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OCLP 2.5.1/3.0.0 RC5

iMac · 2010

iMac 2010: the newest macOS it can run

Every iMac sold in 2010, what Apple supports, what OpenCore Legacy Patcher adds, and what to expect on each macOS version. Generated from the OCLP 3.0.0 source.

Checked against OCLP 3.0.0-rc.5 sourceUpdated 8 min read
On this page 6 sections
  1. Which iMac 2010 do you have?
  2. macOS versions compared
  3. Model by model
  4. Installing on the iMac 2010
  5. Common questions
  6. Other Macs from 2010

Short answer

Apple stopped at macOS High Sierra. With OpenCore Legacy Patcher the iMac 2010 runs macOS Big Sur through macOS Tahoe 26. Our pick for most people: macOS Monterey (its GPU has no Metal support, so newer versions lose more apps). No Intel Mac can run macOS 27.

Which iMac 2010 do you have?

Apple sold 2 different models as the iMac 2010. They can behave differently with OCLP, so check your model identifier: choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then More Info > System Report, and read Model Identifier. Or open Terminal and run sysctl hw.model

IdentifierSold asGraphicsApple's last macOSOCLP
iMac11,2iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)ATI Radeon HD 2000–4000 (TeraScale 1)
AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2)		High SierraYes
iMac11,3iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)ATI Radeon HD 2000–4000 (TeraScale 1)
AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2)		High SierraYes

macOS versions compared

  • Apple supported by Apple, no patcher needed
  • OCLP runs with OpenCore Legacy Patcher
  • Legacy runs with OCLP; older “legacy Metal” GPU, more patches
  • No Metal runs with OCLP; GPU without Metal, apps that need Metal fail
  • No not possible
ModelCatalina10.15Big Sur11Monterey12Ventura13Sonoma14Sequoia15Tahoe26Golden Gate27
iMac11,2NoNo MetalNo MetalNo MetalNo MetalNo MetalNo MetalNo
iMac11,3NoNo MetalNo MetalNo MetalNo MetalNo MetalNo MetalNo

Model by model

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)iMac11,2

Model identifier
iMac11,2
Board ID
Mac-F2238AC8
CPU generation
Core i (Nehalem/Westmere)
Graphics
ATI Radeon HD 2000–4000 (TeraScale 1)
AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2)
Wi-Fi
Atheros (AirPortAtheros40)
Last macOS from Apple
macOS High Sierra
T1 / T2 chip
None

Our pick

macOS MontereyNewest possible: macOS Sequoia

Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2000–4000 (TeraScale 1) + AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2), without Metal. Monterey keeps the most apps working on it. How we pick

iMac11,2: macOS Big Sur to Tahoe, and what OCLP patches on each
macOSStatusRoot patches OCLP applies
macOS Big Sur11.7.11No MetalAMD TeraScale 1 · AMD TeraScale 2
macOS Monterey12.7.6No MetalAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · AMD TeraScale 2
macOS Ventura13.7.8No MetalAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · AMD TeraScale 2
macOS Sonoma14.8.9No MetalAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · AMD TeraScale 2
macOS Sequoia15.8.2No MetalAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · AMD TeraScale 2
macOS Tahoe26.7.2No MetalAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · Modern Audio · AMD TeraScale 2
macOS Golden Gate27NoNo Intel Mac can run macOS 27, with or without OCLP.

This model shipped with (or commonly runs) more than one GPU. OCLP picks the patch set for the GPU it finds: ATI Radeon HD 2000–4000 (TeraScale 1) → Non-Metal; AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2) → Non-Metal.

Compared with the iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) iMac11,1

WhatiMac11,1iMac11,2
GraphicsATI Radeon HD 2000–4000 (TeraScale 1)ATI Radeon HD 2000–4000 (TeraScale 1) + AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2)
  • Root patches on Tahoe. New compared with the iMac (27-inch, Late 2009): AMD TeraScale 2.
  • Kexts OpenCore loads. The same 20 as the iMac (27-inch, Late 2009).

How much patching iMac11,2 needs on each macOS

macOSPatch setsFiles installedFiles removedKDKMetallibSupportPkg
Big SurAMD TeraScale 1 · AMD TeraScale 23661NoNo
MontereyAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · AMD TeraScale 24461NoNo
VenturaAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · AMD TeraScale 24861YesNo
SonomaAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · AMD TeraScale 24861YesNo
SequoiaAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · AMD TeraScale 25261YesNo
TahoeAMD TeraScale 1 · Legacy Wireless · Modern Audio · AMD TeraScale 25561YesNo

OCLP installs 36 files for this Mac on Big Sur and 55 on Tahoe. A Kernel Debug Kit is needed from Ventura.

From OCLP's own documentation

Universal Control. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth hardware: Wi-Fi 4 / BT 2.1 EDR. Not out of the box. Hardware supports UC. Spoofing required. Dortania, Universal Control guide

OCLP changelog entries that name this Mac, newest release first, word for word:

  • 0.3.0 Add Legacy GCN support for iMac11,x and iMac12,x with upgraded GPUs
  • 0.3.0 Add Legacy GCN support for iMac11,x and iMac12,x with upgraded GPUs → Note: iMac12,x with legacy GCN will fail to wake
  • 0.1.2 Fix accidentally disabling non-existent iGPU in iMac11,2
  • 0.1.2 Probe hardware for Backlight pathing on iMac10,1, iMac11,x and iMac12,x with Metal GPUs

On Tahoe this Mac needs AMD TeraScale 1, Legacy Wireless, Modern Audio and AMD TeraScale 2. What each of those restores, and what to keep ready when root patching: macOS Tahoe: what works and what does not.

Known issues

  • non-Metal GPU (macOS 11+) (source) Dortania, Supported Models
  • USB 1.1 (macOS 13+) (source) Dortania, Supported Models
  • Recommend upgrading to Metal GPU (source) Dortania, Supported Models
What OCLP puts on the EFI partition for iMac11,2 OpenCore 1.0.6 RELEASE · 20 kexts

From our build with the OCLP 3.0.0-rc.5 app's command line (--build --model iMac11,2) on a GitHub macOS runner, 2026-11-05. Boot arguments: keepsyms=1 debug=0x100 -lilubetaall -btlfxallowanyaddr amfi=0x80.

Kexts Reasons are shown for kexts that set this Mac apart; the rest are explained in the kext glossary.

  • Lilu.kext 1.7.2
  • CryptexFixup.kext 1.0.5
  • NoAVXFSCompressionTypeZlib.kext 12.3.1 Prevents AVXFSCompressionTypeZlib crash on pre AVX1.0 systems in 12.4+
  • NoAVXFSCompressionTypeZlib-AVXpel.kext 12.6 Prevents AVXFSCompressionTypeZlib crash on pre AVX1.0 systems in 12.4+
  • NoAVXFSCompressionTypeZlib-AVXpel-Tahoe.kext 26.7 Prevents AVXFSCompressionTypeZlib crash on pre AVX1.0 systems in 12.4+
  • AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext 1.0.0
  • AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient.kext 1.0.0
  • ASPP-Override.kext 1.0.1 Forces ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin to outmatch X86PlatformPlugin and disable firmware throttling
  • CatalinaBCM5701Ethernet.kext 1.0.2 Inject old Broadcom Ethernet kext to resolve networking in Big Sur Needed on: 2011 and older Broadcom Ethernet require.
  • ECM-Override.kext 1.0.0
  • CatalinaIntelI210Ethernet.kext 1.0.0
  • corecaptureElCap.kext 1.0.2 Re-inject WiFi drivers from El Capitan Needed on: BCM94328, BCM94322 and Atheros chipsets.
  • IO80211ElCap.kext 2.0.1 Re-inject WiFi drivers from El Capitan Needed on: BCM94328, BCM94322 and Atheros chipsets.
  • AirPortAtheros40-Tahoe.kext 1.0.1
  • AppleALC.kext 1.6.3-Jazzzny
  • BlueToolFixup.kext 2.7.2
  • Bluetooth-Spoof.kext 1.0.0 Injects extra data into certain bluetooth chipsets for recognition by the system Needed on: Models with the BCM2070 or BCM2046 chipsets.
  • CSLVFixup.kext 2.6.1
  • AMFIPass.kext 1.4.1
  • RestrictEvents.kext 1.1.7

Settings specific to this Mac

  • Overriding ACPI SMC matching 41 of 86 builds
  • Enabling Atheros Networking Support 7 of 86 builds
  • Fixing AVX hardcoding in JavaScriptCore 31 of 86 builds
  • Setting RestrictEvents patch arguments: sbvmm,jsc 28 of 86 builds

10 more settings are applied to most of the 86 Macs we built; they are listed in the full build log.

Full build log · config.plist · file list

Our build for iMac11,2 loads 20 kexts in an EFI folder of 20.0 MB. Across the 86 Macs we built, the median is 18; 57% of builds load fewer.

What owners reported for iMac11,2 4 reports on GitHub

4 issues were filed in OCLP's tracker with iMac11,2 as the machine model (4 closed, 0 open), filed 2021 to 2022; the newest is from 2022-02-01. The topics that come up most, by keyword match in the title and text: graphics (4), sleep and power (3) and black screen or boot failure (2). These are owners' reports, not confirmed bugs, and all of them were filed on OCLP versions from before 2024, so many describe problems that have since been fixed.

  • #935 2022-02-01 · closed · Monterey · 1 comment Beta Blur in-affective on macOS Monterey Beta 21D5039d
  • #885 2022-01-12 · closed · Monterey, macOS 11, Big Sur · 2 comments iMac 11,2 Graphical Glitches
  • #813 2021-12-15 · closed · Big Sur · 2 comments Big Sur 11.6.2 not showing up
  • #760 2021-11-26 · closed · Big Sur · 5 comments Issue when changing monitor settings/ gpu acceleration bugs out

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)iMac11,3

OCLP treats this model exactly like iMac11,2: the same CPU, graphics, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth data, the same root patches on every macOS, and the same kexts in our build. What differs: board ID Mac-F2238BAE instead of Mac-F2238AC8 and sold as iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010). The macOS table, patch timeline and build details above apply unchanged.

What owners reported for iMac11,3 14 reports on GitHub

14 issues were filed in OCLP's tracker with iMac11,3 as the machine model (14 closed, 0 open), filed 2020 to 2022; the newest is from 2022-02-08. The topics that come up most, by keyword match in the title and text: install or update (6), graphics (5) and black screen or boot failure (2). These are owners' reports, not confirmed bugs, and all of them were filed on OCLP versions from before 2024, so many describe problems that have since been fixed.

  • #950 2022-02-08 · closed · Monterey · 2 comments Install bugging out on 0.4.2
  • #865 2022-01-01 · closed · Monterey · 4 comments Old versions of apps not compatible w/ Monterey
  • #845 2021-12-24 · closed · Monterey · 6 comments Airdrop not showing up on Monterey 12.0.1
  • #538 2021-10-04 · closed · 15 comments iMac11,3 (GTX 880m) incompatibilities with BacklightInjector
  • #162 2021-04-21 · closed · 15 comments Black screen after waking up on iMac11,3 (K3100M) + immediately after OS loaded (K610M)

Installing on the iMac 2010

Choose iMac11,2 or iMac11,3 as the target model when OCLP builds OpenCore (it detects it automatically when you run OCLP on this Mac). Before that, install the newest macOS Apple offers for it, macOS High Sierra, so the firmware is current. The steps themselves are the same for every Mac: How to install OpenCore Legacy Patcher.

Memory

Macs with 2 GB of memory cannot install macOS Sonoma or newer (Dortania, Supported Models). Upgrade the memory first if your Mac allows it.

Common questions

What does OCLP patch on a iMac 2010 running Tahoe?

The root patches for its hardware: AMD TeraScale 1, Legacy Wireless, Modern Audio and AMD TeraScale 2. Which one applies depends on the model identifier; the table above lists each. Updates to macOS remove them, and Post-Install Root Patch puts them back.

What is the latest macOS for a iMac 2010?

Officially, macOS High Sierra. With OCLP: macOS Tahoe 26.7.2. macOS 27 does not support any Intel Mac.

Why do some apps not work on a patched iMac 2010?

Its graphics processor does not support Metal, Apple's graphics API. OCLP restores OpenGL acceleration, so the system runs smoothly, but apps that require Metal cannot run. That gets worse with each macOS version, which is why we suggest Monterey for these Macs.

Other Macs from 2010

Keep going

How to installThe complete step-by-step guide for OCLP 3.0macOS TahoemacOS 26 on unsupported Macs with OCLP 3.0Mac compatibilityEvery Intel Mac and the macOS it can run, with and without OCLP

Something wrong or out of date on this page? Email hello@oclp.dev and we will fix it (see our corrections policy).