Time Machine and Time Capsule replacement

by: MrHoffman

Last modified: Jun 6, 2026 1:02 PM

3 1440 Last modified Jun 6, 2026 1:02 PM

⚠️ work in progress ⚠️

Apple ended their AirPort Wi-Fi product line in 2018, announced Time Machine server support using SMB, and has more recently ended support for Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) storage access in macOS 26.

In aggregate, this means AirPort Time Capsule no longer works for Time Machine.

But Time Machine still works with both local direct-attached storage, and with remote storage.

If you want to replace your Time Capsule with more modern remote storage, there are many fine choices. Available hardware alternatives include: Ubiquiti UNAS various, Synology NAS, UGREEN NAS, TrueNAS, ZimaOS, a Mac running macOS 11 or later and with sufficient local storage, and various other options (also) supporting Time Machine server exist.

Whatever NAS you pick needs Time Machine server support: Apple-provided info

Available NAS options range from open-source options using hardware you may already have, to the NAS storage-focused boxes for home or business, to more capable NAS storage servers with storage and various other useful capabilities added.

Toward the less-expensive end — and here ignoring memory and HDD prices lately — is an RPi or x86-64 box running TrueNAS or ZimaOS. You’ll learn more about how that all works by building your own.

Toward the storage-focused end, Ubiquiti offers the UNAS 2 two-bay, for instance. This provides storage and storage-focused services, with few additional features.

Toward the higher range and providing network-connected services well beyond storage, Synology has dozens of add-on network services available for their NAS boxes, and many (most?) are free. (list)

Want to learn more?

To get an overview of recent third-party NAS and available NAS options, the NAS Compares website and YouTube are a good resource.

Some of the previous discussions, and articles:

Deprecation Timeline

Start of Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) deprecation circa 2013: https://www.apple.com/media/us/osx/2013/docs/OSX_Mavericks_Core_Technology_Overview.pdf

AFP was deprecated in 2017, including its incompatibility with the Apple File System (APFS) file system:

https://9to5mac.com/2016/06/13/apple-file-system-apfs/

Yes, AFP and APFS are similarly named, but are very different. AFPMis a network protocol, and APFS is the file system Apple uses on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

The Time Machine server specification was published in 2018, if not earlier:

Time Machine Over SMB Specification

The earliest notices of the end of AFP included macOS 10.9 Mavericks:

Wi-Fi network options

If your Time Capsule was (also) used for routing and gateway tasks, many options exist, including Ubiqiti, Zyxel, Synology, eero, and other fine choices.

Very few available networking options combine storage, gateway, and Wi-Fi functions in one box, though Synology does have a few options.