How to Install macOS Ventura Public Beta
Adventurous Mac users may be interested in trying out the macOS Ventura public beta on their Mac, which is now available for any user to download and install.
As is usual with beta system software, the macOS Ventura public beta is buggy, and users should expect to encounter quirks, bugs, and incompatibilities with certain things and apps. For this reason, it’s recommended to install the macOS Ventura public beta on a secondary Mac, and not a primary workstation.
Requirements for MacOS Ventura Public Beta
If you wish to run the macOS Ventura public beta, you will need:
- A MacOS Ventura compatible Mac
- A Time Machine backup of the Mac (or your preferred backup method) so that you can downgrade or restore your data in the event something goes wrong
- 30GB of free disk storage available
And of course you’ll need a decent internet connection so that you can download and install Ventura public beta as well.
How to Install MacOS Ventura Public Beta
Do not skip making a backup before installing the macOS Ventura public beta!
- Open Safari on the Mac and go to beta.apple.com to sign in with your Apple ID and enroll in the public beta program for MacOS
- Choose to download the macOS Public Beta Access Utility, this will download and you can mount the disk image to then run the package installer, which installs the macOS Ventura public beta profile onto your computer
- Go to the Apple menu, and select “System Preferences”, then go to “Software Update” to find the macOS Ventura public beta available to download
- Select to “Upgrade Now” to begin installing the macOS Ventura public beta
- Follow the onscreen prompts to install macOS Ventura public beta if asked, though some users find the macOS Ventura beta update just installs itself automatically – if you want to download a complete macOS Ventura beta installer, go here to find those links pointing to Apple servers (this can be used to make a bootable macOS Ventura beta installer, etc)
Installing macOS Ventura public beta takes a little while to install, and you can expect the Mac to reboot a few times during the process. When finished, the Mac will boot directly into macOS Ventura.
How do install future macOS Ventura public beta updates?
Updates to macOS Ventura public beta will come via the Software Update mechanism as usual on a Mac. It’s noteworthy that Apple has renamed “System Preferences” to “System Settings” in Ventura however, and the entire System Settings interface looks like something copy and pasted from iOS, so you may find that experience looks different than you’re accustomed to.
Go to the Apple menu > System Settings > Software Update.
Note that in the past, developer beta builds are posted first by Apple, and then are soon followed by the equivalent build as a public beta, so if you see posts and discussion of new dev beta builds it’s reasonable to expect a public beta update is coming soon as well.
Can I move from the beta to the final version of macOS Ventura?
Yes, when the final version of macOS Ventura is available in the fall, it will arrive via the Software Update mechanism, and you will be able to update to it directly from the Ventura beta.
How do I report problems or bugs in macOS Ventura beta?
Part of being a beta tester means you can file feedback and submit bug reports directly to Apple, and possibly even shape the future of macOS Ventura. This is done with the Feedback Assistant app, that will appear in your Dock after you install the Ventura beta.
You can also offer general feedback on how things function, behave, look, etc, through the Feedback Assistant app.
How do I get rid of macOS Ventura beta and go back to Monterey?
Assuming you made a complete backup of your Mac with Time Machine before installing the macOS Ventura public beta, you can downgrade from macOS Ventura beta to Monterey rather easily by erasing the Mac hard drive, then restoring the Mac from that backup.
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Speaking of public betas, you may also be interested in trying out and installing iPadOS 16 public beta on an iPad, or installing and running iOS 16 public beta on an iPhone, the latter of which is probably the more intriguing of the two due to lock screen customizations.
Did you install macOS Ventura 13 public beta on a Mac? What do you think so far? Let us know your experiences and thoughts in the comments.
