internet recovery mode to install older Mac OS to external drive

[rib00]

MacBook Air 2017 (Intel, Does NOT have the T2 security chip)
running Monterey

I am booted up in internet recovery (Shift-Option-Command-R)and I am on a screen with a picture and it says "install Mac OS High Sierra."

a) I am disappointed in that because the factory install was Sierra, not high Sierra. But, oh well. (any workaround?)

Can I install Monterey from Recovery onto… - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

"you might get the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available."
--misleading. Sierra is available when I checked about 2 weeks ago. it's available directly on the Apple website.

b) If I click on "install," will it let me later indicate that I want to install only to an external USB drive?

In this thread

Can I install Monterey from Recovery onto… - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

jeffreythefrog says that he installed Catalina to an external drive while in recovery mode.

 

[Ben J.]

b) If I click on "install," will it let me later indicate that I want to install only to an external USB drive?

a) Just download the version you want, and create a bootable installer on a separate drive or partition. Must be HFS+. 30 or 40 GB is enough space.

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users.

support.apple.com

Boot into Recovery, and select the bootable installer disk or partition to boot from. You'll be asked which volume or drive you want the installer to install to.

 

[rib00]

before your post, all of this happened in recovery..

I clicked continue and it says,
the recovery server could not be contacted.
I then opened Terminal and ping google.com
internet worked.
I then tried again about 10 mins after previous attempt.
the recovery server could not be contacted.
again

 

[Ben J.]

With a bootable installer, you won't need an internet connection, whatever the connection problem might be.

 

[Bigwaff]

before your post, all of this happened in recovery..

I clicked continue and it says,
the recovery server could not be contacted.
I then opened Terminal and ping google.com
internet worked.
I then tried again about 10 mins after previous attempt.
the recovery server could not be contacted.
again

Excellent site -

[FIXED] High Sierra "The Recovery Server Could Not Be Contacted" Error. High Sierra Internet Recovery is Still Online, but Broken!

Trying to reinstall macOS High Sierra in internet recovery & are getting the error The Recovery Server Could Not Be Contacted HOW TO FIX!

mrmacintosh.com