Are you facing issues with the latest macOS release, macOS Tahoe? Maybe an app or program important to you isn’t updated or compatible yet. Don’t worry, you can easily downgrade from macOS Tahoe to macOS Sequoia and continue using the apps or programs that worked perfectly on the older release.
Downgrading macOS means reverting your Mac to an older version of macOS. The process is straightforward and easy, as long as you follow the correct steps carefully. You could lose your data if you don’t follow the process carefully.
If you’re planning on downgrading from macOS Tahoe to macOS Sequoia, you’ve come to the right place.
Downgrade macOS 26 Tahoe to macOS Sequoia
Before we go through the steps to downgrade from macOS Tahoe to macOS Sequoia, let’s first take a look at the reasons why someone might want to downgrade their macOS.
- Battery issues, such as quick battery drains
- Certain apps and programs are glitching or lagging
- Issues with third-party apps not updated to be compatible with macOS Tahoe, and it might take a while for the updates to roll out
- Temporary performance issues
- Don’t like the Liquid Glass redesign
- You just wanted to see what the new macOS felt like and now want to switch back to the previous stable macOS version.
With this set of reasons, it seems fair enough for you, or anyone, to feel like downgrading from macOS Tahoe to macOS Sequoia. So, let’s get started.
Prerequisites
Let’s take a look at the various things that you will need to perform this downgrade
- 32 GB USB drive
- All data backed up from your macOS device either to a cloud storage service or to any external or removable storage drive.
Create a Backup of Your Data Using Time Machine
Backing up your data is important, especially if you plan on downgrading the OS of your Mac from macOS Tahoe to macOS Sequoia. The best way to back up all the data is by making use of an external storage drive and the built-in Time Machine backup tool that is present in macOS. Here are the steps to back up data using Time Machine.
- Plug in your external storage drive that you want to use as a backup drive for all your data into your Mac.
- Click on the Apple Menu and click on System Settings. Now, navigate to General > Time Machine.
- Select the external storage drive in the Add Backup Disk, followed by the Setup Disk. The external storage must have enough free space at least more than your Mac.
- You might be asked if you want to erase this disk so that it can be used with Time Machine.
- Once everything has been set up, you can click on the Backup Now option within Time Machine.
Time Machine can also automatically back up your data during a specific time whenever it detects the external storage drive.
Download the macOS Sequoia File
Downloading macOS Sequoia files to your macOS device is simple and easy. All you need to do is visit this link to download it from the Mac App Store. You can also choose to copy the link and download it using the Safari web browser.
Formatting the USB Drive
Let’s take a look at the steps that you need to follow to format the USB drive.
- Plug the USB drive into your macOS device’s USB ports.
- Now, open Disk Utility from the Utilities application.
- Select the USB drive from the left-hand panel and click on the Erase option.
- Give it a simple name, such as Bootable USB Drive.
- Make sure to select the format type as macOS Extended (Journaled).
- Also, set the Scheme as GUID Partition Map.
- Finally, click on the Erase option and then on Done.
You now have a formatted USB drive that is ready to be created as a bootable drive with macOS Sequoia.
Creating the Bootable Installer for macOS Sequoia
Now, let’s take a look at the steps that you have to follow to create the bootable USB drive with the macOS Sequoia installer.
- While keeping USB drive plugged, launch the Terminal on your Mac.
- Copy and paste the following command into Terminal
- sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sequoia.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/SequoiaUSB
- You will now be asked to enter the administrator password. Enter the password and press the Return key.
- The macOS Sequoia bootable USB installer is now being created on your USB drive.
This action can take some time and also depends on the read and write speeds of your USB drive.
Erasing your macOS Device
These are the steps where you will have to perform a format of the storage drive that has macOS Tahoe installed. Yes, you will lose all of your data, so before you proceed with these steps, make sure to take a backup of all data that you feel is important to you. Once that data has been packed up, proceed with the following steps.
- Turn off your Mac. Now press the power button once and then hold Command + R together until you see the Apple logo.
- Your Mac will now boot into Recovery Mode.
- Select the Disk Utility (last) option.
- Here, you have to select the main storage drive that has macOS Tahoe installed.
- Now, make sure to set the format of the drive to APFS.
- You can give it whatever name you like.
- The format will now be complete, and it’s time to downgrade the macOS device to macOS Sequoia.
Installing macOS Sequoia
With the macOS device with no macOS, it’s time to use the Bootable USB drive to install macOS Sequoia. Here are the steps
- Make sure you are still in the Recovery Menu after performing the format of your storage drive.
- Plug in the bootable macOS Sequoia USB drive into your Mac.
- Select the Bootable USB drive and click on the Continue button to accept the agreements, terms, and conditions.
- Here, you will have to select the storage drive that you just formatted to install macOS Sequoia.
The installation of macOS Sequoia can take anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes. So, sit back and relax while macOS Sequoia gets installed on your macOS device.
Check if everything works
Once macOS Sequoia has been installed, check and see if everything works. Make sure to sign in with your Apple ID, install the apps, and restore the data that you previously backed up, using macOS Tahoe.
These steps will work fine with almost any version of macOS. Downgrading to the previous version is simple and easy, as long as you don’t have to worry about losing data that you have backed up elsewhere.
Restore Your Backup Using Time Machine
Once you have determined that everything is in working order on your Mac running macOS Sequoia, it’s time to restore all the data using Time Machine
- Plug in your external storage drive containing your backup done via Time Machine.
- Open Migration Assistant on your Mac.
- When Migration Assistant opens up, it will ask you how you would like to restore your backup.
- Select the option that says From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or a Startup Disk.
- Click on Continue, and then select the Time Machine backup that you previously created.
- Here, you can choose what type of data you would like to restore. Select the pens that are necessary for you.
- You can choose to rename or replace the data if your account has the same name as the account that was used to back up the data via Time Machine
- The backup will now be restored to your Mac. Do note that this process can take large amounts of time, depending on what and how much data was backed up in the first place.
Once the transfer has been completed, close Migration Assistant and then log in to the account if a new one is created to see all your restored data.
Devices Compatible with macOS Sequoia
Even though you might be downgrading from a system that is already running on macOS Tahoe, it is always a good idea to look at what devices are compatible with macOS Sequoia.
MacBook Pros Compatible with macOS Sequoia
- MacBook Pro 13-inch 2018 4x Thunderbolt 3 ports
- MacBook Pro 13-inch 2019 4x Thunderbolt 3 ports
- MacBook Pro 13-inch 2019 4x Thunderbolt 3 ports
- MacBook Pro 13-inch 2020 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports
- MacBook Pro 13-inch 2020 4x Thunderbolt 3 ports
- MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 2020
- MacBook Pro 13-inch M2 2022
- MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021
- MacBook Pro 14-inch 2023
- MacBook Pro 14-inch 2024
- MacBook Pro 15-inch 2018
- MacBook Pro 15-inch 2019
- MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019
- MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021
- MacBook Pro 16-inch 2023
- MacBook Pro 16-inch 2024
MacBook Air Compatible with macOS Sequoia
- MacBook Air 13-inch M3 2024
- MacBook Air 13-inch M4 2025
- MacBook Air 15-inch M2 2023
- MacBook Air 15-inch M3 2024
- MacBook Air 15-inch M4 2025
- MacBook Air M1 2020
- MacBook Air M2 2022
- MacBook Air Retina 13-inch 2020
iMacs Compatible with macOS Sequoia
- iMac 24-inch 2023 2x ports
- iMac 24-inch 2023 4x ports
- iMac 24-inch 2024 2x ports
- iMac 24-inch 2024 4x ports
- iMac 24-inch M1 2021
- iMac Retina 4K 21.5-inch 2019
- iMac Retina 5K 27-inch 2019
- iMac Retina 5K 27-inch 2020
iMac Pro Compatible with macOS Sequoia
- iMac Pro 2017
Mac minis Compatible with macOS Sequoia
- Mac mini 2018
- Mac mini 2023
- Mac mini 2024
- Mac mini M1 2020
Mac Studios Compatible with macOS Sequoia
- Mac Studio 2022
- Mac Studio 2023
- Mac Studio 2025
Mac Pros Compatible with macOS Sequoia
- Mac Pro (2023)
- Mac Pro (2019)
Closing Thoughts
Thai concludes the guide on how you can easily downgrade your Mac device running on macOS Tahoe to macOS Sequoia. So, how has your experience been with macOS Tahoe? Are there specific reasons that make you downgrade back to macOS Sequoia? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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