You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How to set up a new iMac with Time Machine from old iMac

I currently have a 2015 21.5” iMac running up to date Big Sur. I have an external SSD that I use for Time Machine. My new 24” iMac will arrive in about a week. I need to know the proper method for using Time Machine to set up the new machine so that I have everything on it that’s on my current iMac. Please give the the procedure. 

iMac 21.5″, macOS 11.4

Posted on Jun 24, 2021 7:36 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 24, 2021 7:37 PM

When you buy a new Mac the easiest, quickest and most reliable method to migrate from the old Mac to the new Mac is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk to the new Mac using a USB cable before you turn on the new Mac. You will likely need a USB A to USB C adapter, you can find them on Amazon for $10 or less. When you start the new Mac for the first time it will startup Setup Assistant (SA), SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another computer, select Yes  and follow the on-screen prompts and it's done! It is THAT simple.

 

If you have already done SA on the new computer then simply connect the Time Machine External Hard Disk using a USB cable and launch Migration Assistant (MA) which is located in Applications - Utilities - MA. Then follow the on-screen prompts. 

 

The ONLY difference between MA and SA is MA will create a new user account that you need to log into.

 

Both SA and MA migrate applications (not 32 bit apps), data files & settings. They do not migrate Mac OS itself. Some professional apps such as Adobe and Microsoft apps may require re-installing their apps as they will not allow them to be migrated. As long as you kept the security keys for installing their apps, it is not an issue. 

 

Finally, please NEVER EVER use WI-FI to migrate, this will fail in almost 100% of the situations in my experience. WI-FI was never intended to move large amounts of data at one time.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 24, 2021 7:37 PM in response to MacBoy70

When you buy a new Mac the easiest, quickest and most reliable method to migrate from the old Mac to the new Mac is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk to the new Mac using a USB cable before you turn on the new Mac. You will likely need a USB A to USB C adapter, you can find them on Amazon for $10 or less. When you start the new Mac for the first time it will startup Setup Assistant (SA), SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another computer, select Yes  and follow the on-screen prompts and it's done! It is THAT simple.

 

If you have already done SA on the new computer then simply connect the Time Machine External Hard Disk using a USB cable and launch Migration Assistant (MA) which is located in Applications - Utilities - MA. Then follow the on-screen prompts. 

 

The ONLY difference between MA and SA is MA will create a new user account that you need to log into.

 

Both SA and MA migrate applications (not 32 bit apps), data files & settings. They do not migrate Mac OS itself. Some professional apps such as Adobe and Microsoft apps may require re-installing their apps as they will not allow them to be migrated. As long as you kept the security keys for installing their apps, it is not an issue. 

 

Finally, please NEVER EVER use WI-FI to migrate, this will fail in almost 100% of the situations in my experience. WI-FI was never intended to move large amounts of data at one time.

How to set up a new iMac with Time Machine from old iMac

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.