macOS 27 drops Time Machine backups to AirPort Time Capsule
Upgrading to macOS Golden Gate ends Time Capsule backups, so users need another destination such as an external drive or a modern NAS.
Apple’s macOS 27, named Golden Gate, removes support for AFP, the legacy file-sharing protocol that the AirPort Time Capsule relies on for Time Machine backups. From this release, Time Machine backups use the SMB protocol exclusively.
The Time Capsule is discontinued hardware, and it does not support SMB in the form macOS 27 requires. A Mac that upgrades to the new release can therefore no longer use a Time Capsule as a backup destination.
Apple warned users about the change in June 2025, when macOS Tahoe began displaying a warning that Time Capsule backups would no longer work in the next macOS. macOS 27 is the release that follows Tahoe.
Users who still back up to a Time Capsule need an alternative, such as an external drive or a modern NAS. Time Machine continues to work with those destinations.
