How to Go Back in Time on MacBook Air

MacBook Air offers its users a utility that allows them to restore their laptops to a previous time. This feature is known as the “Time Machine.” There could be several reasons why you would want to use it; however, it’s important to note that you must make regular backups on the time machine in order for it to work. The idea is simple– no backups, no restoration. You can’t make your Mac go back in time without giving it something to go back to. 

In case you don’t have Time Machine or you never backed up any data on it, your only option would be to use a third party data recovery software. You can either erase the hard disk and reset the entire notebook or restore it back to a certain point in time using the mac utilities. So, here we’ll explain how you can restore your MacBook Air using the Time Machine.

How to use Time Machine to restore MacBook Air?

It could be possible that you ended up deleting some important files, installed or updated apps that are causing problems in the notebook’s performance, or just have an old notebook that needs to be saved by going back in time when it used to work perfectly. Well, all of it can be done via Time Machine.

But, keep in mind that after you use it by selecting a backup from a specific date and time, all the settings would go back to how they were during that timespan. You will lose any new changes that you made afterwards. That’s why it’s recommended that you use an external hard drive to backup any new files and data that may be important before restoring your MacBook Air to a previous point. You could also use iCloud to perform a backup.

Now, let’s see how you can use the Time Machine to go back in time in MacBook Air.

For MacBook Air with Intel chip:

• Shut down the notebook.
• Thumb the power button and keep on pressing the Cmd + R keys simultaneously until you see the logo appear.
• You will be asked to enter your admin username and password.
• In the macOS utilities, select “Restore from Time Machine Backup.”
• Choose the backup file of that date you want to restore and follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process.

For MacBook Air with M1 chip:

• Turn off the notebook.
• Thumb the power button until the startup options get displayed.
• Tap on “Options.”
• Enter your username and password.
• Tap on “Restore from Time Machine Backup.”
• Select the backup file of that date you want to restore and follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process.

How to restore when you don’t have a Time Machine backup?

If you didn’t set up a backup disk for Time Machine backups, then your only option would be to use a third party data recovery software. Some of the applications that you could try are Disk Drill for Mac, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, Get Backup Pro, etc. Such applications are easy to install and operate. You can follow the on-screen instructions of each app to restore your MacBook Air files and data.

Final Thoughts:

It is recommended that when you buy a laptop, you set up a backup system to prevent data loss. On MacBook Air, Time Machine is the best in-built tool you could use to protect your data and settings. So, if you still haven’t started backing up data on Time Machine, you should do it now. Meanwhile, this article can help you to retrieve previous settings, data and files by restoring your notebook to an earlier point in time.