macOS 11 Big Sur on Unsupported Macs Thread

[Dilli]

I am getting this error with the Big Sur final release. iMac 27" 2013 also.

Turning off hardware acceleration works, but obviously isn't an ideal fix.

*** Update: Running Microsoft Remote Desktop Beta Version 10.5.0 (1835) and Hardware Acceleration appears to be working ***

If your display card in your mac is not metal then you will face issues of acceleration. This is also mentioned in first post. Bigsur is only compatible with metal GPU

 

[Dilli]

Is there anyway for a MacbookPro5,3 to get Big Sir installed? I’ve tried everything just to see if it’s possible but just wondering if it’s possible. I got Catalina on it running smooth as silk.

Read the 1st post about your machine compatibility

 

[air.man]

Hi Jackluke,
according to official release I decided to get back to my attempt to install BigSur on my MB5,1 on an external USB drive. Stage2 completed successfully (even if the less than one minute lasted 1 hour..), and I fell in stage3 bootloop. I tried to apply the fix3 and the legacy USB fix (more than once..), but the bootloop didn’t leave.
Please take a look to the pic : it seems that no new snapshot was created by the fix. I checked and crsutil and authenticated root are both disabled. Is it correct or something got wrong ? Thanks once again.

 

[Xavier]

Thankyou everyone who made this happen.. I didn't realise I was having problems with Catalina on my iMac, I thought my iMac was just.. slowly dying. Big Sur seems to run between 10 and 20 degrees cooler in all circumstances, and a horrible screen burn-in/gpu artifacting issue I've had since Mojave doesn't seem to happen anymore. (i'm keeping an eye on it but it's over a day now.. it was pretty much constant before if i used things like youtube)

Things like Wacom drivers, even all my AU plugins.. Nothing broke. Other than the very slow install - it's been the smoothest OS upgrade I think I've had in recent years re: software.

What the heck did Apple do under the hood with Big Sur? This is by far the biggest performance boost I've seen from a single OS upgrade, and my iMac (and MBP) don't even support it! (27" 3.5GHz Quad i7 Late 2013, GTX 780M 4GB) - things like navigating/zooming photos.. Everything is so slick.. Neither of my Macs should be on the unsupported list.

I was also experiencing the screen burn in/artifacting on my late 2013 with the same GPU. I haven't noticed it since upgrading to Big Sur, but I'm keeping my eyes on it.

 

[Caeed]

I have a 2012 Mac Pro with a Radeon HD 7950 graphics. I have a hard drive ready, GUID partitioned. Mac OS Extended(journaled) format. I downloaded:
https://github.com/BenSova/Patched-Sur/releases/download/v0.0.3/Patched-Sur.dmg

Followed directions. Ended with this:

What am I doing wrong? I've tried it several times

What version of Big Sur does this software download?

 

[Dilli]

Just for curiosity. Can I install Big sur Externally on a ssd drive and then used the ssd as internal drive of my imac using connectivity to one of the sata ports. Will it boot as internal ssd? Please provide your inputs . Thanks.

 

[Bigpearl]

When ever I try to do nexts patch at the end I get this these are the things I’m doing can someone help

 

[justperry]

I was fortunate with my mid 2012 rMBP then, being older still.

Seems like it's 2013 macs only.

 

[Dilli]

What version of Big Sur does this software download?

Better you use Micropatcher from this link. And do read the instructions.

GitHub - barrykn/big-sur-micropatcher: A primitive USB patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on unsupported Macs

A primitive USB patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on unsupported Macs - barrykn/big-sur-micropatcher

github.com

 

[Dilli]

When ever I try to do nexts patch at the end I get this these are the things I’m doing can someone help

As per your image above the command is wrong. First word is "Volumes & not "Volume".
Try this commands correctly

For example, for a system volume named Macintosh HD, try one of the following:

• /Volumes/Image\ Volume/patch-kexts.sh /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD
• '/Volumes/Image Volume/patch-kexts.sh' '/Volumes/Macintosh HD'
• "/Volumes/Image Volume/patch-kexts.sh" "/Volumes/Macintosh HD"

The last letter after / should the name of your disk that you installed Big Sur in.

 

[hvds]

Bonjour together!

Although I am not in charge of this I have reorganised the first post some days ago by hiding the long lists of supported, nearly supported, possibly supported, unsupported systems behind spoiler tags and added three questions to the FAQ

Q: Where/how can I download macOS 11.0 Big Sur?
A: Use this download link to load the 12GB InstallAssistant package. Install the package and you will find the Big Sur installer located in your Applications folder.

Q: Where/how can I download a patcher tool?
A: Currently the first option to install Big Sur on selected machines is the @Barry K. Nathan micro patcher tool. By the way, if you have a Mac Pro, Big Mac by StarPlayrX is another patcher worth considering. For 2008 Mac Pros (MacPro3,1) in particular, Big Mac is clearly a better option than this patcher (at least for now). The last but not least option is the @jacklukeUSBOpenCoreAPFSloader. This patcher allows booting of the Big Sur (Beta) installer on a wider range of older systems without graphics acceleration. Please remember it is highly suggested that you have a backup in place before installing new system software on your main devices, overwriting any stable releases. Unsupported software can cause irreparable hardware damage or irrecoverable data loss and should be used at one's own risk.

Q: Where/how can I download the @dosdude1 Big Sur patcher tool?
A: @dosdude1 commented recently directly on this topic. There will be no such patcher for Big Sur available. Please do not clutter the thread asking for it again and again.

A native speaker may please correct this and possibly also update the download link. Have seen there is a more recent installer available for some hours now.

Writing about support:

There is no! There is no support for Time Machine backup and restore, no support for special hardware features, no support for OTA updates, no support for a hassle free upgrade from Catalina to Big Sur. All this may work right now or in future, but it all depends on the collaboration on this thread. A few will code and most others will be alpha or beta testers. Together we can make this work.

Thanks to @Barry K. Nathan, @jackluke, @khronokernel, @ASentientBot and others making this possible...

P.S.:

This is the reason why I relink to the first post for most of the questions here...

What is still missing is a table or list pointing to the (best) working patcher for each Mac model.

Thanks!
But regarding the patcher download answer, isn‘t the right link to jackluke‘s his other github page https://github.com/jacklukem/BigSurfixes ?
Certainly the Opencore one is important too.

 

[straycat23]

Did you select public release? You could try downloading the install assistant directly from Apple, install it and then click View other versions in Patched Sur > Find an Installer and then select the Install MacOS Big Sur installer in your applications and see if that works.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply. I tried just that. The version of the patched-Sur.dmg I used did not give me the option to use a downloaded installer of Big Sur. I think I'm have done something wrong, but I don't know what.

 

[TA 455SD]

Thanks for the reply. I tried just that. The version of the patched-Sur.dmg I used did not give me the option to use a downloaded installer of Big Sur. I think I'm have done something wrong, but I don't know what.

I used the patched Sur dmg version 0.0.3 i think it is , download to the C drive , and it will be found in the applications folder , then run it from there and it will look for your GUID prepped drive and then you selct the prepped drive and it will create a bootable patched drove , I did this a mac mini 2012 and it worked perfectly , still in testing but seems to run better than Catalina does

 

[Bigpearl]

As per your image above the command is wrong. First word is "Volumes & not "Volume".
Try this commands correctly

For example, for a system volume named Macintosh HD, try one of the following:

• /Volumes/Image\ Volume/patch-kexts.sh /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD
• '/Volumes/Image Volume/patch-kexts.sh' '/Volumes/Macintosh HD'
• "/Volumes/Image Volume/patch-kexts.sh" "/Volumes/Macintosh HD"

The last letter after / should the name of your disk that you installed Big Sur in.

Ok I’m getting closer the hard drive I have Big Sur installed is Macintosh HDD I’m almost there need your help again

 

[TA 455SD]

Thanks for the reply. I tried just that. The version of the patched-Sur.dmg I used did not give me the option to use a downloaded installer of Big Sur. I think I'm have done something wrong, but I don't know what.

It does allow for selecting newest release or view beta and other releases , just choose the 11.0.1

 

[Bigpearl]

I put this in to get that

 

[Bigpearl]

I put this in to get that

@dilli

 

[throwinrocks]

I had the same issue with my macpro 2019 and rx 580 but after I installed, and after removed, radeonboost.kext and whatever green. I reinstalled big sur on top of the previous installation and so far so good. We'll see. Big sur does not like messing with kexts, I guess.

Your 2019 is supported why mess with using a patcher?
I was asking who/what/where is Bens patcher?

Thanks

 

[Allistah]

When ever I try to do nexts patch at the end I get this these are the things I’m doing can someone help

Hey @Bigpearl - Use tab completion on that command line. You're missing characters. Let it complete the names for you. Any time you have a space like in "Macintosh HDD" you need to have backslashes there. Easiest way is to start typing the name and hit tab so it completes it and puts them in for you. Then it should work - provided "Macintosh HDD" is where Big Sur is.

 

[jackluke]

Hi Jackluke,
according to official release I decided to get back to my attempt to install BigSur on my MB5,1 on an external USB drive. Stage2 completed successfully (even if the less than one minute lasted 1 hour..), and I fell in stage3 bootloop. I tried to apply the fix3 and the legacy USB fix (more than once..), but the bootloop didn’t leave.
Please take a look to the pic : it seems that no new snapshot was created by the fix. I checked and crsutil and authenticated root are both disabled. Is it correct or something got wrong ? Thanks once again.

That ARV (Authenticated Root Volume) message:
Can't use last-sealed-snapshot or create-snapshot on non ARV volume
is really weird seems that the stock snapshot created by installation (that means stage3 installer completed properly) is locked, but meanwhile try this:

"BigSurfixes disable snapshot", "BigSurfixes delete snapshot" and try rebooting (even with ARV error) BigSur .

If this still produced that "ARV error" without desktop booting, then boot Mojave or Catalina and send the output of this: diskutil info /Volumes/YourBigSurLabel | grep Sealed

(you should type that diskutil info /Volumes/YourBigSurLabel also from "BigSur recovery environment", if you get Seal "Broken" that installation of BigSur is sealed and hasn't completed properly)

If none worked, then I suggest to boot the "BaseSystem fix Installer" through OpenCoreAPFSloader4b, and then apply "BigSurfixes opencore preboot" and try booting through opencore the "Big Sur" disk .

 

[Bigpearl]

Hey @Bigpearl - Use tab completion on that command line. You're missing characters. Let it complete the names for you. Any time you have a space like in "Macintosh HDD" you need to have backslashes there. Easiest way is to start typing the name and hit tab so it completes it and puts them in for you. Then it should work - provided "Macintosh HDD" is where Big Sur is.

That did it you the man thanks

 

[Mac_tech]

Bonjour together!

Although I am not in charge of this I have reorganised the first post some days ago by hiding the long lists of supported, nearly supported, possibly supported, unsupported systems behind spoiler tags and added three questions to the FAQ

Q: Where/how can I download macOS 11.0 Big Sur?
A: Use this download link to load the 12GB InstallAssistant package. Install the package and you will find the Big Sur installer located in your Applications folder.

Q: Where/how can I download a patcher tool?
A: Currently the first option to install Big Sur on selected machines is the @Barry K. Nathan micro patcher tool. By the way, if you have a Mac Pro, Big Mac by StarPlayrX is another patcher worth considering. For 2008 Mac Pros (MacPro3,1) in particular, Big Mac is clearly a better option than this patcher (at least for now). The last but not least option is the @jacklukeUSBOpenCoreAPFSloader. This patcher allows booting of the Big Sur (Beta) installer on a wider range of older systems without graphics acceleration. Please remember it is highly suggested that you have a backup in place before installing new system software on your main devices, overwriting any stable releases. Unsupported software can cause irreparable hardware damage or irrecoverable data loss and should be used at one's own risk.

Q: Where/how can I download the @dosdude1 Big Sur patcher tool?
A: @dosdude1 commented recently directly on this topic. There will be no such patcher for Big Sur available. Please do not clutter the thread asking for it again and again.

A native speaker may please correct this and possibly also update the download link. Have seen there is a more recent installer available for some hours now.

Writing about support:

There is no! There is no support for Time Machine backup and restore, no support for special hardware features, no support for OTA updates, no support for a hassle free upgrade from Catalina to Big Sur. All this may work right now or in future, but it all depends on the collaboration on this thread. A few will code and most others will be alpha or beta testers. Together we can make this work.

Thanks to @Barry K. Nathan, @jackluke, @khronokernel, @ASentientBot and others making this possible...

P.S.:

This is the reason why I relink to the first post for most of the questions here...

What is still missing is a table or list pointing to the (best) working patcher for each Mac model.

I'm seeing the latest installer being added as of November 12, 2020. This being the public release link.

It's recommended to have a backup before installing new system software on your main device. Overwriting stable releases using unsupported software can cause irreparable hardware damage or irrecoverable data loss and should be used at one's own risk.

Here is a rough table, work in progress: (if anything needs to be changed, please let me know)

A primitive USB patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on unsupported Macs. Compatibility list	Micropatcher by @Barry K. Nathan
Patched Sur is a UI patcher for macOS Big Sur, designed to make it easy to run macOS 11 on unsupported Macs. This patcher hopes to allow any user of any knowledge to patch their Mac, while still giving you freedom on how you want to use your Mac. Compatibility list	Patched Sur by Ben Sova
if you have a Mac Pro, consider this. For 2008 Mac Pros (MacPro3,1) in particular, this is clearly a better option at least for now). Big Mac 🍔 🍟 . Patch tool designed for Mac Pro 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012. Models 3,1 4,1 and 5,1.	Big Mac by StarPlayrX
This is refered to as a "boot loader" – this is a complex piece of software that we use to prepare our systems for macOS – specifically by injecting new data for macOS such as SMBIOS, ACPI tables and kexts.	OpenCore
This patcher allows booting of the Big Sur (Beta) installer on a wider range of older systems without graphics acceleration.	USBOpenCoreAPFSloader by @jackluke

 

[Caeed]

Better you use Micropatcher from this link. And do read the instructions.

GitHub - barrykn/big-sur-micropatcher: A primitive USB patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on unsupported Macs

A primitive USB patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on unsupported Macs - barrykn/big-sur-micropatcher

github.com

I used this way many times
And I know
But last time it was difficult to install
And said download again
I also decided to download the file from a place that everyone uses

 

[eVasilis]

Your 2019 is supported why mess with using a patcher?
I was asking who/what/where is Bens patcher?

Thanks

My mistake... 2010 macpro it is. Corrected

 

[justperry]

That did it you the man thanks

A space in a name is typed as a backslash and a space in Terminal.
Get the basics right.
Example

Disk name is Mac HD
In Terminal that would be
/Volumes/Image\ Volume/patch-kexts.sh /Volumes/Mac\ HD
There's a space in between the \ and HD

Macintosh HD would be
/Volumes/Image\ Volume/patch-kexts.sh /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD
There's a space in between the \ and HD

SSD on the other hand is just

/Volumes/Image\ Volume/patch-kexts.sh /Volumes/SSD