One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to package the installer as seen below and deploy the package via Jamf Pro.
In order for this script to work, you will have to have a copy of the macOS Installer that is available from the Mac App Store located in /Applications. Essentially this will wipe and reload the system to factory defaults. Also, don't forget to setup a policy with a custom trigger specified as defined in the user variables.Īdded in v2.6.0 - You can now specify to use the -eraseInstall parameter when using macOS Installer 10.13.4 or later and the client is running macOS 10.13 or later.
Here you can specify the message that is displayed to the end user while the script is running and preparing the computer to upgrade to macOS Sierra, as well as the variables used to determine the version and path for the macOS Installer. When you open the script you will find some user variables defined on lines 60-118. While the devices are encrypting, you will not be able to upgrade macOS until after encryption is completed.
If you “absolutely depend” on some software that won’t run beyond OS X El Capitan 10.11, then by all means use that instead. Before upgrading, check your essential software and their websites for supported OS versions. Note that some 3rd party software will have not only minimum system requirements (like your photography software), but may also have less documented maximum system requirements (won’t run beyond a certain OS version). Which includes a Mac App Store link: Get macOS High Sierra. How to upgrade to macOS High Sierra - Apple Support
Generally, the added features do not make old machines crawl, luckily, if you maintain the software in a healthy state, and keep a free space reserve on the startup hard disk drive. Apple recommends to upgrade your devices to the maximum that is supported. The iMacs from that year can be upgraded to macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 at most. I have it running macOS Sierra 10.12.6 currently.