Related Article: Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant

My macs are on the same wifi but the old one is not appearing on the new one to transfer information?

i am trying to set up my new mac but my old one is not appearing on it to transfer the information

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Sep 7, 2023 10:57 AM

Reply
2 replies

Sep 7, 2023 2:01 PM in response to Old Toad

To add to Old Toad's excellent advice:


    • There are 4 ways to run Migration Assistant
      • Ethernet crossover cable (as mentioned by Old Toad)
      • External drive Time Machine backup
      • Thunderbolt 3 cable (if your old Mac has Thunderbolt ports)
      • WiFi

Of the above methods, I'd say WiFi is the least reliable. All it takes is a couple of signal dropouts to really mess up the transfer.


The fastest means is via Thunderbolt cable. This is the one I've used for this purpose: Apple Thunderbolt 3 Cable


Ethernet cable and external drive Time Machine backup are pretty close in terms of how long they'll take.


Hope this helps.

My macs are on the same wifi but the old one is not appearing on the new one to transfer information?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.