#MAC OS 10.15 HOW TO#
#MAC OS 10.15 UPDATE#
#MAC OS 10.15 UPGRADE#

Only then will you be prepared for this upgrade, but if you discover that one or more of your critically-important programs or devices are not compatible, you should definitely postpone upgrading.įor example, here are a handful of the many Macintosh programs that are not compatible with macOS 10.15 Catalina, but that do work on systems up through 10.14 Mojave:

Switch: If there is no 64-bit version available, or there is one but it's not compatible with Catalina, is there some other, similar program that you could switch to?.

Your goal is to answer the following questions: If the current version of the program is 32-bit, is there a newer 64-bit version? If so, is it compatible with Catalina, and is it free or does it cost something?

I suggest a combination of checking each company's website, contacting them directly, and searching online.

#MAC OS 10.15 HOW TO#

Research: Then, for each item on that list, look for any potential Catalina compatibility issues, and then find out how to solve them.

Survey: Make a list of all of the programs, plug-ins, extensions, and hardware devices that you currently use.Backup: Do a complete system backup, in case something goes wrong with the upgrade.So, even after waiting 6-12 months to avoid early problems, before upgrading your current Mac to macOS 10.15 (or moving to a new Mac with 10.15 pre-installed), I strongly advise that you take the following careful approach: This means that all older, 32-bit applications will no longer work after you upgrade.Įven if your Mac is compatible with Catalina, there is no guarantee that all of your programs and hardware devices will be, even if they run 64-bit software. However, since these options are a bit complicated (and I can't guarantee that they do exactly what they sound like they do), make sure that your backup (Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, etc.) is up-to-date in case your Mac gets upgraded to Catalina by accident.Ĭatalina is the first Mac operating system to require that all programs be 64-bit. macOS 10.13 (as well as a few previous versions): Click the Apple menu -> App Store -> Preferences, and then turn the 'Automatic Updates' option OFF.Note that even with those options turned on, Mac laptops will only download updates automatically if they are plugged into a power source.

#MAC OS 10.15 UPDATE#

macOS 10.14 Mojave: Click the Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Software Update -> Advanced, and then turn the 'Download new updates when available' and 'Install macOS updates' options OFF.

I also recommend that you prevent your Mac from potentially upgrading to Catalina without asking you: Let other people discover those problems and report them to Apple. Unless there is a compelling need for you to upgrade, don't be a volunteer troubleshooter and risk have your productivity disrupted.

Why? In my experience, new operating system releases can have all kinds of problems.

#MAC OS 10.15 UPGRADE#

If your current Macintosh is compatible, should you upgrade to it? What are the pros and cons?Īs I tell my clients when any operating system upgrade gets released, there is no need to upgrade right away.Įven if your Mac can run macOS 10.15 Catalina (see for compatible models), I strongly recommend that you wait at least 6 months, and 12 months would be even better. It's named after Santa Catalina Island off the coast of southern California. Do Not Upgrade Your Macintosh to macOS 10.15 Catalina Now, Wait 6-12 MonthsĪpple released its latest Macintosh operating system macOS 10.15 'Catalina' earlier this month on October 7, 2019.