• Become a Premium Member for $25/year with no ads to improve your community experience. Upgrade to Pro Account for faster response and no wait times!

How to Clean Install macOS Tahoe on your Mac [Intel/Silicon]

The following is a guide for installing macOS Tahoe on your Mac. You can use this guide for a clean install of macOS Tahoe using a Bootable USB Drive on your compatible Mac. This guide supports both Intel and Silicon based Macs.


Overview

Today, Apple announced their new macOS lineup i.e macOS Tahoe (26) which is Apple's newest and most awaited OS. Monterey added massive updates and improvements from its predecessor, Sequoia.

Packed with new features and functionality, the most noticeable update that can be seen and experienced is the new GUI-liquid glass. Featuring a much more "iOS" look and feel and is as smooth as butter.

Requirements

Before you start with this guide, here are a few requirements:
  • A working Internet connection.
  • A 16 GB or larger USB Flash Drive.
NOTES:
  • A complete backup of your system. We advise you to perform a complete backup of your Mac via Time Machine. In case if the installation fails or you encounter any issue with the installation, you can restore it using the backup you created.
  • If you're using a MacBook on battery power, ensure that the battery is fully charged. If the battery is below 50%, its strongly advised to connect the MacBook to the AC adapter.

To start with the guide, you'll also need to have access to a fully functional computer running macOS Big Sur or later. This requirement is must as you need to access to Mac App Store in order to download a copy of macOS and create an installation USB Flash Drive later on.

Compatibility

Before you proceed with a clean installation, we suggest you to check the compatibility of the Mac model.


Installing macOS Tahoe on Mac

Now, you can start downloading files, create a bootable USB, and perform a clean install. Follow the steps below to clean install macOS Tahoe on your Mac:

STEP 1: Download macOS Tahoe and Create a Bootable USB

To download macOS Tahoe and create a Bootable USB, refer to the guide linked below:

STEP 2: Allow Booting from External Media

If you're using an Intel based Mac, you'll have to allow booting from external or removal media to boot the installer. If you're using an Silicon based Mac, skip to STEP #3. Follow the steps below to allow booting from external or removal media:

1. Start/Restart the target Mac.
2. Hold down the Command () key or key (if you're using a non-Apple Keyboard) on your Keyboard and wait for the system to boot into Recovery.
3. Once in Recovery Menu, select Utilities>Security Utility from the top.
4. From Startup Security Utility menu, select Allow booting from external or removable media.
5. Close Startup Security Utility.
6. You can shut down your Mac from the Apple Menu>Click on Shut Down.

STEP 3: Booting the macOS Installer
After preparing your installation USB, you're ready to install it on your target Mac. Follow the steps below to boot the macOS Tahoe installer on your Mac:

1. Start/Restart your Intel Mac and while starting/restarting, hold down the option (⌥) key or Alt Key (if you're using a non-Apple Keyboard) on your Keyboard. If you're using an Apple Silicon Mac, press and hold the Power button on your Mac until the startup option appears. You'll see something like this below:

2. Select Install macOS Beta and click on Continue or you can press enter to boot and the installer will load in a while.

STEP 4: Erase Disk

When booted from the USB, you'll see something like below:

View attachment 6165

NOTE: Do not continue yet as we're performing a clean install, it would be best to erase the target disk on which you're going to install macOS Tahoe.

1. Quit Install macOS.
2. When the installer prompts, click on Quit and the installer will go back to Recovery Menu.
3. When at the Recovery Menu, select Disk Utility and click on Continue.
4. When at Disk Utility, Click on View, and then select Show all Devices.
5. Now select your target drive (usually Macintosh HD) on which you want to install macOS and use the following parameters to erase your drive:

Name: Macintosh HD
Format: APFS

6. Once the parameter is set, click on Erase button and you should see a prompt to erase your Mac:

7. Click on Erase Mac to continue erasing your Mac. When prompted, click on Erase Mac and Restart.

Your Mac will restart and boot back to Recovery to complete the Activation.

8. From the top right menu, click on the WiFi icon and connect to your WiFi Network. If you're having an Ethernet Connection, you can use it too. We're using WiFi as it's more convenient. When prompted, enter your network password and click on Join to connect to your WiFi Network.

Once the network is detected, your Mac will start the Activation.

Once activated, you'll see something like below:

9. From the Apple Menu>Click on Shut Down

STEP 5: Installing macOS

1. Start/Restart your Intel Mac and while starting/restarting, hold down the option (⌥) key or Alt Key (if you're using a non-Apple Keyboard) on your Keyboard. If you're using an Apple Silicon Mac, press and hold the Power button on your Mac until the startup option appears. You'll notice that the Disk name no longer appears in picker now as it's erased.

2. Select Install macOS Beta and click Continue. Alternatively, press enter to boot and the installer will load in a while.

3. When at the installation screen, select your preferred language and continue

4. The installation screen will appear automatically. Click on Continue and then continue with the options.

5. Now select Macintosh HD and click on Continue.

Now, macOS Tahoe will begin installing to your selected disk.


NOTES:
  • This will take couple of minutes and will restart at "Less than a minute is remaining". Upon completion, the system will automatically restart. Your Mac will restart to complete the installation.

Here it ends the first phase of the installation and Your Mac will restart a couple of times during this process.

The installer will continue the second phase of the installation. Upon completion, your Mac will automatically restart.


STEP 6: Finishing macOS Setup

After finishing the macOS installation, it's time to set up the macOS for the first usage with the newly installed macOS.

1. When you're at the welcome screen, continue with the basics options such as Keyboard setup, Network, Computer Account, Update preferences and Privacy settings.


Now the installation is complete!

Enjoy macOS Tahoe on your Mac :)


NOTES:
  • The first boot may be slower as the caches are not built yet. Once the caches are built, it will boot normally.
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
2,084
Messages
19,451
Members
29,552
Latest member
felipepedrosa