Monterey OS

[Stella]

Hello - I have a MBP Pro (retina, 15 inch, Mid 2014)
The Apple site tells me that Monterey OS can be run on 2015 models but doesn't mention 2014.
I'm currently running Big Sur Version 11.6.2
But the last two times I've turned on my MBP this week, a little box pops up saying to upgrade to Monterey.
I've backed up and am tempted to try it, but a bit scared in case it all goes horribly wrong.
If my MBP cannot support Monterey, will it just say No if I try? Or is it likely to attempt it and then possibly crash and burn?
I'm a bit nervous about trying, so any advice would be helpful - thanks.

 

[TonyAguila]

Hello - I have a MBP Pro (retina, 15 inch, Mid 2014)
The Apple site tells me that Monterey OS can be run on 2015 models but doesn't mention 2014.
I'm currently running Big Sur Version 11.6.2
But the last two times I've turned on my MBP this week, a little box pops up saying to upgrade to Monterey.
I've backed up and am tempted to try it, but a bit scared in case it all goes horribly wrong.
If my MBP cannot support Monterey, will it just say No if I try? Or is it likely to attempt it and then possibly crash and burn?
I'm a bit nervous about trying, so any advice would be helpful - thanks.

Mactracker does indicate that your MBP maxes out at macOS 11.6.2 (20G314). But maybe Apple has since certified macOS Monterey to run on your hardware. I find it hard to believe that Software Update would offer this upgrade if it were not legitimate.

As long as you have a full Time Machine backup of your system, and even better if you have two for redundancy, in your position I would restart into Recovery and select to install macOS. Recovery will match your hardware with what Apple determines is the latest OS you could install. Actually, I don’t know of a way to ask Recovery to install an older macOS version.

As insurance, you may want to download a fresh, up-to-date copy of the macOS Big Sur installer. An easy way of doing this is through App Store. Just do a search for macOS Big Sur, and when it shows up on the list, select it and you will see the Get button.

Go ahead and download it. The file will be saved in your Applications folder. Quit the app as soon as it comes up. You may want to make another copy to a safe place, but you don’t have to delete it from your Applications folder. Once you have aborted the installation, the app will not launch automatically. It will stay there until you launch it or remove it yourself. (If you wish to create a macOS installer USB drive, I can provide you with the information afterwards. You will probably need 16GB, not sure. All my thumb drives are 64GB.)

With your Time Machine backup up-to-date, I would go with whatever Recovery offers. As long as you are already running Big Sur, there will hardly be incompatibilities with your setup, except maybe for some third-party apps. Just make sure that the most vital apps are known to be Monterey-friendly. Enjoy!

 

[Stella]

Thank you for your suggestions.
I will indeed try tomorrow after making a further back up.
Fingers crossed!

 

[Lufbrarunner]

My early 2014 macbook air has just asked me about upgrading to Monterey. According to the list of macs that are monterey compatible a MacBook Air (early 2015 and later) is required.

I will give it a go and see what happens.

 

[Lufbrarunner]

Going by the recovery route I am given the choice of reinstalling Big Sur. Using the software update method in system preferences it upgrades me to Big Sur 11.6.3. So I guess the Monterey offering is a glitch

 

[Stella]

Yes, I've come to the same conclusion.
I got all excited for a short time but I'll get over it!
Thanks all, for trying to help.