Yosemite Update information

Tips on 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, 10.11 El Capitan ,10.12 Sierra,  10.13 High Sierra, and 10.14 Mojave

These tips all refer to the client version.  If you are using Mac OS X server, please check: Server forums

for more posts on Mac OS X Server.

Apple no longer has 10.10 Yosemite for download except for people whose Mac came with it.    10.6.8 users can download 10.11 if their hardware and software meets the requirements.  10.7.5 or higher users can upgrade to 10.12.   10.8 or higher can upgrade to 10.12 or 10.13. See the 10.10 update requirements below if you have software that needs it again.  Some people may still have Yosemite available and can transfer their license to you if you are stuck with software that only works in.  Here is an archived link to the original Yosemite system requirements:

http://web.archive.org/web/20150713183216/http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrad e/

Apple minimum hardware requirements are the same for 10.8, 10.9, 10.10, 10.11.  High Sierra is an upgrade path for some, through this tip:

High Sierra upgrading tip

and others may use that as a stepping stone to 10.14 Mojave.

Note, Mac OS X 10.10.5 may be iTunes 12.8 compatible, but only in a limited way.  There have been reports to the contrary, especially when syncing to iOS 12 devices.  This tip below will be updated when further solutions are available:

iTunes/Mac OS/iOS compatibility

The 10.9 tip above covers the similar aspects of 10.10 and 10.9.  Additional, uniquely Yosemite pieces of info are contained below.

Mac OS X 10.6.8 and earlier users should pay special heed to this tip:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6271

With 10.10.2 and later, iPhoto is replaced by Pictures.  Read this tip on having them coexist if needed:

Apple iPhoto and Photos on the same install

As a lot of software that was compatible with those earlier systems no longer works on 10.7 or later, making the "free" update of 10.9 and 10.10 not as free as one might hope.

http://roaringapps.com/apps?platform=osx

Offers a third party table for software compatibility.  Ignore the El Capitan compatibility, as that has not been released yet.

Yosemite may only be available through AppleCare or App Store support.

Generally speaking if your Mac is newer  than the release date of October 25, 2014, you'll need to use AppleCare to get your Yosemite release.

Newer Macs than September 30, 2015 can't get Yosemite at all.

If you need to use older software and your Mac is too new, sometimes an older version of Linux or Windows will have a version of the software you can use on your Mac:

Running Windows on a Mac, and Connecting it to Mac

Backing up before updating is strongly recommended:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-1992

Note: if you update on a system retaining a 10.6.8 system on a separate partition or hard drive, you'll need to use the Startup Manager to switch between 10.6.8 and 10.10.  The Startup Manager, documented here:Use the Option key, when possible instead of 'C' key to boot discs requires use of a USB Apple or Apple compatible keyboard such as MacAlly or some Logitech and/or Microsoft keyboards.    The Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Startup Disk will only recognize 10.10 on 10.7, 10.8, and 10.9.  10.10's Apple menu -> System Preference -> Startup Disk will recognize all of them systems 10.6.8 to 10.10 per my recent testing on October 25, 2014.

Raw camera file formats supported in Mac OS X 10.10 are:

OS X Yosemite: Supported digital camera RAW formats - Apple Support

Printing on Yosemite for the most part has been updated since October 16, 2014.   Printer drivers for:

Samsung (Nov 14, 2013) have not been updated on Apple's website been updated for Yosemite, however, the updates on Samsung's website are available for these printers, according to their support chat line:

Sl-C1810, Sl-C1860, SL-C410, SL-M2020, Sl-M2070, SL-M2835, SL-M2875, SL-M2885

There are new drivers since 10.10's release:

HP (Jun 18, 2015),

Canon (Sep 15, 2015)

And these new drivers since 10.11's release:

Brother (Oct 8, 2015),

Canon Laser (Nov 3, 2015)

Epson January 27, 2016

Lexmark (Jan 27, 2016)

Xerox/Fuji  (January 27, 2016)

Gestetner Printer (January 27, 2016)

Infotec (Januay 27, 2016)

Lanier (January 27, 2016)

Savin (January 27, 2016)

Ricoh (January 27, 2016)

NRG (January 27, 2016)

10.10.1, 10.10.2 combo and Delta, 10.10.3 Delta, Combo Update, 10.10.4 Delta, Combo update , 10.10.5 Delta, 10.10.5 Combo,  and Security Update 2017-003 Yosemite are all available.    Delta refers to being able to upgrade only from the prior release.  Combo combines all the software of all the releases up to its point for the operating system in question.   Combo updates will not upgrade anything older than 10.10.(0).

Other updates may come through