Mac Upgrade From Yosemite

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macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Experience Mac to the fullest with a refined new design. Enjoy the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages. Get even more transparency around your privacy.

Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Big Sur

This is by far the best option, but it only available if you have Yosemite, or later OS installed already. If you enabled automatic updates, then Mac will inform you that the next macOS is available. Just open System Preferences, go to Software Update and click on the Upgrade Now button. Version of OS My Mac Can Run. On your Mac, you can find the files on your Desktop and in your Documents folder in Finder under iCloud. If you add a second Mac Desktop, the files from your second Mac won't automatically merge with the files on your first Mac. Go to your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive, then look for a folder with the same name as your second Mac. To upgrade from OS X Mountain Lion, first upgrade to OS X El Capitan, then upgrade to macOS Big Sur. Make a backup Before installing any upgrade, it’s a good idea to back up your Mac. The new Mac OS X is compatible with any Mac PC that was previously running Mac OS X versions 10.8 - Mountain Lion, 10.9 - Mavericks, 10.10 - Yosemite. The reason why Mac computers only with Mavericks upgrade or latest will work with download El Capitan is thanks to Apple not removing any Mac hardware from its Mac OS X support list since. Disk Drill: The best data recovery software for Mac OS X. Recover deleted or lost data from any storage device, iOS and Android.

The following models are supported:

  • MacBook (2015 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2013 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later)
  • Mac mini (2014 or later)
  • iMac (2014 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro (2013 or later)

To see which model you have, click the Apple icon in your menu bar and choose About This Mac.

Make sure you’re ready to upgrade.

Before you upgrade, we recommend that you back up your Mac. If your Mac is running OS X Mavericks 10.9 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS Big Sur. You’ll need the following:

  • OS X 10.9 or later
  • 4GB of memory
  • 35.5GB available storage on macOS Sierra or later*
  • Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
  • Some features require a compatible internet service provider; fees may apply.

Upgrading is free and easy

Upgrading from macOS Catalina 10.15 or Mojave 10.14?

Go to Software Update in System Preferences to find macOS Big Sur. Click Upgrade Now and follow the onscreen instructions.

Upgrading from an older version of macOS?

If you’re running any release from macOS 10.13 to 10.9, you can upgrade to macOS Big Sur from the App Store. If you’re running 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
  • 35.5GB available storage on macOS Sierra 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 Big Sur:

  • MacBook (2015 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2013 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later)
  • Mac mini (2014 or later)
Upgrade
  • iMac (2014 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro (2013 or later)

Dictation, Voice Control, and Voice Memos

Requires a microphone (built-in or external).

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 later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro (2019) with Pro Display XDR

Dolby Atmos soundtrack playback is supported by the following Mac models:

  • MacBook Air (2018 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (2018 or later)

Sidecar

Supported by the following Mac models:

  • MacBook (2016 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2018 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (2016 or later)
  • Mac mini (2018 or later)
  • iMac (late 2015 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • 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 and 4th generation)
Mac upgrade from yosemite to high sierra

Continuity Camera

Requires an iPhone or iPad that supports iOS 12 or later.

System

Continuity Sketch and Continuity Markup

Requires an iPhone with iOS 13 or later or an iPad with iPadOS 13 or later.

Handoff

Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C and iOS 8 or later.

Instant Hotspot

Requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity, a Lightning connector or USB-C, and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.

Universal Clipboard

Requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C and iOS 10 or later.

Auto Unlock

Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later or an iPhone 5 or later.

Approve with Apple Watch

Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 6 or later or an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 13 or later.

Phone Calling

Requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.

SMS

Mac Upgrade From Yosemite

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.

Mac

AirDrop

AirDrop to iOS and iPadOS devices requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector or with USB-C 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).

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.

Photos

The improved Retouch tool is supported on the following Mac models:

  • MacBook Pro (15-inch and 16-inch models) introduced in 2016 or later
  • iMac (Retina 5K models) introduced in 2014 or later
  • iMac (Retina 4K models) introduced in 2017 or later
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
  • Apple Books
  • Apple News
  • App Store
  • Automator
  • Calculator
  • Calendar
  • Chess
  • Contacts
  • 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

Before you begin

  1. Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest iOS or iPadOS, and your Mac to the latest macOS.
  2. Set up iCloud on all of your devices.
  3. Make sure that you’re signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID on all of your devices.
  4. If you have a Windows PC, update to Windows 7 or later and download iCloud for Windows.

If you have a device that can't update to the latest iOS or macOS, see the minimum system requirements to use iCloud Drive.

Get started

Set up iCloud Drive everywhere that you want to access and edit your files.

On your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

  1. Go to Settings > [your name].
  2. Tap iCloud.
  3. Turn on iCloud Drive.

You can find your iCloud Drive files in the Files app.

If you're using iOS 10 or iOS 9, tap Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive. Turn on iCloud Drive, and tap Show on Home Screen. Then you'll find your files in the iCloud Drive app.

On your Mac

  1. Go to Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Apple ID. If you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier, you don’t need to click Apple ID.
  2. Select iCloud.
  3. Sign in with your Apple ID, if you need to.
  4. Select iCloud Drive.

If you want to add the files from your Mac Desktop and Documents folder to iCloud Drive, update your Mac to macOS Sierra or later then turn on Desktop and Documents. On your Mac, you can find the files on your Desktop and in your Documents folder in Finder under iCloud. If you add a second Mac Desktop, the files from your second Mac won't automatically merge with the files on your first Mac. Go to your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive, then look for a folder with the same name as your second Mac.

On iCloud.com

  1. Sign in to iCloud.com.
  2. Select Pages, Numbers, or Keynote.
  3. Click Upgrade to iCloud Drive, if you are asked to upgrade.

On your Windows PC

After you set up iCloud Drive on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, you can set it up on your Windows PC.

  1. Go to Start, open Apps or Programs, and open iCloud for Windows.
  2. Enter your Apple ID to sign in to iCloud.
  3. Select iCloud Drive, then click Apply.

What's next

After you set up iCloud Drive, any documents that you've already stored in iCloud are automatically moved to iCloud Drive. Your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch keep your files in the Files app in addition to the Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps. If you don't see your files in these apps, they might be on a device that doesn't have iCloud Drive turned on.

Upgrade Mac From Yosemite 10.10.5

Learn more about using iCloud Drive.