Overview

MacOS Sonoma is now available for all Macs managed by IT Services. This upgrade is available in the Self Service application that comes preinstalled with all Mac computers managed by central IT.

The following hardware and software requirements are prerequisites for being able to upgrade your existing operating system.

If your machine does not meet these minimum requirements, the Sonoma upgrader within the Self-Service application will not be visible.

Sonoma Hardware Requirements

Visit Apple's official documentation on Sonoma compatibility by model.

• MacBook Air (2018 and later)
• MacBook Pro (2018 and later)
• iMac (2019 and later)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (2019 and later)
• Mac Studio (2022 and later)
• Mac mini (2018 and later)

To find your model number, please refer to this Apple support article.

Sonoma Software Requirements

• Your machine must be on at least MacOS Catalina 10.15 or higher.
• 45GB of free space
• Your machine must have made a recent backup to the UChicago CrashPlan server.

If your hardware is not compatible with Sonoma, please follow these steps from Apple to ensure you are on the latest operating system available.

Please inquire with your department head if you would like to upgrade to a machine that is compatible with Sonoma.

Upgrade Steps

Please note, depending on your operating system, these images might differ slightly. The process is still the same. 

1. Open Finder.
2. In the Applications folder, look for the App titled Self Service. Double-click the title to launch the application.
   
   
   
3. Browse to or search for the Mac OS Sonoma Upgrade launcher in the ITS - macOS category and select Upgrade.
   
   
   
4. Follow the prompts to upgrade. Depending on your Mac model, you may need to enter your local account password to authorize the process. While the upgrade software downloads, you may still use the computer. This download can take two hours, depending on your internet connection.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Select the Confirm button when the installer is downloaded to start the upgrade. A full screen window opens.
   Alert! You will not be able to use your computer for around 30 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Once the machine reboots, you should now be able to log in and use the upgraded machine.

Troubleshooting

If you have any issues with the upgrade process, please contact IT Services.