How to install Mac OS Big Sur on an unsupported Mac Part 1
All of this information comes from Barry K Nathan's Micro Patcher page on GitHub
i've simplified the information in this video based on my perspective
of installing on a Late 2012 MacBook Pro 13-inch
all instructions and links will be in the description
there i will endeavour to keep them updated and add any corrections
if there is something you don't understand refer back to Barry K's GitHub page and other links in the description
Before you start you'll need a working Mac and two 16GB USB drives
first things first you need to make an installer for an older version of Mac OS that's compatible with your Mac
If something goes wrong you need a way to get your computer going again
next you need to download Big Sur
if you have a supported Mac making the installer will be much easier
as you can download the installer through the app store
on an unsupported mac you need to find a direct or third-party link
at the time of making this video i was not able to find a direct link to the release candidate ISO
so i downloaded a beta version
a link for 11.1 release candidate was made available but it was part of an install assistant package
i'll feature this one in a separate video
for now i'm going to install the beta using Micro Patcher
now we need to format the USB stick
open disk utility and click on show all devices in the top left
then erase Mac OS Journaled, GUID partition map
i'm going to call it "install"
next we click on the Big Sur ISO to mount it
then drag the install app to the applications folder
this will take a few minutes but it'll make things easier later
next we're going to lift the command straight from Apple's how to create a bootable installer page
we'll just scroll down and copy and paste that
now we edit that line, add the word beta to match the installer
then we change the last part to the name of the USB
with that done we can open terminal and paste that line in
press return,
type in our password
type Y then return again
then we'll wait
when that's done open the Micropatcher folder
and drag micropatcher.sh to the terminal
do the same with install-setvars.sh
after that our installer will be patched, ready to go
now power down your mac
and start it up holding down the Alt key
select install Mac OS Big Sur
select Install Mac OS
click on agree then agree again
select your hard drive and finally click Install
the installer will take about an hour or so so walk away and do something else
when that's finally finished shut down restart again pressing alt,
this time go in to Terminal
and we type in /Volumes/Image\ Volume/patch- kexts.sh /Volumes/"your hard disk name"
don't forget to use the tab key to auto complete any volume names
all of this information will be in the video description as well as on Barry KN's GitHub page
when that's all finished patching you can exit and restart
and you should be good to go
Big Sur runs great on the MacBook Pro 2012.
the only problems i've noticed is sometimes the WIFI would drop out and wouldn't connect again
i've ordered a new bluetooth card, it should be more compatible with Big Sur
i'm guessing the patches will improve as its early days yet
well that's it i hope this video was useful to somebody
i'll be uploading another installation video soon using Ben Sova's Patched Sur app
thanks for watching