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Typically, when users download and/or upgrade to a new version or macOS (previously Mac OS X), via the Mac App Store, that version of the installer appears in the Purchased tab of the App Store app.

Below is an example of how this appears (I've added arrows to highlight the macOS installations):

enter image description here

However, users are reporting that they do not see the macOS Sierra installer in their list of purchased items. Signing out and back into the App Store does not resolve this issue.

Questions

  1. How do users get their previously downloaded macOS Sierra installation to appear in the list?

  2. How can users ensure that macOS Sierra (or later versions of macOS) are available to them when newer versions of macOS are released?

Monomeeth
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3 Answers3

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The download of macOS Sierra is not linked to an Apple ID. In fact, users can download it without having to sign into the Mac App Store.

Another recent change made by Apple is the inclusion of an additional macOS Recovery option. Instead of two, we now have three options:

  • commandR to reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac, without upgrading to a later version
  • optioncommandR to upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac
  • shiftoptioncommandR to reinstall the macOS that came with your Mac, or the version closest to it that is still available1

1 That third option is a new option only available since 27 March 2017 and requires macOS Sierra 10.12.4.

The result of these changes is that in future, if you need to install a compatible version of macOS that is earlier than the one that is still available, you will need to have a copy of the installer.

In summary, if you wish to have a version of macOS available for possible future installation, it is recommended that you download and store the relevant installer so that it is available to you. You don’t need to install it to do this, you can download it via the Mac App Store and then quit the installer when it launches. You can then make a copy of it for future use.

[Update as at 3 October 2017]

This edit provides an update on how users can access a macOS Sierra installer for Macs that already have macOS High Sierra installed.

As I previously recommended, if you wish to have a version of macOS Sierra available for possible future installation, users needed to download and store the relevant installer so that it was available to them.

After discussion with Apple today (3 October 2017), the following is how things will work if you happen to want to install macOS Sierra on a Mac that already has macOS High Sierra installed (assuming the Mac in question supports a macOS Sierra installation):

  • If your Mac originally shipped with macOS Sierra, then the easiest option is to use the shiftoptioncommandR recovery option to reinstall macOS Sierra
  • If your Mac did not originally ship with macOS Sierra, then the only official options are:
    1. use a copy of the macOS Sierra installer that you've previously downloaded and saved (if you have one), or
    2. take it into an Apple Store where they can install macOS Sierra for you (but how long this would be an option was questionable).

IMPORTANT - If your Mac originally shipped with El Capitan or earlier and also supports a macOS Sierra installation, you cannot use the shiftoptioncommandR recovery option to reinstall the original macOS in the hope you can then upgrade to macOS Sierra. Instead, doing this will only result in the Mac App Store offering macOS High Sierra as the next upgrade option.

In relation to option 1 above, if you can obtain a copy of the macOS Sierra installer through other means (such as from a friend), then this will also work. Obviously, downloading the macOS Sierra installer from dubious sources is not recommended and is at your own risk.

[Update as at 18 October 2017]

Please refer to bmike's answer. Apple has just published a new help article that provides a way for users to install macOS Sierra.

Monomeeth
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  • Do you have a source for macOS Sierra not being linked to an Apple ID? Also, for the record, I have macOS Sierra in my "purchased" list in the Mac App Store. – tubedogg Sep 28 '17 at 23:26
  • Interesting. I haven't come across a single user who has macOS Sierra listed in their Purchased list. Out of curiosity, have you upgraded to macOS High Sierra? If so, I'll upgrade one of the Macs here to see whether that triggers something and adds macOS Sierra to the Purchased list. – Monomeeth Sep 29 '17 at 02:46
  • No, I'm still on El Capitan. – tubedogg Sep 30 '17 at 17:33
  • @Monomeeth So, whether or not Sierra was "purchased" before, getting the official installer is no longer possible after High Sierra release? (or: How can "users […] download it without having to sign into the Mac App Store") All links lead now to Item not available if not in Recovery. My current understanding: having the installer is now required? – LаngLаngС Oct 01 '17 at 11:46
  • @LangLangC I'm not entirely sure I get the gist of your comment, so if I've misunderstood something please let me know. Basically, the reason I asked and answered this question is because I was getting a lot of confused users asking me about it, and I wanted to try and get the info out there about the various Recovery options, including the new additional Recovery option (i.e. the Shift+Option+Command+R option) and that if you didn't want to use a recovery option, you needed to download and store the relevant installer so that it is available to you. – Monomeeth Oct 02 '17 at 07:26
  • @tubedogg I don't doubt you at all, but you're the only person I've come across that has it listed in their Purchased tab. I've checked seven Macs in the last day and none of them have it listed. I'd love to try and figure out why that is the case for you, but not sure how we'd go about it. I assume since you're on El Capitan that at some point you downloaded macOS Sierra for safe keeping? Or did you install it on another machine? Also, do you recall when you downloaded it (is a date listed next to it in your list)? – Monomeeth Oct 02 '17 at 07:31
  • "Sierra is not linked to an Apple ID. In fact, users can download it without having to sign into the Mac App Store." AFAIK no-one can now download 10.12 from the AppStore, no-one can download the Installer proper now. For (new) buyers of used Macs that is a major change that this all past tense now. – LаngLаngС Oct 02 '17 at 07:35
  • I also wonder if "commandR to reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac, without upgrading to a later version" should maybe read "commandR to reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac's Recovery Partition, without upgrading to a later version" (Or how does Apple get to know this). +OS and Recovery may have gotten of sync. – LаngLаngС Oct 02 '17 at 07:38
  • @LangLangC Agreed, that is a major change. All the macOS Sierra combo updates are still available, but not the original installer. If you happen to purchase a used Mac and, say, it has macOS High Sierra installed but also happens to support a macOS Sierra installation, and you don't already have a macOS Sierra installer, then your only option may be to take it into an Apple Store (or go the non-preferred route of an unofficial download source). That said, I do take your feedback re the past tense of this answer and will seek clarification from Apple tomorrow and update my answer accordingly. – Monomeeth Oct 02 '17 at 07:49
  • I "purchased" Sierra on Sep 9, 2016 (installer creation date in Finder is Sep 8, oddly, but purchased says 9/9.) In any case, it (was) still sitting in my Applications folder and the button in MAS across from Sierra said "Install". I have previously clicked it and it launches the installer. I tried moving the installer to a different drive and relaunched MAS. Clicking Install then did nothing. I am in a "Family" and I changed the "My Purchases" dropdown to somebody else in the family, then back to me, and it said "Download" this time. I clicked it, and it's currently downloading again. – tubedogg Oct 03 '17 at 01:15
  • To answer your other question, it has never been used to install Sierra. I keep thinking about it but have been waiting for Karabiner-Elements to become more full-featured before jumping, since I rely on Karabiner quite a bit. Seems I no longer have that excuse. – tubedogg Oct 03 '17 at 01:20
  • @LangLangC I spoke with Apple today and have updated my answer accordingly. However, in relation to your suggestion: I also wonder if "commandR to reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac, without upgrading to a later version" should maybe read "commandR to reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac's Recovery Partition, without upgrading to a later version" - I checked this out with one of Apple's current engineers and their advice was that the Recovery partition is not used to determine the latest macOS installation when the Command+R shortcut is used. – Monomeeth Oct 03 '17 at 08:19
  • How long do these saved installers last? Expiring certificates were a problem in the past (Yosemite?). – LаngLаngС Oct 07 '17 at 08:14
  • @LangLangC With respect to macOS Sierra, I don't think anyone can say. Sometimes when a macOS installer doesn't work, there are workarounds like changing the system date to a date during the period that the version of macOS the installer relates to was the current version. (Hmmm, I didn't word that very well - but hopefully you get what I mean). Personally, I've never had a problem re-using an installer, but then again I keep multiple backups of everything. – Monomeeth Oct 07 '17 at 09:59
  • Got that ;) – A way to check the cert expiration date? Currently I feel it would be prudent to not only keep the installers but an image of an install or even a bootable clone. – LаngLаngС Oct 07 '17 at 10:03
  • Regarding the question of Sierra being in a user's purchase history (as I can't comment on the relevant post for some stupid reason but can create my own post), I am another user who had it in the account purchase history. I signed up for the beta of Sierra, so I remember going to my purchase history and seeing that I had both the beta installer and the final installer for Sierra. I was rather shocked today to see that they weren't there, and I'm frankly rather peeved. I do not like that this has been removed. I should be able to install old OSes if I want to. – user67197 Oct 08 '17 at 00:08
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Contrary to past OS releases where the N-1 installer is removed soon after version N launches, Apple has an article with links to the store and detailed requirements for getting and installing macOS Sierra (even after High Sierra is out).

I would use the help article HT20802 to check for an updated link if the Mac App Store one fails you. As soon as you get Sierra installed, I would make a bootable USB drive for your personal rescue kit - especially if macOS Recovery isn't available for your hardware or typical network situation.

bmike
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2

IMPORTANT:

If you're downgrading from 10.13 to 10.12 on a drive formatted as APFS, then DO NOT downgrade using macOS Sierra (10.12 Installer) disk utility to Erase your disk. Instead you HAVE TO use the Online Recovery tool (or High Sierra (10.13) Disk Utility) to Erase your disk from APFS back to HFS+, then restart and use your macOS Sierra installer from USB.

If you use Sierra to Erase disk, you'll get stuck in a Reboot Loop which is what happened to me.

Community
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T. Rex
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  • That seems very strange. Any reason for why that might be? – LаngLаngС Nov 21 '17 at 21:38
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    @LangLangC I think Sierra Disk Utility is not able to properly erase and reformat APFS back to HFS+ (even tho the sub-disk was shown HFS+, it still had a parent (uneditable, tried multiple times) named APFS which caused very slow installation and a reboot loop on final stages. however, using Online Recovery Disk Utility I managed to erase the disk without any trace of APFS or even a parent disk, everything went smoothly after that. – T. Rex Nov 22 '17 at 00:25