Backup Planner

Am I backed up?

Pick the device. Osnivo shows Apple's own words on how to check you're backed up, the ways to back up, what a backup leaves out and how to restore.

Your devices:

Is your Mac backed up?

Check each one on your device. Ticks stay in this browser only.

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1 Set up Time Machine Connect an external storage device, such as a USB drive or Thunderbolt drive, to the appropriate port on your Mac. Use a storage device with at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac. For example, if your Mac has 1TB of storage, your backup disk should ideally have at least 2TB of storage. Use your Time Machine backup disk only for Time Machine backups, not for storage of other files. macOS Ventura 13 or later Click General in the sidebar, then click Time Machine on the right. Click Add Backup Disk, or click the Add button (+). Select your connected storage device and click Set Up Disk. After setup, your Mac immediately begins using the connected storage device to make backups. Apple: Back up your Mac with Time Machine ↗
2 Encrypt the backup If you turn on Encrypt Backup to help secure your backup from unauthorized access, you’re asked to create a backup password. You will need it if you later attempt to restore files from the backup. Apple: Back up your Mac with Time Machine ↗
3 Check the date of the latest backup To back up now, choose Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Or wait for the next automatic backup. Use the same menu to stop or skip a backup or check its progress. The top of the menu shows how much of the current backup is done, or the date and time of the latest backup: If you don't see this menu, make sure that Menu Bar settings, Control Center settings, or Desktop & Menu Bar preferences are set up to show Time Machine status in the menu bar. Apple: Back up your Mac with Time Machine ↗
4 Reconnect the backup disk regularly If you disconnect your backup disk from your Mac, Time Machine will automatically resume its backup schedule when you reconnect it to your Mac. Before disconnecting your backup disk, either eject the backup disk or shut down your Mac. Apple: Back up your Mac with Time Machine ↗
5 Sync your files with iCloud too You can also use iCloud to sync and access data across all of your devices that are signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account. iCloud keeps your photos, videos, contacts, calendars, notes, passwords, and more safe, automatically backed up, and available anywhere you go. Use iCloud settings to set up which of your apps sync and store data with iCloud. Use iCloud Drive to store other files in iCloud, including files in your Desktop and Documents folders. Storing files in iCloud uses storage space in your iCloud storage plan. Apple: How to back up your Mac ↗
6 Keep an extra copy of what lives in iCloud Making an archive of what you keep in iCloud is one more way to keep an extra copy of your information. Then if you accidentally delete an important contact, email, or document, you can restore it from iCloud or from another copy that you have. Learn how to archive or make copies of your iCloud Drive files, photos and videos, Safari bookmarks, and more. Apple: Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud ↗

Ways to back up

Time Machine

How often Time Machine backs up

Time Machine automatically makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. To change the backup frequency in macOS Ventura 13 or later, choose Open Time Machine Settings from the Time Machine menu. Click Options, then choose a setting from the “Back up frequency” menu. The first backup might take longer than you expect, but you can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway. Time Machine backs up only the files that changed since the previous backup, so future backups will be faster. Apple: Back up your Mac with Time Machine ↗

Other ways

Copy files to a drive yourself

Manually back up files like photos, videos, and documents by simply dragging them from your Mac to a USB drive or other external storage device connected to your Mac. To restore them, drag them back to your Mac. Apple: How to back up your Mac ↗

Use another backup app

Other backup utilities are widely available from the App Store and other sources. Some are designed to back up all of your data; others back up specific kinds of files, such as photos or email. Follow the instructions included with the utility. Apple: How to back up your Mac ↗

What a backup leaves out

The oldest backups are deleted when the disk is full
The oldest backups are deleted when your backup disk is full. If Time Machine needs more storage space, your Mac will let you know. Apple: Back up your Mac with Time Machine ↗

Backup or restore not working?

Time Machine won't back up or restore

Osnivo Fix: Apple's troubleshooting steps, one at a time.

Restore from a backup

Restore with Migration Assistant

If you made a Time Machine backup of your Mac, Migration Assistant can use that backup to restore all of your personal files, including your apps and everything in your user account. Make sure that your Time Machine backup disk is connected to your Mac and turned on. If you already completed initial setup of your Mac, open Migration Assistant. You can find it in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine, or startup disk. Then click Continue. Select your Time Machine backup disk. It might take a few moments to appear. Then click Continue. Select a backup and click Continue. Select the checkbox next to each category of files that you want to transfer. Large transfers might need hours to complete, and might seem to pause occasionally. Apple: Restore your Mac from a backup ↗

Your ticks here count toward the Backup part of your Setup Score, next to Recovery readiness (recovery contacts, Legacy Contact, Medical ID).

Deleted something or lost a device? Emergency → Moving to a new device? Migration Planner → Handing it on? Before You Sell →

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