Any rumors that Apple will replace the Time Capsule?

[Howard2k]

Another alternative is to get a network-attached storage (NAS) device. Most will support Time Machine out of the box. I've used a Western Digital My Cloud EX2 Ultra without trouble for a few years as a Time Capsule replacement.

The main caveat, and it is a big one, is that most of the routers and NAS devices I mentioned currently support only the older variety of Time Machine over the Apple Filing Protocol. As a result, they will not work with macOS 27 unless they receive software updates from their manufacturers to use the newer SMB3 method. You also can't set them up for new Time Machine backups from macOS 26 Tahoe, but they generally work fine with older versions of macOS.

This is what I do too - SMB3 to NAS.

I do a Time Machine backup to local HDD every week or two, and Time Machine to NAS every hour automatically for convenience.

Nothing is perfect. I've had external HDDs fail, and I've had my NAS Time Machine volume crap itself on occasion and require a rebuild, but with the two volumes it's a very robust strategy.

I had an HDD failure in an iMac a decade or so ago, perhaps even longer, and I was up and running again in minutes after getting the drive replaced.

I'd never be without Time Machine, or some other strong backup solution.

 

[Happy_John]

I do a Time Machine backup to local HDD every week or two, and Time Machine to NAS every hour automatically for convenience.

If you're using a Mac desktop, you can set up automated TM backups to multiple destinations. My Desktop Mac setup backups to a HDD directly attached to my Mac, but also to a NAS in my basement - the back-ups don't happen simultaneously, but consecutively. So, if you have TM set to hourly updates, at 09:00 it will back up to the directly attached disk, at 10:00 to the NAS, at 11:00 to the directly attached disk, etc.

 

[Howard2k]

If you're using a Mac desktop, you can set up automated TM backups to multiple destinations. My Desktop Mac setup backups to a HHD directly attached to my my Mac, but also to a NAS in my basement - they backs don't happen concurrently, but simultaneously. So, if you have TM set to hourly updates, at 09:00 it will back up to the directly attached disk, at 10:00 to the NAS, at 11:00 to the directly attached disk, etc.

Yep totally. But since it's a laptop I generally leave the drive unplugged. Good advice though.

 

[Happy_John]

Yep totally. But since it's a laptop I generally leave the drive unplugged. Good advice though.

Yep, from the sound of your post, that's what I thought. But it's a handy tip if people aren't aware. You're not limited to one destination.

 

[unblocktheplane]

As many know, Apple will end support for Time Machine over AFP (and, therefore, backing up to Time Capsules) with macOS 27 (see, for example, https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/01/apple-is-burying-the-time-capsule-but-how-to-replace-it/). I will need a technophobe-compatible, boomer-compatible solution for easy backups of a MacBook Pro to replace it, and right now there doesn't seem to be anything. Even just periodically plugging in an external drive isn't boomer-compatible. So, are there any rumors about Apple coming out with something to replace the Time Capsule?

WTF! Seems like Apple wants to screw stuff that just works. Of course, we all back up to an external but, if there no TM, how are we to do it? Or is this flogging of third-party software--subscription, of course!

 

[Howard2k]

WTF! Seems like Apple wants to screw stuff that just works. Of course, we all back up to an external but, if there no TM, how are we to do it? Or is this flogging of third-party software--subscription, of course!

AFP was developed in the 80s. Apple made it the non-default in 2013. Time Capsule was discontinued in 2018. Apple stopped allowing AFP servers with the release of Big Sur in 2020.

 

[philstubbington]

As many know, Apple will end support for Time Machine over AFP (and, therefore, backing up to Time Capsules) with macOS 27 (see, for example, https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/01/apple-is-burying-the-time-capsule-but-how-to-replace-it/). I will need a technophobe-compatible, boomer-compatible solution for easy backups of a MacBook Pro to replace it, and right now there doesn't seem to be anything. Even just periodically plugging in an external drive isn't boomer-compatible. So, are there any rumors about Apple coming out with something to replace the Time Capsule?

I use Synology NAS plugged into my WiFi router. Not particularly difficult to setup and works fine for me. It’s AFP they’re dropping not Time Machine.

 

[mcled53]

This sounds ridiculous. There are many easy to use alternatives. It makes more sense to indorse n d support several 3rd party products like Synology and Unifi

 

[josehill]

WTF! Seems like Apple wants to screw stuff that just works. Of course, we all back up to an external but, if there no TM, how are we to do it?

Please , read the thread. As numerous posts on this thread have pointed out, Apple is not discontinuing Time Machine. They are discontinuing support for an old variety of it. It's old news.

If you do not update to macOS 27, you will not be affected. If you do update to macOS 27 and back up with Time Machine *over a network*, you'll need to make sure your backup system uses the newer method.

 

[xraydoc]

I haven't read thsi whole thread as folk have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. What a bunch of unskilled nobodies. They are speaking crap. I run a business and this is essential functionality.

iCloud is a sync service. If you delete a file accidentally on your machine and think, oh I'm so lucky that I have a backup on iCloud you are completely wrong. As soon as you delete the file off your machine it is also deleted from iCloud. The delete is synced. iCloud is NOT NOT NOT a backup service.

I have a Time capsule circa 2011. It will stop working soon with MacOS 27. it IS IS IS a backup. The Time Machine app auto backs up to it. If you delete a file accidentally on your machine it will still be on the time capsule if it has auto run a backup since you last updated it etc. This has saved my business in the past, I had a Mac stolen from an apartment and I was able to go out a buy a new Mac, 3 years younger and Apple restored faultlessly, right down to the desktop wallpaper. I got an exact copy of my machine back - that was only 12 hours old - even on a completely different model mac. Excellent software.

Time Machine is excellent with time capsule. It auto backs up every hour, day etc. you down't request it, you just keep working and it does it in the background.

I also run backblaze. It is backing up all my documents. I have no idea about what it is really backing up or the frequency but it is cheap and a backup of my backups are important. As I said, a backup saved my business.

I too am looking for a solution to replace time capsule. Synology seem to be it at the moment. Apple are not being proactive enough in recommending replacements.

STOP SAYING ICLOUD IS A BACKUP. Go and visit the Apple Photos subreddit, and look at the endless folk who see their disk is full of photos, so they delete them all from the disk as they think they can as they are stored online in iCloud. Imagine their surprise when they lose a lifetime of photos. iCloud is a sync service.

I've tried to get this point across. I got downvoted for it.

 

[xraydoc]

You are the one that has no idea what you are talking about.

iCloud *IS* a backup. It’s not incremental, it’s not system wide, and deleted files and photos only last 30 days, but such trade offs are more than acceptable for a system that is invisible to the user, requires no hardware setups or technical knowledge, and only costs an average of $3 per month.

The entire problem with this forum is you nerds keep projecting your values and tolerance (fondness?) for complexity onto normal people who have ZERO interest in such nonsense. They aren’t going to buy Mac minis as dedicated backup devices as you gleefully advertise.

If you overwrite something (like save a blank template on top of your finished document), there's no getting it back with iCloud. Instantly gone the moment it synced (which is typically in real-time). Thus, not a backup.

At least iCloud's iPhone/iPad backup is a once-per-day backup. Discover you screwed up and overwrote a local file you needed and didn't save elsewhere? You've got until the next time it runs to re-image your iPhone before it's lost.

But clearly we don't see eye to eye on this. Your definition of "backup" is clearly more broad than everyone else's.

And fortunately, I don't have to provide "support" to anyone but myself, so people who want to be stubborn because doing something proper is too "techie" can just go and lose their important files for all I care.

I have spoken.

 

[josehill]

I have spoken.

🤣

 

[Dave00]

I really miss my Time Capsule. Thus far I haven't found anything that "just worked". I have a MyCloud that worked for awhile, but would just randomly spin up and start chugging for hours when it wasn't actually backing up. So I got a Synology DiskStation, and Time Machine really, really doesn't seem to want to play nicely with it. I probably set something up wrong in the beginning. I'm pretty tech savvy generally but I was completely lost at how to set the thing up. Certainly wouldn't be something I'd recommend for the OP.

Dave

 

[Howard2k]

I really miss my Time Capsule. Thus far I haven't found anything that "just worked". I have a MyCloud that worked for awhile, but would just randomly spin up and start chugging for hours when it wasn't actually backing up. So I got a Synology DiskStation, and Time Machine really, really doesn't seem to want to play nicely with it. I probably set something up wrong in the beginning. I'm pretty tech savvy generally but I was completely lost at how to set the thing up. Certainly wouldn't be something I'd recommend for the OP.

Dave

I use TM to Synology and it works great. It probably is a setup issue. Grab some screenshots of your configuration and ask your favourite AI to walk you through it. 😀

 

[deconstruct60]

• Samba version 3 has a series of settings that can be enabled to support Time Machine, but they are not enabled by default, at least not on the most common Linux distributions. It's not hard to add them if you have access to the Samba configuration files. Many people have done so on their Linux servers, and some third-party NAS providers (most notably Synology) have done it, too.

It isn’t just Samba. Time Machine to ‘just work’ needs some auto discovery ( via Bonjour ) …
A Synology document :

How do I back up files from my Mac to Synology system using Time Machine? - Synology Knowledge Center

Synology Knowledge Center offers comprehensive support, providing answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting steps, software tutorials, and all the technical documentation you may need.

kb.synology.com

You have to share SMB ( Samba) and turn on a Bonjour service ( to auto mount ) .

A ahi has been a way to implement the Bonjour part on Linux for a long while .

Samba & Bonjour with Avahi | Macdweller

• Perhaps I am misunderstanding you, but the issue is not that AFP won't work with Linux. The issue is that macOS 27 is dropping support for AFP.

Actually the root cause issue is that the Time Capsules software is in unsupported zombie status . If those systems supported SMB v3 instead of the woefully insecure SMB v1 , those systems could still participate .
It isn’t just that AFP is dead , so is SMB v1 . There are also like various other aspects of the OS running on Time Capsules the have grossly out of date security also ( encryption, networking , etc ) .

That system is frozen in time . MacOS did not drop support on AFP as much as Apple deprecated then desupported AFP everywhere more than several years ago. Apple Support docs had warnings for a while now ( if a bit in precise not explicitly noting version 3 of SMB )

“.. Time Machine backup to NAS devices over Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) is not recommended and won't be supported in a future version of macOS. ..”

Backup disks you can use with Time Machine - Apple Support

Time Machine can back up your Mac to any of these storage devices that are compatible with Time Machine.

support.apple.com

Removal in macOS 27 is just removing what was already warned for years to move away from .

Doing backups to a system running a zombie OS is just dubious above and beyond AFP .

 

[josehill]

It isn’t just Samba.

Correct. For those who are interested in more detail, including the need for mDNS (Bonjour) services, Apple has some documentation about implementing Time Machine over SMB on its Developer site.

Actually the root cause issue is that the Time Capsules software is in unsupported zombie status . If those systems supported SMB v3 instead of the woefully insecure SMB v1 , those systems could still participate .

There are multiple moving parts, so sure, it's reasonable to say that the root cause for Time Capsules breaking is the use of SMB v1, but for most other devices, AFP is the proximal cause. It's a bit academic, though, since Time Capsules run a BSD networking stack that is at least seven years old, and Apple has added them to their obsolete products list. I loved my Time Capsules and AirPort devices, but I would not be comfortable running them in 2026.

Apple is not going to upgrade the Time Capsule to SMB v3, and even if it did, no doubt there are vulnerabilities elsewhere in the device. At this point, using a Time Capsule safely and responsibly would require an OS upgrade, not merely an SMB update. Maybe an intrepid hacker will figure out a way to install an alternative OS, but since no one seems to have done it yet, I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[rhodopsin]

I have looked up the 30 day "buffer" that was mentioned in conjunction with iCloud. The result is that this applies to those people who back up (mirror) to iCloud but for some reason that mirror data size exceeds the paid maximum iCloud storage. Apple will allow you to continue mirroring the larger data set for a period of thirty days, during which Apple reasonably expect you to increase your storage option to continue. So the thirty days is a grace period - it is NOT a thirty day repository for deleted files that you can recover.

 

[Isidore]

Best solution in my view is a proper equivalent to time machine which is Carbon Copy Cloner. It can be configured both to make a mirroring type of backup like icloud but also keep snapshots that keep copies of files that have changed so you get the best of all worlds

 

[MitzEclipse]

I'm still looking for a very simple hardware replacement for my Time Capsule. There is still not a clear go-to option I can just buy and plug in made by a well known company. It's always some puzzle that needs to be pieced together which requires tinkering. No I don't want to use iCloud. Why is there not a solution for this already? Seems like a major gap in the market.

 

[BrianBaughn]

When I was an Apple Consultant the vast majority of my customers were using an attached drive for Time Machine backups. I think that reflected how many people were buying Time Capsules.

Apple has only announced the upcoming issue regarding the Time Capsule. Perhaps they'll announce some sort of replacement device…or…expanded functionality of iCloud syncing to include file versioning to make it work like Time Machine. The latter is what I'd put my money on. Apple's making so much money selling macOS subscription services that it would make sense.

So, if I were the OP, I'd do a wait-and-see…and when macOS 27 comes out see what the options are before updating to it. OP asked if there were any rumors regarding a TC replacement but no one here yet has heard anything.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

WTF! Seems like Apple wants to screw stuff that just works. Of course, we all back up to an external but, if there no TM, how are we to do it? Or is this flogging of third-party software--subscription, of course!

Time Machine will still exist, and still work fine locally and over SMB. Apple deprecated AFP last year, and will be fully removing it next.

Unfortunally, the old Time Capsules use AFP.

 

[Howard2k]

I'm still looking for a very simple hardware replacement for my Time Capsule. There is still not a clear go-to option I can just buy and plug in made by a well known company. It's always some puzzle that needs to be pieced together which requires tinkering. No I don't want to use iCloud. Why is there not a solution for this already? Seems like a major gap in the market.

If you're not in the US, Router + USB SSD/HDD? Asus tends to get half decent reviews.

None are as good as a NAS though. Or a locally attached HDD. Those are the two better options.

 

[Arran]

…Perhaps they'll announce some sort of replacement device…or…expanded functionality of iCloud syncing to include file versioning to make it work like Time Machine. The latter is what I'd put my money on.

Yeah, my money’s on iCloud file versioning too. That would push users into putting everything in the cloud as the lowest-friction path forward for them. Of course they’d also be on the hook for a larger iCloud subscription for life. It would be kind-of s****y if that was the only easy “wireless” TM option left.

If new Time Capsule hardware was on the cards, Apple would have to introduce it way before OS27 so there could be a gradual transition before current Time Capsules stop working. Running out of time, if that’s the case.

 

[Arran]

If you're not in the US, Router + USB SSD/HDD?…

Good point: US bans new foreign-made consumer internet routers

Update: Don't panic. Not as bad as the headline sounds.

Existing routers in production can continue. Only new, foreign-made routers (which is mostly all of them) that aren't already approved by the FCC will be banned.

 

[xraydoc]

🤣