If you installed MacOS Ventura beta onto a Mac and now wish to revert back to a stable macOS Monterey build, you can do so, assuming you meet a few basic requirements.
The simplest way to downgrade from macOS Ventura to Monterey is to erase the Mac, and then reinstall macOS from a Time Machine backup made from macOS Monterey. You can also erase the Mac and then reinstall macOS Monterey using a Monterey USB installer key, which sets up the Mac as if it were new with a clean install.
If you do not have a full Time Machine backup available from before you updated to macOS Ventura, do not proceed unless you want to completely erase all data on the Mac.
Ventura Downgrading prerequisites
- A complete Time Machine backup made of the Mac prior to installing MacOS Ventura, from macOS Monterey – this is necessary if you do not want to lose all data and completely erase the Mac
- A bootable macOS Monterey installer drive, this is essentially for Apple Silicon Macs
- An active internet connection
How to Downgrade MacOS Ventura Beta to macOS Monterey
Remember, downgrading requires completely erasing all data on the Mac, then reinstalling macOS.
- Restart the Mac, and then do the following:
- For Apple Silicon Mac: immediately hold the Power button and continue holding until you see the boot options, choose “Options” and continue
- For Intel Mac: immediately hold down the Command + R keys and continue holding them until the Mac boots into Recovery Mode
- For Apple Silicon Mac: restart the Mac and boot from a macOS Monterey installer USB drive by connecting the USB installer drive to the Mac, then holding the Power button, and selecting the macOS Monterey installer at the boot menu
- Choose “Reinstall macOS Monterey” on the Mac, and walk through the installation setup as usual
- Let macOS Monterey complete installing, when finished you’ll be greeted with the standard MacOS setup screen as if the Mac were brand new – you can choose to restore from a Time Machine backup if desired, or you can set up the Mac as new
- For Intel Mac: select “Restore from Time Machine” from the macOS Utilities menu
- Choose the Time Machine drive that’s connected to your Mac, and then select “Continue”
- Choose the most recent backup made of macOS Monterey at the “Select a Backup” screen
- Choose to ‘Restore’ to restore the Mac to macOS Monterey
* You may need to enable the option for external drive booting on the Mac with Apple Silicon and Mac with T2 chip if you’re unable to boot from an external USB drive.
And there you go, when all is complete, you’ll have the Mac back on macOS Monterey.
MacOS Ventura beta is fairly rough around the edges, so it’s understandable why you’d want to downgrade.
If downgrading from macOS Ventura is unsuccessful for whatever reason, you’ll just have to stay put with macOS Ventura betas, and continue updating them to new versions as they come along. Eventually in the fall, you’ll be able to upgrade to the final version and get off the beta track.
Did you downgrade from macOS Ventura? How did it go for you? Did you use the methods detailed above, or did you use another approach? Let us know how the downgrade experience went for us by leaving a comment below.
