I'm looking to swap my two MacBooks, one being a Pro M2 and the other an Air M3. I've backed them up using Time Machine, and I was hoping to just boot into recovery mode and restore each Mac from the other's backup. However, it seems like that's not working anymore, and now it's prompting me to reinstall the OS to use Migration Assistant instead. I just want to confirm if this is indeed the best method, since I've come across some posts suggesting that Migration Assistant won't erase existing data unless I reinstall the OS first. This idea makes me a bit anxious because I've seen others run into trouble using Migration Assistant after an OS reinstall.
2 Answers
Unfortunately, you can't use 'Restore from Time Machine' if the OS versions are different. It's better to erase the disk first and then go with Migration Assistant if you want a clean setup without old data lingering around.
As long as the Time Machine backup isn't from a newer OS than what's on your Mac, you should be good! Just make sure each Mac is updated to the same OS version. Then you can back up one last time, erase the disk, reinstall the OS, and use Migration Assistant from there. It's a solid plan!
Got it! So matching the OS versions is key. I'll do that before anything else. Thanks for the reassurance!