If you use Time Machine to back up the files on your Mac, you can easily get back lost items or recover older versions of files. You can use Time Machine within many apps. On your Mac, open a window for the item you want to restore. For example, to recover a file you accidentally deleted from your Documents folder, open the Documents folder. Time Machine is Apple's built-in solution for backing up macOS. You can connect an external hard drive over USB or Thunderbolt (or FireWire, for older Macs) for a wired connection, or over a network for a wireless connection. Time Machine backs up every hour, deleting older backups as the backup drive starts running out of space. If you're using a Mac notebook running OS X Yosemite or later and you move away from the backup disk, Time Machine will save daily backups to your Mac's startup disk and even manage these local snapshots to ensure you still have storage space available.
If you made a Time Machine backup of your Mac, Migration Assistant can use that backup to restore your personal files, including apps and everything in your user account.
If you prefer to restore just a few files or earlier versions of those files, learn how to use Time Machine to restore specific files.
Use Migration Assistant
- If you need to reinstall macOS, do that before continuing. For example, if your Mac starts up to a flashing question mark, you need to first reinstall macOS.
- Make sure that your Time Machine backup disk is connected to your Mac and turned on.
- Open Migration Assistant on your Mac. It's in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
If your Mac starts up to a setup assistant, which asks for details like your country and network, continue to the next step, because the setup assistant includes a migration assistant. - When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk. Then click Continue.
- Select your Time Machine backup, then click Continue.
- Choose a backup and click Continue.
- Select the information to transfer.
In this example, John Appleseed is a macOS user account. If it has the same name as an account already on your Mac, you're prompted to either rename the old account or replace the one on your Mac. If you rename, the old account will appear as a separate user on your Mac, with a separate home folder and login. If you replace, the old account will delete and then replace the account on your Mac, including everything in its home folder. - Click Continue to start the transfer. Large transfers might need several hours to complete.
Use Migration Assistant
- If you need to reinstall macOS, do that before continuing. For example, if your Mac starts up to a flashing question mark, you need to first reinstall macOS.
- Make sure that your Time Machine backup disk is connected to your Mac and turned on.
- Open Migration Assistant on your Mac. It's in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
If your Mac starts up to a setup assistant, which asks for details like your country and network, continue to the next step, because the setup assistant includes a migration assistant. - When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk. Then click Continue.
- Select your Time Machine backup, then click Continue.
- Choose a backup and click Continue.
- Select the information to transfer.
In this example, John Appleseed is a macOS user account. If it has the same name as an account already on your Mac, you're prompted to either rename the old account or replace the one on your Mac. If you rename, the old account will appear as a separate user on your Mac, with a separate home folder and login. If you replace, the old account will delete and then replace the account on your Mac, including everything in its home folder. - Click Continue to start the transfer. Large transfers might need several hours to complete.
How Do I Backup My Mac Using Time Machine
If you need help, please contact Apple Support.
How To Restore From Time Machine
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