How to downgrade from macOS 12 Monterey to macOS Big Sur

To test the new macOS 12 features for a test drive, you installed the macOS 12 beta software on your Mac device. However, a host of unexpected bugs and issues may have dampened your enthusiasm, and now you’re looking for a way to change. from macOS 12 Monterey to macOS Big Sur. Take a break! In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process to downgrade from macOS 12 Monterey and back to macOS 11 Big Sur.

How to downgrade from macOS 12 Monterey to macOS 11 Big Sur

Please note that downgrading your Mac will completely erase macOS 12 from your hard drive. So, make sure to back up your Mac if you don’t want to lose your files, programs, documents, and other important data. You can use an external hard drive or a cloud storage service like DropBox, iCloud, or OneDrive to save your files. Once you’ve secured your data, let’s move on with the guide!

Make sure to allow booting from external media on Mac with T2 chip

If you are using a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Mac mini 2018 or later, make sure to enable booting from external media. If you have enabled the Startup Security Utility on your Mac, make sure you can use a bootable external drive.

1. First of all, Resumeyour Mac.
2. Now, hold down Command + R keyswhen the Apple logo appears on the screen. It will put your Mac into recovery mode.
3. Next, click on ” Utilities” on the menu bar and choose Startup Security Utility.
4. Next, you need to enter your firmware credentials and then check the box for Allow booting from external media.

Note : The firmware password is different from the administrative password and the Apple ID password. Make sure you remember the correct password to access the Startup Security Utility.

Create a bootable macOS Big Sur USB installation drive

Before downgrading your Mac and erasing macOS 12, you will need to download macOS 11 from the App Store. Make sure you have a copy of macOS Big Sur on an external hard drive for the easiest way to downgrade. To do so, follow our complete guide to creating a bootable macOS Big Sur USB installation drive.

Erase your hard drive

Now is the time to erase your hard drive before reinstalling macOS Big Sur. Again, I would like to remind you to back up your Mac before taking this radical step.

1. To get started, make sure your Mac is connected to a stable internet connection. Now, click on the Apple Iconin the upper left corner and choose ” Resume ” from the drop-down menu.
2. Then press and hold Command + R keys. Make sure to press the keys until your computer restarts. It will put your computer in recovery mode.
3. Next, click on “ Disk Utility” in the OS X utility picker. After that, click continueto continue .
4. Choose your Startup Diskand then click the “Erase” buttonat the top of the window.
5. Now enter a new name for the hard driveas Macintosh HD. Once the drive has been erased, its name will change to the one you just chose. If your Mac uses HFS +, be sure to choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the list of formats.

However, if your Mac uses APFS, be sure to choose APFS from the list of formats. If Scheme is available, choose GUID Partition Map. Finally, click on ” Delete “.

When the process is complete, you can exit Disk Utility from the drop-down menu in the upper left corner of the screen to return to the OS X Utilities selector.

Reinstall macOS Big Sur on Macs that came with macOS Big Sur pre-installed

It’s worth noting that if your Mac device comes pre-installed with macOS Big Sur, you can install macOS Big Sur with ease. Just restart your Mac while holding down the Shift + Option + Command + R combo to enter Internet recovery mode and then install macOS 11.

Reinstall macOS Big Sur on Macs that didn’t come with macOS Big Sur

If your Mac device doesn’t come with macOS Big Sur, follow the steps below:

1. Make sure your Mac is connected to the internet. Now, connect the bootable hard drive to your Mac. Then, click on the Apple Menuin the upper left corner of the screen and choose ” Resume ” from the drop-down menu.
2. Now, hold down the Alt / Option keywhile your computer restarts (hold down the Option key until the Apple logo disappears after restarting).
3. You will then have the option to select a startup disk. Choose your macOS Big Sur bootable USB drive from the list of startup disk options.
4. Then click “ continue” in the installation window.

macOS Big Sur will install as a standard update. Please note that you will need to accept the license terms before the software restarts on your Mac.

Restore settings from Time Machine backup

With a recent backup of your Mac saved to Time Machine, you can easily retrieve your saved settings. Follow the steps below to restore a recent Time Machine backup after switching from macOS 12 Monterey to macOS Big Sur.

1. Make sure your Mac is connected to a stable internet connection. After that, click on the Apple Menuin the upper left corner of the screen and choose
2. Now, hold down Command + R keysas soon as you hear the startup chime. Make sure to hold down the keys until your computer restarts.
3. Then choose ” Restore from Time Machine backup” in the OS X utility picker and click ” continue“.
4. Then click continueagain. Then choose the Backupsource where the Time Machine backup is stored.
5. Next, click Continue,and then choose the latest macOS Big Sur backup on the drive. After that, click continue.

That’s it! Your Mac will now start restoring from the Time Machine backup and then restart. Since the whole process will take time, you will need to wait patiently.

Safely switch from macOS 12 Monterey to macOS Big Sur

So, this is how you can downgrade from macOS 12 Monterey and back to macOS 11 Big Sur. Beta versions of the software usually come with unexpected bugs and problems. That is why it is always better to install them on a secondary device. This way, even if you run into unexpected problems, your work will not be affected. Anyway, let me know what you think about macOS 12 beta and what kind of issues you faced.