Power settings while using Time Machine

Hello Kluunsi,

We want to help with making Time Machine backups.

Go to Apple > System Preferences > Energy Saver and check Power Nap. Doing this will allow your Mac to back up to Time Machine while sleeping.

We hope this helps.

Cheers.

Greetings Kluunsi,

Yes, you can leave the settings as-is and your Mac will complete the backups when awake.

Your Mac does not support Power Nap, which you can read about here: What is Power Nap on Mac? - Apple Support

Kind regards.

Kluunsi,

Since your Mac does not support Power Nap, Time Machine will not automatically back up while your Mac is asleep. You will need to wake the Mac up in order to create the backup. "Wake for network access" refers to the ability to have other users on your network access shared content such as playlists or shared printers.

We hope this helps!

Thanks again for getting back to us here in Apple Support Communities, Kluunsi.

Just to confirm, is the issue with the MacBook Air not sleeping as expected? If so, there may be another reason why this is happening. Review some of the steps in this article: If your Mac sleeps or wakes unexpectedly - Apple Support

"Check your system’s activity

Processes running in the background can prevent your Mac from sleeping. Check Activity Monitor to see if a process is unexpectedly using your Mac computer’s central processing unit (CPU).

1. Open a Finder window, then go to Applications >Utilities > Activity Monitor.
2. Click the CPU button at the top.

Check the software or SMC

• Update macOS: Certain software issues can be resolved by keeping your software up to date. See the Apple Support article Update macOS on Mac.
• Use safe mode: Safe mode can help you to determine whether an issue is caused by software that loads as your Mac starts up. See the Apple Support article How to use safe mode on your Mac.

Check to see if something else is waking your Mac

Check any of the following:

• Unexpected keyboard presses or mouse and trackpad clicks: Key presses and mouse or trackpad clicks can wake your Mac. If your Mac wakes when you’re not present, something may be pressing the trackpad or mouse button, or keyboard keys.
• Apps: Apps that access a disk can keep your Mac from going to sleep. For example, Music accesses your disk to read the songs it plays, and DVD Player accesses the optical disc drive to play movies.
• Spotlight indexing: If Spotlight is indexing your hard disk, your Mac won’t go to sleep. Open Spotlight  to see if it’s indexing. Indexing can take several hours, depending on the number of files on your Mac.
• Connected storage and devices: Malfunctioning USB and Thunderbolt storage and devices may keep your Mac from going to sleep. Disconnect those devices and see if your Mac goes to sleep. If it does, reconnect each item, one at a time, until you find the one that’s malfunctioning. Contact that device’s manufacturer for more information."

You mentioned it doesn't while the lid is open, does it go to sleep when it's closed? This can help narrow things down.

Let us know and we'll go from there.

Cheers!

Kluunsi,

As long as the computer is powered on and is not asleep it should complete the backup.

Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

Kindest regards.