Replacing M1 with M4 What to do?

[Kenny99]

Planing on a NEW M4 Mini for Christmas. Currently have a M1 running macOS macOS Sequoia Developer Beta 15.2 Beta 2 (24C5073e). My question is what OS and version will the M4 come with? What will I have to do to transfer my current M1 to the M4. Its been 5yr since I have had to do this. I do have current Time Machine backup.

Thanks KenK

 

[Che Castro]

I always start fresh on a new computers and that’s what I’ll be doing going from m2 to m4

 

[Jim Lahey]

I'm also a fan of fresh starts on fresh computers. If one's digital housekeeping is tip-top then it's usually fairly painless to get back to a mission-ready machine.

 

[polyphenol]

Apple's advice, if you migrate rather than fresh install, is to ensure both machines are fully up to date. Then start the migration process.

 

[Fishrrman]

The OS doesn't "migrate" from an old Mac to a new one. That's not an issue.

I'm going to take a GUESS that all the m4 Macs introduced in the past few days are using a "special version" of Sequoia -- that is, the "generic" Sequoia installations (for everything else) won't work with them, because they don't have the necessary resources for the new hardware.

When 15.2 is released, it won't matter. It should work on the new ones and older Macs.

You should do a standard migration using setup assistant THE VERY FIRST TIME you boot the new Mac.

Your time machine backup will work.

On the day the new Mac arrives, get ready by doing "the final backup" on the old Mac.

When the new Mac is "in the door", take it out of the box and set it up, but DO NOT press the power on button until you have your backup drive connected and ready to use.

NOW press the power on button.
Begin setup. When setup assistant asks if you wish to migrate from another drive, YES, you do. So "point the way" to the tm backup and give setup assistant a little time to "digest everything" (it will take a while).

Setup assistant will provide you with a list of stuff to migrate.
I'd suggest just migrating everything, and let SA do the job.

When done, you should see your old login screen, just as before.
So... log in and "look around"...

 

[polyphenol]

The OS doesn't "migrate" from an old Mac to a new one. That's not an issue.

I'm going to take a GUESS that all the m4 Macs introduced in the past few days are using a "special version" of Sequoia -- that is, the "generic" Sequoia installations (for everything else) won't work with them, because they don't have the necessary resources for the new hardware.

When 15.2 is released, it won't matter. It should work on the new ones and older Macs.

You should do a standard migration using setup assistant THE VERY FIRST TIME you boot the new Mac.

Your time machine backup will work.

On the day the new Mac arrives, get ready by doing "the final backup" on the old Mac.

When the new Mac is "in the door", take it out of the box and set it up, but DO NOT press the power on button until you have your backup drive connected and ready to use.

NOW press the power on button.
Begin setup. When setup assistant asks if you wish to migrate from another drive, YES, you do. So "point the way" to the tm backup and give setup assistant a little time to "digest everything" (it will take a while).

Setup assistant will provide you with a list of stuff to migrate.
I'd suggest just migrating everything, and let SA do the job.

When done, you should see your old login screen, just as before.
So... log in and "look around"...

Regardless what actually happens, Apple call the tool "Migration Assistant" if it is taking stuff from another Mac or a PC.

Transfer your data to your new Mac mini

Move content to your new Mac mini from an older Mac, PC, backup, or storage device.

support.apple.com

 

[Kenny99]

Thanks Fishrrman:
I was hoping that was the way. In the past I had to update the NEW Mac to a Beta OS (to Mach the old Mac B eta OS) before it would do the transfer from TM. Hoping public release of 15.2 is out by then and I won’t half to worry.

 

[haralds]

Mine shipped with 15.0. My CarbonCopyClone of my Mac Studio on an M2 SSD was based on 15.1. The system disk was about 900GB.

1. Boot and do a minimal account setup - no iCloud etc.
2. Update to 15.1.
3. Run Migraton Assistant. It took less than 80 min,

I was fully operational with a complex setup in two hours. Will have to do it again, since I am planning on returning this and "going Pro." This Mini is amazing, but for gaming and Xcode speed, the Pro is needed. It's a keeper, so I am buying up for the next five years.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

If you're on Beta, you may need to upgrade the new Mac to beta before you migrate.

Personally I was on macOS 15.1, and while I do have a Time Machine backup I chose to just use Quick Start with Migration Assistant on my M1 mini to transfer to the M4 Pro mini. It went smoothly.