of the walkthrough - Install Option #1 Fresh Erase & Install
5:20 WALKTHROUGH #1 Erase and Install Sonoma on s a 2011 17” MacBook Pro
5:55 If the OCLP Assets section has a spinning circle can’t download
6:31 Moving new OCLP app to your Applications folder.
7:01 Opening OCLP App for the first time
7:20 Prepare USB Flash Drive - Plug in, & Erase
7:45 OPTIONAL STEP: Manual erase of USB drive with Disk Utility
8:11 OPTIONAL STEP: Disable Spotlight indexing on USB Drive
9:09 Download macOS Sonoma
9:54 Creating Sonoma USB installer
11:35 Install OCLP to USB.
12:04 OPTIONAL: Putting a copy of the OCLP app on our USB Install drive just in case
12:29 OPTIONAL: Creating a 2nd USB partition for supported version of macOS just in case
15:42 OPTIONAL: Change USB installer icons to macOS installer icons
16:17 USB OCLP Sonoma Drive Done!
16:44 Time to reboot to the Sonoma USB Installer! Restart and hold downOPtion
16:49 Hold down Option key + USB EFI Boot to Sonoma Installer
17:35 We are going to perform a fresh erase & install of macOS Sonoma
17:40 LAST CALL BACK UP YOUR DATA!! Then Click disk Utility & Erase
18:36 Let’s start the the install of macOS Sonoma!
19:01 The install will reboot your Mac 4-5 times
19:55 4th Reboot & Install of New OCLP Auto Patcher!
20:21 Install Complete, Go through the setup assistant
20:36 We are on the desktop! Note: Your Mac could run a bit slow after Install = Spotlight Indexing
20:40 Wait for auto popup to install OCLP boot loader to internal Hard Drive!
20:56 Installing OCLP Boot loader to Internal Hard Drive
21:48 Eject your OCLP USB Installer disk
21:59 Reboot - Hold down Option key
22:10 At EFI Boot selection screen = Select EFI Boot then click Macintosh HD
22:24 macOS Sonoma Install Complete = now a few finder setting options
23:14 If a new version of OCLP App is available ?
23:25 How to change the top screen menu bar text from White to Black
24:13 WALKTHROUGH #2 Upgrade in place install on a 2013 Mac Pro
24:37 If you don’t have the OCLP App - Download it from OCLP Github
25:26 If you already have the OCLP app, let’s upgrade it to the latest version!
25:50 OCLP Updated to the latest version!
26:04 Install the latest OpenCore and Root Patches
27:08 Why install the latest OCLP OpenCore & Root Patches BEFORE upgrading to Sonoma?
27:40 Latest version of OCLP patches are working
28:06 NOTE: NOT recommended upgrade to Sonoma through Software Update!! + Older Updates
29:13 Creating the OCLP USB installer disk & Using existing installer that you have in applications
32:11 OPTIONAL: Creating a 2nd partition on USB for our backup supported macOS just in case.
34:26 OPTIONAL: Move a backup copy of the OCLP app to our USB drive - restart
34:55 We are at the EFI Boot screen - Select the USB EFI Boot & then Install Sonoma
35:00 Now we are in macOS Sonoma for the upgrade in place install
35:46 Reminder to still backup your data just in case before we install!
36:10 Sonoma Upgrade Install has started! The Mac will automatically reboot 3-5 times.
36:32 4th reboot to the OCLP auto patcher
36:44 Upgrade to macOS Sonoma finished!
36:52 The OCLP auto root patcher install OC boot loader to internal drive
37:26 Reboot & eject OCLP USB Install disk
37:40 Restart + option to make Internal HD OC EFI your default
38:04 How to add OCLP app to your dock
39:18 How to Update OCLP app and install macOS software updates?
40:25 Thank you Mykola, Dhinak, ASentientBot, EduCovas & all the OCLP Devs!
42:37 OCLP Open Collective: a way to contribute to the devs!

Support Mr. Macintosh

[guymerritt]

I'm on a 2009 Mac Pro running Sonoma, right now. Just got it installed and everything seems to work fine. This is crazy. I got this Mac Pro on Ebay, at auction, for 49 bucks plus 36 bucks shipping (about a month ago) - upgraded the RAM to 32 gig, bought a GX 680 graphics card ($35.00)...flashed the firmware and the GPU. I also put a used, SSD 1 terabyte drive in the thing and left the 1 terabyte SATA drive that came with thing installed. For about $125 and a little bit of screwing around I've got a nice computer that will run a modern version of Mac OSX. Good on you for helping spread the word. Apple has gotta hate this....lol.

[daibhidhcampbell]

Wow! You always go above and beyond on these videos. I so appreciate that.

[KennethSummers]

Hello Mr. Macintosh. You have been doing a wonderful job of keeping us updated to the latest OS systems. I truly appreciate all that you have done and continue to do! I have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro. I constantly see other YouTubers that discuss installing the latest OS for MAC, but I always wait for your reviews to come out. EXCEPTIONAL work!

[smartellpr]

Truly unbelievable, I’ve been applying patches since Power PC transitioned to Intel and your detailed presentation combined with the hard work from the Open Patch legacy team are truly AMAZING! I can tell from your tone, you do really Love helping people make the most of their Macs. I appreciate all the time and effort you and the team do for us. Thank you, thank you thank you!!!

[DavidGriggsProfile]

Been using OCLP for a while now. Its amazing to see how things have developed over the years! Big thanks to you for sharing your info on the OCLP and to the team at Dortania, simply BRAVO !!!!

[cgi]

Love how thorough you are Mr Macintosh. You even remind people to backup and even do the formatting of the USB through Disk Utility. 😁

[ChrisIzattOfficial]

Loving your work sir! I've still got 3 mid 2012 models running OCLP thanks to your knowledge and shared wisdom! I've actually held off purchasing newer M1 models as i've been able to keep my current models running up to date software in comination with blackmagic eGPUs & Kryptonite - works a dream and i've done some quite intense/heavy duty editing & 6k timelines that have managed well (with the occassional stutter).

[trumphy]

What a thoughtful, clear and generally brilliant presentation that you have set out, again, Mr Mac. I certainly agree with you that the OCLP team deserve a huge thanks and recognition from the Mac community for sheer brilliance and class, but you my friend also deserve a massive thanks, as your instructions provide us with confidence and understanding of what is a critical process. I have been running OCLP and Monterey on a 2012 MacBook for 6 months without a single problem and another 2012 MacBook Pro with Catalina as a back up. I am now confident that I can update the first one to Sonoma and bring the second one up to Monterey. I didn’t much care for Ventura’s changes, but I understand that Sonoma is a significant improvement.
Crazy to think that I am working away on 11 year old laptops with the latest software without any performance or speed issues whatsoever thanks to OCLP and your guidance. Huge thanks to all.

[spaceman_parma]

Mr. Macintosh, I would like to thank you and everyone at OpenCore! My mid 2011 iMac with High Sierra was getting so outdated that one by one I couldn't use apps/programs on my computer anymore. I was on the verge of buying a new macbook air, however I thought I would give this a shot. I'm so glad I did. My iMac has come back to life! (I had already upgraded the hardware a few years back to 1 TB SSD and 20 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 and so far so good.) Thanks again for all your help and saving the community so much money.

[ThreadBare]

Great guide - successfully upgraded a late 2013 MacBook Pro (10 years old!) to Sonoma and it worked perfectly. A great way to give a new lease of life to older hardware that is otherwise still perfectly usable. The 1.0.1 version was out, so I used that one.

[remaxwellj]

Just took the dive, to update my late 2012 MacBook Pro to Sonoma. As I've come to know and trust for several years now, your instructional videos and in-depth commentary are bar none! Thank you for all that you do Mr. Macintosh. I know that wouldn't be possible without the AMAZING, OCLP team. As far as I am concerned all of you are beyond words in skill and ingenuity. True Godsends for this community of people!

[tyanite]

You are brilliant! So are the OCLP people, of course. Monterey is running on my late 2009 iMac with 4 GB RAM. Upgrade, not a fresh install. No issues but it was stuck at "less than a minute" for hours and hours while upgrading. Patience paid off. Just an experiment, but what great possibilities. This old beast will take 16 gigs of RAM, and that experimental upgrade is next. I am watching this video at 1080p with no stumbles right now. My most humble and heartfelt thanks.

[DJAJ]

Just upgraded to Sonoma on my mid 2015 MacBook Pro and it runs great! Thanks so much to you for your videos and the Opencore devs for all you guys do!

[Sven_Hein]

This is amazing. I was able to get my late 2009 iMac 10, 1 to the latest 2023 software. Running 14 years and still counting! Of course it doesn't run fast by modern standards but it's just a backup computer.

[rohantadphale]

Ok, this is literally the best video I've seen regarding Mac. Awesome! There's something so calming about your voice which kept me calm through the process of upgrading my mac. Thanks!

[harryyap]

Thank you for our video. Upgraded my 2013 Imac 27 to Ventura. Speed is slightly lagging, and workable. Appreciate all the new features in Ventura.

[MikeK-NIreland]

Thank You Mr Mac my late 2012 Imac has been running Ventura flawlessly thanks to your help. I take my hat off to you and all the developers that work so hard to keep all these old Macs running, you are all awesome. Keep up the great work, Mick, Northern Ireland 👌🍻

[Mr.Mindset]

Hey Mr. Macintosh, great video! I found it to be incredibly informative and loved how you included everything possible. Your knowledge and attention to detail really shine through. Keep up the fantastic work!

[ajuarezh]

Oh man I’m almost crying of happiness, thank you thank you thank you!! I just installed Sonoma on a MacBook Pro late 2011 which I updated as much as I could (ram and HD) but I got the problem of the OS and lately a lot of software stopped working or updating. I’m an entrepreneur and after Covid I have been struggling a little bit, the thing is that I don’t have money for a new Mac and with this I’m back on the game. With all my heart thank you!!

[Emilein]

You video along with the devs making open core what is today has made my life amazing. Even thought my 2012 iMac is on its 2nd motherboard open core has been a life saver. To think I had was going back to windows because of the life cycle on my Macs.Thank you all for all for your hard work.