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External hard drive for Time Machine

What external hard drive is recommended for Time Machine compatibility with a new Macbook Pro 14?

MacBook Pro

Posted on Nov 16, 2022 1:46 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 16, 2022 2:40 PM

Apple does not provide hard drive recommendations for Time Machine.


Personally, I use the 2TB Crucial X8 SSD (1050MB/s) drive and it performs quite well using its included USB-C cabling that plugs directly into my 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro. It is formatted as APFS with GUID partition scheme.


Your sizing guidelines should be 2.5 to 3 times the size of the internal drive for the Time Machine drive storage capacity. if you are focused on a hard disk drive solution, strive for one that offers 7200 rpm, and is in a USB-C 3.2 gen 1 (or 2) enclosure that plugs directly into your MBP 14 USB-C port. Same formatting as first paragraph.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 16, 2022 2:40 PM in response to Thistledown5075

Apple does not provide hard drive recommendations for Time Machine.


Personally, I use the 2TB Crucial X8 SSD (1050MB/s) drive and it performs quite well using its included USB-C cabling that plugs directly into my 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro. It is formatted as APFS with GUID partition scheme.


Your sizing guidelines should be 2.5 to 3 times the size of the internal drive for the Time Machine drive storage capacity. if you are focused on a hard disk drive solution, strive for one that offers 7200 rpm, and is in a USB-C 3.2 gen 1 (or 2) enclosure that plugs directly into your MBP 14 USB-C port. Same formatting as first paragraph.

External hard drive for Time Machine

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