It doesn’t officially release until Fall 2017, but Apple recently opened up the beta version to everyone. So, if you want to get a sneak peek at the next big MacOS update before it’s ready for prime-time, here’s how you can download and install MacOS High Sierra public beta right now.
Backup first!
First things first, you’ll have to enroll in the Apple Public Beta program if you’re not already a member — if you are, just move on to the next step. For everyone else, let’s forge onward! All right, there’s not much to forge through, just a couple links and a registration page, but let’s forge anyway.
Before we go any further though, it’s important to mention that the MacOS High Sierra public beta is incomplete software. It’s going to be buggy, and you will very likely run into some issues, particularly with third party software. As of this writing, we’ve run into issues with Microsoft Office, Wunderlist, and a few other common productivity apps. Nothing that caused us to lose data, but be prepared for some unexpected weirdness.
So, with that in mind, make sure you backup your files. For anything important that absolutely cannot be replaced, be sure you send it off to the cloud – Dropbox, iCloud, and OneDrive are great for this – or create a hard copy on a flash drive or external hard drive.
That’s not just a measure for the abundantly cautious, this is something everyone needs to do before installing the MacOS High Sierra beta, because it’s going to make some changes to your Mac’s file system. That means it’s going to be fiddling around with your hard drives, and how they store your files.
Sign-up for the Apple Public Beta Program
If you’re still intent on downloading the MacOS High Sierra beta, let’s get started! Head over to the Apple Public Beta program page, and sign up with your Apple ID. It’s a quick and painless process. There’s just a beta software agreement you’ll need to look at, but once you scroll through it and hit agree, you’re in!
Now that you’ve been inducted into the secret order, let’s talk about blood sacrifices. Go ahead and acquire three fatted calves, and a set of scarlet robes. Once that’s out of the way, all you’ll need to do is grab the High Sierra update and start downloading. You can skip the calves — this time.
Install the MacOS High Sierra Update
Here’s the part where we beg you to back up your files again, because it’s your last chance before MacOS High Sierra starts performing surgery on your precious data. Last chance!
All right, let’s do this. Once your update is downloaded, tell the Mac App Store to install it.
Your Mac will warn you about the changes to your file system, so make sure you’re installing the update on the correct partition. Now, just let your Mac get to work. It’ll reboot itself, and apply the update, which can take quite a while depending on how old your Mac is. Even on a 2016 MacBook Pro, it took about 20 to 30 minutes to complete.
When it’s finished, your Mac will boot up into MacOS High Sierra, and all those new features will be at your disposal. It also comes with an awesome new wallpaper, so you can show off to your friends.