macOS 10.12 Sierra Unsupported Macs Thread

[StrangeLoopy]

Apparently some systems are stuck caching old catalogs which results in people thinking no new updates exist. You only have to reset the catalog to stock, run one "Checking for Updates" cycle, then switch back to Production or Seed.

Hi,
First, huge thanks to dosdude1 and foxlet for the installer and catalog hacks. I'm happy to have my early 2008 MacBookPro4,1 (with newly replaced WiFi card!) running macOS Sierra.
I'll add a little note to foxlet's advice above, since I tried that when I had 10.12.1 and ended up unable to get App Store to show any OS updates available at all, even after resetting to stock, to Production or Seed. Further, at some point in my experimenting, App Store's behaviour changed:

• when I would click Updates it would quickly refresh the window but did not say "Checking for Updates" and spin the spinner for a minute as it used to
• when I would click the Store menu, I'd get Spinning Pinwheel (seems to never come back, requiring Force Quit)

Anyway, I thought to reboot, and that cleared up these problems, and it all ran as foxlet described. That's my tip: if App Store is not behaving as expected, try a reboot!
Question: any opinions on whether App Store Preferences should have "Automatically check for updates" turned off? I did turn that off during my experimenting, and maybe that was part of the solution?
Many thanks again!

 

[esculapio1]

#3887
I updated by doing:
1: download the standalone OS 10.12.2 update from Apple.
2: unpack .pkg in terminal (pkgutil --expand /source /destination
3: edited distribution file in text edit. Added my boardID (found list here) to supported list and removed my machine model from unsupported list. (Although it is probably easier just to change file to always return true).
4: flattened modified pkg in terminal (pkgutil --flatten /modified_source /destination)
5: double click modified .pkg and run normally.[/QUOTE

Hi there,
Sorry if this is a dumb question.
I downloaded update file but it is a .dmg not a .pkg one.
I tried replacing pkg for dmg but not success.
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks
RC

 

[alcafly]

Hello all!

Ok, searching this massive thread seemed a bit too much for me, so I figured I'd ask nicely, in case anyone has run into the same situation I am...

I've been trying to install Sierra on my late 2008 Macbook (5,1) with the help of the patch tool, but the initial boot from USB never EVER completes. I've tried letting it load for over an hour, tried different USB keys, and so on... I'm usually able to troubleshoot issues like these myself, but I have to admit I'm completely lost right now... Any hints, anyone?

If you normally troubleshoot by yourself, I can only be of minor help
1) USB ports okay?
2) Hard-disc you want to install onto okay?
3) Why do you think that one hour is enough?
4) What did you see on the screen that let you finally cancel the installation? Be a little bit more precise, what happened?
5) Are you sure, you have Macbook5,1?
6) USB-Stick installed with which version of Sierra patch tool?
7) Can anybody confirm that Macbook5,1 is really supported? I do not know that.

TL;DR Try the previous version of Sierra Path Tool (v4.2.1)

My laptop: MacBook Pro 13inch 5,5

My touchpad and keyboard were no longer being recognised on the login screen (and on single user mode, but was being recognised on the recovery disk) so I have spent the last couple days trouble shooting. Thought that it must be some sort of firmware issue, so spent a long time working out how to re-flash the firmware. Still touchpad not working (frustratingly would occasionally randomly work). Reinstalled Leopard (OSX 10.5), and everything seemed ok. Made a new install USB but would still not work (still seemed to be having kext related errors). I then proceeded to try the USB stick on every mac I got my hands on, nothing.

Then I realised that when I got it working previously I must have used an early version of the patch tool. So I tried 4.2.1 and suddenly it worked! Have you tried that @TRSHD ?

 

[TRSHD]

If you normally troubleshoot by yourself, I can only be of minor help
1) USB ports okay?
2) Hard-disc you want to install onto okay?
3) Why do you think that one hour is enough?
4) What did you see on the screen that let you finally cancel the installation? Be a little bit more precise, what happened?
5) Are you sure, you have Macbook5,1?
6) USB-Stick installed with which version of Sierra patch tool?
7) Can anybody confirm that Macbook5,1 is really supported? I do not know that.

1) My USB ports are fine
2) HD is fine too
3) Stuck on boot logo for over an hour I presumed isn't normal
4) I never reached the install screen, as I mentioned, it hangs on the boot logo
5) This is the Macbook 5,1, which I own
6) Sierra patch tool downloaded directly from @dosdude1's page, linked in the OP of this thread
7) Quoted from the "Requirements" section on @dosdude1's page: "-Late-2008 or newer MacBook Air or Aluminum Unibody MacBook (MacBookAir 2,1, MacBook 5,1)"

 

[pastrychef]

1) My USB ports are fine
2) HD is fine too
3) Stuck on boot logo for over an hour I presumed isn't normal
4) I never reached the install screen, as I mentioned, it hangs on the boot logo
5) This is the Macbook 5,1, which I own
6) Sierra patch tool downloaded directly from @dosdude1's page, linked in the OP of this thread
7) Quoted from the "Requirements" section on @dosdude1's page: "-Late-2008 or newer MacBook Air or Aluminum Unibody MacBook (MacBookAir 2,1, MacBook 5,1)"

Maybe try a different USB flash drive.

 

[TRSHD]

Maybe try a different USB flash drive.

Tried with 3 different drives already...

 

[Moderus]

I have had the same problem on my 15" and 17" 4,1 with the trackpad; 2 fingers work OK but it doesn't show in the preference pane. Tried using El Capitan pref panes, swapped a few kexts around with no joy. It's multi-boot so shows fine in El Capitan and Windows 10. I don't think there was any solution to this as I have been watching this thread from the start !

Ok, so it's not just me. That helps some lol. Thanks!

 

[Sedulous]

Hi there,
Sorry if this is a dumb question.
I downloaded update file but it is a .dmg not a .pkg one.
I tried replacing pkg for dmg but not success.
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks
RC

If I understand your question, yes, the "stand-alone" update downloaded from Apple's website is a .dmg. Double click the .dmg to mount the disk image. The disk image has the .pkg inside (it will be the only visible file in the .dmg).

 

[YoungRick]

It is a known bug. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Thanks, Sedulous. Got it to work and it's great. It's on my SSD boot drive. The SSD is installed to a SATA bay. I would like to move my SSD to a PCI card and have put it on an Accelsior S. With the SSD installed on the Accelsior S I can boot to a HDD hard drive and the system recognizes the SSD on the Accelsior S and allows me to select the SSD as the boot drive but when I try to boot to the SSD on the card it hangs at the logo screen. Keyboard options won't work during boot to the SSD (on the Accelsior S card). If I boot to the Sierra install thumb drive (created using dosdude1's patch) and select the SSD as the start-up drive, it hangs at the grey screen. Has anyone encountered this issue? Any suggestions? OWC hasn't been able to resolve the issue.

 

[Czo]

@StrangeLoopy, @Moderus, @fischersd

What's your MBP's USB VID/PID for the trackpad? Mine is 05ac:0231 (UK layout) and it's working fine. 05ac:021a and 05ac:021b is a keyboard/trackpad from MacBookPro3,1 (missing multitouch) and it's working like a mouse (without trackpad icon on Sierra) (Can be 3,1 top case and or trackpad/keyboard compatible with 4,1?). I found some lsusb outputs with 05ac:0230 but i don't know if its works or not with Sierra.

 

[MrGTO87]

Hello to all!!
A question:
It's possibile to use Continuity Activation Tool 2.0 on MacBook Pro 5,5 with sierra?obviusly with a USB dongle BT 4.0.

 

[indiecraig]

Hello to all!!
A question:
It's possibile to use Continuity Activation Tool 2.0 on MacBook Pro 5,5 with sierra?obviusly with a USB dongle BT 4.0.

I was running the activation tool on a MBP 5,5 with Yosemite until something broke it, perhaps an update. Reinstalling after that always caused a kernel panic requiring a restore. Nothing lost but a pain and a solution was never offered on GitHub (a few others had the same problem).

If you try it I'd be interested to find out if it works. I'm not missing the features enough to try it myself at the moment, too busy to spend the time to fix it if it goes wrong. If you don't have the adapter yet I may be persuaded to try it in the lull between Christmas and New Year, especially if the weather sucks.

 

[Alcivar]

macOS Sierra on unsupported Macs
View attachment 637083​

Introduction

For the first time since OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) in 2012, macOS Sierra (10.12) has changed the official minimum requirements needed for installation, leaving many older (but still perfectly capable) Macs behind.

Spoiler: Apple's official minimum requirements for macOS Sierra

• MacBook (late 2009 or later)
  
• iMac (late 2009 or later)
  
• MacBook Air (2010 or later)
• MacBook Pro (2010 or later)
• Mac mini (2010 or later)
• Mac Pro (2010 or later)

This is a thread for people to discuss and offer solutions for newly unsupported Macs in macOS Sierra. This post will be updated with solutions as they become available.

Apple History

OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) was the first version of OS X with support for 64-bit kernels, allowing booting with either a 32-bit or 64-bit kernel. However, Apple did not support booting the 64-bit kernel in Macs that shipped with EFI32 firmware, even if they had 64-bit processors capable of running the 64-bit kernel. When Apple dropped the 32-bit kernel entirely in OS X Mountain Lion (10.8), EFI32 Macs no longer had an Apple-supported mechanism to boot newer versions of OS X.

OS X El Capitan (10.11) includes SIP (System Integrity Protection/Rootless). It makes sure that system files and their permissions are automatically protected, and also updated during Software Updates. The Repair Permissions function is no longer available and access to system files that need to be changed may require disabling it.

Known Issues:

• macOS Sierra dropped support for Wi-Fi cards (BCM4321) used in most 2008 and some 2009 Macs. A hardware upgrade is required to get Wi-Fi functionality on those models.
• iMac8,1 - Volume control for the Built-In Audio device may work improperly or not at all.
  
• Macbook5,2 - The trackpad is not configurable, it is detected as a regular mouse instead.

Models Tested:

Older Legacy Macs not in this table (including the MacBook2,1, MacBook3,1 and iMac5,1) can install Mountain Lion (10.8), Mavericks (10.9), and Yosemite (10.10) with MacPostFactor or OS X Extractor (noted in the spoiler below), but are not supported by OS X El Capitan (10.11) or later.

MacPro1,1 and 2,1 can run OS X El Capitan with the methods noted in the spoiler below, but are currently not supported by macOS Sierra due to a lack of SSE 4 support (the CPU can be upgraded but its firmware does not support newer SSE 4-compatible CPUs).

Current Development Files:
Kexts:
Legacy USB Injector Kext
OS X Extractor - Beta USB Kexts.zip (depreciated)

PlatformSupport.plist / InstallableMachines.plist:
Download Zip


Known Patching Methods (the important bit):
Automatic tools that can be used to install macOS Sierra onto an unsupported Mac.

Using @dosdude1's Patcher Tool:
Main Page/Instructions: MacOS Sierra Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs
Download: [Direct Download]


Enabling Updates:
Sierra does not allow updating to minor versions (such as 10.12.1) without modification.

Using @foxlet's AUSEnabler:
Main Page: AUSEnabler - FurCode
Download: [Direct Download]

Other OS patching threads:

Spoiler: Other threads

macOS Sierra (10.12)
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and macOS Sierra - Mr, Zarniwoop

OS X El Capitan (10.11)
OS X El Capitan on Unsupported Macs - TMRJIJ
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and El Capitan - Mr, Zarniwoop

OS X Yosemite (10.10)
OS X Yosemite on Unsupported Macs - TMRJIJ
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X Yosemite - Mr. Zarniwoop

OS X Mavericks (10.9)
[Guide] Installing 10.9 Mavericks on older Macs. - HackerWayne
Mac Pro 2,1 and OS X Mavericks -5050

OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)
Success! Install 10.8 on old unsupported Mac - HackerWayne

[doublepost=1482420572][/doublepost]

macOS Sierra on unsupported Macs
View attachment 637083​

Introduction

For the first time since OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) in 2012, macOS Sierra (10.12) has changed the official minimum requirements needed for installation, leaving many older (but still perfectly capable) Macs behind.

Spoiler: Apple's official minimum requirements for macOS Sierra

• MacBook (late 2009 or later)
  
• iMac (late 2009 or later)
  
• MacBook Air (2010 or later)
• MacBook Pro (2010 or later)
• Mac mini (2010 or later)
• Mac Pro (2010 or later)

This is a thread for people to discuss and offer solutions for newly unsupported Macs in macOS Sierra. This post will be updated with solutions as they become available.

Apple History

OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) was the first version of OS X with support for 64-bit kernels, allowing booting with either a 32-bit or 64-bit kernel. However, Apple did not support booting the 64-bit kernel in Macs that shipped with EFI32 firmware, even if they had 64-bit processors capable of running the 64-bit kernel. When Apple dropped the 32-bit kernel entirely in OS X Mountain Lion (10.8), EFI32 Macs no longer had an Apple-supported mechanism to boot newer versions of OS X.

OS X El Capitan (10.11) includes SIP (System Integrity Protection/Rootless). It makes sure that system files and their permissions are automatically protected, and also updated during Software Updates. The Repair Permissions function is no longer available and access to system files that need to be changed may require disabling it.

Known Issues:

• macOS Sierra dropped support for Wi-Fi cards (BCM4321) used in most 2008 and some 2009 Macs. A hardware upgrade is required to get Wi-Fi functionality on those models.
• iMac8,1 - Volume control for the Built-In Audio device may work improperly or not at all.
  
• Macbook5,2 - The trackpad is not configurable, it is detected as a regular mouse instead.

Models Tested:

Older Legacy Macs not in this table (including the MacBook2,1, MacBook3,1 and iMac5,1) can install Mountain Lion (10.8), Mavericks (10.9), and Yosemite (10.10) with MacPostFactor or OS X Extractor (noted in the spoiler below), but are not supported by OS X El Capitan (10.11) or later.

MacPro1,1 and 2,1 can run OS X El Capitan with the methods noted in the spoiler below, but are currently not supported by macOS Sierra due to a lack of SSE 4 support (the CPU can be upgraded but its firmware does not support newer SSE 4-compatible CPUs).

Current Development Files:
Kexts:
Legacy USB Injector Kext
OS X Extractor - Beta USB Kexts.zip (depreciated)

PlatformSupport.plist / InstallableMachines.plist:
Download Zip


Known Patching Methods (the important bit):
Automatic tools that can be used to install macOS Sierra onto an unsupported Mac.

Using @dosdude1's Patcher Tool:
Main Page/Instructions: MacOS Sierra Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs
Download: [Direct Download]


Enabling Updates:
Sierra does not allow updating to minor versions (such as 10.12.1) without modification.

Using @foxlet's AUSEnabler:
Main Page: AUSEnabler - FurCode
Download: [Direct Download]

Other OS patching threads:

Spoiler: Other threads

macOS Sierra (10.12)
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and macOS Sierra - Mr, Zarniwoop

OS X El Capitan (10.11)
OS X El Capitan on Unsupported Macs - TMRJIJ
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and El Capitan - Mr, Zarniwoop

OS X Yosemite (10.10)
OS X Yosemite on Unsupported Macs - TMRJIJ
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X Yosemite - Mr. Zarniwoop

OS X Mavericks (10.9)
[Guide] Installing 10.9 Mavericks on older Macs. - HackerWayne
Mac Pro 2,1 and OS X Mavericks -5050

OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)
Success! Install 10.8 on old unsupported Mac - HackerWayne

Just wanted to mention that contrary to the macrumors compatibility test chart, my Macbook Pro Mid 2009 will NOT install Sierra. Right now running 10.11.6

 

[virk]

[doublepost=1482420572][/doublepost]

Just wanted to mention that contrary to the macrumors compatibility test chart, my Macbook Pro Mid 2009 will NOT install Sierra. Right now running 10.11.6

Funny! My does well!

 

[gordoabc]

I have a 2008 mac pro 3,1 with upgraded wifi so this should be a good candidate for the install tool however it has unsupported (non-EFI) video so I can't option boot the usb - any suggestions - I am sure there is a simple workaround. I booted recovery and tried to run usb installer from command line but it said unsupported hardware?

 

[indiecraig]

I have a 2008 mac pro 3,1 with upgraded wifi so this should be a good candidate for the install tool however it has unsupported (non-EFI) video so I can't option boot the usb - any suggestions - I am sure there is a simple workaround. I booted recovery and tried to run usb installer from command line but it said unsupported hardware?

After making the installer in El Capitan (or whatever you're running), go to System Preferences, Startup Disk, select OS X Base System, then Restart...

I havent tried it, but if that doesn't work then the only options I can think of involve additional hardware or very large files shared over the internet:
- Put an EFI graphics card in for the install.
- Pull the hard drive and install onto it using a compatible Mac (compatible with the installer, not necessarily sierra).
- Acquire an image (compatible Mac as above, or friendly stranger on the internet) and copy it to a partition.

However, I believe the last 2 options would still require you to disable SIP (this could be wrong, I'm sure others can confirm either way), and if you can't get into your recovery partition for the same reason you can't install Sierra, this may not be possible (also may be wrong).

 

[L Caputo]

[doublepost=1482420572][/doublepost]

Just wanted to mention that contrary to the macrumors compatibility test chart, my Macbook Pro Mid 2009 will NOT install Sierra. Right now running 10.11.6

[doublepost=1482466963][/doublepost]Your MacBookPro 2009 is not supported in Sierra, only MacBookPros from 2010 and up are.
The list you quote is a list of unsupported Macs and their possible issues if they have a 'patched' copy of Sierra installed.
You need to download and install the patch for Sierra before you can install it. Your Mac as is won't be able to download Sierra, you will need to get a copy from a Mac that is compatible. Please go back to the first page here and read the instructions.

 

[al85]

Since I upgraded to 10.12.2 on my Early 2009 iMac I've encountered a new issue. That didn't exist with previous versions.

Upon booting the login screen does not show. I get a black screen, can can see the mouse. I can login by typing password and hitting enter blindly but this is not ideal.

Anybody else having similar issues?

Ive deleted the login plist file that seems to have been suggested but run out of ideas now.

 

[MrGTO87]

i've a problem.
after an error i tried reinstal sierrra on my macbook pro 5,5
but the installer shows me:
Impossibile installare macOS sul computer
nessun pacchetto idoneo per l'installazione

Any suggestion?

 

[mew.ka]

Since I upgraded to 10.12.2 on my Early 2009 iMac I've encountered a new issue. That didn't exist with previous versions.

Upon booting the login screen does not show. I get a black screen, can can see the mouse. I can login by typing password and hitting enter blindly but this is not ideal.

Just read about the issue somewhere: Simply type your admin password and enter should do the trick. Don't know if it works but even if it doesn't, it sounds harmless.

Cheers

 

[Hughmac]

White MacBook 5,2 (2009); just upgraded to Sierra using the tools - working fine except for the known trackpad issue

Thanks very much for all the effort in making it easy.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[fischersd]

@StrangeLoopy, @Moderus, @fischersd

What's your MBP's USB VID/PID for the trackpad? Mine is 05ac:0231 (UK layout) and it's working fine. 05ac:021a and 05ac:021b is a keyboard/trackpad from MacBookPro3,1 (missing multitouch) and it's working like a mouse (without trackpad icon on Sierra) (Can be 3,1 top case and or trackpad/keyboard compatible with 4,1?). I found some lsusb outputs with 05ac:0230 but i don't know if its works or not with Sierra.

Mine is 05ac:0230 (US Layout) and it works fine. You have to enable tap to click in order for the two-finger right-click to work (in case that's been tying some people up).

 

[MrGTO87]

i've a problem.
after an error i tried reinstal sierrra on my macbook pro 5,5
but the installer shows me:
Impossibile installare macOS sul computer
nessun pacchetto idoneo per l'installazione

Any suggestion?

Please someone can help me?

I tried 2 different tools and 2 different usb key, but i have the same problem...
Sip is disabled

 

[SirPsychoSexy]

Ok, maybe images will help?

1: Download OS 10.12.2 from Apple here.
2: Open the downloaded .dmg (I downloaded macosupd10.12.2.dmg). I moved mine to the Desktop first.
3: Unpack .pkg in terminal (pkgutil --expand /source /destination). In this case, I unpacked the file from my Desktop to a folder called "Modified Installer" on my Desktop. NOTE: I have edited out my username so your terminal window will have your user name where there are large blank spaces in the attached screen shot.
View attachment 678280
4: Look up your Mac model's "boardID" here. Copy the boardID.
5: Inside the "Modified Installer" folder, open the "Distribution" file with text edit. Add the boardID inside the bracket after "var boardIds = ". Be sure to use straight ' and not ’.
View attachment 678272
6: In the "Distribution" file, scroll down to "var nonSupportedModels =" and remove your Mac's model from the list.
View attachment 678273
7: Save the modified "Distribution" file.
8: Flatten the modified pkg in terminal (pkgutil --flatten /modified_source /destination). In this case, I flattened the "Modified Installer" folder on my Desktop to a .pkg named "Install 10.12.2.pkg" on my Desktop. This step may take a minute or two so wait until complete (the command prompt will return and the red close window button will not have a black dot).
View attachment 678281
9: Double click your modified .pkg and run the installer normally. If you did not follow directions, you will get error because "Distribution" file checks your machine as not supported. Go back to step 4 and try again.
View attachment 678276
[doublepost=1481869540][/doublepost]
The unmodified installer will not run on unsupported machines. But yeah, it is a good place to download updates if foxlet's AUS server isn't doing the job for you. If you have multiple machines you could consider making your own patched updater .pkg as I described above.

i have iMac 8.1 . it need to get usb fix post installation... I have now 10.12 installed. if i do this my usb muse and keyboard gonna still work? or these cracked kexts will be replaced by update ?

 

[Hughmac]

The Trackpad kext for the white early/mid 2009 Macbook is called "AppleUSBTrackpad.kext" . It is located in the plugins folder inside "AppleUSBTopCase.kext. Check this El Capitan screenshot of the loaded kext. It doesn't get loaded in Sierra so the trackpad is only being recognised as a basic mouse therefore no 2 finger right click.


Edit:
AppleUSBMultitouch.kext is the driver for the multitouch trackpads which is the what every supported Mac now uses. Our one button trackpad is now obsolete officially. I haven't got an install of Sierra to play with currently (Can't download it through the App Store on an unsupported Mac) but maybe someone could try to "kextload" the El Capitan kext using the Terminal and see what happens. Im not sure if it is possible to load unsigned kexts though. Maybe disabling SIP disables this check also.

This post is a long time ago, but just now I tried the AppleUSBTrackpad.kext from El Cap on my White MacBook 5,2 using the latest version of Kext Utility. After a shutdown and restart nothing has changed.
I also tried the same with AppleUSBTopCase.kext with no result.
Original Sierra kexts have been restored.

Cheers

Hugh