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LukeD Author

Level 4

3,150 points

Slow Target Disk Mode Migration from Intel MacBook Pro (2019) to M1 MacBook Pro (2021)

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Everyone,

I just had some time to transfer to my new M1 MacBook Pro via target disk mode. This was done using the initial set up Migration Assistant on the new M1 MacBook Pro and having the old Intel MacBook Pro in target disk mode.

The two MacBook Pros were connected by Apple's Thunderbolt 3 Pro Cable (2m).

To transfer 2 TB of data took just over 5-hours. Is this common of the initial Migration Assistant set-up?

A straight transfer of 2 TB to an external drive, I assume, would be much, much faster.

Any thoughts?

Thank you for your time.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.1

Posted on Dec 25, 2021 9:44 AM

Top-ranking reply

LukeD Author

Level 4

3,150 points

Posted on Dec 28, 2021 8:01 AM

Went to the Apple Store today. The Genius said that such slow migration is a sign of an issue with power to the Thunderbolt ports. This was confirmed by seeing that the MacBook Pro could not recognize a 12.9 iPad Pro M1 when connected to any port. The MacBook Pro will recognize smaller devices, but something as big as an iPad won't be recognized.

Genius said he saw this issue on several of the latest 2021 MacBook Pros, so it could be hit or miss on ordering another one.

Returned. Will wait for the next gen.

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Slow Target Disk Mode Migration from Intel MacBook Pro (2019) to M1 MacBook Pro (2021)

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