How Long Does It Take To Transfe Files From One Mac To Another Using Migration Assistant?

[beeinformed]

Hi.

I started transfering flies via wifi using migration assistant (at about 8 PM last night) from my MacBook Air to my new MacBook Pro and it is not completed (on the MacBook Air it saids "Transferring Applcations & Documents").

I would appreciate any feedback about approximately how long it takes to transfer files from Mac to another using migration assistant via wifi? Thanks!

 

[Bo15]

It can take overnight mac to mac over wifi per Apple's support doc on migration Asst. I tried doing this with my 09 MBP to my new TB MBP but couldn't get them to connect following the step by step instructions. Instead I migrated from my time capsule and it went pretty fast. About 3.5 hrs for about 240GB transfer. It showed transfer speed of about 18-20 MB/sec on my wifi.

 

[Howard2k]

If it's only a small amount of data it'll be really quick over 802.11ac. If it's a monstrous amount of data it'll be really slow, especially over 802.11b.

It's actually going to depend on the characteristics of your wireless network, how much data you're transferring, and what size files you're sending. Large files typically transfer faster than small files, for example. But since you don't have any information about any of that it's a "how long is a piece of string" question.

 

[therealseebs]

It really depends. Is it not showing an approximate transfer rate? I was getting 30-60MB/sec with thunderbolt. I wouldn't want to use wireless usually, because I have never seen wireless performance be very good in the real world.

 

[beeinformed]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It seemed that using the data transfer (for 40GB) via wifi network was not working out probably (as it still did not transfer the data after waiting a few days) so I recently spoke to a Apple senior adviser who recommended using a thunderbolt cable & adapter.

I received it today and I am waiting for a callback from the same senior advisor (who recommended the cable & adapter) to help me with this issue. Is this a good method to use to transfer the data (It's about 50 GB)?

 

[MacPioneer]

Transferring the Time Machine backup of my almost-full older 1 TB rMBP over hard wired gigabit Ethernet took a bit over 30 hours.