Cloud Gateways Switching WiFi Physical Security Integrations
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Cloud Gateways Switching WiFi Physical Security Integrations

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Configuring macOS Time Machine Backups on UNAS

Apple’s Time Machine feature provides hourly, daily, and weekly computer backups saved to a local disk. UniFi allows you to integrate your Mac’s Time Machine with your UNAS, giving you the ability to save your backups wherever you are.

Remember, in order for this feature to work, you will need at least one fully set-up UNAS.

Preparing Your UNAS

The following steps required Admin permissions:

  1. In UniFi Drive, navigate to Settings > Services > File Services.
  2. Enable the SMB and Time Machine settings.
    • If you ever disable SMB settings, the Time Machine settings will be disabled automatically.
  3. Once Time Machine is enabled, all UNAS users with personal drives can use Time Machine to back up their Mac on the UNAS.

Creating Time Machine Credentials

  1. Add Users to UniFi.
  2. Click on a user and navigate to Settings > Assignment and enable File Services & Time Machine Credentials.
  3. Enter the Username and Password. The username cannot be changed once created. 
    • Send the credentials to the user and remind them to store them securely for future use with Time Machine backups.
  4. Click Apply Changes. 

Setting Up Time Machine

  1. In your Mac’s System Settings, navigate to General > Time Machine.
  2. Select Add Backup Disk…
  3. Choose the UNAS you want to use and enter your Time Machine credentials.
    • Note: You will be presented with two options; one showing the local IP address, and one showing the device name. Select the device name option, not the IP address option.
  4. Follow the directions to choose Encrypt backup.
  5. Click Done and begin the Time Machine backup.

FAQs

Why do Time Machine backups fail after updating to macOS 26 (Tahoe)?

After upgrading to macOS 26 (Tahoe), Time Machine backups to your UNAS may fail due to non-ASCII characters.

This can occur if any of the following include special characters (e.g., ä, ø, é, or Chinese/Japanese/Korean characters):

  • Mac computer name
  • Backup file name (sparsebundle)
  • Shared folder path

How to fix it:

  1. Rename your Mac
    1. Navigate to System Settings > General > About.
    2. Update the Name to use only:
      • Letters (A–Z)
      • Numbers (0–9)
      • Hyphens (-)
  2. Rename backup and shared folders and ensure all related folder names use only:
    • A–Z, a–z
    • 0–9
    • Hyphens (-) or underscores (_)
  3. Wait for an Apple update
    • If renaming isn't feasible, pause Time Machine backups and wait for a macOS update that resolves this issue.

Why can't I authenticate when using Auto Drive Integration with Time Machine?

If Identity Auto Drive Integration is enabled on your Mac, it can conflict with manual login using File Services & Time Machine credentials, causing authentication failures.

How to fix it:

  1. Disable Auto Drive Integration

    • Go to UniFi Identity > Settings and disable Auto Integrate Drive to Finder.

  2. Disconnect existing sessions

    • Ensure your Mac is no longer connected to the NAS.

  3. Connect manually

    • Reconnect to the NAS share using your File Services & Time Machine credentials.

  4. Reconfigure Time Machine

    • Re-select the backup disk in Time Machine settings and enter the correct credentials when prompted.

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