Revert from Big Sur to Catalina via Time Machine possible?

[chinchillas]

Before I upgraded to Big Sur I backed up Catalina System settings in Time Machine. Is it possible to revert to Catalina OS or will I make everything worse? I have not made any backups in that drive since installing Big Sur. Just really want to get rid of this shi*ty OS.

 

[chinchillas]

Okay, just found how to if anyone's interested: https://setapp.com/how-to/downgrade-from-big-sur-to-catalina

 

[Z3man]

I have just gone back to Catalina from Big Sur. At first I didn’t think Big Sur was too bad, but after using it for a few days and realising about all the wasted space, I decided I didn’t like it.

When you go back to Catalina you will love it, you will realise just how much better it is than Big Sur. I am chuffed to bits I have gone back to Catalina. I am beginning to realise just good Catalina is, it is a well polished System and does everything I needed to. None of the new features in Big Sur were any use to me anyway.

 

[chinchillas]

I have just gone back to Catalina from Big Sur. At first I didn’t think Big Sur was too bad, but after using it for a few days and realising about all the wasted space, I decided I didn’t like it.

When you go back to Catalina you will love it, you will realise just how much better it is than Big Sur. I am chuffed to bits I have gone back to Catalina. I am beginning to realise just good Catalina is, it is a well polished System and does everything I needed to. None of the new features in Big Sur were any use to me anyway.

How did you do it? Clean install or backup from Time Machine?

 

[IowaLynn]

While in Catalina, always nice to clone the system - insure you can boot from it.
I'd start with a new TimeMachine if/when using BigSur.
My system, years of updates etc over the years, did not like 10.15 at first last fall until I did a clean install. Id gotten lazy, use to always do clean install, plus every 6 months wipe the drive and restore - great for defrag and optimizing those hdd platters. Ever SSDs can benefit.

If a clean install - no left overs or old pieces left around - of Big Sur doesn't cut it, any many want to wait until a later 11.3 or something, do stay with 10.15.7+.

Some find Big Sur running better than 10.15. Maybe house cleaning, hardware. Some apps may not be ready and you have to wait. I resist change at somethings.

 

[Z3man]

How did you do it? Clean install or backup from Time Machine?

I did both due to hitting problems.

When i erased my hard drive, i then couldn't access my Time Machine backs for some reason. I thought i had bricked my laptop, sat there with no operating system.

So i erased my hard drive again after reading advice on the internet, then it let me download El Capitain which is the original software it came with in 2015.

Then i went to the App Store and tried to download Big Sur because that is all that i thought was available, but to my amazement when i hit the download Big Sur button it started downloading Catalina. Obviously you can't go from El Capitan straight to Big Sur without downloading Catalina first, i was chuffed to bits.

Then once i was back to Catalina, i could then access all my Time Machine backups which i couldn't get earlier when i had wiped the hard drive. So then i did a Time machine backup from last week before i downgraded to Big Sur.

So it was rather a long winded way to do it, but i got there in the end, so i am very happy now.

Honestly if you use Big Sur for a couple of days and then go back to Catalina you will realise that Catalina is miles better. I will not be upgrading from Catalina unless i absolutely have to, like if i buy a new M1 MacBook, but Big Sur is now putting me off buying a new MacBook.

 

[chinchillas]

I already KNOW Catalina is better because BS is complete ****. But what you described sounds too much of an effort.

 

[Z3man]

It was only a lot of effort for me because i hit problems, so it ended up being very long winded.

But providing you can access your Time Machine back up it is pretty easy to to. It is definitely worth doing.