Time machine not backed up in 10 days message

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Time machine not backed up in 10 days message

About once every 6 months or so, I get this message that Time Machine has not backed up in 10 days. I've always been able to kick start it by rebooting or resetting the connection to the storage device, but I sure would like it to tell me WAY before 10 days have gone by. That's a LOT of work to lose. Is this normal this wait TEN DAYS to tell me the backup has failed repeatedly???? Is there any way to change that? (I saw this question was asked before, with no real answer, but seriously, are others just living with this crazy problem????)

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Sep 24, 2022 12:10 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

John Galt

Level 10

147,288 points

Oct 3, 2022 8:18 AM in response to leelabell

Is there any way to change that?

The definitive answer you seek is no.

FYI one and only one backup does not comprise a robust backup strategy. If that is your only backup drive I recommend adding another one to TM.

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

84,157 points

Sep 24, 2022 12:13 PM in response to leelabell

If either your destination is over 85% full, or your source is, or you are trying to backup to iCloud or OneDrive simultaneously, Time Machine may get confused what to do with lack of storage, or other files accessing the same files at the same time.

Etrecheck - the handy reporting tool for … - Apple Community

Can help isolate what might be running in the background that is confusing Time Machine.

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Answer 3

leelabell Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 25, 2022 11:38 AM in response to a brody

Thank you for responding. I don't believe any of those conditions are present, and what I really want to know is how to get notified sooner. The actual problem itself I can fix once I know about it. Seems like I should get a warning the first time it fails, not after 10 days of failures.....

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Answer 4

a brody

Level 10

84,157 points

Oct 3, 2022 7:38 AM in response to leelabell

Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Notifications manages notifications. If it isn't giving you proper notification, maybe now is time to consider an alternate backup method. Personally because Time Machine tends to automatically back up on its own when on, I find it is more useful to turn it off, except when there is need, and leave it in the menubar. This ensures it does not eat up valuable processing time when you need it.

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Answer 5

leelabell Author

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Oct 3, 2022 11:35 AM in response to a brody

I don't see any Time Machine options in System Preferences -> Notifications. I do have an alternate backup method, but it is more difficult to restore from. Guess I'll just have to be happy with that though. It just seems insane that Apple has a default 10 day delay for notification of failure with no way to change that. I do agree about the processing time - I can tell when it is running, but fortunately my cpu use is not demanding.

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Answer 6

leelabell Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 3, 2022 11:37 AM in response to John Galt

Thank you. That's what I thought. Seems crazy, but I guess it is what it is. I do have a secondary backup method, but it's not as easy to restore from. Will just hope that if I have a failure, it's not when TM is being flakey with no notifications, or I restore the hard way. Thanks for your help!

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Time machine not backed up in 10 days message

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