Want to Roll Back Your Mac to High Sierra? Here's the Safest Way to Do It

Downgrading to High Sierra is a common step for users who rely on 32-bit apps, face performance issues on newer macOS versions, or need compatibility with older hardware. macOS High Sierra (10.13) was released in 2017 and is still supported by many legacy applications. Before proceeding, understand that this process involves erasing your current system, so a complete backup is essential.

Part 1. Which Macs Support macOS High Sierra?

macOS High Sierra supports a specific set of Mac hardware. Attempting to install it on an unsupported model typically results in an error or failed boot.

⚠️ Important: High Sierra does not support Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) Macs. If you are on an M-series Mac, a downgrade to High Sierra is not possible — the earliest supported macOS for Apple Silicon is Big Sur.

If your Mac runs an Intel processor and meets the year requirements above, proceeding with the downgrade is typically feasible. Check your Mac model under Apple menu → About This Mac.

Part 2. Prepare: Back Up and Gather What You Need

Downgrading involves a clean install that erases your current macOS and data. Preparation before starting can prevent data loss.

What you need:

• A Mac meeting the High Sierra hardware requirements
• A USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of storage
• The macOS High Sierra installer (downloaded from the Mac App Store)
• A current Time Machine or manual backup of your data

Back up your data:

1. Connect an external drive
2. Open System Preferences → Time Machine
3. Select your external drive and click Back Up Now
4. Wait for the backup to complete before continuing

💡 Tip: Back up to at least two locations if possible — one Time Machine backup and one manual copy of your most important folders. Downgrading with a single backup point is a risk if that backup becomes corrupted.

Part 3. Create a Bootable High Sierra USB Installer

A bootable USB installer lets you install High Sierra cleanly, without relying on internet recovery. This is the most reliable method for downgrading.

Step 1: Download the macOS High Sierra installer from the Mac App Store. On newer macOS versions, the installer may be a stub — if so, you may need to find the full installer separately via Apple's developer resources.

Step 2: Insert your USB drive (at least 8 GB)

Step 3: Open Terminal and run:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

Replace MyVolume with the actual name of your USB drive.

Step 4: Enter your administrator password and wait for the process to complete. This may take 10–20 minutes.

💡 Tip: If the High Sierra installer disappears from your Applications folder automatically after downloading (common on macOS Ventura or later), check your Downloads folder or use a third-party tool like MDS (Mac Deploy Stick) to obtain the full installer package.

Part 4. Perform the Downgrade: Clean Install of High Sierra

With your bootable USB ready and data backed up, you can now install High Sierra.

1. Insert the bootable USB drive into your Mac
2. Restart your Mac and hold Option (⌥) immediately at startup
3. Select your USB drive from the boot menu
4. Open Disk Utility from the macOS Utilities screen
5. Select your startup disk and click Erase (use Mac OS Extended or APFS format)
6. Close Disk Utility and select Install macOS
7. Follow the installation prompts and select the erased disk as the destination
8. Wait for the installation to complete — your Mac will restart several times

🗣️ r/applehelp user: "I had to boot into internet recovery first because my bootable USB kept failing — turns out I hadn't formatted the USB as Mac OS Extended before creating the installer."

After installation, avoid restoring from a Time Machine backup made on a newer macOS version — this may cause compatibility issues. Instead, manually migrate only the files and apps you need.

Part 5. Restore Apps and Files After Downgrading

Once High Sierra is installed, you will need to reinstall applications and restore your files manually.

• Files: Copy them from your backup drive directly
• Apps: Reinstall from original sources — many newer app versions will not run on High Sierra
• 32-bit apps: These should now work again on High Sierra, as they were removed in Catalina and later

🗣️ r/MacOS user: "The main reason I downgraded to High Sierra was my old music production software — it ran perfectly on 10.13 but refused to even open on Monterey."

Note that some modern applications, especially those requiring macOS 12 or later, may not function on High Sierra. Check each app's system requirements before expecting full compatibility.

Part 6. Recover Lost Files With Ritridata

If files were accidentally deleted or lost during the backup, erase, or reinstall process, Ritridata may help recover them. It supports macOS internal SSDs and HDDs, as well as external drives used for backups.

Step 1 — Select the drive/location

Choose the Mac drive or external backup drive where files were lost. Ritridata can scan both internal and external storage connected to your Mac.

Step 2 — Run a safe scan

The scan is read-only and does not alter the drive, preserving recoverable data until you choose what to restore.

Step 3 — Preview and recover to another drive

Select the files to recover, preview them, and save to a different drive — not the source drive — to avoid overwriting remaining recoverable data.

FAQ

Q: Can I downgrade from macOS Ventura or Sonoma directly to High Sierra? A: There is no direct downgrade path between distant macOS versions. You typically need to erase the drive and perform a clean install of High Sierra using a bootable USB installer.

Q: Will my Apple ID and iCloud data be affected by downgrading to High Sierra? A: Your iCloud account data stays in the cloud and is not deleted by a local downgrade. However, some iCloud features introduced in newer macOS versions may not be available on High Sierra.

Q: Can I restore a Time Machine backup from macOS Monterey to High Sierra? A: Migration from a newer macOS Time Machine backup to an older macOS version is generally not supported. Manually transferring files is often the safer option.

Q: What happens if the High Sierra installer app is a stub and won't complete the install? A: Apple sometimes delivers a small stub installer that downloads the full package from its servers. If the download fails, try downloading the full installer from Apple's older macOS page or use the softwareupdate Terminal command.

Q: Do I need to downgrade firmware when rolling back to High Sierra? A: Mac firmware (EFI) typically does not downgrade automatically with macOS. In most cases, firmware remains at the version installed by the newest macOS you ran. This generally does not prevent High Sierra from running.

Q: Can I keep my files when downgrading to High Sierra? A: A clean install erases everything. If you want to preserve files, back them up externally first, then restore them manually after the downgrade.

Q: Will High Sierra receive security updates in 2026? A: Apple typically stops releasing security updates for macOS versions several years after release. High Sierra is generally no longer receiving updates as of 2026, which may represent a security risk for internet-connected use.

References

• Apple Support: How to download and install macOS
• Apple Support: macOS High Sierra — Mac App Store
• Apple Support: Create a bootable installer for macOS
• r/applehelp — Downgrade discussion threads