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Boot Camp now supports 64-bit Windows 10 on a wide range of Macs dating back to 2012

Apple has announced in a support document that Boot Camp now supports 64-bit versions of Windows 10 on a wide range of Macs dating back to 2012. The updated version of Boot Camp is currently rolling out to Yosemite users – if you haven’t yet received it, it should show up when you use the Mac App Store to check for updates.

Apple gives instructions for performing both a new install and an upgrade from earlier versions of Windows.

Supported Macs are:

  • MacBook Air from Mid 2012
  • MacBook Pro from Mid 2012
  • MacBook Pro with Retina display from Mid 2012
  • iMac from Late 2012
  • Mac mini from Late 2012
  • Mac Pro Late 2013
  • 12-inch MacBook

USB-C is supported on the 12-inch MacBook, in addition to the standard ports which are supported on all compatible models.

Back in March, Apple discontinued Boot Camp support for Windows 7 on the latest MacBook models, requiring Windows 8 and up.

Photo: Jacek Kalużny

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Comments

  1. Jan Reinefeld - 9 years ago

    So… why is for example my Mac mini (mid 2011) not supported anymore?
    Srsly, dafuq!

    • konkrypton - 9 years ago

      I just upgraded to Win10 from Win7 and installed the Boot Camp drivers on my 2011 mini. So I guess backing into it by having an existing Win7 installation gets you around the Boot Camp “rule” that excludes our minis.

  2. Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

    Thanks to a couple of readers for noting that the Mid 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display is also supported.

  3. mabdllselam - 9 years ago

    Nis meet you

  4. That’s a good business move from Apple because their hardware may be pretty and sexy but it’s not everyone who like MacOs, that’s a win for Windows users…

    • Brian - 9 years ago

      Yeah, there are people that like having to press the ‘refresh’ button a lot, just to see if a file copied, what the size is, etc…

      Apple isn’t worried that anyone will prefer Windows.

  5. I’m in Australia, it’s 10:40pm and I just checked the Mac App Store for updates,but it indicates no updates are available.

  6. driverbenji - 9 years ago

    actually, only going back to 2012 is not a “wide-range”, there are many more Macs, pretty much all Intel Macs, that could handle windows 10. Windows 10 installs and runs just fine on much older PCs. Apple must be only supporting machines that might still have AppleCare. Well, I’ve read where people are using Win 10 in virtual machines on Macs not listed here, so, there you have it.

    • telecastle - 9 years ago

      The use of Windows in virtual machines has little (or nothing at all) to do with Boot Camp. The fact that Windows 10 is not supported on earlier hardware is strange to say the least. Even though all of the Macs in my possession are included in the list that support Windows 10 in Boot Camp, I have relatives who own earlier models of Macs, such as Mac Mini 2011, for instance, or all sorts of Macbook Pros. In fact, I just replaced my MacBook Pro 2012 (non-retina) with MacBook Pro 2014 (Retina) in January 2015. That 2012 MacBook Pro was a very decent laptop, and the only problem I really had with it was the fact that it had a hard drive instead of an SSD. Back then, there were issues with Yosemite and Trim Enabler, so I didn’t want to install a third-party SSD into that MacBook Pro. Now that Apple made TRIM support native in Yosemite, a 2012 MacBook Pro (non-retina) could serve one as a great desktop replacement laptop for years to come as long as the hard drive is replaced with an SSD. There’s absolutely no reason not to include that MacBook Pro (and other older Macs) in the last of Macs that support Windows 10 in Boot Camp. Well, of course there IS a reason, and we all know what it is. Unfortunately.

      • Brian - 9 years ago

        What you mean is, you think it should happen–you have no idea what the actual reason, but you think it’s just a money grab to not offer something that was never offered to begin with. Gotcha.

      • kpom1 - 9 years ago

        I doubt it’s a money grab. Only a fraction of Mac owners use Windows. If Apple wants to nudge older Mac users to buy new Macs, they’d discontinue support for El Capitan. Perhaps they will release drivers later, or perhaps it isn’t a high priority getting the older equipment to work.

      • Neil Bhogal - 9 years ago

        Hi, I have IMAC early which officially supports upto windows 7 32 bit using boot camp 4. I have upgrade to windows 10 32 bit and installed bootcamp 4 via troubleshoot compatibility and is working fine. I’m wondering if you or anyone else using windows 10 64 bit on the old machines and what version bootcamp would you use ?

  7. Reid (@reidonly) - 9 years ago

    The support document includes mid-2012 (non-retina) MacBook Pros as supported models for Windows 10.

  8. vkd108 - 9 years ago

    thank goodness my mid-2011 iMac will be immune to this dreaded lurgy :)

  9. stefanschindler - 9 years ago

    Updated to Win10 on my iMac mid2011 from a Win7 only installation. My OS X boots via Thunderbolt SSD and is completely seperates. All the drivers that come with the bootcamp software for Win8.1 work just well

    • How did you do it? When I tried I got a blue screen and it reverted back to Windows 7. Will installing the updated BootCamp files first then updating make a difference? I also have a mid 2011 Mac Mini.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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