Ben

How to Switch to OCLP from Patched Sur

Before you switch, it’s good to know what OCLP is and the big differences between it and Patched Sur. OCLP is a patcher that used OpenCore, a hackintoshing tool, to run the latest version of macOS on your old Mac. Patched Sur just tells your Mac to ignore compatibility checks then modifies a kext to get WiFi working. OCLP tricks your Mac into half-thinking it’s a different, supported Mac and gets WiFi, Sidecar, etc working without modifying system files (in most cases, but for Big Sur and on your Mac, it will not make any system changes).

I should mention, OCLP and OpenCore are different things. OpenCore is the hackintosh boot loader, a very powerful one. OCLP helps you install it and configures it for your Mac. In the end, you will not really notice a huge difference, but it’s good to be aware of what’s happening on your system just in case.

Also, you don’t have to switch, but unless you have a reason, you should. I’m not giving Patched Sur any support past November 19th, which includes switching support.

With that aside, here’s how to switch to OCLP (not including upgrading to Monterey):

  1. Download the OCLP GUI from this link: https://github.com/dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/releases/latest
  2. Throw it into your Applications folder and run it.
  3. Select Settings and SIP Settings
  4. Make sure the first two and the last one are checked. (Untrusted Kexts, Unrestricted FS, and Unauthenticated Root)
  5. Select Return to Settings and Return to Main Menu
  6. Select Build and Install OpenCore then Install to disk in the popup that appears.
  7. Select your main drive (disk0) then EFI (should be disk0s1).
    • If you have Windows installed, or plan to, you need to create a separate disk partition (not volume) of your main drive with an MS-DOS (FAT16) format, named whatever you want, with 200 MB. Then instead of installing OpenCore to the EFI, select this partition.
  8. It’ll prompt you to reboot, so click the reboot button, and start holding option (before your Mac turns on, so just start holding while it turns off)
  9. Select the EFI Boot on the screen that appears that has the blue OCLP icon then select your system drive (should be a Big Sur icon on the screen that appears).
  10. Once your Mac boots, force quit the Patched Sur that appears on your screen yelling at you for not having the perfect NVRAM and quickly delete Patched Sur (it’s bugged, it will restart itself), you don’t need that anymore.
  11. Check System Preferences, if there’s an update, update. WAIT until an update is available before continuing with these instructions. This why Patched Sur isn’t going to offer 11.7.1 until I drop support for the patcher.

ONCE YOU UPDATED (Please, wait until you’ve updated before moving on, I’m not fixing your insanity if you.)

  1. Launch the OCLP app again, don’t change any settings, and build and install OpenCore like you did before. Install it to the same disk, it’ll be blue, then reboot (You don’t need to hold option this time)
  2. That’s it, you’re done. If all went well, you’re now using OCLP. If you want to upgrade to Monterey, you can, but you’re officially done with me.