Time Capsule support is dead in macOS 27

Apple has terminated support for AFP in macOS 27, effectively killing off the Time Capsule. However, affected owners might be able to revive their hardware.

A long-discontinued network storage device, Time Capsules gave Mac users a way to back up over a home network using Time Machine. While the hardware hasn’t been available for quite a few years, support continued up to macOS 26.

However, as warned in macOS Sequoia 15, support for the Apple Filing Protocol, AFP, was being deprecated and removed in a future macOS release. That turned out to be macOS 27, thanks to a notice in macOS 26 warning about the end of support for AirPort Disk and other Time Capsule disks.

This is an issue that affects Time Capsule specifically, as it relies on AFP for its connectivity. While Time Capsule does include support for SMBv1 (Server Message Block), it was only supported in macOS 26 as a deprecated measure.

From macOS 27 onwards, Time Machine will require hardware using SMBv2 or SMBv3. This will mean it will work with modern NAS devices, but not Time Capsules.

Life finds a way

While Time Capsules in their normal state won’t work for Time Machine, there are efforts to try and add the required functionality to the hardware.

A GitHub project we wrote about in April, titled TimeCapsuleSMB, aims to update the outdated SMB layer with a newer one, while keeping Apple’s firmware untouched. This way, Apple’s file sharing stays enabled, so your internal disk, or connected USB ones, keep auto-mounting and working on the forthcoming macOS 27.

Really, it’s a modern Samba build to manage file sharing that’s loaded onto the Time Capsule. It runs Samba 4.24.3 server, advertises itself with Bonjour, and accepts authenticated SMB3 connections.

At that point, assuming the project ever works, you can connect to the server using a normal SMB URL, and then use it for Time Machine backups.

When we first wrote about the project, there were concerns that it was more a proof-of-concept than a full project. However, at the time of publication, there have been many commits to the project, including some that are just hours old.

According to the project’s requirements, you need to use a Mac running macOS 14 or later, or a Linux device on the same local network as the Time Capsule. You also need the password for the Time Capsule, as well as Homebrew, Python 3.9 or later, and smbclient installed locally.

The instructions to install it are quite complex, which puts the project out of reach of the typical user. However, near the top is a “Quick Start” option that relies on just five commands, streamlining the process.

As it stands, Time Machine users have few choices in how they maintain their backups. They could look for an external drive or invest in a NAS, as the most obvious, if expensive, solutions.

But, with a project like TimeCapsuleSMB, there’s a chance of reviving an underappreciated part of Apple’s former product line.