Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup



If taking a backup is easy on Time Machine, it’s equally easy to restore the backup from the hard drive. Overall, Time Machine is a good backup software for Mac, but after a period of time, the old backup data is replaced by the new data. Backup your Mac with a portable or desktop hard drive. Safekeep all of your music, photographs, movies and more. Buy online with fast, free shipping.

Unfortunately, no other manufacturer offers a product like the Time Capsule, which is a WiFi router with a built in hard drive.


If you don't mind having two separate devices, there are a limited number of WiFi routers that support Time Machine backups with an attached USB hard drive. Among these are the upper Asus routers and the Synology router.

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If you already have another WiFi router, you might want to take a look at the Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices from Synology which will support Time Machine backups. In this type of setup, the Synology NAS attaches to your WiFi router using a permanent, wired Ethernet cable connection, which will allow you to back up over the WiFi router's wireless network.

Being a Mac user, we agree that it offers the most secure and seamless user experience. However, we must not forget it’s a machine end of the day. Some odd day, it might collapse or compromise the space of your data. Eventually, erasing everything in it and making you lose all of it if you didn’t opt for backup software for your Mac. In our today’s writeup, we’d be talking about – best backup softwares for Mac? Need to do a Backup? Which one’s better, backup or cloning? And How often should you backup your data on Mac? Let’s begin.

What is Data Backup, and Why It’s Important?

We use our Mac regularly to create, transfer, and receive ‘n’ number of files. While some of them are personal, some play a significant part in our professional life. By backing up your data, you can stay assured of not having any loss of your moments stored in Mac or your work-related files.

What is Cloning, and why it’s important?

Unlike backup, cloning creates a copy of the selected drive on the partition made at the target location. Having said this, you’ll have access to an exact copy comprising partition layout and split. However, in comparison to backing up, cloning requires larger space considering that it gets created immediately, and encryption or compressing the file isn’t feasible.

What is the Difference Between Backup and Cloning?

Backing up to a hard drive lets you create a backup for the entire content of a selected partition into the target source. This is also known to create an Image. Just if you are taking the backup of the entire system, an image file will be created of all the installed programs and settings. You also have the option to encrypt the backed up file for enhanced security.

How Often Should You Backup your Data on Mac?

Did you know, according to a report published, 24% of adult users never back up their data, 42% do it once a year or even less, and 34% do it once a month. It’s just 6% of users who back up their data daily. Strange it may sound, but in a world where our MacBook serves an invincible role in storing our data, we sideline the role of having Mac’s backup software.

If you are among the 6% of users who do it daily, Kudos to you!! If you are part of the remaining population, it’s time you should take data loss seriously.

What is the Best Mac Backup Software?

Keep scrolling to find some of the best free and paid available data backup software for your Mac. Let’s begin.

1. Time Machine

This is macOS’ built-in back software. Being designed primarily for Mac, it’s easy to use and copies everything on your Mac, including applications, accounts, email, messages, documents, photos, music, videos, system files, and preferences.

Setting up Time Machine doesn’t require more than a hard drive, which is twice the internal hard drive’s storage capacity. Once you connect it with your Mac, you’ll notice a box seeking confirmation on using it with Time Machine and whether or not you intend to encrypt the backup disk.
While the backing up process may take hours to finish, here’s how you can backup using Time Machine.

  • Compatibility: All macOS’
  • Price: Free (Built-in with Mac)
  • How to install Time Machine: It comes by default with Mac.

2. Super Duper

The software offers intuitive software and is extremely easy to use. You have to select your target and the destination drive and sit back to watch it happen in no time. The software will take a backup of your entire data. Once the initial backup is completed, you’ll have the option to select incremental backups. This will copy only the files that were created after your last backup was done. Isn’t that interesting?
It also has a feature named Smart Wake, which enables you to take the backup even when your Mac’s not awake.

  • Compatibility: macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) and later
  • Latest Version: 3.3.1 (Updated on 7th February 2020)
  • Price: Free to Try (License costs $27.95 for single Mac)

3. Carbon Copy Cloner

The cloning tool offers you a straightforward interface to execute the process. It gives you the option to create a back of your internal drive at a bit level and create a bootable backup disk or a clone, which is ready to install. In their recent upgrade, they resolved concerns linked with “Copying of SystemKey” in macOS Catalina and an issue linked with the bootability of Yosemite and EI Captain backups.

  • Compatibility: macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or later.
  • Latest Version: 5.1.21.6053 (Updated on 24th September 2020)
  • Price: 30-day Free to Try (License costs $39.99 for all the devices in a premise)

4. Chrono Sync

The software dons an editor rating of 4 stars out of 5 and works seamlessly between different work stations. It helps sync data and takes backup from multiple devices. Though the user agreement may look lengthy to you, once it starts to work, you’d see the effortlessness with which it carries all tasks. With its trial version, the software allows you to backup/transfer data up to 500mb. Further, you’ll have to buy its licensed version.

  • Compatibility: OS X 10.12 (Sierra) or higher.
  • Latest Version: 4.9.10 (Updated on 10th June 2020)
  • Price: Free to Try (License costs $39.99 for all the devices in a premise)

5. Smart Backup

The lightweight backup application is created to serve devices with macOS X or higher. It uses a custom sync engine to improve performance and enhance features. It gives you entire liberty to select the volumes and folders you want to sync and create a bootable clone of your hard drive. It also comes with built-in automation that lets you schedule backup in just a few clicks.

  • Compatibility: OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or higher.
  • Latest Version: 4.2.1 (Updated on 4th March 2020)
  • Price: Free

6. Disk Drill

This one’s a powerful tool to scan your Mac or connected devices to find lost files. Though mostly it happens that some files can’t be recovered, this tool has successfully reconstructed such lost or deleted files in many cases. It has a preview feature that will share with you the list of recoverable files after scanning.

  • Compatibility: OS X 10.8.5 (Mountain Lion) or higher.
  • Latest Version: 4.0.123 (Updated on 8th October 2020)
  • Price: Free basic version. $89 for Pro Version that allows recovery.

7. Carbonite Safe

It allows you to backup your Mac to remote servers and fetches files as and when you need them. We need to note that it only backups your files and folders and doesn’t include system files and applications. The software protects your files with 128-bit encryption. However, there’s no option of adding an access password to your protected files.

Wireless Data Backup

  • Compatibility: OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or higher.
  • Latest Version: 2.4.4
  • Price: Free Try. It starts at $71.99 for a single Mac.

8. Acronis True Image 2020

Backup Disk Mac

This one’s widely used and recognized by Windows users in comparison to those using Mac. However, the truth is that it can be of great help in availing personal backup solutions and taking backup of data in a local disk, an attached network, or its cloud service. However, to leverage the cloud service, you’ll have to set up an account, which won’t take much time, though.

  • Compatibility: OS X EI Captain or higher.
  • Latest Version: 2020.25760 (Updated on 29th April 2020)
  • Price: Free Try. It starts at $49.99.

Wireless Backup Hard Drive Mac

9. Get Backup Pro (V3)

One primary reason for the popularity of this software is the flexibility it offers. It gives you the option to either backup your entire drive or a particular folder. It can create boot-ready clones of Mac’s startup drive and sync folders and files to different drives. You can also schedule backups. These will happen in the background without hindering your work-in-progress. Once completed, the software will close automatically.

  • Compatibility: OS X Mavericks or higher.
  • Latest Version: 3.5.9 (Updated on 1st October 2020)
  • Price: Free Try. It starts at $19.99.

10. Backblaze

The software performs auto backups for you on Mac as per the schedule set. So just in case you forget doing it or have a busy schedule, this can be of great help. However, it keeps the backed up data stored for 30 days and then deletes it by self. Having said this, to be on the safer side, it’ll always be a good idea to create a schedule for daily EoD or weekly.

  • Compatibility: OS X Mountain Lion or higher.
  • Latest Version: 7.0.1.452 (Updated on 14th August 2020)
  • Price: Free Try. $6 per month or $60 per year.

11. IDrive

The online backup service offers free accessibility up to 5GB capacity. After that, things get pretty expensive. However, there’s one thing that you might like about this software. It does not delete your backup, giving you the liberty to roll back to any date from the past. While the data is fully encrypted, the features like Rewind and Snapshot are indeed a charm.

  • Compatibility: OS X Mavericks or higher.
  • Latest Version: 3.5.9.19 (Updated on 25th September 2020)
  • Price: Free Try. $52.12 for 1st year and then $74.62/year.

Numerous software helps you back up your data on Mac. Understanding its vitality, it’s crucial to have the best software on board to serve the purpose. Just in case there are any further details you want, please feel free to share it with me in the comment section.

You may also like to read these:

Mayank is a published author and a tech-blogger with over ten years of writing experience for various domains and industries. At iGeeks, he mostly writes about blogs that solve user-problems and guide them on unleashing the full potential of their Apple Device. He can often be found with his headphones on, typing to the rhythm of some country song.

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Enjoy full-way data transfer with AnyTrans for iOS.

There's never too many photos on iPhone, right? Wrong. When it comes to backing up your iOS device, endless photos, messages, and files can suffocate your internal storage on Mac.

The first way to solve the problem is pretty straightforward: Keep your iPhone or iPad clean. It became a bit easier with the release of iOS 13, which allows removing similar shots and clutter from your Photos gallery automatically. If you take your gallery cleanness seriously, you can go further and install a smart duplicate finder like Gemini on your phone. Whether you're an Instagram husband/wife, or simply love good photography — this is a pro-level tool to save your disk space.

iPhone Backup to External Storage

Get the best Mac apps to backup and transfer data from iPhone, iPad, iTunes, iCloud to external drives without any loss.

But what if photos are not the problem? Sometimes it's about text docs, mail attachments — lots of small files that become heavier and heavier as they pile up. It will take hours of work to free up storage space manually. So we suggest you don't. You can solve the problem by changing iPhone backup location instead.

In this guide, we'll tell you everything about where iPhone and iPad backups are stored by default, how to move them to an external drive, and what's the best Mac tool for running direct iOS backups.

How to change iPhone backup location on Mac

There are two Apple ways to backup iOS devices to Mac — using iTunes or iCloud. None of them is very easy. We've prepared detailed instructions on how to locate and move iPhone backup to an external drive both ways. If you follow these, nothing could go wrong.

Locate iOS backups in iTunes/Finder

Here's how you find a list of iOS backups if you use iTunes:

  1. Click on the Spotlight Search button in the menu bar
  2. Type the following command: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
  3. Hit Return.

The mechanism is a bit different if you're searching for a specific backup. In this case, go to iTunes > Preferences > Devices. Control-click the selected backup and select Show in Finder from the drop-down menu.

Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup

Note that if you're using macOS Catalina or later, you'll have to locate backups via Finder, while newer operating systems don’t have iTunes in its original form:

  1. Open a new Finder window
  2. Select Go > Go to Folder
  3. Type the command ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
  4. Hit Go.
  5. Access your Backup folder from there.

An important thing to remember is that you shouldn't copy or extract specific files from your Backup folder — this might lead to your files being ruined. What you have to do is to copy and transfer an entire folder.

Locate iOS backups in iCloud

If you use iCloud for iPhone backups, you don't have to suffer from the low storage problem. Once your iPhone or iPad files are backed up, you can simply delete the backups. None of your valuable data will be damaged.

How to remove backups from iPhone or iPad and turn off backup for your device.

  1. Go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud
  2. Click Manage Storage > Backups for iOS 11 and iCloud Storage > Manage Storage for iOS 10.3
  3. Select your device name
  4. Delete Backup > Turn Off and Delete.

On your Mac:

  1. Apple menu > System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud
  2. Select Manage and click on the Backups
  3. With the backup selected, click Delete to remove the backup. Confirm that you would also like to turn off Backup if needed.

Backup iPhone to external hard drive

For those who backup via iTunes/Finder, the journey isn't finished. Now it's time to backup iPhone to USB drive, an external hard drive that won't affect your storage on Mac. This should be done very carefully. Any attempt to extract files from the backup folder or using the wrong name of a hard drive may end up in a failure.

2016 movie torrent. Also, let us warn you in advance that you shouldn't delete a backup after you move it to the new storage location. Before you do anything to your old iOS backups, make sure you set iTunes to backup from the hard drive. Let's go through it step by step.

How to save iPhone backup to external hard drive:

  1. Connect your external hard drive to Mac and open it.
  2. Select the backup folder from the Finder window or iTunes. Usually, the name of the backup folder consists of random numbers and letters, or it's called 'Backup.'
  3. Drag the entire folder — couldn't emphasize it more — to your external drive.
  4. Type your admin password.
  5. Rename the backup folder to 'iOS_backup' and enter the admin password once again to confirm your action.

Now, the most delicate part. It's not enough to create iPhone external storage, you have to tell iTunes where it is to ensure the backups will be done externally from now on. To make that work, you should create a new path — or a so-called symbolic link — for iTunes/Finder.

Before you dive into it, make sure you allow Full Disk Access for Terminal. You'll have to enable it manually if you use macOS Mojave. In this case, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy. Unlock by entering your admin password and click Full Disk Access. Add Terminal to the list of apps with full access permission via the plus button.

Now you're ready to work with Terminal. Make sure you pay close attention to every word you type — Terminal commands can be cumbersome. Open Terminal via Spotlight and type the following command (no rush, you might need to customize it):

ln-s/Volumes/External/ios_backup~/Library/ApplicationSupport/MobileSync/Backup/ 4f1234a05e6e7ccbaddfd12345678f1234b123f

Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup Hard Drive

In the command above, 'External' is the name of your hard drive. Possibly, your drive has a different name, so you'll have to change it in the command. The last part '4f1234a05e6e7ccbaddfd12345678f1234b123f' is the name of the backup folder. If you're transferring via Finder, it's very common for this folder to be named 'Backup.' Make sure they match or rename accordingly.

Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup Drive

Once your command is accurate, hit Return and quit Terminal.

You've done everything right if you can find a newly created symlink file with the name of your backup folder in the MobileSync folder. The file icon should have an arrow in the bottom left corner.

Backing up to external drive: How to check it works?

Now when you've backed up iPhone to portable hard drive, run a test to see whether iTunes is really backing up from the new location:

  1. Connect your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Launch iTunes or find your device via Finder.
  3. Select Back Up Now.
  4. With the backup completed, open the iOS_backup folder on the external drive.
  5. Check the date and time of the last backup — it should coincide with your recent activity.

Only after the test proves successful can you delete your old backups.

How to backup iPhone directly to external drive

There are two big problems with iTunes backups. And we can understand why you say 'nay' to both of them. First of all, if you're backing up with iTunes or iCloud, you never know what files are covered. While you have to move an entire folder to your external drive, there's no way to check what's inside — not to mention selecting specific files for a backup.

Another thing is Terminal commands can go wrong — and they often do. A single mistake can break the whole process, so you'll have to start all over again. The good news is you can actually back up iPhone to external hard drive without iTunes and iCloud. The tool that you need for that is called AnyTrans for iOS.

AnyTrans is a Mac utility that handles connections across iOS, macOS, and Android devices. And by 'connections' we mean lots of useful things that built-in utilities like iTunes can't handle:

  • Transfer media files, including photos, messages, and documents from your iPhone/iPad to Mac.
  • Back up your iOS device to an external drive in seconds.
  • Preview files that you're backing up and select your custom file types if you don't want to back up everything.
  • Preview old iCloud and iTunes backups and transfer files from your old backup directly to an external drive.

As a nice perk, AnyTrans has a built-in media downloader that enables you to download video and audio from 900+ websites, including YouTube and Dailymotion.

The backup process is a four-step deal if you use AnyTrans — instead of complicated Terminal commands. Here's how you back up directly to external drive:

  1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to Mac and open AnyTrans.
  2. Click on Backup Manager and view the list of files that can be backed up.
  3. Tick the boxes next to specific file categories or select all.
  4. Choose your external drive as the target save location and click on the Next button to start backing up.

That's it. Everything you've backed up will now appear on your external drive. Also, check out information about what do you do if your iPhone wont turn on at all

Let's sum up with a few tips that will help you keep your iPhone data protected:

Double protection

If you're determined to use the built-in tools for your iOS and iPad backups, we recommend to use both iCloud and iTunes/Finder. It's never a waste of time when it comes to ensuring your data security. So in case something goes wrong, you'll have a backup plan. Pun intended.

Move backups across storages

Maybe you have lots of data. Or, you simply prefer cloud storage to storing your files on a local drive. That's understandable. To ensure nothing gets lost in the shuffle, use CloudMounter to mount your cloud drives as local disks and thus, transfer backups across multiple storages flexibly.

There's always a way back

We encourage you to simplify things with AnyTrans. And even if you decide to go with iTunes, note that you can always delete your symlink and try an easier option. To go back to internal backups, type ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup in Spotlight and delete your symlink folder.

Two (or 162) for the price of one

Both AnyTrans and CloudMounter are available with a Setapp subscription. Setapp is a package of curated Mac utilities that solve the majority of jobs on Mac. So if you get the Setapp subscription, you'll be able to handle automatic iOS backups, move backups across storages and do 160+ other things.

Setapp lives on Mac and iOS. Please come back from another device.

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

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