How to download macOS Monterey public beta 7 to your Mac

The time has come. You can now download the macOS Monterey public beta 6 on your Mac. It’s not an overly complicated process, but we’re here to walk you through it and if you need it, a place to get extra help. All the best Macs are compatible with macOS Monterey.

What’s new in the macOS Monterey public beta?

September 21, 2021: Apple releases seventh macOS Monterey public beta to testers

Apple has released macOS Monterey public beta 7 for members of the Beta Software Program. If you already have the macOS public beta installed, head to System Preferences > Software Updates and download away. If you’ve been waiting for macOS Monterey to get started with macOS testing, now’s the time to grab it!

How to make a backup of your Mac

Before joining the public beta, you need to make a backup of your Mac. That way, if something goes wrong, or if you’re not happy and want to revert to macOS Big Sur, you can go right back to where you started.

Even if you back up every night, you’ll want to make double, triple sure you’re covered. So make a manual backup now. Here’s how to do it with Time Machine. If you use something different or additional, like SuperDuper!, make sure you manually start a backup now.

1. Click on the Time Machine icon in your Mac Menubar.
2. Click on Backup now.

Let the backup finish before proceeding.

Note: If you’re not averse to the Terminal, you can also make a bootable macOS Big Sur installer as a way to jumpstart reversion, if needed.

How to register your account for the macOS public beta

If you’ve already joined a public beta for macOS in the past, you don’t need to register again for macOS Monterey. Sign in with the same Apple ID. If you’ve never joined a public beta before, you’ll need to start by signing up with your Apple ID.

1. Go to beta.apple.com in Safari on your Mac.
2. Click on Sign up to get started. (If you’ve already signed up for a previous public beta, Click on Sign in and skip to “How to enroll your Mac” below.)
3. Enter your Apple ID email address and password.
4. Click Sign in.

Once you’re signed up and signed in, it’s time to start downloading.

How to enroll your Mac in the macOS public beta

Downloading the macOS Monterey public beta is done through System Preferences in the Software Updates.

1. Go to beta.apple.com, if you’re not there already.
2. Click on the macOS tab if it’s not highlighted already.
3. Click the Download macOS Public Beta Access Utility button.
4. Open the file from your Downloads window.
5. Double-click the package to run the installer.

When the installer is finished downloading, System Preferences will automatically open to the Software Updates section. Click Update to download and install the public beta software. After the software has been downloaded, your Mac will automatically restart.

If the latest public beta does not appear on the Updates list, restart your Mac. Then, open System Preferences and click the Software Updates pane.

The public beta update can take a long time to finish downloading, depending on the size. You can check the status in the Software Updates preference pane of System Preferences.

How to install the macOS public beta

The macOS public beta installer will automatically open when it’s downloaded. If it doesn’t, or if you prefer to do it later, you open Install macOS Public Beta at any time via Spotlight or Launchpad or from the Application folder in the Finder.

1. Launch Install macOS Public Beta app if it’s not launched already.
2. Click Continue at the bottom.
3. If prompted to make a backup and you didn’t before, click Continue in the drop-down. If you just made a backup, click Cancel.
4. Click Continue at the bottom once your backup completes or if you skipped it.
5. Click Agree to accept the licensing terms.
6. Click Agree again to confirm.
7. Click on the drive you want to install onto (if you have multiple options, most people won’t.)
8. Click Install.
9. Enter your administrator password and click OK.
10. Click Restart (if your Mac doesn’t restart automatically, or you don’t want to wait).

Once your Mac reboots, it’ll be running the macOS public beta. There’s a brief bit of setup you’ll need to go through, however, as the system will have changed enough that it’ll need your login to complete the update.

Once that’s done, you’ll be ready to rock macOS Monterey.

How to update to a new version of the macOS public beta

To download updates of the macOS public beta from now on:

1. Open System Preferences from your Dock or Applications folder.
2. Click Software Update.
3. Click Update Now if there is an update available for your Mac.
4. Click the checkbox next to Automatically keep my Mac up to date if you want your Mac to download and install software updates in the future automatically.