Time Machine backups taking long, after macOS Sonoma update on my MacBook.

rasmaxwell is nothing if not persistent! I too have had problems with Time Machine, and I'm not sure that I've completed a successful backup since upgrading to Sonoma. I hope Apple releases a fix soon...

I have a similar issue and it seems to be linked to a spotlight file (access right issues?). Quickly after I re-index spotlight, Spotlight works and so does Time Machine. But once my computer goes on stand-by (if I stop using it for an hour or so), Spotlight doesn't show the right results and Time Machine returns an error message. More details here: Anyone having issues with spotlight in So… - Apple Community

the latest MacOS version did give me so hope... for less than one hour :-(

My problems seem to be fixed after waiting hours for some mysterious iCloud syncing.

• iCloud was in sync before the upgrade (or so it said under Ventura).
• Without any conscious changes to my iCloud folder, after the upgrade to Sonoma there was a massive sync update.
• That sync took hours even over a 250/100 Mbit/s connection.
• iCloud syncing also "finished" many times, before it started syncing again a second later. (I took a screen video but cannot figure out how to attach it to the post.)

After this sync update was finally done, iCloud calmed down and Time Machine worked.

I think Apple still do care about "smart and easy".

It's just that Apple seem so focused on the "innovative" part, that they forget about the boring and tedious part of maintaining.

TM for example is essential but increasingly neglected. This case is but one example. Other examples:

• How long it took for Apple to use APFS features for TM.
• And worse: How TM is basically unusable to restore notes in Apple Notes or reminders in Apple Reminders or contacts in Address Book.

I wish Apple would change data persistency for their apps like they once did with Apple Mail: File-based (vs. one big database) in combination with indexation.

Sometimes Apple fits right into this pattern: "Things have to get worse before they get better."

There is.

Actually 14.2.1 now.

Time Machine backups still extremely slow on macOS Sonoma 14.4. I hope Apple knows about this and is working on a fix.

Strange that 14.3.2 and all preceding versions of Sonoma take nearly 24h to complete.

Done! According to Apple tech-support my issue is due to "incompatible files" involving Adobe plug-ins. Although backups occur I cannot access them via Time Machine but instead through Finder. Doable, but very inconvenient until Adobe (according to Apple) provides an update...

Hi,

The problem is that seems Time Machine has changed. The solution was just remove the previous backups, or use a new destination folder, then start a new chain of backups from Sonoma.

When creating the new one, choose if want encryption.

I tried this out, you are absolutely right. Watching Time Machine backing up with no inactivity, all is running as it should.

When the display is going into inactivity and some time after I activate it, Time Machine stopped and had the "!"-sign. Starting the backup again shows thousands of changes and then starts to backup everything from scratch...

I had the same problem after upgrading to Sonoma (14.1.1). Time Machine backups would stall part way through and just never finish. I never figured out what was causing the problem, but I solved it by formatting a new disk as APFS and designating it as the Time Machine backup destination. Starting over with a freshly-formatted APFS disk solved the problem.

I also had the TM issue but i my case the icloud backup was not completed, therefore Apple support said wait for this. Make a new tm backup.

Sorry didn't work so i downgraded back to Ventura. Now everything is ok.

So my advise (heard from others) wait for vers .2 or .3

I too have a problem with Time Machine on my Sonoma Silicon iMac, not with it being slow to back up as it's as fast as ever but, having backed up to a SSD, it is painfully slow getting Finder populated with the files or when trying to browse the backups. Takes for ever to launch and give access.

I can confirm the problem. I have a similar problem. I have just not come around to describe that also (I sometimes need to do work on my machine, a MacBook 14 Pro M1 Pro (10CPU/16GPU 16GB/1TB) ;-)

The problem was first noticed under one of the later versions of Ventura (when backup to SSD was introduced). If Sonoma is worse or just different in behavior is hard to say now.

My main FileVault II encrypted APFS SSD is 1TB internal, and one external Thunderbolt 4 SSD (2TB), both part of the standard TimeMachine 1 hour regime. As well as a NAS based encrypted APFS backup of identical content.

The culprit seems to be the 4TB Samsung T7 Shield; several times FASTER than the 4TB 2.5 inch external HDD I used before the problem shoved up.

As I see it, both Ventura and Sonoma forces boot time SSD “content layout and consistency scanning” priority on an SSD based TimeMachine backup, and ordinary use of the computer is more or less impossible, until that scan has succeeded (seems to be an SSD only behavior). If you open an external disk, no root folder content (or content not "actively" clickable) is shown. If you try to start an application - let’s say DaVinci Resolve Studio - nothing happens, but the “waiting game rotating indicator” turns up. After a loooong time, an error message like “could not start ….” Is shown. Most ANY application shows the same behavior. From Apple or third party. Small or large.

As - ahem - soon as the TimeMacine SSD switches from “orange external disk” icon to “TimeMachine” icon, any “inactivity” problem vanishes immediately (now you only have to contend with the new, User Interface bugs in mouse handling, when clicking on filenames, folders etc in Sonoma - sigh. You never win ;-).

I suspect, that when an ordinary encrypted APFS HDD is used for TimeMachine backups (or NAS shares), scanning of these backups are postponed, until all other boot activities have completed (as should be the case with any TimeMachine drive type).

When I remove the SSD before cold boot, the problem does NOT exist. Some time ago, I tested booting with the last used HDD based backup, and the problem did not show up (at least it was not felt).

If the TimeMachine 4TB SSD is connected any time (even immediately) AFTER cold boot, it still takes a loooong time before the orange disk icon changes to a TimeMachine icon, but now it does NOT affect system responsiveness at all, and any application starts as quickly as ordinary possible (also DaVinci Resolve Studio).

My system uses FileVault II. My 4TB TimeMachine SSD is encrypted APFS (as was my 4TB 2.5” HDD before), and backups are several times faster to the SSD, compared to the HDD. No possible doubt about that. Especially when the external SSD content involves new video projects up to hundreds of GB added within a short time span, you clearly see and feel the difference.

A connected SSD TimeMachine backup equals horrendously slow cold boots, with a virtually unusable computer, until the TimeMachine has been “digested”, and the SSD icon switches to “TimeMachine” icon.

My Mac Mini M1 16GB/1TB (also FileVault encrypted) with external APFS 1TB Thunderbolt SSD, also runs TimeMachine 1 hour regime to NAS share and local disk, but the local 2TB APFS encrypted HDD (veeeeryyy sloooow 2.5”) does not exhibit the same behavior either (whether with Ventura and now Sonoma - same versions in use on MacBook 14 Pro). Cold boot does not feel hampered.

The statement "Apple just works" could truly be "retired" to history now - sigh ;-)

Regards

Could you please supply a bit of detail on the subject?

You may be right, but I’m not willing to drop TimeMachine for an alternative without at least a reasonable amount of explanation, ideally joined by a key example or two.

Regards