macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

[Jose_Varela]

Confirming that the beta works on the Mid 2012 Non-Retina Macbook Pro. Only the wifi is missing.

⁶

 

[jamezh2020]

Any success getting the WiFi to work on the Mid 2012 MBP via the Catalina kext?
Or is it mandatory to swap out the AP card to get it to work?

 

[libneko]

Any success getting the WiFi to work on the Mid 2012 MBP via the Catalina kext?
Or is it mandatory to swap out the AP card to get it to work?

I would prefer to wait a little bit before swapping anything, it’s literally two days of research and still a lot of new stuff that Big Sur brings with itself. Also, who knows, maybe Apple will bring old kext back, IO80211Family version literally the same as in Catalina, but built for 11.0

 

[libneko]

Was able to test even more. Disabling FileVault and moving Big Sur to separate APFS container didn’t helped with error 66, so gonna try out method listed about with snapshots

 

[jackluke]

For enabling Wifi 802.11n on any 2012 Mac or any other unsupported Big Sur but supported Catalina Mac (in few words those who use the AirPortBrcm4360 driver), this will work:

macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

Here is my IO80211Family kext version 12.0 if you wan to try it. Of course I'm using an Atheros card at the moment, all my MBPs have been upgraded to the BCM94360 from @troop231 i'll try a Mac mini once I get ahold of one. A New (Fixed) Airport Kext has been updated to fix BCM94360/BCM943602...

forums.macrumors.com

To install it properly, simply open a BigSur terminal and copy paste (one line at once) :

sudo mount -uw / ; killall Finder

cd /System/Library/Extensions/

sudo mv IO80211Family.kext IO80211Family.backup

open /System/Library/Extensions/

copy using Finder the IO80211Family.kext from the link attached

return to BigSur terminal and continue typing:

sudo -s

chown -R 0:0 /System/Library/Extensions/

chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/

kmutil install --update-all

kcditto

At next reboot you should have a working Wifi 802.11n and a working AirDrop channel.

 

[SGN]

Confirming that the beta works on the Mid 2012 Non-Retina Macbook Pro. Only the wifi is missing.

View attachment 927041 ⁶

Awesome! That's good news for me as i got one. Looking forward to the GM patch (Not wanting to risk my current main daily driver)

 

[Darkdes]

.

 

[jamezh2020]

For enabling Wifi 802.11n on any 2012 Mac or any other unsupported Big Sur but supported Catalina Mac (in few words those who use the AirPortBrcm4360 driver), this will work:

macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

Here is my IO80211Family kext version 12.0 if you wan to try it. Of course I'm using an Atheros card at the moment, all my MBPs have been upgraded to the BCM94360 from @troop231 i'll try a Mac mini once I get ahold of one. A New (Fixed) Airport Kext has been updated to fix BCM94360/BCM943602...

forums.macrumors.com

To install it properly, simply open a BigSur terminal and copy paste (one line at once) :

sudo mount -uw / ; killall Finder

cd /System/Library/Extensions/

sudo mv IO80211Family.kext IO80211Family.backup

open /System/Library/Extensions/

copy using Finder the IO80211Family.kext from the link attached

return to BigSur terminal and continue typing:

sudo -s

chown -R 0:0 /System/Library/Extensions/

chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/

kmutil install --update-all

At next reboot you should have a working Wifi 802.11n and a working AirDrop channel.

How is this supposed to work in the future? I mean when regular system updates are being seeded for Big Sur.
Will this kext be deleted / overwritten? Will i still be able to update my Mid 2012 MBP as usual like with Catalina?
Sorry if these questions might seem old to you guys but i´m failry new to the unsupported Mac thing , although i expected my Mac being unsupported this time...

 

[PixelmonGalaxy]

Was able to test even more. Disabling FileVault and moving Big Sur to separate APFS container didn’t helped with error 66, so gonna try out method listed about with snapshots

Solution is enter recovery and do "csrutil authenticated-root disable" it allows you to run "sudo mount -uw /" with no errors
[automerge]1592990092[/automerge]

For enabling Wifi 802.11n on any 2012 Mac or any other unsupported Big Sur but supported Catalina Mac (in few words those who use the AirPortBrcm4360 driver), this will work:

macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

Here is my IO80211Family kext version 12.0 if you wan to try it. Of course I'm using an Atheros card at the moment, all my MBPs have been upgraded to the BCM94360 from @troop231 i'll try a Mac mini once I get ahold of one. A New (Fixed) Airport Kext has been updated to fix BCM94360/BCM943602...

forums.macrumors.com

To install it properly, simply open a BigSur terminal and copy paste (one line at once) :

sudo mount -uw / ; killall Finder

cd /System/Library/Extensions/

sudo mv IO80211Family.kext IO80211Family.backup

open /System/Library/Extensions/

copy using Finder the IO80211Family.kext from the link attached

return to BigSur terminal and continue typing:

sudo -s

chown -R 0:0 /System/Library/Extensions/

chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/

kmutil install --update-all

At next reboot you should have a working Wifi 802.11n and a working AirDrop channel.

Grabbing the kext from catalina gives me this error (Mid 2012 MacBook Pro 13")

 

[Helghast59]

Will i still be able to update my Mid 2012 MBP as usual like with Catalina?

Same question.

 

[libneko]

Solution is enter recovery and do "csrutil authenticated-root disable" it allows you to run "sudo mount -uw /" with no errors

Tried that. No, it doesn't.

 

[hintzsche]

I did successfully install Big Sur on my late 2012 Mac Mini.

doset Works no matter what I do I always stuck on the progress bar. System loads I see the mouse pointer, progress bar gets back on the beginning and stays there forever

 

[jackluke]

Solution is enter recovery and do "csrutil authenticated-root disable" it allows you to run "sudo mount -uw /" with no errors
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Grabbing the kext from catalina gives me this error (Mid 2012 MacBook Pro 13") View attachment 927061

Using the Catalina one doesn't worked (I tested it too), while instead the modified IO80211Family.kext posted by @highvoltage12v worked and moreover I guess will work for any unsupported Catalina Mac, from my minimal debugging it's based on some 10.14.5 beta Mojave build.

 

[adamman648]

Has anyone had any progress on getting Big Sur functioning on pre-2011 macs? like the late-2009 white unibody MacBook or late-2008 aluminum MacBook? I just dont wanna relegate my Late-2009 Unibody to the dust bin. I want it to be made compatible with a patcher, like Catalina and Mojave were. I mean, its gotten 10 years of software updates though, but not 10 VERSIONS. And the 10 Versions milestone would make me feel as if this mac has lived its life and i can stop updating it.

 

[jackluke]

How is this supposed to work in the future? I mean when regular system updates are being seeded for Big Sur.
Will this kext be deleted / overwritten? Will i still be able to update my Mid 2012 MBP as usual like with Catalina?
Sorry if these questions might seem old to you guys but i´m failry new to the unsupported Mac thing , although i expected my Mac being unsupported this time...

You can copy it again easily after any update, anyway I guess that apple dropped those Catalina supported Mac simply because they prefer to use 802.11ac and 802.11ax Wifi technologies with their services as Sidecar Wireless HEVC streaming, Apple Watch unlock and others.

 

[PixelmonGalaxy]

Using the Catalina one doesn't worked (I tested it too), while instead the modified IO80211Family.kext posted by @highvoltage12v worked and moreover I guess will work for any unsupported Catalina Mac, from my minimal debugging it's based on some 10.14.5 beta Mojave build.

Can you upload the working kext? I can't seem to be able to find it

 

[hintzsche]

ok managed to boot in Big Sur on late 2012 Mac mini. But sound and wifi doesn't work. can I install the kext from Catalina ?

 

[Aaron2020]

Anyone, any success with MBP retina early 2013?

 

[jackluke]

Can you upload the working kext? I can't seem to be able to find it

I posted the link before, anyway this is the direct url: IO80211Family.kext.zip

credit to @highvoltage12v for this kext, that I guess it could work for any unsupported Catalina Mac and any unsupported BigSur Mac.
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Was able to test even more. Disabling FileVault and moving Big Sur to separate APFS container didn’t helped with error 66, so gonna try out method listed about with snapshots

To those who currently can't "sudo mount -uw /", there is a chance to rebuild KernelCollections (new name for kextcache) from an USB BigSur Installer (made with createinstallmedia), because it includes "kmutil", but I am still trying to figure out how rebuild the kextcache from external macOS or single user mode.

Meanwhile to make writeable the BigSur System folders you could try this from ASentientBot:

macOS 10.15 Catalina on Unsupported Macs

I got sick of running mount -uw / all the time, so I made a tiny LaunchDaemon to do it for me at boot. For anyone else like me who dislikes Catalina's read-only-ness, just put this in /Library/LaunchDaemons/ on your Catalina volume. No idea if this will continue to work in future versions, but...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[libneko]

To those who currently can't "sudo mount -uw /", there is a chance to rebuild KernelCollections (new name for kextcache) from an USB BigSur Installer (made with createinstallmedia), because it includes "kmutil", but I am still trying to figure out how rebuild the kextcache from external macOS or single user mode.

Trying that at the time, but how to run kcditto from the recovery?

 

[jackluke]

Trying that at the time, but how to run kcditto from the recovery?

I guess it's not necessary, because seems that new BigSur "prelinkedkernel" requires these files:

/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc
/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc

edit:

You're right, kcditto is still required because it copies also this:

/System/Volumes/Preboot/UUID-numbersletters/boot/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc

 

[libneko]

I guess it's not necessary, because seems that new BigSur "prelinkedkernel" requires these files:

/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc
/System/Library/KernelCollections/SystemKernelExtensions.kc

edit:

You're right, kcditto is still required because it copies also this:

/System/Volumes/Preboot/UUID-numbersletters/boot/System/Library/KernelCollections/BootKernelExtensions.kc

Trying to figure out this stuff, still unbootable
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Looks like i've made it bootable!
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Changes successfully applied by creating a snapshot, tried to install wifi kext, wifi is showing up, but not searches any networks, still digging
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It will be a shitton of actions, if it's the only way to install kexts
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Wifi is working!

 

[libneko]

Hello there. The process is really f-up, will do a clean installation now and try to document every step.

 

[rumormiller]

No luck

BIErrorDomain error 3

"BIErrorDomain 3" is the new installer (written in Objective-C and part of an InstallAssistant internal framework, rather than JavaScript in OSInstall.mpkg/Distribution as previously) check's way of saying that the system is unsupported. In the context of my (rather ridiculously named) Hax.dylib, it means that didn't get injected into the relevant InstallAssistant daemon for some reason (probably Library Validation is enabled). ASentientBot

After running the terminal commands I rebooted without running the installer. I also then got the BIErrorDomain error 3 when running the install macOS beta at the select disk stage. Re-running the terminal commands without rebooting and then running the install macOS beta app got me past that error and Big Sur is successfully installed on my late 2013 iMac.

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.libraryvalidation.plist DisableLibraryValidation -bool true

launchctl setenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES $PWD/Hax.dylib
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AFAIK, that means you are going well. Now you need to set the "No compatibility check" in NVRAM. Easiest way would be to boot in previous macOS and in terminal, issue:

sudo nvram boot-args='-no_compat_check'

I'm not really sure if this step can be done in the OS Recovery terminal. For what I've read, should be done with the full system running, but I haven't tested it myself.

Once that's done, the Big Sur OS will be able to boot and continue installing.

It can be done in recovery terminal just don't use sudo - it's not necessary you'll get an error saying command not recognised.

nvram boot-args="-no_compat_check"

 

[jbdamiano]

Solution is enter recovery and do "csrutil authenticated-root disable" it allows you to run "sudo mount -uw /" with no errors
[automerge]1592990092[/automerge]

Grabbing the kext from catalina gives me this error (Mid 2012 MacBook Pro 13") View attachment 927061

When I try to reboot on recovery cmd-R, I am not on the Big sur recovery so the new authenticated-root option is not available.

How we can reboot on BS recovery ?