Can I back up my iMac files to Dropbox, using Time Machine, rather than to an external hard drive?

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Level 1

4 points

Can I back up my iMac files to Dropbox, using Time Machine, rather than to an external hard drive?

Although I back up to a 2-TB external hard drive, using Time Machine, the drive fills up, so backups only go back about 4 months. I've noticed that some files on my iMac have disappeared - and probably did so more than 4 months ago - so they're lost. What I'd like to do is back up to DropBox, instead of to the hard drive, and pay for the extra space there, so that I can go back farther than just four months. Is this possible? Thank you!

iMac 27″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Feb 23, 2022 12:21 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

DeeperDiver

Level 4

1,063 points

Feb 23, 2022 6:00 PM in response to Tony_Deco

Time Machine requires a physical storage device connected to your Mac.

Dropbox does offer a service to back up your Mac. Carbonite also offers cloud-based options.

If you want to use Time Machine and want longer archive windows, purchase a larger storage drive. A quick Google search shows 10TB hard drives for $250. Purchase an appropriate connector/dock for that drive and you're good to go.

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Answer 2

Feb 23, 2022 12:56 PM in response to Tony_Deco

No. Time Machine will only backup to external storage devices. See the following for details: Backup disks you can use with Time Machine - Apple Support

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Answer 3

tbirdvet

Level 6

17,048 points

Feb 23, 2022 1:54 PM in response to Tony_Deco

TM will delete the oldest backup when it fills up. I would suggest getting a larger drive if you want TM to keep backups that are old so that are not deleted.

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Answer 4

Tony_Deco Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 23, 2022 7:03 PM in response to DeeperDiver

Thank you all!

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Can I back up my iMac files to Dropbox, using Time Machine, rather than to an external hard drive?

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