Updated
Updated · heise online · Jun 22
TimeCapsuleSMB Restores SMBv3 Backups on 2013 Apple Time Capsules as macOS 27 Drops AFP
Updated
Updated · heise online · Jun 22

TimeCapsuleSMB Restores SMBv3 Backups on 2013 Apple Time Capsules as macOS 27 Drops AFP

1 articles · Updated · heise online · Jun 22

Summary

  • TimeCapsuleSMB now lets older Apple Time Capsule and AirPort Disk devices keep working for Time Machine backups by adding Samba 4 and SMBv3 support.
  • macOS 27 broke that use case by removing AFP and no longer working with SMBv1, the only file-sharing options those routers originally support.
  • 2013-and-later 5th-generation Time Capsules running NetBSD 6 can start the new server automatically, while older NetBSD 4 models need manual activation or reflashed firmware.
  • James Chang’s open-source project can be installed through Python or a macOS GUI app and mounts the devices over an SMB URL in Finder instead of Apple’s legacy stack.
  • Apple stopped selling AirPort hardware in 2018 and had already warned in summer 2025 that protocol changes would end native backup support, leaving community fixes as the main workaround.

Insights

With macOS 27 killing old hardware, can a community hack truly save your devices from Apple's planned obsolescence?
Is Apple's AI push a real tech leap or just an excuse to force millions into expensive Mac upgrades?