Use of netgear for time machine

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Use of netgear for time machine

I have multiple Macs running Sonoma or Sequoia, and I'm having issues with Time Machine. Specifically, I have a USB drive attached to my Netgear AX5700 router, which I've been using to run Time Machine backups. Now, my Macs can still access the drive in Finder via SMB with no problem--but TM can't access it. What I mean by this is that I can choose the drive in TM, but when it runs, it says it can't access the drive. One of the machines has a hard-wired connection to the router, so WiFi is not the issue. I've done the normal rebooting of router, computer, and drive, which normally resolves this, but not now.

I'm just trying to figure out what changed. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 23, 2024 6:45 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,822 points

Nov 23, 2024 8:57 AM in response to vastw

That configuration is not supported by Apple, but if the router supports SMB3 and the Time Machine over SMB specification, it might work like a NAS.

Backup disks you can use with Time Machine - Apple Support

From what I can tell, a NAS that uses SMB3 generally has support for the Time Machine over SMB specification, but I don’t know if that holds true for a router. You would have to check with the router manufacturer if they support the specification. The answer from them needs to be, “yes, your router model supports the Time Machine over SMB Specification,” not just “you can use Time Machine with your model router.”

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Answer 2

Nov 23, 2024 7:16 AM in response to vastw

You might need to reformat the drive to APFS format. If there is data on this drive you need to keep, you should copy the data to another drive. Then reformat the one connected to the Netgear router and try Time Machine backups again.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,822 points

Nov 23, 2024 9:35 AM in response to vastw

vastw wrote:

It did work reliably for a few years. Did something change on the Mac OS end?

Nothing in the specification or Time Machine changed, but they might’ve begun enforcing the requirement because without it they’re not reliable backups

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Answer 4

vastw Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 23, 2024 8:10 AM in response to vastw

Update--I connected the TM drive directly to my Sequoia-based Mac, wiped the drive, and tried to do a direct TM backup. It almost completes, but then says

"Time Machine did not finish backing up because some files were unavailable. Backups will resume when your Mac is unlocked."

I ran it multiple times and got the same result. How is my Mac locked? It can't be a timeout issue, as the last attempt failed within seconds.

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