Mid 2015 Macbook Pro - MacOS, Time Machine & Time Capsule Questions!

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

I have been out of the loop for a while but have:

a) A1398 Mid 2015 Macbook Pro - 1TB SSD / 2.8Ghz Intel Core i7 / AMD Radeon R9 M370X 2 GB / Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB / 16GB Ram
b) A1502 Early 13" Macbook Pro - 1TB SSD / 3.1Ghz Intel Core i7 /16GB Ram

Both are running Mojave 10.14.6.

I know they are old & not the latest & greatest but truth be told, there is no way I can afford to upgrade & tbh, for what I mainly use them for, they are perfectly fine - I know I am probably missing out on the fancy performance & features & cool looks of the latest models but at this stage, the huge extra expense for them would simply not be worth it for me & I plan to use them for about 2-3 years more at least.

I also invested a fair amount in multiple Time Capsules & one of the biggest draws to Mac for me was the combination of Time Machine Back Ups & Time Capsule for automated, scheduled back ups & it is still not something I wish to give up.

My units do seem to struggle when under load & sometimes act quirky & can be slow etc which has got me to thinking that maybe I should upgrade the OS to a more recent one & also to be able to get software updates. I understand that Monterey is the last OS available for my units but would like to ask if it is fully compatible with Time Machine & Time Capsule please?

I would rather keep the ability to use Time Capsule & run an older OS than having a newer one & not. If Monterey will not allow the use of Time Machine with Time Capsule, then which OS will?

Will any Time Machine/Time Capsule compatible OS upgrade from Mojave cause cause performance issues with my units?

Welcome any help/advice on which course of action to follow!

Many Kind Thanks!

​

 

[EugW]

I tried using more recent OSes with backup drives hooked up to my old AirPort Extreme 802.11ac access points, but those old access points don't work with APFS drives, only HFS+. I think the same is true with Time Capsule, that it is stuck on HFS+. Monterey APFS backups to HFS+ AirPorts/Time Capsule will work, but I decided to do a local Time Machine backup instead using an APFS-formatted locally attached external hard drive, since the machines I need to backup are desktops anyway.

BTW, our A1502 13" MacBook Pro 2015 2.6 GHz Core i5-5257U with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD runs great on macOS 12 Monterey. Mojave is too old since Safari is no longer being updated, and it's no longer getting any security updates. Occasional apps have also dropped Mojave support as well. With Monterey, you'll get 2 more years of Safari and security updates. I'm not using Time Machine with that particular Mac though, since it's my kid's machine and all her data is in iCloud or on Google Drive anyway.

 

[Bazzy]

I tried using more recent OSes with backup drives hooked up to my old AirPort Extreme 802.11ac access points, but those old access points don't work with APFS drives, only HFS+. I think the same is true with Time Capsule, that it is stuck on HFS+. Monterey APFS backups to HFS+ AirPorts/Time Capsule will work, but I decided to do a local Time Machine backup instead using an APFS-formatted locally attached external hard drive, since the machines I need to backup are desktops anyway.

BTW, our A1502 13" MacBook Pro 2015 2.6 GHz Core i5-5257U with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD runs great on macOS 12 Monterey. Mojave is too old since Safari is no longer being updated, and it's no longer getting any security updates. Occasional apps have also dropped Mojave support as well. With Monterey, you'll get 2 more years of Safari and security updates. I'm not using Time Machine with that particular Mac though, since it's my kid's machine and all her data is in iCloud or on Google Drive anyway.

Hi EugW,

Many thanks for your kind reply! TBH, I am not too tech savvy with things like files types & compatability - all I know is to format all my external drives to MacOs Extended Journalled!

On my 15" rMBP - the Mackintosh HD states that it is APFS if that might help? So, just to be clear, If I upgrade to Monterey to get better/more stable experience, then there will be no issues in using my Time Capsules to do wireless back ups with Time Machine?

Many Thanks!

 

[EugW]

Many thanks for your kind reply! TBH, I am not too tech savvy with things like files types & compatability - all I know is to format all my external drives to MacOs Extended Journalled!

On my 15" rMBP - the Mackintosh HD states that it is APFS if that might help? So, just to be clear, If I upgrade to Monterey to get better/more stable experience, then there will be no issues in using my Time Capsules to do wireless back ups with Time Machine?

These days all Macs are using APFS, which offers several advantages.
The Time Capsules you have do not support APFS. They are Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (otherwise known as HFS+).
However, you can do Time Machine backups from an APFS Mac to an HFS+ Time Capsule, so you should be fine.

File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac

In Disk Utility on your Mac, format disks or volumes using Apple File System (APFS), Mac OS Extended, MS-DOS (FAT), and ExFAT.

support.apple.com

As for external drives, if they're SSDs, you're better off using APFS (unless you want to share the drive with Windows PCs). For hard drives, there is some debate as to whether APFS or HFS+ is better, but I personally use APFS since it's a more robust filesystem than HFS+ and APFS has some other advantages too.

 

[Richy85]

I have installed ventura on 3 mac and I use time capsule without problems.

 

[Bazzy]

These days all Macs are using APFS, which offers several advantages.
The Time Capsules you have do not support APFS. They are Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (otherwise known as HFS+).
However, you can do Time Machine backups from an APFS Mac to an HFS+ Time Capsule, so you should be fine.

File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac

In Disk Utility on your Mac, format disks or volumes using Apple File System (APFS), Mac OS Extended, MS-DOS (FAT), and ExFAT.

support.apple.com

As for external drives, if they're SSDs, you're better off using APFS (unless you want to share the drive with Windows PCs). For hard drives, there is some debate as to whether APFS or HFS+ is better, but I personally use APFS since it's a more robust filesystem than HFS+ and APFS has some other advantages too.

Hi EugW,

Thank you kindly - I did not know that HFS+ & Mac OS Extended Journalled was the same thing & HFS+ always confused me!

From you, I have also learned to ensure any external drives if SDD should be APFS. On non SSD Drives, I have been formatting them with Mac OS Extended Journalled - will that cause any conflicts since two different file systems are used between the laptop & external standard drives?

As you say, the Time Capsule do not support APFS so have to stick to what they have HFS+?

Good to know that I can upgrade to Monterey & still be able to use the Time Capsules!

Thank you so much.

 

[EugW]

On non SSD Drives, I have been formatting them with Mac OS Extended Journalled - will that cause any conflicts since two different file systems are used between the laptop & external standard drives?

That should be fine.

 

[Bazzy]

I have installed ventura on 3 mac and I use time capsule without problems.

Hi Richy85,

Thanks for the info - great to know that the Time Capsules work without problems even on Ventura which is the latest & much newer than Monterey that I am limited to my my 2015 rMBP!

Just wish to check to be sure, are you using your Time Capsules to back up wirelessly as opposed to being hard wired to your Mac(s)?

Many Thanks!

 

[Richy85]

Exactly, all Macs are connected via Wi-Fi.

 

[masam]

Our Time Capsule (4th Gen) works fine under Monterey too.

I have upgraded the HD a few times over the years. In order to use a new disk you will need to format it using Apple’s Airport Utility, which will format the disk as APFS by default.