Install macOS Sequoia in UTM - a HOWTO

[toru173]

Hey all. I was initially unable to get Sequoia running in UTM under Sonoma 14.5, as it required some additional drivers to 'restore' the ipsw to the virtual machine.

The solution I took was as follows:

I downloaded the macOS Sequoia ipsw directly from the apple developer website. Direct link: https://updates.cdn-apple.com/2024S...41383/UniversalMac_15.0_24A5264n_Restore.ipsw

Next, I downloaded Xcode 16 Beta from https://developer.apple.com/service...veloper_Tools/Xcode_16_beta/Xcode_16_beta.xip and extracted it.

I then installed the Beta MobileDevice framework from within the extracted application. This is at ./Xcode-beta.app/Contents/Resources/Packages/MobileDevice.pkg (thanks @Marijn100 for noticing my mistake!)

Once installed I was able to create a VM with the ipsw with no further issues. Hope this helps!

Issue discussion on UTM's GitHub: https://github.com/utmapp/UTM/issues/6418

 

[Marijn100]

Thanks, installation is running right now!
The MobileDevice framework seems located at ../Xcode-beta.app/Contents/Resources/Packages/MobileDevice.pkg in my case.

 

[toru173]

Oops, you’re right! I must have transcribed it incorrectly. Thanks for correcting me!

 

[kocoman]

does it work on qemu with osx-kvm? thx

 

[toru173]

UTM uses parts of QEMU underneath, but this was to address an issue when attempting to create a VM using Virtualization.framework. My understanding is that OSX-KVM on macOS hosts doesn't use that underneath, but can use Hypervisor.framework. It still emulates large parts of an Intel machine for compatibility

I’ve had reports of this working in Parallels and VirtualBuddy. Are you running on a macOS Apple Silicon host? If not, this may not be any help I’m afraid.

 

[mlavio829]

This worked beautifully after installing that MobileDevice.pkg in Parallels and UTM.
Thanks!

 

[MilaM]

Thanks for this writeup. It's very useful.

Is there any chance, that future betas will not require the installation of MobileDevice.pkg from the Xcode beta package? I only have one Mac and would prefer not installing beta .pkg only for the purpose of running macOS 15 VMs.

 

[iStorm]

Thanks for this writeup. It's very useful.

Is there any chance, that future betas will not require the installation of MobileDevice.pkg from the Xcode beta package? I only have one Mac and would prefer not installing beta .pkg only for the purpose of running macOS 15 VMs.

It'll always require the installation of MobileDevice.pkg if you want to flash a VM using the IPSW file. It's pretty common for IPSW files for new major OS versions to require updated "drivers".

I use Parallels and didn't really care to install the beta version of MobileDevice.pkg either. I ended up making a clone of my Sonoma VM and then upgraded that to Sequoia using the full installer instead. I'm guessing you could do something similar with UTM as well. Install Sonoma first and then upgrade, or upgrade a copy of an existing VM if you already have one to use. (Link to the full installer can be found at mrmacintosh.com.)

 

[toru173]

It'll always require the installation of MobileDevice.pkg if you want to flash a VM using the IPSW file. It's pretty common for IPSW files for new major OS versions to require updated "drivers".

I use Parallels and didn't really care to install the beta version of MobileDevice.pkg either. I ended up making a clone of my Sonoma VM and then upgraded that to Sequoia using the full installer instead. I'm guessing you could do something similar with UTM as well. Install Sonoma first and then upgrade, or upgrade a copy of an existing VM if you already have one to use. (Link to the full installer can be found at mrmacintosh.com.)

You’re right on both counts. This would be a safer way to update to the beta in the VM if you want to keep it completely self contained

 

[MilaM]

It'll always require the installation of MobileDevice.pkg if you want to flash a VM using the IPSW file. It's pretty common for IPSW files for new major OS versions to require updated "drivers".

Thanks for this explanation. The installation of MobileDevice.pkg as such is not the issue. If my understanding is correct, the same package is also installed automatically, when I connect an iPhone to my Mac locally. I'm just not so keen on installing the beta of MobileDevice.pkg from the Xcode beta.

But your suggestion is interesting. I did not know you could first install Sonoma and then seamlessly upgrade to Sequoia from there.

 

[toru173]

Thanks for this explanation. The installation of MobileDevice.pkg as such is not the issue. If my understanding is correct, the same package is also installed automatically, when I connect an iPhone to my Mac locally. I'm just not so keen on installing the beta of MobileDevice.pkg from the Xcode beta.

But your suggestion is interesting. I did not know you could first install Sonoma and then seamlessly upgrade to Sequoia from there.

There’s a little bit of terminal work to do so. OSX Daily has a good article here https://osxdaily.com/2024/06/12/cant-upgrade-a-sonoma-vm-to-macos-sequoia-beta-try-this/

 

[VitoBotta]

Out of curiosity, what is the appeal with using UTM when VMWare Fusion Pro is a much more mature and feature rich product and it's also free for personal use? I tried UTM not long ago and it was very very limited in comparison, and didn't even have a built in snapshotting feature.

 

[iStorm]

Out of curiosity, what is the appeal with using UTM when VMWare Fusion Pro is a much more mature and feature rich product and it's also free for personal use? I tried UTM not long ago and it was very very limited in comparison, and didn't even have a built in snapshotting feature.

It's no longer possible to use VMware Fusion to virtualize macOS. They removed support for macOS as a guest OS in Fusion 13. Need to use UTM, Parallels, or something else.

 

[VitoBotta]

It's no longer possible to use VMware Fusion to virtualize macOS. They removed support for macOS as a guest OS in Fusion 13. Need to use UTM, Parallels, or something else.

Ah, now I understand. I wasn't aware of that limitation. Thanks

 

[chrfr]

It's no longer possible to use VMware Fusion to virtualize macOS. They removed support for macOS as a guest OS in Fusion 13. Need to use UTM, Parallels, or something else.

You can still virtualize macOS in Fusion 13, but only on Intel Macs, so it’s of increasingly limited value.

 

[Franco Borgo]

are you able to signing to your apple account, or get debt update ?

 

[dwilliamhouston]

Is the above still working for people with Beta 2? I want to do a fresh install but when I try and start the Beta 2 ipsw in Parallels it stops almost immediately.

 

[toru173]

I haven’t checked Beta 2 yet. This was to work around an issue with the install more than anything, though - so if the VM halts on boot, it may be a different issue

 

[dwilliamhouston]

Got it working. There is a new XCode Beta that came out today. Had to uninstall the old Beta 1 XCode and install the Beta 2 of XCode.