-November 13, 2021 at 6:15 a.m. Pacific Time

In this hands-on video walkthrough, I will show you how to turn a qualified USB drive (which you may have placed around the house) into a convenient macOS Monterey installation disk. This is useful for facilitating upgrades to Monterey across multiple Mac computers. Be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube to get more Mac-centric guides, tutorials and how-tos.

It is important to note that you do not need to make a USB installer to install macOS Monterey. You can use the App Store to download Monterey, or install macOS from Recovery. As mentioned earlier, one of the main benefits of creating a Monterey USB installation drive is to install Monterey on multiple computers.

Before following this tutorial, you need to make sure that you can access a USB drive that can be used as an installation target. Generally speaking, as long as there is at least 16GB of storage space, a USB flash drive will work. In this particular tutorial, I used a spare SanDisk Extreme portable SSD because it is all I currently have available. Indeed, considering the 1TB storage capacity, SanDisk SSD is an overkill.

If you want to buy a new USB drive as an installation drive, I highly recommend SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C flash drive. First, it has the required 16GB capacity, but it also has a USB-C connection, which works well with today's Mac computers. In the end, I think you will find it very affordable.

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Step 1: Launch the Mac App Store and download macOS Monterey.

Step 2: After the macOS Monterey download is complete, the installer will start automatically. Close the installer via the menu bar or use ⌘ Q.

Step 3: Connect the USB drive, open the drive in Finder, and make sure there is nothing on it that you need. If so, be sure to back up any data on the drive you need, because following these steps will erase the contents of the drive.

Note: This tutorial cannot use APFS format drives. If the drive has been formatted as APFS, or you are not sure, open Disk Utility, select the drive, and click "Erase." For the format, be sure to select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click Erase.

Step 4: Open Finder → Application. Right-click to install macOS Monterey → show package contents.

Step 5: Open Content → Resources.

Step 6: Open a new terminal window by navigating to Applications → Utilities → Terminal.

Step 7: Type in the terminal window 

sudo

Followed by a space.

Step 8: Drag createinstallmedia from the Resources folder opened in step 5 to the terminal window.

Step 9: Type 

--volume

 Followed by a space.

Step 10: Open Finder → Go → Go to Folder...

Step 11: Type /Volumes and press Enter.

Step 12: Drag the USB drive volume to the terminal window.

Note: Be sure to select the correct USB drive, otherwise the wrong drive may be affected.

Step 13: Press the Return key on the keyboard to process the complete terminal command, and enter your administrator password when asked.

Step 14: When prompted, type "y" and then press the Return key on the keyboard.

If you have not provided permission, the terminal utility may request access to files on the removable volume. If so, be sure to click "OK" to allow access.

Step 15: The installation process will first erase the contents of the connected USB drive, make the drive bootable, and copy the installer file to the drive. As this process takes a few minutes to complete, please be patient.

To use the installer on a Mac equipped with an Apple chip, shut down the Mac, connect the drive, and then press and hold the power button until you see the Apple logo and the words "Loading startup options" below. After a while, you should see Install macOS Monterey appear as a startup option.

For Intel-based Macs, connect the USB installer drive, and then after restarting the computer, hold down the Option key until you see the boot selector.

When installing macOS Monterey, you can use several options, such as:

Although there are other options for reinstalling macOS, such as the Mac App Store or macOS Recovery, I like to carry the macOS USB installer with me, especially because I usually manage multiple Mac computers and upgrade my friends and family. State your thoughts in the comments below.

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Jeff makes videos, walkthroughs, how-tos, written tutorials, and reviews. He prides himself on being able to explain things in a simple, clear and concise way.

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