iMac · 2015
iMac 2015: the newest macOS it can run
Every iMac sold in 2015, what Apple supports, what OpenCore Legacy Patcher adds, and what to expect on each macOS version. Generated from the OCLP 3.0.0 source.
On this page 6 sections
Short answer
Apple stopped at macOS Big Sur to macOS Monterey (depending on the model). With OpenCore Legacy Patcher the iMac 2015 runs macOS Big Sur through macOS Tahoe 26. Our pick for most people: macOS Sequoia. No Intel Mac can run macOS 27.
Which iMac 2015 do you have?
Apple sold 4 different models as the iMac 2015. 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
| Identifier | Sold as | Graphics | Apple's last macOS | OCLP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
iMac15,1 | iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) | Intel Iris / HD (Haswell) AMD Radeon / FirePro (GCN 1) | Big Sur | Yes |
iMac16,1 | iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) | Intel Iris / HD 6000 (Broadwell) | Monterey | Yes |
iMac16,2 | iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015) | Intel Iris / HD 6000 (Broadwell) | Monterey | Yes |
iMac17,1 | iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) | Intel Iris / HD 500-series (Skylake) AMD Radeon R9 M2xx (GCN 2) AMD Radeon R9 M3xx (GCN 3) | Monterey | Yes |
macOS versions compared
- Apple supported by Apple, no patcher needed
- runs with OpenCore Legacy Patcher
- runs with OCLP; older “legacy Metal” GPU, more patches
- runs with OCLP; GPU without Metal, apps that need Metal fail
- No not possible
| Model | Catalina10.15 | Big Sur11 | Monterey12 | Ventura13 | Sonoma14 | Sequoia15 | Tahoe26 | Golden Gate27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iMac15,1 | Apple | Apple | OCLP | No | ||||
| iMac16,1 | Apple | Apple | Apple | No | ||||
| iMac16,2 | Apple | Apple | Apple | No | ||||
| iMac17,1 | Apple | Apple | Apple | No |
Model by model
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) · iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)iMac15,1
This model was sold in more than one year. Its full section, with the macOS table, hardware comparison and owner reports, is on the iMac 2014 page.
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)iMac16,1
- Model identifier
iMac16,1- Board ID
Mac-A369DDC4E67F1C45- CPU generation
- 5th-gen Core (Broadwell)
- Graphics
- Intel Iris / HD 6000 (Broadwell)
- Wi-Fi
- Broadcom BCM4350/4360-class (AirportBrcmNIC)
- Last macOS from Apple
- macOS Monterey
- T1 / T2 chip
- None
Our pick
macOS SequoiaNewest possible: macOS Tahoe
Graphics: Intel Iris / HD 6000 (Broadwell), patched as Metal (31001). Sequoia is the newest macOS the stable OCLP 2.5.1 supports. How we pick
| macOS | Status | Root patches OCLP applies |
|---|---|---|
| macOS Big Sur11.7.11 | Apple | Supported by Apple: install from Software Update. |
| macOS Monterey12.7.6 | Apple | Supported by Apple: install from Software Update. |
| macOS Ventura13.7.8 | Intel Broadwell | |
| macOS Sonoma14.8.9 | Intel Broadwell · Modern Wireless | |
| macOS Sequoia15.8.2 | Intel Broadwell · Modern Wireless | |
| macOS Tahoe26.7.2 | Intel Broadwell · Modern Wireless · Modern Audio | |
| macOS Golden Gate27 | No | No Intel Mac can run macOS 27, with or without OCLP. |
Compared with the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) iMac15,1
| What | iMac15,1 | iMac16,1 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 4th-gen Core i (Haswell) | 5th-gen Core (Broadwell) |
| Graphics | Intel Iris / HD (Haswell) + AMD Radeon / FirePro (GCN 1) | Intel Iris / HD 6000 (Broadwell) |
| Last macOS from Apple | macOS Big Sur | macOS Monterey |
- Root patches on Tahoe. New compared with the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015): Intel Broadwell. No longer needed: Intel Haswell and AMD Legacy GCN.
- Kexts OpenCore loads. Added:
KDKlessWorkaround.kext. (11 kexts on the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015), 12 here, from our builds.)
How much patching iMac16,1 needs on each macOS
| macOS | Patch sets | Files installed | Files removed | KDK | MetallibSupportPkg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura | Intel Broadwell | 7 | 0 | No | No |
| Sonoma | Intel Broadwell · Modern Wireless | 9 | 0 | No | No |
| Sequoia | Intel Broadwell · Modern Wireless | 8 | 0 | No | No |
| Tahoe | Intel Broadwell · Modern Wireless · Modern Audio | 11 | 0 | Yes | No |
OCLP installs 7 files for this Mac on Ventura and 11 on Tahoe. A Kernel Debug Kit is needed from Tahoe.
From OCLP's own documentation
Universal Control. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth hardware: Wi-Fi 5 + BT 4.2. 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:
0.5.0Add Ventura-dropped Models: → iMac16,x, iMac17,1
On Tahoe this Mac needs Intel Broadwell, Modern Wireless and Modern Audio. What each of those restores, and what to keep ready when root patching: macOS Tahoe: what works and what does not.
Known issues
- Legacy Metal (macOS 13+) (source) Dortania, Supported Models
What OCLP puts on the EFI partition for iMac16,1 OpenCore 1.0.6 RELEASE · 12 kexts
From our build with the OCLP 3.0.0-rc.5 app's command line (--build --model iMac16,1) on a GitHub macOS runner, 2026-11-05. Boot arguments: keepsyms=1 debug=0x100 -lilubetaall amfi=0x80.
Kexts Reasons are shown for kexts that set this Mac apart; the rest are explained in the kext glossary.
Lilu.kext 1.7.2ECM-Override.kext 1.0.0CatalinaIntelI210Ethernet.kext 1.0.0AirportBrcmFixup.kext 2.2.1IOSkywalkFamily.kext 1.2.0IO80211FamilyLegacy.kext 1.0.0AirPortBrcmNIC-Tahoe.kext 1.0.0KDKlessWorkaround.kext 1.0.0Helps with Mac os updates on KDKless patched systemsIOS3XeFamily.kext 1.0.0Restores S1X/S3X NVMe support removed in macOS 14.0 beta 2 (Apple SSDs such as AP0128H and AP0256H); also covers Macs with the 12+16 pin SSD layout and newer drives.CSLVFixup.kext 2.6.1AMFIPass.kext 1.4.1RestrictEvents.kext 1.1.7
Settings specific to this Mac
- Enabling Boot Logo patch 21 of 86 builds
- Setting RestrictEvents patch arguments: sbvmm 43 of 86 builds
6 more settings are applied to most of the 86 Macs we built; they are listed in the full build log.
Our build for iMac16,1 loads 12 kexts in an EFI folder of 33.4 MB. Across the 86 Macs we built, the median is 18; 8% of builds load fewer.
No issue in OCLP's tracker was filed with iMac16,1 as the machine model (searched 2026-11-05), so there is no owner feedback to summarise for this exact model.
iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)iMac16,2
OCLP treats this model exactly like iMac16,1: 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-FFE5EF870D7BA81A instead of Mac-A369DDC4E67F1C45 and sold as iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015). The macOS table, patch timeline and build details above apply unchanged.
No issue in OCLP's tracker was filed with iMac16,2 as the machine model (searched 2026-11-05), so there is no owner feedback to summarise for this exact model.
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)iMac17,1
- Model identifier
iMac17,1- Board ID
Mac-DB15BD556843C820- CPU generation
- 6th-gen Core (Skylake)
- Graphics
- Intel Iris / HD 500-series (Skylake)
AMD Radeon R9 M2xx (GCN 2)
AMD Radeon R9 M3xx (GCN 3) - Wi-Fi
- Broadcom BCM4350/4360-class (AirportBrcmNIC)
- Last macOS from Apple
- macOS Monterey
- T1 / T2 chip
- None
Our pick
macOS SequoiaNewest possible: macOS Tahoe
Graphics: Intel Iris / HD 500-series (Skylake) + AMD Radeon R9 M2xx (GCN 2) + AMD Radeon R9 M3xx (GCN 3), patched as Metal (31001). Sequoia is the newest macOS the stable OCLP 2.5.1 supports. How we pick
| macOS | Status | Root patches OCLP applies |
|---|---|---|
| macOS Big Sur11.7.11 | Apple | Supported by Apple: install from Software Update. |
| macOS Monterey12.7.6 | Apple | Supported by Apple: install from Software Update. |
| macOS Ventura13.7.8 | Intel Skylake · AMD Legacy GCN | |
| macOS Sonoma14.8.9 | Intel Skylake · AMD Legacy GCN · Modern Wireless | |
| macOS Sequoia15.8.2 | Intel Skylake · AMD Legacy GCN · Modern Wireless | |
| macOS Tahoe26.7.2 | Intel Skylake · AMD Legacy GCN · Modern Wireless · Modern Audio | |
| macOS Golden Gate27 | No | No 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: Intel Iris / HD 500-series (Skylake) + AMD Radeon R9 M2xx (GCN 2) → Metal (31001); Intel Iris / HD 500-series (Skylake) + AMD Radeon R9 M3xx (GCN 3) → Metal (31001).
Compared with the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015) iMac15,1
| What | iMac15,1 | iMac17,1 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 4th-gen Core i (Haswell) | 6th-gen Core (Skylake) |
| Graphics | Intel Iris / HD (Haswell) + AMD Radeon / FirePro (GCN 1) | Intel Iris / HD 500-series (Skylake) + AMD Radeon R9 M2xx (GCN 2) + AMD Radeon R9 M3xx (GCN 3) |
| Last macOS from Apple | macOS Big Sur | macOS Monterey |
- Root patches on Tahoe. New compared with the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015): Intel Skylake. No longer needed: Intel Haswell.
- Kexts OpenCore loads. The same 11 as the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015).
How much patching iMac17,1 needs on each macOS
| macOS | Patch sets | Files installed | Files removed | KDK | MetallibSupportPkg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura | Intel Skylake · AMD Legacy GCN | 21 | 2 | Yes | No |
| Sonoma | Intel Skylake · AMD Legacy GCN · Modern Wireless | 23 | 2 | Yes | No |
| Sequoia | Intel Skylake · AMD Legacy GCN · Modern Wireless | 22 | 2 | Yes | No |
| Tahoe | Intel Skylake · AMD Legacy GCN · Modern Wireless · Modern Audio | 24 | 2 | Yes | No |
OCLP installs 21 files for this Mac on Ventura and 24 on Tahoe. A Kernel Debug Kit is needed from Ventura.
From OCLP's own documentation
OCLP changelog entries that name this Mac, newest release first, word for word:
0.5.0Add Ventura-dropped Models: → iMac16,x, iMac17,1
On Tahoe this Mac needs Intel Skylake, AMD Legacy GCN, Modern Wireless and Modern Audio. What each of those restores, and what to keep ready when root patching: macOS Tahoe: what works and what does not.
Known issues
- Legacy Metal (macOS 13+) (source) Dortania, Supported Models
What OCLP puts on the EFI partition for iMac17,1 OpenCore 1.0.6 RELEASE · 11 kexts
From our build with the OCLP 3.0.0-rc.5 app's command line (--build --model iMac17,1) on a GitHub macOS runner, 2026-11-05. Boot arguments: keepsyms=1 debug=0x100 -lilubetaall amfi=0x80.
Kexts Reasons are shown for kexts that set this Mac apart; the rest are explained in the kext glossary.
Lilu.kext 1.7.2ECM-Override.kext 1.0.0CatalinaIntelI210Ethernet.kext 1.0.0AirportBrcmFixup.kext 2.2.1IOSkywalkFamily.kext 1.2.0IO80211FamilyLegacy.kext 1.0.0AirPortBrcmNIC-Tahoe.kext 1.0.0IOS3XeFamily.kext 1.0.0Restores S1X/S3X NVMe support removed in macOS 14.0 beta 2 (Apple SSDs such as AP0128H and AP0256H); also covers Macs with the 12+16 pin SSD layout and newer drives.CSLVFixup.kext 2.6.1AMFIPass.kext 1.4.1RestrictEvents.kext 1.1.7
Settings specific to this Mac
- Enabling Boot Logo patch 21 of 86 builds
- Setting RestrictEvents patch arguments: sbvmm 43 of 86 builds
6 more settings are applied to most of the 86 Macs we built; they are listed in the full build log.
Our build for iMac17,1 loads 11 kexts in an EFI folder of 33.5 MB. Across the 86 Macs we built, the median is 18; 2% of builds load fewer.
What owners reported for iMac17,1 1 report on GitHub
1 issue was filed in OCLP's tracker with iMac17,1 as the machine model (1 closed, 0 open), filed 2022; the newest is from 2022-02-17. The topics that come up most, by keyword match in the title and text: install or update (1). 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.
- #968 2022-02-17 · closed · Monterey · 3 comments Airplay Receiver option disappeared after upgrade to Monterey 12.3 beta 3 (MacBookPro13,3 and iMac17,1)
Installing on the iMac 2015
Choose iMac15,1 or iMac16,1 or iMac16,2 or iMac17,1 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 Big Sur to macOS Monterey (depending on the model), so the firmware is current. The steps themselves are the same for every Mac: How to install OpenCore Legacy Patcher.
Common questions
What does OCLP patch on a iMac 2015 running Tahoe?
What is the latest macOS for a iMac 2015?
Other Macs from 2015
- MacBook Pro 2015 MacBookPro11,4, MacBookPro11,5, MacBookPro12,1
- MacBook Air 2015–2017 MacBookAir7,1, MacBookAir7,2
- MacBook 2015–2017 MacBook8,1, MacBook9,1, MacBook10,1
Keep going
Something wrong or out of date on this page? Email hello@oclp.dev and we will fix it (see our corrections policy).