Down grade

krs


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The link works on Mojave. I tested it before I posted it.

Wow - so let me get this straight.
Your Mac is running Mojave with the new drive format and by downloading the link you posted in post #17, that system will revert back to the standard disk format and also install macOS Sierra, two OS releases back!

If that is true, doesn't that negate what you posted in post #18?

It also means this statement by Apple is wrong: your Mac must be using macOS High Sierra or earlier.
 

dtravis7


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My apologies. When I tried the link, it opened the Update pane in System Preferences, which can only see Mojave. So to get back to an earlier version, but no further back than what came with the Mac from the factory, one must use the Internet Recovery. Here is the Apple article on how to use the various options. Toward the bottom of the article is the appropriate section: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

If you are running Sierra or later (including Mojave):
Shift-Option-⌘-R
Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.

But you cannot go back beyond the version that shipped with the Mac from the factory.
 

krs


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No Mac OS can be just downgraded. That has been discussed here on the forums many times. Apple has never allowed one to go backwards.



https://m.imore.com/how-downgrade-macos

That article has a bit of a terminology problem.

What the lady is describing is a complete erase of the hard drive, then formatting the drive if required and a complete new installation of High Sierra - not a "Downgrade" from Mojave to High Sierra.

And I agree with you Dennis, Apple has never supported downgrades to a previous OS in the past, thus my post #21
 
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No Mac OS can be just downgraded. That has been discussed here on the forums many times. Apple has never allowed one to go backwards.



https://m.imore.com/how-downgrade-macos
Dennis, that is correct, but I've taken an older Mac all the way back to Snow Leopard, then brought it back up to High Sierra, so you definitely CAN downgrade if you are willing to pay the price in labor and time (and lost data). The Internet Recovery process can install the version that came from the factory (or the oldest compatible version if that version is not available over the internet). For a Mojave formatted drive that's about the only way to get back to older versions because of the way Apple re-engineered the Mac App Store and how they put that Software Update Pane in System Preferences that intercepts all attempts to get back to the old store. The old store is there, available for those who have not or cannot upgrade to Mojave, so if you have an older Mac it's actually easier to revert from Mojave because you can build a bootable thumb drive on the older machine and then boot the Mojave hardware from that thumb drive and wipe out the internal drive and get back to HFS+ and an older version of the OS.

But if you have only ONE system, about the only way to get back is to do the Internet Recovery back to the original system and then work forward from there.
 

krs


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But you cannot go back beyond the version that shipped with the Mac from the factory.

Well, that is true in general, but there are the odd exceptions.

I have done that twice with my Macs - a discussion we had here before the last time I did that.

The previous time was installing macOS 10.6.8 for which Apple actually never provided an install DVD.
 

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