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Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur

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Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur

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Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-02-21 01:56:06
Model: Archer AX50  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.0.9

I have a new AX50 and I can't get my backups to work.  It doesn't matter if the USB drive is formatted on HFS+ or APFS.  I've tried the following:

 

  • Different Drives
  • Formatting the drive to APFS
    • My Mac can read the drive fine when it's connected directly to it.
    • The AX50 doesn't recognize the drive at all.
      • Does the AX50 even read APFS formats?
  • Formatting the drive to HFS+
    • My Mac can read teh drive fine when it's connected directly to it.
    • The AX50 does recognize the drive, but cannot back up.  Through the TPLink GUI, it recognizes the drive.  I've added the drive, turned on sharing and contents to the drive, turned on Access Authentication, created an account and password, and enabled media sharing.
    • Time Machine recognizes the drive, but refuses to backup to it.  It says "Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Archer AX50.local"
    • I tried switching to an encrypted backup and that didn't work as well.
    • I can SMB connect to the drive with no issue

 

I'm on week 3 with tech support and still no progress. Looking for the community to help.  If I can't figure this out soon, I'll be returning this router and going to another brand.

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#1
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12 Reply
Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-02-24 02:50:33
Hi gorje I have lot of problems with this function. Reported this in a post. And TPLINK delete the thread. Based on my experience, the timemachine service on this router corrupts your connected drive format, be aware. I also had connection drops, and not being able to do the full back up at once. The share disappear or disconnects from time to Time. Is like the service on the router fails. From my testing, Apfs its not supported. But hfs volumes were detected. Maybe you need to “time machine show unsupported network volumes“ -> google it. Good luck!
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#2
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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-06-27 18:31:04

@GorgeM I too am having this problem. Everything I try seems to work to start with, but then no backup is made. Even updated the firmware with no luck.

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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-06-27 20:26:40
I gave up. I spent countless hours with TP link and we couldn't figure it out. I ended up buying another router from a different manufacturer.
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#4
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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-06-27 20:29:17

@aea 

I tried everything too.  I was on tech support with TP-Link for hours over the course of a month.  I ended up returning my router and got one from a different manufacturer.  I went with another AX-3000 but from Asus.  I had a little bit of a struggle setting up time machine, but figured it out within 10 minutes.  I even got a second router and I'm using AI-Mesh through them now.

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#5
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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-08-10 14:24:21
I'm also having this same problem.... Time Machine used to work well until I installed Big Sur and ever since then it hasn't worked?? Does anyone have any fixes???
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#6
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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-08-24 20:26:07

Had same problem too... 

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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-11-30 05:14:47

@GorgeM Just picked up an AX50 and set it up. The setup went OK. I followed the instructions here https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2729/ for setting up Time Machine. It won't work for either of our Macs. Hopefully someone will find a solution to this and post an update here.

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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-11-30 05:50:41

@Martian514 

Just walk away.  I gave up on mine and glad that I did.  Never looked back.  I get these email alerts for people who are still trying to figure it out.  I'd rather return it, pay the extra $20-30 for a better router and save hours of headaches.  

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#9
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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-11-30 07:47:45
Have you found a WiFi 6 router where Time Machine does work? If so, would be interested to hear about your experience. Thanks!
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Re:Time Machine Backup not working on AX50 on Big Sur
2021-12-14 18:59:20

@GorgeM 

 I've identified the problem and notified TP-Link tech support. While it's on my AX6000 I am pretty sure it's across all platforms. The problem is that by default, if formatting HFS+ extended (both case and non case sensitive) it also formats journaling. The router cannot handle the journal, and overwrites it corrupting the filesystem. To fix, disable the journal. On your mac after formatting, mount the drive and get a command line (open terminal). Assume that your drive is named NameOfYourDisk. nter the following command at the prompt:

diskutil disableJournal /Volumes/NameOfYourDisk

 

Eject the drive and then attach it to the router - that should do the trick. Obviously, test this yourself on something that does not have important data as formatting will wipe it.

And equally important - without the journal, a power outage or reboot while the disk is being written has a chance of causing filesystem damage that you will need to connect to the mac to fix. 

 

Typical disclaimer applies: I'm not a TP-Link employee, and your milage may vary, but it's working for me.

 

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