Introduce a,
This article applies to both macOS Big Sur and macOS Monterey, and can be seen as an updated version of my earlier article.
This section covers the system requirements of macOS Monterey and unsupported Mac models that can be supported with OpenCore Patcher, as well as the pros and cons of the OpenCore Legacy Patcher.
Introduction to macOS Monterey
macOS Monterey
All the amazing performances,
Say hello to everyone.
From connecting, sharing and creating, it feels completely new. FaceTime calls are new, and everyone likes them. Safari gets a makeover for you to explore. General control and quick instructions, create a new and powerful way of working. Focus mode, do things without interruption.
Launched October 26, 2021.
Some features overview:
- Photos, messages, and more updates share features in iOS and iPadOS 15
- Universal Controls: Allows you to control other Apple devices from your Mac in an amazing way
- From iOS devices AirPlay to Macs
- A shortcut application introduced as an alternative to “autoaction”
- Safari has been redesigned with new UI, TAB groups, and Web extensions on all devices
2. MacOS Monterey hardware requirements
- MacBook 2016 and beyond
- MacBook Air 2015 and later models
- MacBook Pro 2015 and later models
- Mac Mini 2014 And Future Models
- IMac at the end of 2015 and later models
- IMac Pro 2017 and later models
- Mac Pro 2013 and later Models
3. What is OpenCore
This is a sophisticated boot loader for injecting and patching data in memory, not on disk. This means we can get a near-native experience on many unsupported Macs with Metal Gpus. This includes many of the desired features of other patches, such as:
- System Integrity Protection (SIP), FileVault 2,. Im4m Start and store securely
- Native OTA OS DELTA update on all Macs
- Recovery OS, secure mode, and single user mode boot
- WPA Wifi and personal hotspot support
While OpenCore is familiar to many PC users in the Hackintosh community, it has been designed to be Mac and PC neutral, ensuring it can be easily used by both platforms. The OpenCore Legacy Patcher helps automate the process and makes running OpenCore much easier.
Patch warning: The Boot Camp function will be limited, the installation based on the traditional MBR will not be shown in OpenCore, and due to CPU limitations, only certain models support UEFI Windows 10, see Installing UEFI Windows 10
4. Supported macOS
For operating system support, the following are available:
| Support the entry | Supported operating systems | describe | note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host operating system | MacOS 10.9 – macOS 12 | Refers to an operating system that supports OpenCore- patcher. app | Manual installationPython 3.9 or later10.7+ is supported and you only need to run the repOOpenCore-Patcher.command. |
| Target operating system | macOS 11 – macOS 12 | An operating system that can be patched to run with OpenCore | Possible support for versions 10.4 and later (in a potentially corrupt state). No support is provided. |
The goal of this article is to install macOS Big Sur and macOS Monterey on the following unsupported Mac models.
5. Supported Mac models
Any hardware that supports SSE4.1 CPUS and 64-bit firmware can run on this patch. To check your hardware model, run the following command on the appropriate machine on your terminal:
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | grep 'Model Identifier'
Copy the codeThe following table lists all features currently supported and not supported by the patch:
- MacBook
- MacBook Air
- MacBook Pro
- Mac mini
- iMac
- Mac Pro
- Xserve
MacBook
| SMBIOS | Year | Supported | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook1, 1 | Mid-2006 | NO | 32-Bit CPU limitation |
| MacBook2, 1 | Late 2006 | NO | 32-Bit Firmware limitation |
| MacBook3, 1 | Late 2007 | NO | 32-Bit Firmware limitation |
| MacBook4, 1 | Early 2008 | YES | – No GPU Acceleration in Mavericks and newer – No Keyboard and Trackpad – No USB |
| MacBook5, 1 | Late 2008 | YES | – GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 |
| MacBook5, 2 | Early 2009 | YES | – GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 – Trackpad is recognized as mouse |
| MacBook6, 1 | Late 2009 | YES | – GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 |
| MacBook7, 1 | Mid-2010 | YES | – GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 |
| MacBook8, 1 | Mid-2015 | YES | Everything is supported |
MacBook Air
| SMBIOS | Year | Supported | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBookAir1, 1 | Early 2008 | NO | The Requires SSE4.1 CPU |
| MacBookAir2, 1 | Late 2008 | YES | GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 |
| MacBookAir3, 1 | Late 2010 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookAir3, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookAir4, 1 | Mid-2011 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookAir4, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookAir5, 1 | Mid-2012 | YES | Everything is supported |
| MacBookAir5, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookAir6, 1 | Mid-2013, Early 2014 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookAir6, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
MacBook Pro
| SMBIOS | Year | Supported | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBookPro1, 1 | Early 2006 | NO | 32-Bit CPU limitation |
| MacBookPro1, 2 | Same as above | NO | Same as above |
| MacBookPro2, 1 | Late 2006 | NO | 32-Bit Firmware limitation |
| MacBookPro2, 2 | Same as above | NO | Same as above |
| MacBookPro3, 1 | Mid-2007 | NO | The Requires SSE4.1 CPU |
| MacBookPro4, 1 | Early 2008 | YES | GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 |
| MacBookPro5, 1 | Late 2008 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro5, 2 | Early 2009 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro5, 3 | Mid-2009 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro5, 4 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro5, 5 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro6, 1 | Mid-2010 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro6, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro7, 1 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro8, 1 | Early 2011 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro8, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro8, 3 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro9, 1 | Mid-2012 | YES | Everything is supported |
| MacBookPro9, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro10, 1 | Mid-2012, Early 2013 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro10, 2 | Late 2012, Early 2013 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro11, 1 | Late 2013, Mid-2014 | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro11, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| MacBookPro11, 3 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
Mac mini
| SMBIOS | Year | Supported | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macmini1, 1 | Early 2006 | NO | 32-Bit CPU limitation |
| Macmini2, 1 | Mid-2007 | NO | 32-Bit Firmware limitation |
| Macmini3, 1 | Early 2009 | YES | GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 |
| Macmini4, 1 | Mid-2010 | YES | Same as above |
| Macmini5, 1 | Mid-2011 | YES | Same as above |
| Macmini5, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| Macmini5, 3 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| Macmini6, 1 | Late 2012 | YES | Everything is supported |
| Macmini6, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
iMac
| SMBIOS | Year | Supported | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMac4, 1 | Early 2006 | NO | 32-Bit CPU limitation |
| IMac4, 2 | Mid-2006 | NO | Same as above |
| IMac5, 1 | Late 2006 | NO | 32-Bit Firmware limitation |
| IMac5, 2 | Same as above | NO | Same as above |
| IMac6, 1 | Same as above | NO | Same as above |
| IMac7, 1 | Mid-2007 | YES | – Requires an SSE4.1 CPU Upgrade – GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 – Stock Bluetooth 2.0 card non-functional |
| IMac8, 1 | Early 2008 | YES | – GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 |
| IMac9, 1 | Early 2009 | YES | Same as above |
| IMac10, 1 | Late 2009 | YES | – GPU is socketed, recommend upgrading to Metal GPU – GPU Acceleration in Public Beta, see current issues # 108 |
| IMac11, 1 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| IMac11, 2 | Mid-2010 | YES | Same as above |
| IMac11, 3 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| IMac12, 1 | Mid-2011 | YES | Same as above |
| IMac12, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| IMac13, 1 | Late 2012 | YES | Everything is supported |
| IMac13, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| IMac13, 3 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| IMac14, 1 | Late 2013 | YES | Same as above |
| IMac14, 2 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| IMac14, 3 | Same as above | YES | Same as above |
| IMac14, 4 | Mid-2014 | YES | Same as above |
| IMac15, 1 | Late 2014, Mid-2015 | YES | Same as above |
- For iMac10, 1 through iMac12, x, we highly recommend users upgrade the GPU to a Metal supported model. See here for more information: iMac late 2009 to mid-2011 Graphics Card Upgrade Guide
Mac Pro
| SMBIOS | Year | Supported | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacPro1, 1 | Mid-2006 | NO | 32-Bit Firmware limitation |
| MacPro2, 1 | Mid-2007 | NO | Same as above |
| MacPro3, 1 | Early 2008 | YES | – Potential boot issues with built-in USB 1.1 ports (recommend using a USB 2.0 hub or dedicated USB PCIe controller) – Potential boot issues with stock Bluetooth card, recommend removing to avoid kernel panics |
| MacPro4, 1 | Early 2009 | YES | Everything is supported as long as GPU is Metal capable |
| MacPro5, 1 | Mid-2010, Mid-2012 | YES | Same as above |
Xserve
| SMBIOS | Year | Supported | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xserve1, 1 | Mid-2006 | NO | 32-Bit Firmware limitation |
| Xserve2, 1 | Early 2008 | YES | Everything is supported as long as GPU is Metal capable |
| Xserve3, 1 | Early 2009 | YES | Same as above |
6. Advantages and disadvantages of OpenCore Legacy Patcher
For OpenCore Legacy Patcher, we recommend that users review the table below to understand the advantages and disadvantages compared to other patches. Each has a positive and negative side, and we believe transparency is of the utmost importance when tinkering with another user’s machine. There should be no gray areas that might mislead the user.
- Note: Patched Sur (already 404) and micropatcher Automator are iteration products of BarryKN/big-sur-Micropatcher, so they have many of the same benefits and limitations. Official Patched Sur is used for this comparison, but the project home page is no longer accessible, so micropatcher is used here.
| Features | OpenCore Legacy Patcher | micropatcher |
|---|---|---|
| Over The Air Updates | Supports native support for Metal GPUs in system preferences. | Upgrades are only available when the full macOS package is released (~12GB), usually at the same time as software updates in system preferences, but beta versions are typically delayed by a day |
| FileVault | Fully supported on all machines (Note unsupported on APFS ROM Patched Macs, revert to Stock firmware to resolve) | Does not support |
| System Integrity Protection | Enable this function on the Metal GPU | Early 2013 and earlier models are disabled during the repair process and after the first startup, otherwise enabled |
| APFS snapshot | Fully enabled | Has been disabled |
| The user interface | GUI or TUI interface | SwiftUI interface or shell script |
| Supported operating system version | 10.7-12 | 10.15-11 |
| The firmware patch | Don’t need | Required for models without native APFS support |
| BootCamp | EFI startup support is required | Native support |
| Non – Metal GPU acceleration | (See Acceleration Progress Tracker:Link) | There are no studies |
| Wifi cards from the El Capitan era | support | Does not support |
| WPA wireless support | support | A few are likely to run into problems with early 2013 and earlier models |
| Personal Hotspot Support | Native support | Additional steps are usually required to implement in early 2013 and earlier models |
| Does the Mac Pro and iMac with Polaris+ GPU support HEVC/H.265 | support | Does not support |
| Big Sur- Styled Starts the selector | Though as a shim to the original boot picker | Do not use |
| Dormancy support | In addition to the original drives, third-side SATA SSDS on 2011 and earlier models are supported | Only original drives from 2011 and earlier models are supported |
| Sidecars support | Support any Mac with Metal Intel iGPU (artifacting Way exhibited on high Movement Screen content) | Not supported at all |
Two, installation preparation
-
Download the latest Opencore-Legacy-Patcher
There are 4 releases:
- OpenCore- patcher-gui-offline. app: a graphical interface app containing all the files required to run the program, recommended!!
- OpenCore- patcher-gui. app: graphical interface app.
- OpenCore- patcher-tui-offline. app: Terminal command line interface, including Offline files.
- OpenCore- patcher-tui: Terminal COMMAND line interface.
Standby: baidu network backup link: pan.baidu.com/s/1F8mQT9Af… Extraction code: KB8N
Once downloaded, please drag OpenCore-Patcher. App to the Applications directory.
-
Download the macOS Monterey
Once downloaded, open the image and drag the “Install macOS Monterey” App to (or automatically install it to) Applications.
MacOS Big Sur is also supported.
-
USB storage device 16 GB or higher
Can be a U disk, or even an SD card, of course, the best is SSD mobile hard disk, capacity of 16G or more.
Build and install
-
Create boot media
Prepare a USB flash drive of 16 GB or higher (or another USB storage device, hereinafter referred to as USB flash drive), choose Utilities > Disk Tools, select the USB flash drive, and click Erase. The format is as follows:
- Mac OS X extensions (logging);
- GUID partition diagram;
- Partition name: sysin
Open Terminal and run the following command:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/sysin Copy the codeEnter the current user password (sudo password) as prompted, press Y to confirm, and wait for a few minutes.
After the volume is created, the volume name is automatically changed to Install\ macOS\ Monterey
MacOS Big Sur 11 is also supported. You have prepared the macOS Big Sur image, open terminal, and run the following command:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/sysin Copy the code -
OpenCore Patcher set
Open OpenCore Patcher, click “Settings”, and check “Verbose” to output details for troubleshooting during boot system installation.
Generally, it runs on the Mac to be installed (or the target Mac). You can also create installation media for another Mac. Click “Settings” and select the corresponding model from the drop-down list, as shown in the figure:
Here, the model is represented by “model identifier”. You can click on the system menu bar > “About this machine” and click “System Report…” on the “Overview” TAB. In this case, open System Info and you can see Model ID.
-
Build and Install OpenCore
Click “Build and Install OpenCore” on the main screen of OpenCore-Patcher, and click “Build OpenCore” on the screen that appears.
After the Build is successful, click “Install OpenCore” as shown in the picture.
If the default partition is Disk0, the USB storage device is usually Disk1. If there are two disks or multiple USB storage devices, disk4 is listed. In this example, disk4 is a USB SSD.
The EFI partition selection interface appears, click.
-
Start OpenCore and macOS
Now reboot the Mac, hold down the Option key until the Boot selection screen appears, select the EFI Boot entry with the OpenCore icon (holding down the Control key will make it the default Boot Option, which can be ignored, and the task will resolve the default Boot issue after installation).
You have loaded OpenCore and the following OpenCore Picker screen appears:
In this example, select Install macOS Big Sur (or Install macOS Monterey) and after detailed character output, the normal macOS installation screen will be launched.
See: How to Install macOS Big Sur 11 on Mac and Virtual Machine (also available on Monterey).
Note that before installation, please select “Disk Tool”, erase the entire disk and install again. While it is possible to install an upgrade, these models are usually older, the upgrade lag is more obvious, and some unknown problems may occur.
MacBookPro11,3 Note: When starting macOS Monterey, you need to start into safe mode if the speedup patch is not already installed. Otherwise, you will experience a black screen due to the lack of Nvidia drivers.
- Start safe mode by holding Shift+Enter while selecting macOS Monterey from the startup menu of OpenCore Legacy Patcher.
4. Post-installation tasks
-
Download OpenCore Legacy Patcher again
Now you have logged in to the newly installed system and downloaded OpenCore Legacy Patcher again.
-
Install OpenCore into the built-in storage
Now OpenCore is installed in THE EFI partition of USB storage, unplug the USB storage will not be able to start normally, we need to install OpenCore into the EFI partition of Mac built-in storage, so as to start normally without USB storage. The steps are similar to “Build and install OpenCore” above.
Run OpenCore Patcher and click Settings to change Settings as needed;
Click “Build and Install OpenCore” and “Build OpenCore” again. When “Install OpenCore” select built-in storage (usually disk0) and select EFI partition.
Restart and hold Option, then select the internal EFI partition, the OpenCore Picker (OpenCore startup selection screen) will appear, and start the system normally again.
-
Seamless startup without Verbose or OpenCore Picker
Run OpenCore Patcher and click “Settings” to set it as follows:
“Build and Install OpenCore” again as above 2 for the Settings to take effect.
To display the OpenCore selector now, you simply hold down the “ESC” key when you click EFI startup, and then release the “ESC” key when you see the cursor arrow in the upper left corner.
-
Enabling SIP (generally ignored)
For many users, SIP is enabled at build time by default. For Intel HD 4000 users, you may have noticed that SIP is partially disabled. This is to ensure full compatibility with macOS Monterey and allow it to boot seamlessly with older operating systems. But for users who do not intend to start Monterey, you can re-enable it under settings-SIP Settings.
Note: SIP cannot be enabled in Big Sur for non-metal Gpus because the Root Patch has been Post installed.
To enable the SIP
SIP Reduction (Root patch)
SIP is disabled
If you are unsure whether you should enable SIP, leave it as is.
Systems that have run Post Install Root Patch cannot enable SIP without breaking the current installation.
-
Run “Post Install Root Patch”.
For users using unsupported GPU/wifi cards, you need to run the Post Install Root Volume patch to restore functionality.
Click “Post Install Root Patch” in OpenCore-Patcher to list the functions that need to be patched.
Click “Start Root Patching” to Start the fix (if you don’t need to fix it, the button is grayed out).
After the patch is successfully repaired, the system is prompted to restart for the patch to take effect.
Supports the following gpus and wireless nics:
Unsupported GPUs in macOS Big Sur
- Nvidia:
- Tesla (8000 – 300 series)
- AMD:
- TeraScale (2000 – 6000 series)
- Intel:
- Iron Lake
- Sandy Bridge (2000 – 3000 series)
Unsupported GPUs in macOS Monterey
- Nvidia:
- Tesla (8000 – 300 series)
- Kepler (600 – 800 series)
- AMD:
- TeraScale (2000 – 6000 series)
- Intel:
- Iron Lake
- Sandy Bridge (2000 – 3000 series)
- Ivy Bridge (4000 series)
Unsupported Wireless Cards in macOS Monterey
- Broadcom:
- BCM94328
- BCM94322
- Atheros
- Nvidia:
Fifth, solve the problem of legacy acceleration
The product team has summarized some common problems and their solutions. If you encounter any problems, please click the link below.
- The broken background blurs
- Download older non-Metal applications
- Unable to scale
- Unable to grant special permissions to applications (such as camera access to zoom)
- The keyboard backlight isn’t working
- Photo and map apps are badly distorted
- Unable to press ‘Finish’ while editing sidebar widgets
- AMD/ATI in macOS 11.3 and later wake up from sleep with severe distortion
- Unable to switch Gpus on 2011 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pro
- Unstable colors on ATI TeraScale 2 GPU (HD5000/HD6000)
- Unable to allow Safari extension
- Unable to log in on the 2011 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro
How to update the system version
According to the project description, the application of this patch can support OTA system update (system preference setting – software update), which is not recommended by the author. The performance of old Mac was originally a problem, so the upgrade will aggravate the system lag, and upgrade abnormalities are unknown.
If you need an update, you need to repeat the steps above and reinstall the macOS Monterey image with the new version, but in the steps, do not erase the partition, directly select the original partition to install, the system will be automatically upgraded.
For ordinary users, if there is no problem in using a large version, there is no need to consider upgrading the small version. Generally, the smoothness and functions of X. 5 version will be relatively perfect, and the subsequent security fixes are mostly required.
Please visit the project home page: OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher