MacBook Air Time Capsule Backing Failing - Cannot Connect to Server

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MacBook Air Time Capsule Backing Failing - Cannot Connect to Server

Up until upgrading to Big Sur was Mackbook Air Time Capsule backup was successfully backing up to an external drive connected to my iMac. Since the upgrade, it cannot connect to the drive, failing with a Server connection error, when trying to "Use" the backup disk

There was a problem connecting to the server "Paul iMac".

The server may not exist or is unavailable at the time. Check the server name or ip address, ch3ck your network and then try again.

Then displays

Time Machine can't connect to the backup disk.

There was an error authenticating with provided username or password.

My iMac remains on Catalina as not able to be upgraded to Big Sur & backups work fine.

If I connect the external drive to my Mackbook it backs up fine, just not over the network.

I have set up sharing settings for the disk to allow guest access as well as a specific user
Reformated the external hard drive to recommended APFS format
I can connect successfully from my Mac Book Air to the iMac & drive using the Finder go to server function.

Any suggestions?

Been patiently waiting for an Apple OSX fix to either Big Sur or Catalina, but again in the most recent releases of both, no change

Posted on Feb 6, 2021 3:00 PM

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Answer 1

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Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

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168,026 points

Feb 7, 2021 2:07 PM in response to cahuna

Sorry, I'm still confused by some of your comments like.......

MacBook Air Time Capsule backup failing.

A Time Capsule is hardware......an Apple router with a built in hard drive. It looks like this:

It sounds like you are describing problems with Time Machine.......which is software on your Mac that is used to back up the data on the Mac to another hard drive. Time Machine is part of the Mac operating system built into a computer, and you have posted in the support forum for the Time Capsule.

It does not appear that you have a Time Capsule. We'll try to continue to help, but I think you have an operating system issue here, not a hardware issue with a Time Capsule or your Macs. So, you may receive faster and more pertinent answers if you post in the support forum for Big Sur, which is the operating system that your MacBook is running. The link to that forum is just below:

macOS Big Sur

I do recall that Time Machine backups to an external USB drive connected to a Mac running High Sierra were supported with the introduction of Sierra, I believe. Or, it might have been High Sierra. I tried this for a time as an experiment with mixed results, so never implemented it as a permanent back up plan.

A guess would be that Big Sur does not support Time Machine backups over a network to a hard drive connected to another Mac. If this is true, then there is little reason to pursue a series of "try this" and "try that" steps at this time.

My advice would be to post in the support forum for Big Sur to ask the operating system gurus about whether this feature is even active or available in Big Sur. As you know, Apple made significant changes with Time Machine in Big Sur over previous operating systems, and I think it is likely that you are asking about a "feature" that is either not implemented yet, or Apple does not plan to implement this type of feature with Big Sur.

I can't suggest anything else at this point.

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Answer 2

Feb 6, 2021 4:38 PM in response to cahuna

APFS would be correct....sort of.....with Big Sur, although it is still best to format the drive in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and then let Time Machine format the drive for you automatically prior to the first back up.

If you do this, you will find that the drive is actually formatted in APFS (Case-sensitive). Apple never tells you things like this of course.

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Answer 3

cahuna Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 7, 2021 12:36 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Hey Bob,

thank you for your suggestion. I have reformatted the external device as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) drive.

My Catalina iMac started a fresh backup & is working fine. However, my Macbook continues to get the same connectivity & authorisation errors.

Seems to be some access issue, but sharing looks right to me.

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Answer 4

cahuna Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 7, 2021 8:58 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Bob,

Apology for the confusing use of names.

I am talking about a Time Machine backup.

I have an original Time Capsule on the network and my Big Sur Mackbook backs up to it fine, however, it is showing some signs of some instability & maybe near it's the end of its life, hence my switch to an external drive on my iMac.

Given there is no more Time Capsule available & Apple is directing to own external storage for backup, it would hopefully seem unlikely it is not supported intentionally, I would hope.

I will try the Big Sur group as suggested.

Thanks for your interest and advice on my problem.

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Answer 5

Feb 8, 2021 6:55 AM in response to cahuna

Thanks for the clarification.

I guess the real question here is whether Catalina.....which is installed on your iMac......would support backups to an external drive connected to the iMac......from a Mac that is running Big Sur.

Apple made big changes to Time Machine in Big Sur and I doubt that they were implemented in Catalina.

So, you may not really have a Big Sur question, you may have a Catalina question. I think it is unlikely that Catalina supports what you are trying to do, but I hope I am wrong.

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MacBook Air Time Capsule Backing Failing - Cannot Connect to Server

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