How to run macOS 10.14 (Mojave) on an M3 or M4 MacBook Air?

You cannot run Mojave on a M3 or M4 MacBook Air.

Whoever recommended that you install virtualization software to run Mojave gave you bad advice.

Mojave is built for Macs whose processors use Intel machine code. The M3 and M4 chips use an entirely different kind of machine code. So no running Mojave on "bare metal."

There are versions of Parallels Desktop and VmWare Fusion Pro that run on Apple Silicon Macs. They create virtual machines that run the same basic type of code as the host CPU, that is to say, ARM VMs. An Intel-based OS won't run on an ARM VM for the same reason that it would not run on the bare metal of the ARM host CPU.

Rosetta 2 can run some macOS/Intel applications in translation – but it cannot translate system code, and it cannot translate code that supports Intel VMs. So Rosetta 2 won't let you run Mojave, either.

keriah wrote:

How would I find out what the latest older MBA is that can run Mojave (other than via a VM, as per below)?

I would suggest using MacTracker. This is a free program, with versions available for Macs and for iPhones, that contains a wealth of information about all sorts of Macs, iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices. MacTracker is usually pretty accurate.

MacTracker

Going backwards through the Intel-based MacBook Airs shows that the 2019 model is the last one that can run some version of Mojave. (It can run the final versions of Mojave – 10.14.5 and 10.14.6 – but not earlier ones.)

Note that the 2019 MacBook Air has stopped receiving new major versions of macOS, and cannot run Sequoia.

There is a superb MBP which was the final Intel release (2021) before Mx chips came out. However, a MBP from 2019 can run Mojave AND Mac OS 13. With the 2021 you could run Mojave in a VM (you'll need 16GB RAM minimum to be able to accommodate that and Mac OS 13 or later), but with the 2019 you could run both natively. Needless to say - be very careful buying; if you can, get one that has been refurbished by a reputable company, and that comes with a warranty.

The Intel-based MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) originally shipped with macOS 10.15.3 (Catalina). So you can't install Mojave on it.

It is new enough to run macOS 15 (Sequoia), but being Intel-based, it won't get Apple Intelligence. It is right at the cutoff point for Sequoia – so it seems unlikely that it will receive a lot more macOS upgrades (if any).

keriah wrote:

Servant of Cats wrote:

The Intel-based MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) originally shipped with macOS 10.15.3 (Catalina). So you can't install Mojave on it.

Hmmm... I'm wondering why I would not be able to partition the HD and install Mojave in the new (empty) partition.

A Mac cannot run any version of the operating system older than the one that originally shipped with its hardware model. If that Mac shipped with macOS 10.15.3 (Catalina) – and I have every reason to believe that MacTracker is correct about that – it cannot run anything earlier than macOS 10.15.3.

If you think about this, what this means is that an old version of macOS never has to deal with the issue of running on hardware that did not exist yet when that version of macOS was being developed. Apple knows exactly which Mac models each version of macOS is going to have to support, when they are developing that version of the OS, and can build drivers for each and every one of them right into the operating system.

You would have to run Mojave on that with VM software - unlike a different answer here, I've had excellent results with Parallels: on my 2011 iMac I run Mavericks as the base OS but sometimes go back to a Snow Leoprd VM to run old software, however every day I run my High Sierra VM to stream DRM content. I have 16GB RAM and I recommend as the minimum you need to run a VM, as you're running 2 OS at the same time. However if you really need Mojave on that particular machine that's the best solution.

Wikipedia can be up and down in terms of quality, but they do have a good page on MacBook Pro (Inte-based) models with all the specs of every model and a macOS version compatibility table: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro_(Intel-based)#Software_and_operating_systems. I'd start there, go back to the specs for the models you see of value earlier in that page, then head over to OWC to find what they have for sale from their refurbished stock.

There's a similar Wikipedia page for MacBook Air (Intel-based) - same advice applies if that's the direction you want to go.

The description of UTM Virtual Machines in the App Store says:

"Run macOS 12 or higher in a virtualized environment"

"(*) macOS virtualization is only supported on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 12 and up"

No mention of running Intel versions of macOS on an Apple Silicon Mac.

On the UTM Web site, it says

"The default backend for UTM is QEMU. QEMU supports both virtualization and emulation (running code designed for different system architectures). QEMU cannot run macOS virtualized on Apple Silicon."

and

"Apple Virtualization backend supports only virtualization and is less mature than QEMU. It is the only way to run macOS virtualized on Apple Silicon."

in the Setttings (QEMU) and Settings (Apple) sections of the documentation, respectively.

Servant of Cats wrote:

The description of UTM Virtual Machines in the App Store says:

"Run macOS 12 or higher in a virtualized environment"

"(*) macOS virtualization is only supported on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 12 and up"

No mention of running Intel versions of macOS on an Apple Silicon Mac.

On the UTM Web site, it says

"The default backend for UTM is QEMU. QEMU supports both virtualization and emulation (running code designed for different system architectures). QEMU cannot run macOS virtualized on Apple Silicon."

and

"Apple Virtualization backend supports only virtualization and is less mature than QEMU. It is the only way to run macOS virtualized on Apple Silicon."

in the Setttings (QEMU) and Settings (Apple) sections of the documentation, respectively.

Their description is misleading. They say they cannot run Mac OS virtualised on Apple silicon. However, they say they can emulate (rather than virtualise) other architectures such as Intel on Apple silicon. But having said that, their list of examples does not mention Intel Mac OS . This is of course no different than Parallels who make a big deal of running Windows on Macs but have never ever said you can also run Mac OS on Macs in a VM. So maybe UTM are advertising the same way?

In any case, just as Sheepshaver emerged nearly 20 years ago, letting you run PPC and Motorola versions of Mac systems on Intel Macs, I would have thought - if UTM is a non-starter (and it may be ok?) - that someone will come along with a Mac OS emulator to run on Apple silicon.

christopher rigby1 wrote:

Their description is misleading. They say they cannot run Mac OS virtualised on Apple silicon. However, they say they can emulate (rather than virtualise) other architectures such as Intel on Apple silicon. But having said that, their list of examples does not mention Intel Mac OS .

They do seem to have left things somewhat ambiguous.

This is of course no different than Parallels who make a big deal of running Windows on Macs but have never ever said you can also run Mac OS on Macs in a VM.

Maybe not on their main page. But see: Parallels – Parallels Desktop for Mac System Requirements .