Is OpenCore Legacy Patcher Safe?

Intro

I know you are tempted.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher allows you to update your old MacBook to a newer version of macOS that’s not officially supported by Apple.

But is it safe?

I’ve been using it for 7 months, here’s my experience:

Pros of having a newer MacOS

• Nicer UI
• Smoother and smarter AirPods connection switching between devices.
• More system built-in features - e.g. subtle things such as being able to enter dimensions to crop a screenshot. (That was not available in earlier macOS) Just here and there when you need it, you will find out more by daily use.
• Apple-only applications like Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, Xcode, etc, have way more cool features.

Cons of using OpenCore to force the MacOS update

• Something might crash unexpectedly - you have to read through the GitHub support page to know how to prevent or workaround them. And it is not a guaranteed success.
• Stability - One thing we Apple users are fond of is the reliability of a MacBook. It might be just an occasional crash, but it could also mean problematic. Think right after you wrote a thousand words of text, then right before you hit save, Word crashed. It did not happen to me, but just saying there’s a chance it might, maybe not in Word but some other application. But official macOS is VERY stable, regardless of what you use.

Safety?

It is safe, if what you mean is whether it contains malware, it doesn’t.

It is an open-source application, which means the application code is out there in the public. You can read every single line of code to know what and how it works. Here is their GitHub repository.

So no, if it contains malware, it would have been taken down or at least have a bad reputation because other developers would know that it is and spread the word.

I was using it without using any antivirus, nor being extra careful with my usage.

I still log in to my bank accounts, and Google account, doing all my daily stuff on an OpenCore device like I would on a regular MacBook.

So far, nothing happened.

If you search on forums, you will see a lot of people have been using it for years, nothing such as a privacy leak I’ve seen.

So, all good.

Something to be cautious of

Remember to only download OpenCore Legacy Patcher from the official website, not anywhere else.

Read through every single step carefully. Get to know what works and what might not work before you actually install it.

Always make a backup before the installation so you won’t be stuck in a situation of no going back.

But you can always do an internet recovery for an ultimate MacBook reset - it just takes a long time, there is.

Final Opinion

If you want 100% stability, stick with official macOS.

If you don’t mind a tiny bit of preparation, tweaking, and workaround for an overall > 90% stability in exchange for way more features - OpenCore Legacy Patcher can only do you good.

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