Would love to try the new ARC, but my Roon core (running on a Mac Mini, Intel Core i7, with High Sierra version 10.13.6) shows that with Roon version 1.8 (build 1105) I “have the latest version installed.” There doesn’t seem to be any way for me to update from Roon 1.8 to 2.0.
I have downloaded the ARC apps for iPhone and Android, but when I try to connect, both say “No Roon cores found” which I suppose is because the app will only recognize Roon 2.0
Due to the .NET transition, Roon 2.0 will require 10.15 as a minimum.
So we have confirm, that Cat is minimum, and HS not work. You have to upgrade to 10.15
from what I’ve gathered, your mac mini probably can be no earlier than “Late 2012”
Correct. It is shown as a “Late 2012.” Upgraded with a 2Tb SSD.
Thanks for the input (you and Bert), but…I have no idea about what a ".NET transition"might be, or how to “upgrade to 10.15.”
If your Mac can be upgrade to Catalina (10.15) version of macOS you can use Room 2.0. If not - sorry, not. Now, new version of Roon software work like native macOS app, not translate, not Rosetta (on Apple silicone), so faster, better. On macOS 10.15 you have support for MS .net and its crucial for upgrade. Use system upgrade (preferences) and check max macOS version on your hardware. Its simple, if you can upgrade it show you latest version of OS you can go.
I also have the same issue with my mac desktop, that it is no longer able to add any updates. Would I be able to use a Apple iPad with iOS 15.7 and 512GB to run my Roon Core on?
No iPad can work only for play/remote purposes, not Core. You have to PC/Mac system to do that.
Thanks all for input. It appears my choices now are to stay with version 1.8 or change out my Core machine.
Regarding a change of Core: Unfortunately, the Mac minis are no longer user upgradable and getting one with the 2Tb SSD my existing mini has is very pricey. So Apple has managed to make a nice product unattractive. The best choice now seems to be a NUC as I can reuse my fairly new 2Tb SSD in it for music storage, and install an inexpensive small M.2 SSD for the ROCK Core.
But I am trying to stay with the version 1.8 for now and defer the hassle of loading ROCK and making a big change. If I can get version 1.8 controlled remotely—which is another Support topic that I have created.
I dont understand your problem. i use the same model (Mac Mini Late 2012 Server, 10GB RAM, 128GB SSD Main Drive, 4TB SSD as data storage for roon music) as roon core. until tuesday also with High Sierra 10.13.6 because there were bugs, bugs, bugs under Mojave and Catalina with roon 
so i made a TM backup and loaded Mac OS 10.15 from App Store und installed it on my system drive. after that i installed roon server 2.0 on the Mini and updated the remotes on my iDevices and my MBA M1.
And all runs perfect 
also no problems with roon ARC with my fritz!box.
For more infos how to upgrade Mac OS versions see here: Alte macOS-Versionen verwenden - Apple Support (DE)
If you are living in an “apple universe” the Mac Mini 2012 ist the best solution as roon core! (you get no silent “roon ready” MiniPC with more power to a better price as roon core! A Quad-Core i7 with 16GB RAM and SSD for less than 250€!!) its the last Mac Mini with free hardware upgrade and the first with USB3.0. also you can remote control the mac via apples desktop sharing (thats very fine! ) from any other mac. and you can control roon with an Apple Remote (play/pause and skip forward/backward) ^^ I think thats something no other roon core can do ^^
And if your main remote control (for TV or set top box etc.) is programmable, you can teach her to control roon without any extra remote oder handy app. thats so amazing ^^ On my Arcam AVR600 for example i use the “CD Player” section to control roon. i love this so much 
Thanks, Andreas. I replaced my original mechanical HD in the Mac Mini about a year ago with a 2 Tb Samsung EVO Sata III SSD. At that time, I had to reload the Mac OS. Went through a week of torment trying to get Catalina (10.15) to work. It would load, but then not recognize the HD, etc., etc. Did many installs from many sources and methods. Worse, I could not reinstall High Sierra. Finally ended up taking the computer to an Apple specialist who also could not get Catalina to work. They had to use a second Mac computer (which I did not have) to reinstall High Sierra. the only explanation I got was that Catalina was supposed to work, but did not! I wasn’t running Roon server, though. Just using the Mini as a dedicated music computer----stripped all software off that I could and just have an Antivirus program, Roon, and my music files.
I agree the Mini 2012 is a great machine and I sure wish I could keep it, but with my High Sierra OS, it will not load Roon 2.0. Only economic alternative now seems to be a NUC. I can pick one up here (Europe) for around 400 EUR new and a M.2 256Gb SSD for 20 or 30 EUR. Remove my fairly new SSD Sata II from the Mac Mini and put it int he NUC.
I was happy to find that my Catalina 10.17 on my 2012 Mac mini was still able to access Roon 2.0. Downloaded and installed it seamlessly, as always.
I am not interested in the ARC feature, but I wanted to have the latest platform for future updates!
MIKE
An alternative is to install linux on the Mini. I have a 2012 Mac Mini that can run Catalina but chose to install Ubuntu and it runs well.
I would second that suggestion. In my case mac mini (late 2010) only supported up to High Sierra (pre Catalina). Installing Linux Mint (Cinnamon) as an alternative OS did the trick. Fairly simple installing the OS. Installing Roon Server Linux version involves some cut and paste commands in Terminal that’s not a great stretch. Just need to ensure you install the dependencies beforehand.
You can use OpenCore Legacy Patcher to update to Monterey. I am currently on a late 2012 Mini running 12.6 and Roon 2.0, it’s an easy process.
b
Amazing! I had not heard of this. Many thanks for pointing me in this direction. Had a look at a video on installing Sur on a Mac instead of High Sierra with Legacy Patcher and it looks to be something I could have a go at.
My other option (to end up with Roon 2.0 on my Mac Mini) appears to be installing Linux, which might be more stable than a Mac OS. Probably straight forward but I have had limited experience with Linux. I am not an “Apple” person either but I did recently go through an ordeal trying to install Catalina on my late 2012 Mac Mini, so what I saw on the Legacy Patcher video was at least a familiar process.
So, I think I’ll give this a try. If that doesn’t work, I can always give Linux a try!
An update. I did give the OpenCore Legacy Patcher a try, and finally succeeded. My MacMini has been saved! It should have been a straight-forward process and for many it may well be. I did encounter some “unusual” issues, though, and I am going to summarize my experience below to hopefully add to the knowledge base a bit on this solution.
First, if you Google the OpenCore Legacy Patcher and scroll down a bit, you will find a YouTube video entitled “New 2022! Monterey on Unsupported Macs” (NEW 2022! Monterey on Unsupported Macs [2008-2015] OpenCore Legacy Patcher!!! - YouTube) . This is by Mr. MacIntosh, and is an excellent tutorial on the process.
I first watched the video a couple of times to try to understand the process, then wrote down each step.
There is another good resource on the OpenCore site (dortonia.github) which contains a written procedure that is similar to the one presented on the YouTube video. I used both as they have a little different information.
For my USB drive I used a 32 Bb Patriot Rage USB 3.0 model that I erased and reformatted. My MacMini read it fine, and I flashed to it with no problem. However, when I tried to reboot holding down the Option key on the Mac, I had issues.
a. The first (unrelated to the USB drive) was that my MacMini for some reason did not like my Apple Bluetooth keyboard and/or Microsoft Bluetooth 5000 mouse. I got some sort of strange flashing graphic of the bottom of a mouse and side of a computer. Wasted quite a bit of time on reboots trying to pair mouse, use different (Windows Logitech) keyboard, different mouse. Finally resolved with Logitech wireless mouse on USB dongle and Logitech USB keyboard. Should have a USB keyboard and mouse for this procedure.
b. Once the MacMini did reboot, the next issue was that when booting up into Boot Manager (Option key pressed on start up), only the internal Mac HD was shown, no USB flash drive.
c. This took much more of the weekend to try to fix with many failed solutions including several re-flashes of the USB, loading different versions of Monterey 12.6, and doing a security reformat of the USB drive that made 7 passes at erasure to make sure no remnants of past use could affect recognition.
d. The only other thing I could think of before giving up and trying option 2 (which would be installing Linux), was to try a different USB drive.
So, got a new 128 Gb Kingston Data Traveler USB 3.2—and it worked flawlessly. No idea why the other USB was not recognized on bootup, but be aware that this could be a frustrating issue. I would advise just getting a new USB to start with.
I had some other minor issues in installing the Monterey 12.6 around finding the correct boot drives. For some reason in one of the many steps and reboots, when directed to select the “EFI Boot” there would be several options. All said EFI Boot, but had different logos. But it seemed that only one worked, and that was found by trial and error. Again a relatively minor issue as the “wrong” EFI selection shortly resulted in an error logo (the dreaded circle with line through it).
The final result, though, is that I have Monterey 12.6 working flawlessly on my late 2012 MacMini, installed Roon 2.0 and all is well.
My only caveat is that support for the OpenCore Legacy Patcher may be a real issue. When I had difficulty in installing the MacOS, I emailed Mr. MacIntosh—no response. Tried to get support on the Git.Hub, also to no avail. Firstly there is some sort of rinky-dink interface to join the supposed support community that used an audio file for recognition, and then said my email address was invalid. After finally working around that, I am signed onto a “Discord” site that seems to be more directed to discord and cute postings than any sort of meaningful support. I’ve concluded, though, that (i) now that I have Monterey up and running maybe Legacy Patcher or support thereof will never be needed again, and (ii) if I have unresolved Patcher issues later I can always switch to Linux.
In the meanwhile, I really prefer listening to music and not screwing around with obtuse computer OS issues! Roon has been running for 5 days straight now, 24 hours/day, so all is well. Seeing as I used to have to restart Roon 1.8 on Apple’s High Sierra OS every few days, this is an big stability improvement on its own.
Many thanks to all who responded to my plea!
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