Cannot delete macOS Monterey installer app on MacBook Air

Hi, I'm running a Macbook Air 2017 with the i5 and Monterey with all available updates. My wife has an older Macbook Pro 2015, also with Monterey, and it will not recognize the wifi card. In an attempt to see if the problem is hardware or software, I downloaded Monterey from the App Store, and it came with the installer. I prepared a USB drive with an eye to running the Pro off the USB card to see if wifi worked from that install. But the download included the installer app, which automatically starts when I boot the Air, and that keeps me from deleting the installer app. I've read that if I open the Launcher, I can click on the installer icon, and that it will not open. But that doesn't happen; the app automatically opens whenever I boot the system. How can I delete the installer app so that I can dd Monterey onto the USB drive, and run it from there to troubleshoot the wifi? Thanks in advance.

Posted on Sep 28, 2026 8:09 PM

1 reply

Owl-53

Level 10 (123,805 points)

Sep 29, 2026 1:43 AM in response to penguinhead

If Install macOS Monterey opens automatically after you download it, just quit the installer for now.

There is no need to delete it before creating the USB, the installer application is actually what Apple's createinstallmedia command uses.

Connect the USB drive, name it MyVolume, and open Terminal. Then enter:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

Press Return, enter your administrator password when asked, and follow the instructions.

The USB drive will be erased, so make sure there is nothing on it that you need to keep. Apple: How to create a bootable installer for macOS

Once the USB installer has been created, quit Install macOS Monterey.app and, if you no longer need it, delete it from the Applications folder.

If the installer keeps opening every time you log in, check Apple menu  >> System Preferences >> Users & Groups >> Login Items to see whether it is listed there.

It is also worth making sure “Reopen windows when logging back in” is not selected when you restart or shut down. Apple: Change Login Items settings on Mac

There is one important point about the Wi-Fi test.

The USB you create with createinstallmedia is a bootable Monterey installer, not a complete Monterey system that runs from the USB.

If your goal is to see whether the 2015 MacBook Pro's Wi-Fi works when running Monterey from an external system, you will need to install Monterey onto an external drive and then start the Mac from that drive.

Simply booting from the installer USB would not provide that test.