MacBook 2015 with OCLP

[loby]

For those who have a MacBook 2015, how is your experience with OCLP (the latest is 2.4.1 for this post).

I have heard a lot from 2017 owners (with sometimes 2016), but could those who have the 2015 model comment below on their experience with macOS Sequoia or Sonoma or other ?

I have been trying over the last few years every time a new version of OCLP comes out and generally the experience is good (and much thanks and appreciation to OCLP’s developers).

I have bounced around with macOS Monterey thru Sequoia and always go back to Monterey due to either slowness or a little over heating on a non fan-less Mac. I would just stay with Monterey, but my apps are losing support slowly and had to move from macOS Big Sur due to end of support app issues ( which works the best of course). I go back-and-forth also with Ventura, but again go back eventually to Monterey.

I took MacBook 2015 in to replace the battery at Apple just before it went obsolete and the tech guy was impressed at the condition of the little gem. It looked like Apple even fixed my worn thunderbolt port as well. No issues with the butterfly keyboard also. So, it should last a few more years (to my surprise for a 2015 model).

I have a fully loaded MacBook Air M3 and love it… BUT the old MacBook 2015 just fits my needs better for travel though it is VERY underpowered.

Probably macOS Tahoe is a definite “No” as the resource requirements are well above my little gems capacity, regardless of OCLP developer’s magic.

What OS are you who have MacBook 2015 camping with?

Thanks for any comments!

 

[Macdctr]

I don't have a 2015 MacBook but do have my 2017 MacBook which is the same footprint. I got mine as a curiosity more than anything else but have since replaced my 11 inch air (my travel Mac) with this MacBook. I love just how light and thin this laptop is although I wish I had larger storage but I can use an external storage drive so that does not bother me too much.

This is an older pic but shows my MacBook running Sequoia MacOS 15. I have not had any issues running this OS on this computer.

I have since updated my MacBook to OS 15.7 build (24G222) on it an it still runs very well. I'm typing this response on my MacBook. So depending on how your 2015 MacBook is configured, I would say it should have no problem running Sequoia which is the OS that has been verified to work perfectly with the current version of OCLP (2.4.1).

 

[loby]

You have the most desired 2017 MacBook with 16GB of Ram and an i7 CPU and the 2017 model. 🤣

The 2015 was the first in the series and VERY underpowered with the m CPU which tries (stressed the word “try”) to regulate the first “no fan” Mac heat, energy and power consumption.

Your model is the best for Sequoia. I too was curious and had an option to purchase a MacBook with 16GB of Ram, but I just wanted to “play” and instead bought the cheaper 2015 Gold version a few years ago. To my surprise…it became my favorite little “old” Mac and thought later “I should have bought” the stronger option for longer use when I had the chance.

Enjoy your MacBook! I hope Apple decides to release a 12” again as it is best for travel.

As usual..I will try again going to Sequoia when the next version of OCLP comes out. I try every version of open core patcher to see, so I will try soon again.

Unless OCLP can get the weak 2015 to not slow down, I am camped on Monterey until my apps are obsolete.

Thanks for commenting.

 

[Macdctr]

I have a 2015 MacBook and tried getting it to boot up. Unfortunately the laptop might be dead . . . I will have to work on this guy and see if I can get it to boot up but since I have two 2017 MacBooks to use, I'm not sure if I will get to my 2015 MacBook.

The other 2017 MacBook I have is an i5/16GB/512GB version. The i7 version is 16GB/256GB configuration. Although my i5 MacBook is slower than my i7, it does everything that my i7 does . . . just takes a little longer to get to it

My i7 being Space Grey and my i5 being the traditional silver aluminum color.

 

[loby]

I have a 2015 MacBook and tried getting it to boot up. Unfortunately the laptop might be dead . . . I will have to work on this guy and see if I can get it to boot up but since I have two 2017 MacBooks to use, I'm not sure if I will get to my 2015 MacBook.

The other 2017 MacBook I have is an i5/16GB/512GB version. The i7 version is 16GB/256GB configuration. Although my i5 MacBook is slower than my i7, it does everything that my i7 does . . . just takes a little longer to get to it

You have two 2017 MacBooks???...and a 2015? You must love these MacBooks. What a lucky person! I checked on eBay and there was one 16GB RAM; 512GB SSD and I5 CPU, but it was beaten up. That is it out there..

 

[Macdctr]

You have two 2017 MacBooks???...and a 2015? You must love these MacBooks. What a lucky person! I checked on eBay and there was one 16GB RAM; 512GB SSD and I5 CPU, but it was beaten up. That is it out there..

I avoided buying these MacBooks when they came out simply because of the poor reviews and reliability of the butterfly keyboard. Last October I decided I needed a new project as I have gone thru all the 2015 MacBook Pro/MacBook Air lineups and have taken those laptops as far as I could take them so I started looking at the 12 inch MacBooks out of curiosity. I was looking for something lighter, have better display and be close in being compact as my 11-inch i7 Air was. I got lucky in getting these two 2017 MacBooks and actually decided to use my i7 MacBook as my new travel laptop. Yes I really enjoy using this laptop and I have not experienced any sticking keys or malfunctioning keys in my first year of ownership of these laptops.

 

[loby]

As said before, I kind of did the same and unexpectedly...LOVED it. I have a M3 MacBook Air (fully loaded) and love that...but...my old 2015 is my "go-to" for travel. I too had NO STUCKED KEYS with the butterfly keyboard. I had a MacBook Pro 2018 butterfly keyboard and never had a stuck key. The 2018 butterfly keyboard was not that bad at all, even the first 2015 that I have. I got the 2015 second hand cheap off of Amazon, and it was "like new".

When Apple had these on sale, they were "TOO EXPENSIVE" so I never thought about getting one. I bought the 2015 a few years ago for under $400 at the time, took it to Apple for a new battery, and still...it runs "like new"; never over-heating (stays at between 55-69C generally and perks up when using an app. Apple must have given it new CPU paste when they changed the battery (new bottom). Again, I wished I instead bought the 2017 when I had the chance...but..I am happy with the 2015 for really basic stuff.

I would be interested if you can get the 2015 old gem working and see what you think with OCLP. Looks like there are not anyone using the 2015 with OLCP since no one has commented. Maybe...they are dying now, but mine got worked on I l believe at Apple when I took it in, so I am probably good for a few more years.

Thanks for the dialog.

 

[Macdctr]

I would say that installing OCLP 2.4.1 and updating to Ventura OS 13 for starters and see how your MacBook performs. If it does a great job then try updating to OS 14 Sonoma and then take it from there. This is what I have done with my MacBooks only to realize that the 2017's run OS15 without any apparent issues, not from what I have seen.

You can go here to the Mr. Macintosh website to download the OS installer for the OS you want to use:

Mr. Macintosh - Apple Mac Enterprise IT Blog - Mac & macOS News

Looking for a place to keep up with the fast paced world of Apple Mac & macOS? Mr. Macintosh will keep you informed of the latest news!

mrmacintosh.com

 

[loby]

Every time OCLP comes out with a new version, I do that routine. Start completely over with Big Sur, then to Monterrey, and then to Ventura. Ventura works well, but then later...it start to slow down and sometimes has some quirks. Tried Sonoma and then Sequoia but does not do well with them.

The issues is I am on 8GB of Ram and the CPU is 1.2 Dual-Core Intel Core M.

The Core M's were created to try to handle "no fan" and keep the CPU cooler with the sacrifice of power. "IF" I had an i3, i5 and/or the ideal i7 Dual Core CPU, then the little gem could handle OCLP fine with Sequoia. But...I just have to take what I can get with it.

I would continue to use Big Sur, but my main apps for traveling (like Line and WhatsApp) are at their end of service. Line still works, but no updates. WhatsApp no longer works. Safari won't translate anything as that option happened with Monterey. I have tried a few other browsers, but most are resource hogs, so the very underpowered 2015 MacBook does not do well except with DuckduckGo and Safari.

I could live with Ventura as it does "decent"...but..after a month or so, it starts to slow down (cannot figure out why), plus, it starts to get hot.

I will try again when OCLP 3.0 comes out. I have been looking around for OCLP3.0n but cannot find it. I would test it out or be a tester if the OCLP developers would actually work on getting the 2015 MacBook to work, but it is the first and early 2015 model, which from what I read "was the worse out of the bunch". But..It works ok for me and would like to continue with it until it dies.

I am one who is interested in the rumor small MacBook, but doubt it will be a 12" ultra-lite like the 12" MacBook 2015.

 

[loby]

Also...I uncheck all of the Spotlight searches and that seems to help with any slowdowns.

 

[Macdctr]

Completely understood. I managed to get the 3.0.0 nightly OCLP and have found performance improvements have not been better than the approved 2.4.1 that is currently out.

Eventually when the OCLP developers have fixed the wifi card issue and have everything working, I will try upgrading to OS26 and see how the final OS for Intel works on my MacBook. This is the only reason I installed OCLP 3.0.0 nightly on my computer.

 

[dan669]

Hey, it's completely without any problems...
Sequoia runs on MBP 11,5 2015 absolutely smoothly. I bought my son a MBP 10,1 2013 - it also works without any problems. He even play some strategies on Steam. On my old MBP 5,5 dualboot Monterey/MX Linux works perfectly.
I don't have dualboot with Linux on my MBP 11.5 just because I'm lazy. MX Linux requires a larger EFI, so it's a lot of work to install, and in the meantime I found out that most of the applications I'm used to work with can be installed natively on macOS using Homebrew.

 

[loby]

Glad it works well with your MacBook Pro. Looking to see how the small 12" MacBook 2015 with m-series CPU does with OLCP. Enjoy you MacBook Pro!

 

[dan669]

I simply have a weakness for everything older that can be refurbished and used comfortably. This applies to old cars, computers, or even historical furniture...
Unfortunately, the old unibody MacBooks are probably slowly expiring (we'll see how OCLP behaves with Tahoe). In any case, they are very well designed and still unique - unobody concept, retina, keyboard (I mean the original ones before the 2016 butterfly nonsense).
I admire the incredibly good work of OCLP developers, who extend the life of HW, which would otherwise only increase the piles in landfills.

 

[Willis]

I have an rMBP 11,1 (mid 2014), it works... but it really does start to chug now.

 

[Ganoninc]

From my experience with several Macs (a 2015 12-inch MacBook, a 15-inch 2011 MBP, and a 27-inch 2010 iMac upgraded with a K610M), Ventura and later versions (Sonoma, Sequoia, etc.) run too slowly because they rely heavily on AVX2.0 for UI rendering, and emulating the missing instruction set, like OPLC does, consumes excessive CPU.

Monterey is the last version that remains responsive on the 2015 12-inch MacBook.

EDIT: I recently tried installing Debian on it, hoping for an up-to-date yet responsive OS, but the keyboard wasn’t recognized. Sadly, this MacBook is doomed.

 

[loby]

This was my thoughts too and thank you for conformation. I was camped on macOS Monterey with it and just updated again to Ventura (needed the version for an app). It is "ok", but definitely noticed a little slow down.

Will go back to Monterey and wait it out until my apps on it don't work. "Maybe" there is a 12" MacBook coming out soon from Apple with an iPhone chip...but here's hoping.

 

[dan669]

For Ganoninc - don't give up yet. Debian is sometimes difficult to configure. I recommend trying MX Linux, or LMDE from live USB first. MX Linux in particular runs on most old Macs out of the box. And it runs like a rocket ...even on 2009 MBP 5,5...