I upgraded to Mac OS Sierra and now I cannot access my Quicken files. I want to upgrade to Quicken

Unknown

I have Quicken version 1.7.4 on my laptop and seems to be working fine.  My wife had the same on her computer, but when she upgraded to Mac OS Sierra 10.12.6 she cannot open Quicken.  Message says:  You can't use this version of the application Quicken Essentials with this version of Mac OS.  We want to upgrade to Quicken 2018, but unsure with this message.  How can we open the version of Quicken we have on her computer?

smayer97

So yes, QEM is not compatible with Sierra but QM2018 is, and yes, it will read your QEM data directly. Be prepared for many changes since your version though.

(If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

UKR

When you install Q Mac 2018 on the computer with Sierra, you will be able to access the file from Q Essentials and convert it into a Q Mac 2018 file.

If you insist on continuing to use the old obsolete Q Essentials you will have to restore your Mac OS to the old version you had before the upgrade.

MichaelY

Hi Quicken Users. I have had Quicken Essentials since 2014 and been very happy with it. But today I upgraded my OS on Mac to Catalina and suddenly was frozen out of Quicken and my 7 years of data. I contacted Quicken Tech to help. They told me that I had an old version of Quicken that was no longer being supported. They said I needed to do 2 things. First, either downgrade my OS to open the old program or transfer the program onto another computer with an old OS and open it there. And second, to sign up for Quicken 2020. [removed - no soliciting/violation of community guidelines]

jacobs

@MichaelY First, Intuit hasn't owned Quicken for the past four years.  

Second, virtually every software program needs to be upgraded over time, as changes in operating systems and external connectivity may require. Quicken is by no means unique in this. (Try to run Microsoft Office 2008 or any other 2010-era software on Catalina, and it won't work. Apple made the changes, rendering all 32-bit applications unable to run under Catalina.)

It is indeed easy to import your Quicken Essentials data into the modern Quicken Mac. If you prefer not to pay to upgrade, that's certainly your choice -- but blaming Quicken for it seems off base.

Think about it: what loyalty do software companies owe us "loyal" customers who haven't paid them a penny in 6, 8, 10 years, and decide we don't want to pay them now to upgrade? Do you think your $30 purchase 6 years ago entitles you to unlimited future upgrades, while the company must employ a team of programmers to constantly keep up with ever-changing upgrades by Apple?

So if [removed] meets your needs as well as Quicken, and you prefer to pay them instead of Quicken for your software now and in the future, go for it. But the Quicken Support rep did give you an honest answer to your inquiry: your only options after upgrading to Catalina are to revert to a pre-Catalina operating system or to upgrade your software to 64-bit applications that are required by Catalina. 

MichaelY

Dear friendly Jacobs. You must work for Quicken! Guess I lost track of who owns who -- sorry for the incredible gaff. I am guessing that the Quicken tech could have convinced me to buy the new Quicken software and I could have easily ported my data there without worry. But he did not... Instead he freaked me out into thinking I had lost my data or had to find an old OS to re-establish it. Seems like bad support to me... I vote with my wallet!

NotACPA

No SuperUser is an employee of Quicken.  https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7849427/whos-who-on-the-community#latest

And, your wallet hasn't cast a vote for Q in 6 to 10 years.

jacobs

MichaelY said:

Dear friendly Jacobs. You must work for Quicken! Guess I lost track of who owns who -- sorry for the incredible gaff. I am guessing that the Quicken tech could have convinced me to buy the new Quicken software and I could have easily ported my data there without worry. But he did not... Instead he freaked me out into thinking I had lost my data or had to find an old OS to re-establish it. Seems like bad support to me... I vote with my wallet!

@MichaelY  No, I don't work for Quicken; I'm just a Quicken user trying to help fellow Quicken users. You obviously have an agenda to bash Quicken here, and I'm not likely to change your mind.

The possible solutions were either to get onto an older macOS so you could run your older Quicken Essentials software (for which support ended four years ago) -- an option understandably not viable for many people -- or to purchase the current Quicken Mac, which would import your old data file and get you up and running.

Maybe you misunderstood the support rep, maybe he misunderstood you, or maybe you had a bad support rep who confused you into thinking you needed to do both. But the bottom line is that (a) you found your way to the right answer, and (b) he wasn't misleading you into spending money you didn't need to, since the correct resolution was to purchase Quicken Mac. 

"Seems like bad support to me... I vote with my wallet!" Well, if you were willing to spend money, you could have purchased Quicken Mac and your problem would have been resolved. But if you're happier buying, converting to, and learning a different product instead of spending a similar amount of money to upgrade Quicken, I hope that brings you satisfaction.