Since Mavericks (I believe, could have been earlier) the extended support window is 3 years. Mavericks ended in 2016, Yosemite in 2017, El Cap in 2018, and Sierra in 2019. Unfortunate, but Apple has never really supported their older OSes for very long after a new release.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Anyone still on Sierra?
- Thread starter thadoggfather
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Whatever Microsoft’s policies, Apple usually supports the current OS release and the previous two ones, dropping support for the older one around the time the new release is announced. They always never warn anybody when an OS actually becomes unsupported, so this is an informal policy, even if one with a long track record.
This means that at this time the oldest OS where one should expect to get updates is High Sierra, and even that won’t last long.
Notice that safari and especially iTunes usually have a longer support cycle for older OSes...But of course this might not be true for iTunes anymore nowadays.
This means that at this time the oldest OS where one should expect to get updates is High Sierra, and even that won’t last long.
Notice that safari and especially iTunes usually have a longer support cycle for older OSes...But of course this might not be true for iTunes anymore nowadays.
They don't release a new version of Windows every year, though.
Apple's support model is to support the latest MacOS version (currently Catalina) and the previous two (currently Mojave and High Sierra).
Sierra lost security support in September last year. High Sierra will likely lose it in September this year. And so on.
MacOS is not really a new version, its mostly the same as the older one with new features. Its not like Vista and Win10.
Did you update directly, or did you update it step by step?(Sierra->High Sierra->Mojave)
Did you notice anything worth mentioning or one should be aware of?
1. Direct.
2. Has been one or two minor glitches on Safari. But I did also change ISPs in the same week, there is also upgrade work going on with the local broadband infrastructure (separate to the ISP), and it seems confined to Youtube vids, so it might have nothing to do with Mojave.
Also have not finished updating 3rd party stuff, so not sure yet there.
But basically okay so far. Certainly no major issues.
Last edited:
My mid 2010 iMac is on Sierra, I can't recall the last update on this machine.
Safari "Version 12.1.2 (12607.3.10)"
My newer 2017 iMac is still on Mojave, right now that's perfectly fine, maybe I'll update it to Catalina...some day.
Installing 10.12 on a MB 7,1 with a Raid 0 right now. No reason just bored, was running Mojave but updating was annoying to clone back and forth.
Solution: Run a OS with no updates ever again!
[automerge]1581178101[/automerge]
The last update was build 16G2136 on Sept 26th, 2019.
Solution: Run a OS with no updates ever again!
[automerge]1581178101[/automerge]
My mid 2010 iMac is on Sierra, I can't recall the last update on this machine.
Safari "Version 12.1.2 (12607.3.10)"
![ill7BYg.png]()
My newer 2017 iMac is still on Mojave, right now that's perfectly fine, maybe I'll update it to Catalina...some day.
The last update was build 16G2136 on Sept 26th, 2019.
Sierra didn't seem to get the recent security updates the way .13-15 got. I bet its finally cooked.
My Mid 2012 Mini handles Catalina fine, but after experimentation I am keeping this headless server on Sierra. The main reason is that it was the last version of the full server app with unified interface and stats.
It has two internal SSDs and is hooked to a very quiet stack of USB drives for TimeMachine backups of systems throughout the house. It does media caching and file sharing.
It also holds a copy of my iTunes/Music files and db. I used ChronoSync and ChronoAgent to keep it in sync with my master on the my Mac Pro workstation. The changes in layout from iTunes to Music/Tv have caused some headaches. I keep Media on a separate disk and reorganized it to use the disk layout from Music/TV. I added an iTunes hierarchy using symlinks. I still see some odd permissions issues adding files on the server (permissions are disabled on that disk!), but should be able to figure this out.
BTW I use Airfoil and AirFoil Satellite to manage streaming from my local and server libraries to a bunch of speakers throughout the house. An old Griffin Powermate is a simple Volume & Stop/Play control next the the server.
Had Apple kept the full Server app I would be on Catalina. But Sierra is quite stable. I have set the menus to dark and use a simple dark grey background to not make it too jarring when using Screen Sharing from Dark Mode.
It has two internal SSDs and is hooked to a very quiet stack of USB drives for TimeMachine backups of systems throughout the house. It does media caching and file sharing.
It also holds a copy of my iTunes/Music files and db. I used ChronoSync and ChronoAgent to keep it in sync with my master on the my Mac Pro workstation. The changes in layout from iTunes to Music/Tv have caused some headaches. I keep Media on a separate disk and reorganized it to use the disk layout from Music/TV. I added an iTunes hierarchy using symlinks. I still see some odd permissions issues adding files on the server (permissions are disabled on that disk!), but should be able to figure this out.
BTW I use Airfoil and AirFoil Satellite to manage streaming from my local and server libraries to a bunch of speakers throughout the house. An old Griffin Powermate is a simple Volume & Stop/Play control next the the server.
Had Apple kept the full Server app I would be on Catalina. But Sierra is quite stable. I have set the menus to dark and use a simple dark grey background to not make it too jarring when using Screen Sharing from Dark Mode.
Last edited:
No sir. The last supported is High Sierra. And will end in october/november. Apple supports previous two last operating systems. When Big Sur is published, it will drop High Sierra.
This feels like a decade ago, not a few years. My 2010 iMac is STILL on Sierra - 10.12.6. I have the High Sierra install file backed up...but it's a feeling right now - "Don't fix it if it ain't broken."
Although this Mac is ancient, I still use this Mac 70-80% of the time, lot of graphic design programs which work perfectly fine, so any update and possible issues, the new Apple file system, other changes scare me a bit. Even if I have this entire thing on backup Time Machine.
99% chance I'd be fine upgrading...but it's that tiny 1% that... eh...
Same here with my 2008 MBP. The 2009 is on high Sierra and has no issues, but doesn’t really give me any reason to upgrade a machine that is running smirky either.
Not an issue with High Sierra, but my limited experience with APFS makes me wish to avoid using it home for as long as possible.
I still use my macbook 17 2011. For me, it´s perfect. With one USB 3.0 expresscard and the thunderbolt port for connect almost anything.
My 2013 MacBook Air is still on Sierra, but two months ago I moved everything over to a new Mini running Catalina and don't really use the MBA anymore. I was also using my 2012 quad-core Mini with Sierra until two months ago, but again, it has also been replaced with the new Mini and Catalina.
Sierra was always great, but I was getting uncomfortable using it today due to the lack of security updates.
Sierra was always great, but I was getting uncomfortable using it today due to the lack of security updates.
I wouldn’t use safari on shady sites today, but all the other major browsers still support Sierra.
I'm using a mid 2012 MBP running Sierra 10.12.6 and Safari 12.1.2 ....... everything runs fine for what I need it to do, however I'm concerned that security may be compromised when I'm doing online banking due to the old Safari browser.
What newer browser could I use to bring me up to date online security for when I do my online banking?
Thanks
What newer browser could I use to bring me up to date online security for when I do my online banking?
Thanks
I use Firefox for almost everything since Apple moved all extensions to App Store apps.
So i don't see any potential risk if still on Sierra with the updated browser.
And, as i said, Firefox is my recommendation.
Thanks for the info. much appreciated! I'll look at downloading the latest version of Firefox.
Trifero - Due to Sierra running great and covering my needs, I want to stick with Sierra. Thanks for you post though.