How to Downgrade from MacOS Tahoe to MacOS Sequoia

macOS Tahoe 26 has been a controversial release of MacOS system software, mostly due to it’s completely redesigned interface built around what Apple calls Liquid Glass, which has a new look, but includes some major usability and legibility issues. Tahoe is also just buggier and less refined than other Mac operating systems like Sequoia. Accordingly, some Mac users have considered the rather dramatic decision of downgrading from MacOS Tahoe 26, and reverting their Mac back to MacOS Sequoia 15.

The simplest and most direct way to downgrade from MacOS Tahoe and back to Sequoia involves a series of steps including creating a Sequoia installer drive, erasing the Mac, installing Sequoia on the Mac, then restoring your files from a backup if you have a Sequoia compatible backup. If you do not have a Sequoia compatible backup, then you will end up with basically a clean install of Sequoia instead.

Be aware that if you want to downgrade and keep all of your files and data, you need to have a Sequoia-compatible Time Machine backup made from the Mac when it was running MacOS Sequoia previously. If that backup is old, you’ll miss any data from between whenever the date of the Sequoia backup was made, and the present. If you do not have a Sequoia compatible backup, you can skip the restoring of backup portion of this tutorial, which will still downgrade the Mac from Tahoe to Sequoia, but you will basically have a fresh installation with none of your data, files, or apps included.

If you do not have a complete Time Machine backup from before installing macOS Tahoe, you should not proceed unless you’re comfortable completely erasing the Mac and losing all data currently on the computer.

Downgrading from MacOS Tahoe to MacOS Sequoia Prerequisites

You will need the following to perform this downgrade successfully:

• 16GB or larger USB drive. This becomes the bootable MacOS Sequoia USB installer drive that you will use to perform the erasure of Tahoe and the installation of Sequoia.
• The Mac must be compatible with MacOS Sequoia (basically any M4 or earlier Mac, except for the Neo. None of the M5 series or newer Macs are compatible with Sequoia)
• A Sequoia-compatible backup made with Time Machine from before you installed Tahoe. If you do not have a Sequoia compatible backup, the Mac will be setup as new with none of your data/files/apps on it
• Complete backup of the Mac in its current state is recommended
• Understanding that you are erasing the Mac and all data/files/apps on it
• Time, this process is multiple steps and will likely take a few hours to complete from start to finish

It’s a good idea to run a full backup of the Mac before beginning this process, this will establish a new backup that is compatible with only MacOS Tahoe, but it has all of your current stuff on it. If something goes wrong, you can then simply use this new backup to restore your Mac to it’s current condition.

Part 1: Make a MacOS Sequoia USB Bootable Installer

If you already have a MacOS Sequoia boot drive created and ready to go, you can skip past this section of the tutorial:

1. First, you need to download the latest version of MacOS Sequoia as an installer package file (direct download link for MacOS Sequoia 15.7.5 is here) and extract the installer to your Mac, place the “Install macOS Sequoia.app” file into your /Applications/ folder if it doesn’t land there automatically
2. Connect your USB drive as usual, this will be erased and turn into the Sequoia boot drive
3. Open Terminal application, from Spotlight or in /Applications/Utilities/
4. Use the following Terminal command, changing “USBFlashDrive” after /Volumes/ to the name of your USB drive:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sequoia.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USBFlashDrive

5. Hit return, entering the administrator password as requested

When the Sequoia boot disk is finished creating, you’re ready to use the bootable drive to begin the downgrade process.

Part 2: Erase the Mac Completely & Remove MacOS Tahoe

The next step involved completely erasing the Mac. This removes MacOS Tahoe from the Mac, but it also removes all files, apps, data, and everything else from the Mac too. If you do not have a backup of your data, or you are not comfortable starting fresh with absolutely nothing except the Sequoia OS, do not erase your Mac.

1. Connect the freshly created MacOS Sequoia USB boot drive to the Mac you wish to erase and downgrade from Tahoe
2. Restart the Mac, and then immediately perform the following depending on if the Mac is Apple Silicon or Intel:
• Apple Silicon: Immediately press and hold the Power button, keep holding until the startup options menu shows on screen
• Intel: Immediately press and hold the Option (⌥) key during startup, until you see the boot menu
3. Select the MacOS Sequoia installer drive to boot from
4. You’re now at the MacOS Utilities screen, where you can choose “Disk Utility”
5. Select the internal drive that holds MacOS Tahoe
6. Click on Erase in the toolbar
7. Choose Apple File System (APFS) as the drive format
8. Click on Erase to format the disk – Warning: this erases all data on the Mac
9. When Disk Utility has finished erasing the Mac, exit out of Disk Utility to return to the MacOS Utilities screen

Now the Mac is erased, MacOS Tahoe is removed, and the Mac is ready to move onto the next step, which is reinstalling MacOS Sequoia.

Part 3: Installing MacOS Sequoia on the Mac

Next you simply install MacOS Sequoia on the just erased Mac:

1. Select “Install MacOS Sequoia” from the MacOS Utilities screen
2. Click through the on-screen instructions, selecting the freshly erased drive as the target disk for MacOS Sequoia to be installed onto
3. Begin the installation process for MacOS Sequoia and let it finish

Installing MacOS Sequoia can take a bit, so be patient. When installation is finished, the Mac will boot into MacOS Sequoia as if it were a brand new Mac running the Sequoia operating system. MacOS Tahoe is no longer on the Mac.

You can be finished here and simply setup the Mac as new if you’d like, otherwise, if you have a backup of your stuff available, you can restore that either with Time Machine, or manually, or with your file restoration method of choice.

Part 4: Optionally, Restore Your Files from Backup

If you have a MacOS Sequoia compatible backup of your stuff, you can choose to restore your files to the Mac from that backup during the Sequoia setup process. Note that MacOS Tahoe backups are not compatible with MacOS Sequoia. If your only backup available is from MacOS Tahoe, you will have to stay on MacOS Tahoe (or reinstall Tahoe) to be able to restore those files.

1. During the MacOS Sequoia setup process, choose to restore your files from Time Machine with a MacOS Sequoia compatible backup
2. Go through the Time Machine restoration steps as provided on screen

When the process completes, the Mac will be running macOS Sequoia again, either as a new Mac and fresh installation, or with your data restored if you used a Time Machine backup.

MacOS Tahoe 26 has been a rough experience for some Mac users, so it’s understandable why some people have given up on the release and would rather revert back to MacOS Sequoia.

The downgrade process is effective, but it’s admittedly kind of a pain, and not everyone is thrilled with all the steps and time required including building an installer drive, erasing a Mac, and installing Sequoia. If the whole process is too cumbersome for you, that’s also understandable, so you’ll just have to stay with MacOS Tahoe.

Help, I downgraded to Sequoia, but my backups are only compatible with MacOS Tahoe! What do I do? How do I get my stuff back?

If your backups are only compatible with MacOS Tahoe, and you want to have your stuff and data restored, you will need to install MacOS Tahoe again.

Backups from MacOS Tahoe are not compatible with MacOS Sequoia.

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Did you downgrade from macOS Tahoe back to macOS Sequoia? How did the process go for you? Did you use the Time Machine restore approach, a clean install, or another method? Let us know your experiences and thoughts about downgrading from Tahoe in the comments below.