For some people, macOS Ventura will inevitably be a huge disappointment, at least in the beta stage. Bugs and performance issues, like slow Macs, might make you want to switch from Ventura to Monterey. That’s perfectly fine. Let us guide you through the process.
Before downgrading
Just a few things to clarify before explaining how to downgrade macOS:
- Did you notice the most common Ventura problems? This is an important thing to do if you are facing some specific issues like certain apps not working or your Bluetooth not connecting devices. Maybe there is an easy solution! Find all known solutions for Ventura problems here.
- Did you try to fine-tune Ventura’s performance? If your Mac got incredibly slow or froze on macOS 13, an older version isn’t the only way out. You can use CleanMyMac X to update your outdated apps, remove clutter, and run some maintenance tasks. Most likely, it will optimize the performance of your Mac!
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- Have you accumulated any new data on Ventura? If you still decide to downgrade to a previous version of Ventura and have files you want to bring back to your old system, please take a second to back up those files. You can put them in the cloud with Dropshare or create a backup on an external hard drive with Get Backup Pro.
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How to Downgrade Ventura: The Top Three Ways
Once you’ve weighed all your options and decided you want to downgrade macOS, it’s time to choose how you’ll downgrade it. There are three options:
- Time Machine Backup
- macOS recovery
- bootable installer
Take a look at each flow and choose the one that best suits your current situation.
Note : You will notice there are differences in the instructions on how to downgrade from Ventura on an Intel Mac versus how to downgrade from Ventura on an Apple Silicon Mac. We cover all the steps for both scenarios.
Downgrade Monterey Using Time Machine Backup
Please tell us that you have backed up your Mac before installing Ventura. Enough please! If you did, you don’t have to worry because all your data is safe, waiting to move to your new macOS. By the way, Time Machine settings look so fancy on macOS Ventura!
Although Time Machine is not the most optimal way to backup and we prefer Get Backup Pro, Time Machine users have a great benefit: they can downgrade to older versions of macOS using only this backup utility. Is that how it works:
- Connect your Time Machine drive to Mac
- Restart your Mac
- Access the boot screen:
On an Intel Mac : Hold down Command + R until you see the Apple logo
On an Apple Silicon Mac – Hold down the power button until you see startup
screen. Then select Options > Continue
- Choose Restore from Time Machine backup > Continue
- Select backup source > Continue
- Choose your Monterey backup > Continue
- Wait for the downgrade process to finish. It might take a while.
How to uninstall macOS Ventura using Recovery
It’s okay if you don’t want to recover your backup during the downgrade. You can still go back to Monterey or any other macOS you’ve used before. macOS Recovery is the best option for this scenario. Before you dive into it, make sure you have a stable internet connection.
Downgrade from Ventura using macOS Recovery:
- shut down your mac
- Press the power button to turn on your Mac, then press and hold one of the following combinations:
Command + R to go back to your pre-Ventura macOS
Option + Command + R to install the latest version compatible with your Mac
Shift + Option + Command + R to install the macOS your Mac came with or the latest version available
- Type your password and click Continue
- Choose Next > Reinstall macOS.
As usual, feel free to grab some coffee because your Mac will need some time to finish it.
How to go back to an earlier macOS using a bootable installer
Experienced users who love to test beta versions tend to take precautions. One such precaution is to keep a USB with a bootable macOS installer. If something goes wrong, you can always install your previous stable macOS from this USB.
Good news: you can create a bootable Monterey installer even if you didn’t do it before installing Ventura. Here are the steps involved in this process:
- Download the macOS Monterey installer
- Your disco format
- Create a bootable installation drive
- Install macOS Monterey using the bootable installer.
If you have the installer ready, high five! You can skip the first three steps and start installing Monterey right away. Here is the complete step by step guide.
Step 1. Download the macOS Monterey installer
- Open the Mac App Store and type Monterey
- Click Get next to macOS Monterey
- Look for the installer in your Applications folder. But don’t open it yet!
Step 2. Format your drive
Next, you need to format the external drive that will be used as the bootable installer. This means that you must clean it. Again, you can skip this step if your external drive has already been formatted. Otherwise, follow:
- Connect your external drive to Mac
- Open Disk Utility and locate the drive in the list of devices under External
- Select the drive and click Erase
- Set Format to Mac OS Extended and Scheme to GUID Partition Map (if Scheme is available)
- Confirm that you want to erase the drive.
Step 3. Create a bootable installation drive
Time to bring some Terminal magic to this! Let’s create our bootable installer:
- Open Terminal on Mac
- Paste the following command: sudo /Applications/Install macOS Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/USB
- Press Enter
- When prompted, enter your password and press Enter once more
- If Terminal asks for permission to continue, press Y
- If Terminal asks for your permission to access your external drive, click OK.
As your terminal copies the Monterey installer to the external drive, you’ll have a minute or two to browse Technology and find the tools you’re missing in Monterey. For example, Tecnologarte gives access to Mission Control Plus, Yoink, Workspaces and Mosaic, which will make up for the absence of Stage Manager in Monterey!
Step 4. Install macOS Monterey using the bootable installer
All right, moving on to the final stage. We will use our bootable installer now to switch from Ventura to Monterey.
Note : You may need to erase your startup drive first because some drives cannot be downgraded unless you format them first. If you have important files in Ventura, this is the best time to put them into Get Backup Pro and create a secure backup, saving it to any of your external drives.
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All safe? Let’s install Monterey now:
- Connect the drive with a bootable installer on your Mac
- Enter recovery mode:
On an Apple Silicon Mac: Press and hold the power button until you see the Boot Options screen. Click Options > Continue
On an Intel Mac : Hold Command + R until you see the Apple logo
- Choose Disk Utility, then select your startup disk and click Erase. Set Format to APFS and Scheme to GUID Partition Map. Click Delete
- Once the process is done, exit Disk Utility and shut down your Mac
On an Apple Silicon Mac: Start your Mac while holding down the power button
On an Intel Mac : Start your Mac while holding down option
- Choose your boot drive from the available options and click Continue
- Choose the drive where Monterey should be installed and click Next
- Confirm you want to install macOS Monterey.
After a few cups of tea, you can get back to enjoying your good old Monterey!
Essential tools to safely downgrade Monterey
Now when you know how to downgrade Ventura, let’s give a round of applause for the tools that make the process so smooth: Get Backup Pro, Dropshare and CleanMyMac X mentioned in this article can help you back up essential files , free up disk space and check your Mac’s performance at any stage. All three apps are part of a single app subscription, Tecnologar, and are available with a 7-day free trial.
After moving to Monterey, these apps won’t stop coming in handy! For example, once the downgrade is done, open CleanMyMac X and run a thorough check of your system, from malware threats to CPU load and disk activity. This will help you understand if Monterey really does outperform Ventura.
