When you upgrade to macOS Catalina, you get more of everything you love about Mac. Experience dedicated apps for music, TV, and podcasts. Smart new features in the apps you use every day. And Sidecar, which lets you use iPad as a second Mac display. Best of all, upgrading is free and easy.
Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Catalina.
Mac computers with Metal-capable graphics processors (GPUs) can upgrade to macOS Catalina.
Mac gets stuck when upgrading to OS X 10.12 macOS Sierra. Many users have suffered from this problem, though compared with 2015 El Capitan advantages and disadvantages, macOS Sierra improves a lot.The installation frozen at about 90%, at the beginning etc.
Make sure you’re ready to upgrade.
Before you upgrade, we recommend that you back up your Mac. Then, if your Mac is running OS X Mavericks 10.9 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS Catalina.
Upgrading is free. And easier than you think.
Upgrading from macOS Mojave?
Go to Software Update in System Preferences to find the macOS Catalina upgrade. Click Upgrade Now and follow the onscreen instructions to begin your upgrade. If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store.
Upgrading from an older version of macOS?
If you’re running High Sierra (10.13), Sierra (10.12), or El Capitan (10.11), upgrade to macOS Catalina from the App Store. If you’re running Lion (10.7) or Mountain Lion (10.8), you will need to upgrade to El Capitan (10.11) first. If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store.
OS X 10.9 or later
4GB of memory
12.5GB of available storage (OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 or later)*
Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Some features require a compatible internet service provider; fees may apply.
For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Catalina:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
Siri
Requires a broadband internet connection and microphone (built-in or external).
Hey Siri
Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook Pro (2018 or newer)
MacBook Air (2018 or newer)
iMac Pro
Dictation, Voice Control, and Voice Memos
Requires a microphone (built-in or external).
Spotlight Suggestions
Requires a broadband internet connection.
Gestures
Requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.
Force Touch gestures require a Force Touch trackpad.
VoiceOver gestures require a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, or Magic Trackpad.
Photo Booth
Requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built-in or external), or USB video class (UVC) camera.
FaceTime
Audio calls require a microphone (built-in or external) and broadband internet connection.
Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built-in or external), or a USB video class (UVC) camera; and broadband internet connection.
Apple TV
High Dynamic Range (HDR) video playback is supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook Pro (2018 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (2019) with Pro Display XDR
Dolby Atmos soundtrack playback is supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook Air (2018 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2018 or newer)
Sidecar
Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (2016 or newer)
MacBook Air (2018 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2016 or newer)
Mac mini (2018 or newer)
iMac (late 2015 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017 or newer)
Mac Pro (2019)
Supported by all iPad models with Apple Pencil support:
12.9-inch iPad Pro
11-inch iPad Pro
10.5-inch iPad Pro
9.7-inch iPad Pro
iPad (6th generation or later)
iPad mini (5th generation)
iPad Air (3rd generation)
Continuity Camera
Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 12 or later.
Continuity Sketch and Continuity Markup
Requires an iPhone with iOS 13 or an iPad with iPadOS.
Handoff
Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 8 or later.
Instant Hotspot
Requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity, a Lightning connector, and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.
Universal Clipboard
Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 10 or later.
Auto Unlock
Supported by Mac models introduced in mid 2013 or later.
Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later or an iPhone 5 or later.
Approve with Apple Watch
Supported by Mac models introduced in mid 2013 or later.
Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 6 or later or an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 13.
Apple Pay on the Web
Requires MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or later, or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later.
Phone Calling
Requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.
SMS
Requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 or later and an activated carrier plan.
Home
Requires an iPhone with iOS 12 or later and a configured Home app.
AirDrop
AirDrop to iOS and iPadOS devices requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 7 or later.
AirPlay
AirPlay Mirroring requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).
AirPlay for web video requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).
Peer-to-peer AirPlay requires a Mac (2012 or later) and an Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later.
Time Machine
Requires an external storage device (sold separately).
Power Nap
Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Pro with Retina display (Mid 2012 or newer)
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
Boot Camp
Allows Boot Camp installations of Windows 10 on supported Mac models.
Exchange Support
Requires Microsoft Office 365, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, or Exchange Server 2010. Installing the latest Service Packs is recommended.
Windows Migration
Supports OS X 10.7 or later and Windows 7 or later.
App Store
Available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries and regions.
Apple Books
Apple News
App Store
Automator
Calculator
Calendar
Chess
Contacts
Dashboard
Dictionary
DVD Player
FaceTime
Find My
Font Book
Home
Image Capture
Launchpad
Mail
Maps
Messages
Mission Control
Music
Notes
Photo Booth
Photos
Podcasts
Preview
QuickTime Player
Reminders
Safari
Siri
Stickies
Stocks
System Preferences
TextEdit
Time Machine
TV
Voice Memos
Activity Monitor
AirPort Utility
Audio MIDI Setup
Bluetooth File Exchange
Boot Camp Assistant
ColorSync Utility
Console
Digital Color Meter
Disk Utility
Grapher
Keychain Access
Migration Assistant
Screenshot
Screen Time
Script Editor
Sidecar
System Information
Terminal
VoiceOver Utility
Arabic
Catalan
Croatian
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English (Australia)
English (UK)
English (U.S.)
Finnish
French
French (Canada)
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Malay
Norwegian
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Slovak
Spanish
Spanish (Latin America)
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese
Mac won't start/boot after macOS High Sierra update/installation, help!
'I upgraded my iMac into latest macOS High Sierra last night. And when I completed the update process, tried to start the computer. It won't boot. I tried to hard reboot Mac computer, but nothing showed up. What else can I do to wake up the computer and make it work again with macOS High Sierra?'
Although Mac hard drive boot failure issue is not a new problem anymore. But it's still a tough case for ordinary users to fix when their Mac computers fail to boot after macOS High Sierra update or installation. If you are having such a problem, relax! This tutorial article will show you how to quickly fix and resolve Mac hard drive won't boot issue after macOS High Sierra update. Just follow any one of offered methods to get your Mac computer back to work again now:
Quick Fix 1. Reset SMC to fix Mac won't boot after High Sierra update
Sometimes, if the Mac computer cables are not connected properly, you may not be able to boot it normally. So if Mac cannot boot after system update, you can reset SMC to fix Mac won't boot issue after macOS High Sierra update:
1. Shut down Mac computer and unplug all cables; 2. Wait for a few minutes and then plug the cables back; 3. Restart Mac computer to see if you can enter the system or not.
Quick Fix 2. Force to reboot Mac and reset NVRAM to fix Mac won't boot issue
1. Press and hold Power button for a few minutes till Mac turns off; 2. Wait a few seconds and press Power button to turn on Mac; 3. Hold Command + Option + P + R keys while booting Mac to reset NVRAM; 4. Reboot computer again to see if the problem gets solved or not.
Note: If these two quick fixes didn't help, continue with below complete solutions to get your problem resolved now.
Complete solution to fix Mac won't boot/fails to boot error after macOS High Sierra update
Step 1. Recover data when Mac hard drive won't boot from High Sierra
If you have important data saved in Mac computer hard drive, do remember to restore data before taking actions to fix Mac won't boot error.
Professional Mac data recovery software with bootable disk can help you effectively restore your data out of Mac hard drive when the computer fails to boot. You can directly purchase EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac with Bootable Media to create a bootable media for Mac and apply it to restore data from fail to boot Mac computer now:
1. Insert the created bootable media into Mac and turn on Mac computer, immediately press and hold the Option key and select EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to boot; 2. Connect an external storage device to Mac computer; When EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac launches, follow this tutorial to restore lost files on Mac.
Step 2. Fix Mac won't boot error after macOS High Sierra update Fix macOS High Sierra won't boot issue
Method 1. Boot Mac from Safe Mode to fix Mac won't boot issue
1. Turn on Mac, press Shift when you hear the startup sound and release it till you see Apple logo; 2. After Mac fully starts, restart the computer normally without holding any keys/buttons. 3. Wait patiently till Mac computer finish the reboot process.
Method 2. Use Disk Utility to restore Mac from Recovery Mode when macOS High Sierra won't boot
1. Boot Mac up, press Command + R during the boot-up process; 2. Click Disk Utility option > Click First Aid and try repairing Mac's disk; 3. Disk Utility will automatically run a fsck (file system check) operation to help you repair macOS High Sierra fail to boot error; 4. If this fails, try restore from Recovery mode. 5. Reinstall OS X in Recovery Mode will automatically download and install the latest macOS High Sierra for your Mac device.
Method 3. Run Terminal to repair Mac hard drive won't boot error due to High Sierra update
1. Open Terminal > Applications > Utilities; Enter: system_profile SPExtensionsDataType > ~/Desktop/kextList.txt and hit return; 2. Open the kextList.txt file on desktop > Press Apple(Command) + F to bring up find; 3. In the find field insert 'Obtained from: Not Signed' and copy the destination to the .kext file to a list for use later; 4. Click Next to cycle through all of them, for example: /System/Library/Extensions/JMicronATA.kext 5. Browse your drive to /System/Library/Extensions and remove all unsignedkext files; 6. Reboot and your Mac boot problem shall be all set.
Method 4. Reinstall macOS High Sierra to resolve Mac won't boot issue
The last method that you can try is to download macOS High Sierra and create a new bootable drive to clean install macOS High Sierra on Mac computer so to make it boot up normally and work smoothly again.
1. Connect USB bootable drive on Mac and restart Mac by holding Option till you hear the reboot tone; 2. Select disk called Install macOS High Sierra in the drive list that appears on screen; 3. Once USB drive is booted, select Disk Utility > Choose Mac's startup from the list > Click Erase; 4. Once Mac's startup disk is formatted, return toUtilitieswindow and select Install macOS > Choose just erase startup drive to install macOS > Follow onscreen prompts to complete the installation.
This may take you a few hours to complete the task. And of course, if you have important data, follow Step 1 to get all saved data out firstly.