Apple’s upcoming macOS 27 Golden Gate drops native AFP support, instantly breaking Time Machine compatibility with every Time Capsule model. The developer beta ships without an AFP client, ending a protocol that has lived on Macs since 1988. Users upgrading to the new OS will find their legacy backup appliances unusable without a third‑party fix for many home users.

The AirPort line debuted in 2008, pairing a Wi‑Fi router with NAS storage, and was discontinued in 2018 after years of stagnation. Apple shifted from AFP to SMB in OS X Mavericks 2013, finally stripping the AFP server in macOS 11 Big Sur. macOS 27 also mandates TLS 1.2 and SMB v2/v3, standards the original hardware cannot meet, affecting compliance.

A GitHub project called TimeCapsuleSMB, built by Microsoft engineer James Chang, installs Samba 4.24.3 on the device and offers an SMB 3 share via Bonjour. Only the 2013 fifth‑generation tower restarts; older units require manual activation after power loss, and the switch creates a backup chain. Intel Macs on macOS 26 can keep Time Capsule, but Apple‑silicon users must switch to a NAS or a patched unit.