How to Downgrade macOS Ventura Beta to macOS Monterey
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
- Once the Mac is booted into Recovery mode, select “Disk Utility” from the options
- Select the macOS Ventura drive and choose “Erase” from the options – remember, this will delete all data on the Mac completely and permanently
- Choose the file system, typically this is “Apple File System (APFS)” for modern Macs, then click “Erase” to format the Mac THIS COMPLETELY ERASES ALL DATA ON THE MAC
- Exit out of Disk Utility after the drive has erased
- 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.
It is not necessary to have a TM backup of Monterey to migrate from.
I have now successfully tested three times reinstalling Monterey and migrating from a Ventura TM backup.
The migrated Photos Lib will not be compatible with the Monterey OS. You can either repair the Lib or if it is a iCloud Photos Lib, download a fresh copy. When first opened in the restored Monterey Mail will reimport.
It is impossible to download older macOS installers from even the current release. Monterey will not let you download the Monterey installer, because you are already running Monterey. Ventura won’t let you download the installer, either.
Thanks for the article. But there are some steps that people should do with caution.
1. It has been my experience when restoring from a Time Machine backup after stepping down, that it could fail, especially if the newer O/S uses a different type of file system. May I suggest backing up any important data to an external hard drive that is NOT used with Time Machine.
2. Make sure you have a reliable Internet Connection during the reinstall process. Any interruption(s) could result in a bad installation.
3. Don’t install Ventura on a Mac that you use all the time (especially if you’re an Android or iOS app developer).
These have been my experiences since getting my first Mac in 2006.
Thank you.
I’d also add: Have a copy of the Installer for the os you wish to downgrade to. If Time Machine Glitches the restore, you can still use the Migration Assistant to transfer data after the OS is installed,