How to install MacOS Mojave on Unsupported Mac

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The MacOS Mojave operating system is the new update for MacBook and Mac desktop officially released by Apple. A system that has not been characterized by many developments in recent years and with its new version will bring some interesting innovations such as the Dark Mode, the dynamic background and a renewed App Store, in addition to the support of some iOS apps.

But as with every new update, not all computers are compatible. In particular, with this latest version, any computer prior to 2012 (except Mac Pro) can not install MacOS Mojave, leaving out many users with a Mac still valid and who can not try the new operating system. At least this is the theory, but the practice is very different. The good news is that there is a procedure to install MacOS Mojave on Mac that is not compatible. Continue to find out how to do it.

MacOS Mojave can be installed on non-compatible devices

I point out that this procedure to install MacOS Mojave on Mac incompatible, even if it consists of simple steps, is not to be taken with superficiality. Follow the guide carefully and proceed only if you are aware of what you are doing.

Apple computers are very costly products and not everyone can afford to renew them so often and the ability to install the latest operating system is a good thing. Surely it will not be as efficient as installing it on a new device, but still manages to satisfy the most curious of the latest news.

The macOS Mojave Patcher Tool software is the one that will allow us to get the new operating system on the old Mac and was created by DosDude1, the same one that developed a similar tool for High Sierra and previous versions. The purpose of this program is to deceive the installation tool and make believe that the computer is compatible with the installation of this version of macOS.

Another point to consider is the performance. If you expect a Mac 2008 with Mojave to be as fast as a 2018 Mac, we’re sorry but it will not. It is also possible that the computer does not work well or stops working completely. It depends on many factors.

How to install MacOS Mojave on Mac not compatible

Requirements

The first thing we have to do is make sure that our Mac model is on the list of those supported by the tool developer:

  • Mac Pro, iMac or MacBook Pro of 2008 and later
    • MacPro3.1
    • MacPro4.1
    • iMac8.1
    • iMac9.1
    • iMac10.x
    • iMac11.x
    • iMac12.x
    • MacBookPro4.1
    • MacBookPro5.x
    • MacBookPro6.x
    • MacBookPro7.1
    • MacBookPro8.x
  • MacBook Air or MacBook Unibody in aluminum of 2008 or later
    • MacBookAir2.1
    • MacBookAir3.x
    • MacBookAir4.x
    • MacBook5.1
  • Mac Mini or White MacBook of the beginning of 2009 and later
    • Macmini3.1
    • Macmini4.1
    • Macmini5.x
    • MacBook5.2
    • MacBook6.1
    • MacBook7.1
  • Xserve at the beginning of 2008 or later
    • Xserve2.1
    • Xserve3.1

Devices that are NOT compatible are:

  • Mac Pro, iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini from 2006-2007
    • MacPro1.1
    • MacPro2.1
    • iMac4.1
    • iMac5. x
    • iMac6.1
    • iMac7.1
    • MacBookPro1.1
    • MacBookPro2.1
    • Macmini1.1
    • Macmini2.1
      • Only the iMac7.1 of 2007 is compatible if the CPU has been upgraded to a Penryn-based Core 2 Duo, like the T9300.
  • MacBook of 2006-2008
    • MacBook1.1
    • MacBook2.1
    • MacBook3.1
    • MacBook4.1 -MacBook Air of 2008 (MacBookAir1.1)

After checking if your Apple computer is compatible with this method, you need to download a copy of MacOS Mojave on a Mac supported by the official operating system, have a Pendrive with at least 16 GB of storage capacity and the Patcher Tool.

Method

  • Download a copy of the macOS Mojave Installer operating system. You can get it from the Mac App Store using a device that supports Mojave or using the download feature built into the tool. In the menu bar, simply select ” Tools> Download macOS Mojave … ”
  • Insert the USB flash drive into your Mac, open the Disk Utility and format it as Mac OS Extended Journaled.
  • Open the “macOS Mojave Patcher” tool and look for a copy of the installation app for the Mojave Installer operating system.
  • Make sure the tool verifies the app correctly.
  • Then, select the USB drive in the Destination volume list and click “Start Operation“.
  • When the operation is complete, start the Mac on which we want to install Mojave with the USB drive inserted and holding the Option key when turning on the computer.
  • Now, we will have to decide if we want to install the operating system from scratch (losing all the files if we have not made a backup) or update and even keep our documents on the computer.

Perform only the next two steps if you plan to perform a clean installation. Otherwise, you can simply skip these two steps and install the update on your volume by overlapping it with the previous version of OS X.

  • When the installer starts, open Disk Utility from the Utilities menu or by double-clicking the Utility window in the lower left corner of the screen.
  • Select the disk or partition on which you want to install and delete it, making sure to use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS as the filesystem type. If you are formatting an entire drive, make sure that GUID is selected.

The use of APFS at the end of 2009 and later will not work differently than was done with High Sierra. – We recommend using only APFS if the destination drive is an SSD.

– If you have a device that does NOT natively support High Sierra (and therefore can not boot the APFS volumes natively), keep the following in mind:
– If you use APFS, you will not have a bootable recovery partition.
– If you decide to use APFS, the post-installation tool will install a custom boot method, as the firmware of these unsupported computers does not natively support booting from APFS volumes. It’s not as clean as native booting, but it will not cause any problems when running Mojave. A demo of the modified boot process can be viewed here.

  • Install macOS normally on the desired volume.
  • When the installation is complete, reboot the system on the installation drive. This time, open the “macOS Post Install” application in the lower left menu.
  • In the application, select the Mac model you are using. The best patches will be selected for you based on the selected model. You can also select other patches of your choice.
  • Select the volume on which you have just installed MacOS Mojave and click on “Patch“. When the update is complete, click “Reboot“. It could stay there for a few moments to rebuild the caches before restarting them.
    – If for some reason the system does not work properly after rebooting, restart the installation drive, run the installation patch again and select “Force Cache Rebuild” before restarting. This is not necessary in most circumstances.
  • On reboot, a fully functional copy of macOS Mojave should now start.

Known errors

As expected, not everything could work perfectly. Depending on the Mac configuration we can find problems related to WiFi connection, trackpad, iSight camera (now called FaceTime) or some incompatibilities for graphics cards. The detailed list is available on the developer’s website.

Patch update

At the time of installation, the developer provides the user with a tool called ” Patch Updater” that will alert the user when a patch update is available. It can also be added after completing the installation. Finally, it states that subsequent updates, such as 10.14.1, can be applied without problems until the Patch Updater is on the computer.

Undoubtedly, DosDude1 with this tool did a good job of computer engineering, and has rendered a service to those who have an old Mac. Even a ten-year-old MacBook Pro is a good computer and we would not be surprised if I continued to make it a great use. As previously noted, this procedure is not recommended for inexperienced users, nor is it recommended to run it on devices that you use daily. Teknologya assumes no responsibility for any damage to the computer.

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