This article contains essential information for users considering a request for their Apple Macintosh device to be upgraded to a different version of macOS. Please read carefully before raising an upgrade request with the Service Desk.
As of January 2024, only macOS 12 (Monterey), macOS 13 (Ventura) & macOS 14 (Sonoma) are supported by Apple. As a result, these are the only versions of macOS which should be in use on any university device. If you are running Big Sur or older (all 10.x or 11.x versions), you must upgrade as soon as possible or retire your device. In addition, your device must be enrolled into the Jamf management system if this has not already taken place. Please raise a support request for further advice at https://it.leeds.ac.uk. Any machine running an unsupported version should no longer be connected to the wired campus network or the VPN, except to help perform an upgrade. Please note also that Microsoft develop their products in line with versions of macOS supported by Apple, so Office products may cease to work without warning on anything other than the latest 3 versions of macOS.
If the version of macOS you are running is one of the three most recent, there is usually no immediate requirement to upgrade to the very latest version (although this is recommended). If your device has been enrolled with Jamf, you may be prompted, periodically, to upgrade via an app called Nudge - normally when Apple release a particularly important security patch.
To facilitate upgrade work, your Mac must be enrolled in the Jamf management system. If this enrolment has not already taken place on your device, please contact the IT Service to arrange for this to happen as soon as possible. If your machine has changed primary user, needs to be upgraded several versions or simply has not been re-imaged in some time, the preferred upgrade route is to erase the hard drive and start afresh using the highest possible version of macOS.
Upgrades to macOS can be complicated and time-consuming, so careful thought needs to be given to the appropriateness of any work. Any upgrade, particularly if done remotely, comes with risks of not working as expected and may take several hours to complete, during which time the device will be unusable. You will need to consider what happens if a failed upgrade renders the machine unusable, especially if the machine is in use off campus.
If you are running any of the 3 latest versions, they are all capable of running key University systems such as Microsoft Remote Desktop, Office, OneDrive and Teams, so a request to upgrade may not be treated as a priority matter.
If you are running any unsupported version of macOS, we may need to consider the age and warranty status of the machine and look to replacing the device rather than upgrading the OS. Upgrades from very old versions, such as Yosemite, cannot be considered. As a rule of thumb, any Mac from before 2015 is probably no longer capable of a suitable upgrade and should be retired / replaced. Ideally, devices no longer covered by a 5-year warranty should be replaced.
For machines running macOS 12.3 or later, administrative privileges are not required to update within the same major version, or to upgrade to a new major version.
Please note that Catalina (10.15) and newer versions only allow 64-bit applications to be run. If your software only exists as 32-bit, you will lose functionality if upgrading from Mojave (10.14) or earlier.
In preparation for the upgrade, you will need to: