Can't find Big Sur to update from Mojave on iMac

[bernard smith]

I can no longer see the option to select Big Sur as my chosen upgrade in the Software Update drop down in system preferences. It is only giving me the option of Monterey , which I don't want to install yet as it is very new ( I worry about bugs etc )

Lightroom has a new release that isn't compatible with Mojave that I currently have on my iMac, so I want to go to Big Sur

Where can I find Big Sur to upgrade ?

Cheers

Bernard

 

[MacInWin]

Here is what worked for me just now.

Go to Apple.com.
In the top bar, click on the spyglass icon to search
Enter "Install Big Sur" and press return
A few items down is an item that refers to downloading from the Mac App Store--click that
MAS opens a the download page for the Big Sur Installer.

I didn't download it because I can't run it but there you go...

 

[Rod]

That's a change isn't it Jake? It used to be a common question on this and other forums how to find the last macOS after a new macOS is released. Especially for those who wanted to go back to the previous macOS for various reasons.
I followed your directions and sure enough here it is;

Download macOS Big Sur from the App Store
Download macOS Big Sur from the App Store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-big-sur/id1526878132?mt=12

Very handy to know, putting this in my Mac Tips an Tricks folder straight away.

 

[MacInWin]

@Rod, I don't know if it's new, but Apple.com is always my first go-to for anything. They have an amazing amount of material available online and it's pretty easy to search.

 

[Slydude]

I don't know precisely when that link went live, but I think it is relatively recent. We've certainly had our share of posts from members trying to download previous versions of the OS after a new version was released.

 

[bernard smith]

That's a change isn't it Jake? It used to be a common question on this and other forums how to find the last macOS after a new macOS is released. Especially for those who wanted to go back to the previous macOS for various reasons.
I followed your directions and sure enough here it is;

Download macOS Big Sur from the App Store
Download macOS Big Sur from the App Store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-big-sur/id1526878132?mt=12

Very handy to know, putting this in my Mac Tips an Tricks folder straight away

That's a change isn't it Jake? It used to be a common question on this and other forums how to find the last macOS after a new macOS is released. Especially for those who wanted to go back to the previous macOS for various reasons.
I followed your directions and sure enough here it is;

Download macOS Big Sur from the App Store
Download macOS Big Sur from the App Store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-big-sur/id1526878132?mt=12

Very handy to know, putting this in my Mac Tips an Tricks folder straight away.

Hi

Thanks for the advice . Unfortunately the link only directs me to downloading Monterey..

 

[Rod]

Thats odd, here below are two screen shots of what I entered in the Search and what I see as a result.
Just below the above screen is the Big Sur link.

 

[Rod]

Not sure what happened on that last post of mine but how about you just click this link; https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-big-sur/id1526878132?mt=12

It should open in a new tab in your browser offering to open the App Store. When I do that I see;

 

[bernard smith]

Thats odd, here below are two screen shots of what I entered in the Search and what I see as a result. View attachment 34927
Just below the above screen is the Big Sur link. View attachment 34928 View attachment 34928 View attachment 34928

The link that ends in -big-sur/id1526878132?mt=12 is the one that I have been trying but it keeps going only to Monterey OS. I just dont know what to do now. I will have to contact Apple support and hope that they can help. Thanks

 

[ferrarr]

The link that ends in -big-sur/id1526878132?mt=12 is the one that I have been trying but it keeps going only to Monterey OS. I just dont know what to do now. I will have to contact Apple support and hope that they can help. Thanks

Clear your browser history. You should be using Safari.
Quit out of the browser. (command+Q)
Then reopen the browser.
The link should work now.

 

[bernard smith]

Clear your browser history. You should be using Safari.
Quit out of the browser. (command+Q)
Then reopen the browser.
The link should work now.

Hi

Cleared history .. using Safari .. just the same result.... Will probably wait for a while whilst others find the problems / bugs that relate to Lightroom / Photoshop and then install Monterey... I will create bootable back up of Mojave before I do that of course just in case.

 

[Rod]

Sounds like a plan, as I wrote in another post when you come to downloading the Monterey installer check the "More Info..." on the same window in System update, it's blue writing. That will take you to a window with any updates you need to download first, Safari 15.1 is one that comes to mind.

Big Sur may even reappear in the meantime. Apple has always removed the installer of the previous macOS on the App Store on release of a new one but they do come back again.

Why that link takes you to Monterey and me to Big Sur is a bit of a mystery unless it's because I have already installed Monterey.

This article indicates you can upgrade directly from Mojave to Monterey but your download may be larger because some of the components of Big Sur will be included;

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

It also describes the process in a step by step manner.

 

[bernard smith]

Sounds like a plan, as I wrote in another post when you come to downloading the Monterey installer check the "More Info..." on the same window in System update, it's blue writing. That will take you to a window with any updates you need to download first, Safari 15.1 is one that comes to mind.

Big Sur may even reappear in the meantime. Apple has always removed the installer of the previous macOS on the App Store on release of a new one but they do come back again.

Why that link takes you to Monterey and me to Big Sur is a bit of a mystery unless it's because I have already installed Monterey.

This article indicates you can upgrade directly from Mojave to Monterey but your download may be larger because some of the components of Big Sur will be included;

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

It also describes the process in a step by step manner.

Hi Rod,

All done now thanks and Monterey is working fine.

I also have upgraded Lightroom and Photoshop to latest versions and then had to update Carbon Copy Cloner to V6 as V5 will not work properly with Monterey , so quite a few things undertaken.


The only thing that I have come across is Time Machine running very slowly ( I am not the only one with this issue )
I reformatted my dedicated external SSD ( for Time Machine only ) to APFS from Mac OS extended ( journalled ) and have set it off backing up this morning.Thanks for your help


Cheers

Bernard

 

[Rod]

Sounds like you have done all the right things. Well done.

 

[TimWellens]

Hi Rod,

All done now thanks and Monterey is working fine.

I also have upgraded Lightroom and Photoshop to latest versions and then had to update Carbon Copy Cloner to V6 as V5 will not work properly with Monterey , so quite a few things undertaken.


The only thing that I have come across is Time Machine running very slowly ( I am not the only one with this issue )
I reformatted my dedicated external SSD ( for Time Machine only ) to APFS from Mac OS extended ( journalled ) and have set it off backing up this morning.Thanks for your help


Cheers

Bernard

Time machine works slowly because Spotlight wants to index it for faster searches.
go to your settings and go to Spotlight,there you can exclude your time machine backup HD from Spotlight indexing.

 

[chevyboy60013]

on the Big Sur item, when I click on get, it opens system preferences, says checking for updates, then says not found

 

[Raz0rEdge]

on the Big Sur item, when I click on get, it opens system preferences, says checking for updates, then says not found

Assuming you are talking about the 2011 MBP in your signature, that machine can't install Big Sur or the last couple of macOS versions as per the tech specs.

That MBP can only go up to High Sierra, so you can't go to Catalina, Mojave, Big Sur or Monterrey or any newer version.

Tech specs for Big Sur: macOS Big Sur - Technical Specifications

 

[chevyboy60013]

I have it running Catalina via the patch I found on macrumors by dosdude, it runs Catalina as good or better than high Sierra

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Since you aren't following the official upgrade path, the Software Update widget (the official upgrade path) will not work for you obviously.

You'll need to find whatever hack is available (assuming one is) to run Big Sur like you are running Catalina on an unsupported Mac.