Many people decide to skip using a backup like Time Machine to protect the files on their Mac, in favor of simply using iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos. While cloud services are a great way to sync and access your files across devices, they fall short when compared to backing up with something like Time Machine. Learn why you should use Time Machine in addition to iCloud to keep your files and photos safe.
You can also watch this video at YouTube.
Watch more videos about related subjects: iCloud (55 videos).
You can also watch this video at YouTube.
Watch more videos about related subjects: iCloud (55 videos).
Video Transcript
Hi this is Gary with MacMost.com. Let's talk about backing up the files on your Mac using iCloud and why it really isn't a substitute for using a real backup like Time Machine.
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Often I hear from Mac users that they use iCloud to backup the files on their Mac. But iCloud really isn't a backup solution. If you want to backup the files on your Mac you need to use Time Machine to do that. So iCloud, and specifically iCloud Drive and also iCloud Photos, is a way for you to sync your files and photos between your Macs and other Apple devices. So you can save a file on one Mac, say your desktop iMac, and then see that same file on your MacBook. You can also see those files on your iPhone and iPad. In addition to syncing your files across all your devices it's also storing them on Apple's iCloud servers. So in a way it does work a little bit like a backup as does provide you with some protection. But it's not a true backup.
So there are two ways that iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos work as a backup. One is to protect you in case you loose your files. So you could loose your files if say your Mac or just your Mac's hard drive break. You could loose them if there's a disaster like say a fire, flood, or maybe a toddler with a glass of milk. Of course one of the most common things that can happen to your Mac is if it gets stolen especially if you've got a MacBook that you carry around with you. In those cases if you have all your files on iCloud Drive and all your photos on iCloud Photos then you could get a new Mac and simply logon iCloud and you would have your files back.
A second way that iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos act as a backup is that if you delete a file or a photo it's actually moved to a recently deleted folder. It will be there for thirty days. So if you accidentally delete a file you could actually go iCloud.com and view the recently deleted files in the iCloud Drive section or the recently deleted photos in the photos section and recover an item that you accidentally deleted. You can also see recently deleted photos in the Photos app.
The same is true if you're using another Cloud solution. If you're using Dropbox or Microsoft or Goggle you also have this second location where your files are stored. If disaster strikes you can log back onto your Cloud account and find those files there. Although different services may vary for how long they keep deleted items.
Now Time Machine is a very different thing. It's a local backup. So you're backing up to a local hard drive like maybe one of these that you connected directly to your Mac or perhaps to your network at home. It's an incremental backup which means if you have a thousand files and you only change three of them the next backup would only update those three files. It doesn't need to do anything with the other 997. So incremental backups can be very quick.
Time Machine also saves deleted files. So if you've deleted a file from a folder Time Machine will still have that in an older version of that folder. That's why it's called Time Machine. You can go back in time to find an old file. There isn't a thirty day limit either. As a matter of fact the limit really depends on how much space is on the drive. If you get a nice big drive you can have deleted files going back years. Time Machine also saves changes to files. So if you change a file today, after a backup you'll have a backup of today's file but you'll also have a backup of how the file was yesterday. Depending on how much space you've got you can have many versions of this file going all the back to the original version you created.
Now a lot of Apple apps, like Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, already save old versions of the file inside the file itself. So if you're working on a Pages document you can revert to earlier versions. But most third party apps don't do this. So if you change a file today that file is just the current version of the file. If you want to go back to how that file was yesterday, or last month, or six months ago having Time Machine is invaluable because you can go back in time and grab that old version of the file
Another thing about Time Machine is that it backs up everything on the drive. It's backing up your Preferences files, it's backing up local files like things in your Movies folder or maybe your iMovie projects. Anything you've saved to other local folders. It's saving even your Applications and the System files. Time Machine will even save things that are on other external drives connected to your Mac. iCloud, of course, is only going to save the files that are in iCloud Drive that may be just your iCloud Drive folder or your Documents folder and your Desktop folder as well depending upon your settings.
Time Machine can also be used to do a complete restore from this local drive. So whether you get a new Mac or you're simply installing a hard drive in a Mac where the drive has failed you can take your Time Machine backup and you can restore everything from this backup to get to the state you were before. With iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos you can just pull those old files out but you're still going to have to manually restore your apps, your settings, and you may loose any files that were saved locally.
So there are three ways that iCloud Drive falls short as a backup solution. The first is that saving deleted files for 30 days simply isn't enough. Sometimes you delete a file and you right away know you made a mistake. But other times you may not notice for months that you accidentally deleted a file. If it was just saved in iCloud Drive then that deleted copy is gone. But with Time Machine you can go back and find it.
iCloud Drive only keeps the most recent version of files. So if you had a photoshop file or a movie script you're working on and you make some changes and the next day you realize you want to go back to your previous version you're not going to be able to do that with iCloud Drive. But you can do that with Time Machine.
iCloud Drive is only going to save what you put in your iCloud Drive folder, and Documents and Desktop if you have that option turned on. It's not going to save things in other local folders or external drives. Even Apple here has a page on backing up your Mac. Notice that it says that Time Machine is for backups whereas using iCloud is for storing things. Now certainly using iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos is better than nothing. It has saved a lot of people who haven't otherwise setup any kind of backup. But you shouldn't look at it as your backup solution. You should get a Time Machine drive and start using Time Machine.
I would never use a Mac or any computer without having an actual backup. So my recommendation is firmly to use both. Use iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos because it's great to have access to all of your files across all of your devices. But also have a real backup, like Time Machine. In fact you may want to consider having a second backup using Time Machine and other backup software or maybe doing an online backup sending them to an online service rather than a local hard drive. In fact that's what I do. I use iCloud Drive, I use Time Machine for a local backup, and I use Backblaze for an online backup.
Hello,
Based on your extensive experience and knowledge in particular (thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!) would like to ask you how big the HDD is required for the normal functioning of TimeMachine that we not worry about space? 1TB HDD is OK?
Best regards
Alex: I recommend getting one as large as you can. In general, I would get one twice the total size of the drive(s) you are backing up. So if you just have a 1TB internal and nothing else, get a 2TB. But check prices. If it is just a few bucks more for a 4TB, then why not go with that?
Thanks for the detailed information and very quick response.
Best regards
Would it make sense in the future to enable Time Machine backups to iCloud? Combine the benefits of both. Right now, I use Backblaze for cloud backups, plus Time Machine, plus iCloud for storage.
Mike: One problem is storage space and cost. Most Mac users would then fall into the largest tier of iCloud storage. You and I wouldn't mind as we are already paying for online backups. But it would be a barrier to entry for others. Another factor that keeps people away from online backups is connection speed and bandwidth limits.
I've found it shocking the number of people who have told me that they used iCloud as a backup. I've shared with them the points you've made in this video. Now, I can save myself some time and just share a link to your video. Thanks! BTW: the sync between audio and video in your clip was noticeably not very good. I don't know if it was my iMac or the software you use to create your clips. But, I haven't notice any issues with videos from other sources.
I use Time Machine, iCloud and Google Drive, but apart from loss I fear viruses and ransomware. Does Time Machine provide any protection here?
I connect a separate back up drive daily just for the time needed for the back up and then disconnect, and do an additional back up of main folders to Google Drive once a month. Do cloud services protect against malware ?
Ian: It would depend on the theoretical future ransomware -- how it works and what it does, and also what you did to allow it to run on your Mac. It could be that Time Machine offers some protection, but anything is possible. But things like that aren't a threat if you don't install software you don't trust. I don't see how the cloud protects against malware in any way, other than just being another place where your data is stored. Again, it depends on the malware. The vast majority today is adware and has nothing to do with data loss.
Gary, Another great Video! Time machne has saved me several times when I lost files. As you suggest I also use a couple of different exteranal storage drives. However I did manage to make a serious mistake with TM files. Am confessing here so perhaps you can warn others. Rather than letting TM delete files, for some dumb reason I durg some to my trash folder. Now can't delete them. How do you get rid of TM files that are in the mac HD trash?
Charles: That's a tough one. I'm not sure (and not willing to intentionally make the mistake to try it!)
Gary, I do not use a Mac and ONLY use iPhone and iPad for everything and all is backed up on the cloud, not sure of any other way to backup mobile devices and wondering if you feel this is ok.
K Long: Yes, backing up to iCloud is probably your best bet.
I am unable to restore a deleted calendar from Time Machine. The calendar app will disappear when going back in time. However, iCloud Drive offers a calendar restore function. Can anyone show me how to restore a deleted calendar from Time Machine?
Eckart: Was the Calendar a local one, or one from your iCloud account? If an iCloud one, I don't know if it was ever "on" you computer to be saved to Time Machine, other than cached data. The same as a website is never on your machine, you are just viewing it.
Gary: You are right in that the calendar is from an iCloud account. Thanks for the explanation. That's why SuperDuper! was no help either. I even tried to in Finder go to ~/library, went back in time and restored an older calendar folder. That did not restore the deleted calendar. But iCloud's restore function did work. Very little documented help though on this topic.
Another misconception I've seen is about cloud backup services, such as BackBlaze (which I use faithfully). BackBlaze is great as "offsite" redundant storage, so if your house burns down with BOTH your computer and TM drive, you still have your data. But you can't restore a Mac fully (no apps, system files). TM is essential--thanks for covering the topic.
I have a MacBook Pro and Time Machine (purchased together) from 2010. My poor, overworked MacBook Pro will soon be replaced with a shiny, new model but I’ve been wondering if my “old” 2010 model Time Machine will be compatible with a current generation MacBook Pro. What are your thoughts? Also if replacing both is your recommendation, any thoughts on Time Machines life span as compared to the MacBook Pro or Desk Top models? Thanks
Janice: "Time Machine" is the software that comes with macOS to back up your data. You don't purchase it. Do you mean an external hard drive or perhaps an Apple "Time Capsule" router? Either one will work with your new Mac.
Hi again Gary, yes it would be the Time Capsule Router that I’m referring to, which (yeah) is still working fine. I just wasn’t sure if there maybe compatibility issues given a difference of about 10 years between a 2010 Time Capsule and the 2020 MacBook Pro.
Hi again Gary, yes it would be the Time Capsule Router that I’m referring to, which (yeah) is still working fine. I just wasn’t sure if there maybe compatibility issues given a difference of about 10 years between a 2010 Time Capsule and the 2020 MacBook Pro.
Gary, I really miss the Time Capsule routers, I wish Apple would have continued making them, they were so simple to use. Can you hook up an external drive to a router to get the same benefits as the old Time Capsule routers, does it work as good as having the external drive directly connected to your MacBook? Do you recommend an SSD driver over a regular one? Thanks
Karl: Yes, you can and many people do. But your router has to support using external drives over the network like that. I DO NOT recommend using an SSD. It is a waste of money. You don't need the speed of an SSD to do network backups. Just get a regular HDD. The advantage to a drive connected directly is that it is faster. The advantage to a network drive is it works better with laptops when they can't always be connected to a drive because you they aren't sitting in the same spot. So for a desktop just get a USB drive. For a laptop, a network drive has advantages.
I'm having a hard time finding the answer to this question...
I have two Macs - one that I use daily (MacBook Pro with less memory/storage) and one desktop that is super slow but has a ton of storage. So, I was hoping to use iCloud drive/storage to use my laptop as my main computer and allow it to optimize iCloud Storage. But then use TimeMachine and Backblaze as my backup solution only connected to the desktop. But does time machine and backblaze backup icloud? Can't figure this out.
Hilary: If you set up your desktop Mac to NOT "optimize" so that every single file in iCloud Drive is also fully downloaded on your desktop Mac, then any backup you do of your hard drive should include all of your files. For Backblaze you may want to check to make sure it is backing up those files. Just pick a few and try restoring them from Backblaze to see.
Hi Gary, thanks so much for the quick reply. Yes, I did that but then I couldn't see the iCloud folders in my time machine backup - it only showed the Documents folder and other select system folders (pictures, music, etc) - not the folders I created. So do I need to put all my other folders inside the documents folder for it to back all the files up?
Hilary: Where were you looking? You shouldn't look "directly" at the Time Machine backup. Did you try using the Time Machine restore mode? Also, make sure you have that "optimize" option turned off on that desktop machine with plenty of storage space.
Where are these other folders that you created if not in your Documents folder?
I was looking at my external drive time machine backup - not the restore mode, no. The optimize option is definitely turned off. And the other folders are directly in iCloud. I would attach a pic but doesn't look like I can here.
Hilary: So try it. Go to a folder where you want to test. Then enter Time Machine with that folder as the frontmost window. Can you see older versions of files there in Time Machine?
Yes. you are correct - it IS backing it up. So now I just need to make sure Backblaze is also backing up those files. Thank you!
Hello- I am thinking of getting a new iMac. I use time machine for backups, but I don't want to restore the entire computer from time machine because I only care about my photo library. So if I restore just the photo library from the backup, will iCloud still sync properly since my photos are already in the cloud? I'm worried it will think the restored photos are all 'new' and will try to upload them all again creating duplicates and making the sync run for 2 days. Thank you for your thoughts.
Paul: If your photos library is already in iCloud, then I would just get the new iMac and log in to iCloud and let your photos library sync. No need to copy it over at all. The only downside would be if you have a large library and your connection is very slow.