Difficulty
Easy
Steps
3
Time Required
30 minutes - 3 hours
Sections
1
- How to Install macOS Catalina on Unsupported Macs
- 3 steps
Flags
2
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Introduction
Note that installing future Catalina updates from Apple on your Mac is not supported by the patching tool, and you may be required to erase your drive and start this process over after doing so.
What you need
Step 1
Download the Patching Tool
- macOS Catalina Patcher can be downloaded from http://dosdude1.com/catalina/
- Before beginning, ensure your model is compatible under the “System Compatibility” tab on the page. Most 2008 to 2011 Macs are compatible with the patching tool.
- macOS Catalina Patcher is a third-party tool developed by dosdude1, who has developed trusted, similar tools since macOS Sierra.
macOS Catalina Patcher can be downloaded from http://dosdude1.com/catalina/
Before beginning, ensure your model is compatible under the “System Compatibility” tab on the page. Most 2008 to 2011 Macs are compatible with the patching tool.
macOS Catalina Patcher is a third-party tool developed by dosdude1, who has developed trusted, similar tools since macOS Sierra.
1024
Step 2
Open the Patching Tool
- Once the patching tool has downloaded, open the DMG file to mount it.
- In the virtual drive, right click the “macOS Catalina Patcher”, and click “Open”.
- If a warning appears saying that Apple cannot check the application for malicious software, click “Open” if it is an option, if “Close” is the only option, click it, then go into Security & Privacy in System Preferences, unlock the General tab and click “Open Anyway”.
Once the patching tool has downloaded, open the DMG file to mount it.
In the virtual drive, right click the “macOS Catalina Patcher”, and click “Open”.
If a warning appears saying that Apple cannot check the application for malicious software, click “Open” if it is an option, if “Close” is the only option, click it, then go into Security & Privacy in System Preferences, unlock the General tab and click “Open Anyway”.
Step 3
Download macOS Catalina
- Continue through the prompts until you reach the “macOS Installer App” page.
- Click “Download a Copy” to download an official macOS Catalina installer directly from Apple.
- Click “Start Download”.
- If prompted, allow macOS Catalina Patcher access to your Downloads folder.
- The download is an 8 GB file and may take some time to complete.
Continue through the prompts until you reach the “macOS Installer App” page.
Click “Download a Copy” to download an official macOS Catalina installer directly from Apple.
Click “Start Download”.
If prompted, allow macOS Catalina Patcher access to your Downloads folder.
The download is an 8 GB file and may take some time to complete.
That’s it! You should now have macOS Catalina installed on your machine.
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Jonah Aragon
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Klas Kallin - Feb 9, 2022
Reply
Hi, the Catalina install doesn’t work for me on a MBP early 2011. Have tried all of the three install alternatives.
Klas
Felipe Leal - Mar 11, 2022
Reply
Hi there, I’m successfully running Catalina on an 8,1 iMac from 2008, so sweet! Only problem is that I can’t install some apps, like iWork/Pages or GarageBand. Is there any workaround for me to install Pages, especially? I hadn’t owned it before, so that option wouldn’t work for me.
Thanks in advance! :)
Frank - May 23, 2022
Reply
The dosdude website is no longer responding. Any other recommendations?
hjmcmaster - Jun 14, 2022
Reply
Installed Catalina 10.15.7 (using dosdude) but MacBook no longer recognizes the battery, doesn’t show battery indicator etc. I’ve tried all the usual tricks, but am thinking it is a software problem ???
Kurt Emmanuel - Aug 21, 2022
Reply
How can I remove the patch and restore to original os?