1. Free Download App Store
  2. Download Mavericks From App Store

So, you’ve decided to download an older version of Mac OS X. There are many reasons that could point you to this radical decision. To begin with, some of your apps may not be working properly (or simply crash) on newer operating systems. Also, you may have noticed your Mac’s performance went down right after the last update. Finally, if you want to run a parallel copy of Mac OS X on a virtual machine, you too will need a working installation file of an older Mac OS X. Further down we’ll explain where to get one and what problems you may face down the road.

2020-8-8  ‎Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about Mavericks Safe Mercy College. Download Mavericks Safe Mercy College and enjoy it. The mac OS X Mavericks are one of the most revolutionary Mac OS X releases that imbibed all the revolutionary features that make apple stand a class apart. You can download the DMG file from the below link and make sure that you have met all the basic system that requires to run the Mac OS X Mavericks on your Mac system without any hassles. 2018-5-28  No, Downloading Mavericks as of the Apple Mac Store After all the previous steps have been successfully completed, open the Mac apps amass on your PC or Mac book, and sign in using your Apple ID and password. Next, look for the Mavericks. This can be done by entering in the name in the search bar, or by selecting it from the categories.

A list of all Mac OS X versions

We’ll be repeatedly referring to these Apple OS versions below, so it’s good to know the basic macOS timeline.

Cheetah 10.0Puma 10.1Jaguar 10.2
Panther 10.3Tiger 10.4Leopard 10.5
Snow Leopard 10.6Lion 10.7Mountain Lion 10.8
Mavericks 10.9Yosemite 10.10El Capitan 10.11
Sierra 10.12High Sierra 10.13Mojave 10.14
Catalina 10.15

STEP 1. Prepare your Mac for installation

Given your Mac isn’t new and is filled with data, you will probably need enough free space on your Mac. This includes not just space for the OS itself but also space for other applications and your user data. One more argument is that the free space on your disk translates into virtual memory so your apps have “fuel” to operate on. The chart below tells you how much free space is needed.

Note, that it is recommended that you install OS on a clean drive. Next, you will need enough disk space available, for example, to create Recovery Partition. Here are some ideas to free up space on your drive:

  • Uninstall large unused apps
  • Empty Trash Bin and Downloads
  • Locate the biggest files on your computer:

Go to Finder > All My Files > Arrange by size
Then you can move your space hoggers onto an external drive or a cloud storage.
If you aren’t comfortable with cleaning the Mac manually, there are some nice automatic “room cleaners”. Our favorite is CleanMyMac as it’s most simple to use of all. It deletes system junk, old broken apps, and the rest of hidden junk on your drive.

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.4 - 10.8 (free version)

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.9 (free version)

Download CleanMyMac for OS 10.10 - 10.14 (free version)

STEP 2. Get a copy of Mac OS X download

Normally, it is assumed that updating OS is a one-way road. That’s why going back to a past Apple OS version is problematic. The main challenge is to download the OS installation file itself, because your Mac may already be running a newer version. If you succeed in downloading the OS installation, your next step is to create a bootable USB or DVD and then reinstall the OS on your computer.

How to download older Mac OS X versions via the App Store


If you once had purchased an old version of Mac OS X from the App Store, open it and go to the Purchased tab. There you’ll find all the installers you can download. However, it doesn’t always work that way. The purchased section lists only those operating systems that you had downloaded in the past. But here is the path to check it:

  1. Click the App Store icon.
  2. Click Purchases in the top menu.
  3. Scroll down to find the preferred OS X version.
  4. Click Download.

This method allows you to download Mavericks and Yosemite by logging with your Apple ID — only if you previously downloaded them from the Mac App Store.

Without App Store: Download Mac OS version as Apple Developer

If you are signed with an Apple Developer account, you can get access to products that are no longer listed on the App Store. If you desperately need a lower OS X version build, consider creating a new Developer account among other options. The membership cost is $99/year and provides a bunch of perks unavailable to ordinary users.

Nevertheless, keep in mind that if you visit developer.apple.com/downloads, you can only find 10.3-10.6 OS X operating systems there. Newer versions are not available because starting Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.7, the App Store has become the only source of updating Apple OS versions.

Purchase an older version of Mac operating system

You can purchase a boxed or email version of past Mac OS X directly from Apple. Both will cost you around $20. For the reason of being rather antiquated, Snow Leopard and earlier Apple versions can only be installed from DVD.

Buy a boxed edition of Snow Leopard 10.6
Get an email copy of Lion 10.7
Get an email copy of Mountain Lion 10.8

Mavericks Download App Store

The email edition comes with a special download code you can use for the Mac App Store. Note, that to install the Lion or Mountain Lion, your Mac needs to be running Snow Leopard so you can install the newer OS on top of it.

How to get macOS El Capitan download

Download mavericks 10.9 app store

If you are wondering if you can run El Capitan on an older Mac, rejoice as it’s possible too. But before your Mac can run El Capitan it has to be updated to OS X 10.6.8. So, here are main steps you should take:

Mavericks Download App Store

1. Install Snow Leopard from install DVD.
2. Update to 10.6.8 using Software Update.
3. Download El Capitan here.

“I can’t download an old version of Mac OS X”

If you have a newer Mac, there is no physical option to install Mac OS versions older than your current Mac model. For instance, if your MacBook was released in 2014, don’t expect it to run any OS released prior of that time, because older Apple OS versions simply do not include hardware drivers for your Mac.

But as it often happens, workarounds are possible. There is still a chance to download the installation file if you have an access to a Mac (or virtual machine) running that operating system. For example, to get an installer for Lion, you may ask a friend who has Lion-operated Mac or, once again, set up a virtual machine running Lion. Then you will need to prepare an external drive to download the installation file using OS X Utilities.

After you’ve completed the download, the installer should launch automatically, but you can click Cancel and copy the file you need. Below is the detailed instruction how to do it.

STEP 3. Install older OS X onto an external drive

The following method allows you to download Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks.

  1. Start your Mac holding down Command + R.
  2. Prepare a clean external drive (at least 10 GB of storage).
  3. Within OS X Utilities, choose Reinstall OS X.
  4. Select external drive as a source.
  5. Enter your Apple ID.

Now the OS should start downloading automatically onto the external drive. After the download is complete, your Mac will prompt you to do a restart, but at this point, you should completely shut it down. Now that the installation file is “captured” onto your external drive, you can reinstall the OS, this time running the file on your Mac.

  1. Boot your Mac from your standard drive.
  2. Connect the external drive.
  3. Go to external drive > OS X Install Data.

Locate InstallESD.dmg disk image file — this is the file you need to reinstall Lion OS X. The same steps are valid for Mountain Lion and Mavericks.

How to downgrade a Mac running later macOS versions

If your Mac runs macOS Sierra 10.12 or macOS High Sierra 10.13, it is possible to revert it to the previous system if you are not satisfied with the experience. You can do it either with Time Machine or by creating a bootable USB or external drive.
Instruction to downgrade from macOS Sierra

Instruction to downgrade from macOS High Sierra

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Mojave

Instruction to downgrade from macOS Catalina

Before you do it, the best advice is to back your Mac up so your most important files stay intact. In addition to that, it makes sense to clean up your Mac from old system junk files and application leftovers. The easiest way to do it is to run CleanMyMac X on your machine (download it for free here).

Visit your local Apple Store to download older OS X version

If none of the options to get older OS X worked, pay a visit to nearest local Apple Store. They should have image installations going back to OS Leopard and earlier. You can also ask their assistance to create a bootable USB drive with the installation file. So here you are. We hope this article has helped you to download an old version of Mac OS X. Below are a few more links you may find interesting.

These might also interest you:

Many Mac users have upgraded from OS X 10.9 Mavericks to OS X 10.10 Yosemite when it was released in October 2014. Without doubt, Yosemite is compatible with iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, Mac Pro and Xserve. It definitely provides a better user experience for all Mac users. However, things don’t work out so well for some people. Some Mac users experienced an important work program crashes after the upgrade. This is a horrible nightmare if things don’t work out like before or an important feature you often used is missing in your computer. You are now anxious and you go to the App Store wanted to downgrade from Yosemite to Mavericks but Mavericks was removed.

Well, there is nothing to worry because you can learn how to downgrade from OS X Yosemite back to OS X Mavericks with a detail step by step guide here. Before you begin, it is a must to understand that it is not an easy job to downgrade or revert to OS X Mavericks from Yosemite. But if you spend some time, say half an hour for beginner, you can definitely do it without the need of any extra computer knowledge.

How to Downgrade from Yosemite to Mavericks

Ninety percent of Mac users do not have a complete copy of Mavericks Time Machine before they upgrade to Yosemite. Congratulations if you are the ten percent of Mac users who often backup Time Machine of your OS X. You can simply restore it anytime you feel like to downgrade or revert your OS X by using the “Restore From Time Machine Backup” under the OS X Utilities menu. Follow the step by step guide to downgrade from Yosemite OS X to Mavericks OS X if you don’t have any Time Machine backup. This is a free method and you don’t have to spend a single dime.

Step 1: Backup. First, backup all your files in your Yosemite to an external hard disk, Dropbox or Google Drive. This is a must because you will delete everything in your computer in the next few steps. Backup also all the programs installed in your Mac. Write down those programs or apps you can’t backup. You can reinstall it after downgraded to Mavericks.

Step 2: Download OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Sign in to App Store and click Purchases to download Mavericks. The account you sign in must have Mavericks in the download history.

Step 3: Create Mac OS X Mavericks Bootable Drive. You will need to create a bootable Mavericks drive using a USB drive, thumb drive, USB stick, SSD or a clean external hard drive as long as it has at least 6GB of space. This can be done by using a third-party software called Lion DiskMaker. Connect your USB drive to your mac and use Lion DiskMaker to copy Mavericks.app to your USB drive from your main Applications folder (/Applications).

Step 4: Downgrade from Yosemite to Mavericks. Shut down your Mac and plug in the Mavericks USB bootable drive. Hold the Alt key and startup your Mac. Select USB Flast Drive Volume and go to Utilities -> Disk Utility.

Step 5: On the sidebar, select main Volume and click Erase. This is very important because it expunges everything on your Mac and will revert it to Mavericks from Yosemite. Click Disk Utility -> Quit Disk Utility -> Continue to install Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Give it a few minutes and you can downgrade from Yosemite to Mavericks successfully.

Free Download App Store

See also: RageBreak to jailbreak iOS 7 and steps to download Cydia.

Don’t Do While Downgrading from Yosemite to Mavericks

There are a few things you can’t do while reverting to Mavericks from Yosemite.

  • Do NOT go to the App Store and install Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks although you have paid for it.
  • Do NOT boot into Recovery Mode and reinstall your OS X. This will only reinstall the Mac OS X Yosemite to the latest version which is 10.10.3 (released April 8, 2015).

To get free iOS apps: Kuaiyong and AppCake.

Advice before Upgrading to Yosemite from Mavericks

Lately, we have seen even more people upgraded from Mavericks to OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite when it was released in April 2015. It is highly recommended to backup Mac OS X Mavericks using Time Machine before you upgrade to Mac OS X Yosemite. You can do this on an external hard drive. Make sure the Time Machine backup of Mavericks is complete and working.

With all the advice from Mac users, you should consider properly before upgrading from Mavericks to Yosemite otherwise you will need at least an hour to downgrade from Yosemite to Mavericks with the free guide above.

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Download Mavericks From App Store

| Posted by Vega | Categories: Mac | Tagged: Lion DiskMaker, Mac OS X, Mavericks, Yosemite |