Put your Mac back to how it was yesterday with Time Machine

Why it happens

A Mac doesn't keep restore points by itself. What it can do is roll back to a Time Machine backup, which holds your apps, settings and files as they were at that time. A full restore replaces what's on the Mac now, so anything newer than the backup is lost unless you copy it somewhere first.

How to fix it

1. Before anything else, copy files you've created or changed since the backup to a USB drive or iCloud Drive. The restore puts back the older versions and removes newer ones.

2. Plug in your Time Machine backup drive, or make sure your Mac can reach the network drive it backs up to.

3. Start up in macOS Recovery. On a Mac with Apple silicon, shut down, then press and hold the power button until you see Loading startup options, click Options and then Continue. On an Intel Mac, turn it on and hold Command-R until the Apple logo appears.

4. In the Recovery window, choose Restore from Time Machine and click Continue. Follow the steps on screen: pick your backup disk, then the backup date you want to go back to, then the disk to restore to.

5. Let it run. A big restore can take a long time, so keep a MacBook plugged in. Your Mac restarts when it's done, and you'll be back to how things were on that date.

6. Only need one file or folder back? Skip all of this. Open the folder in Finder, then open the Time Machine app, go back to the date you want, select the item and click Restore.

   Time Machine›Restore

Restore from Time Machine works the same way on macOS 26 and 27. In Time Machine settings, the button is Add Backup Disk on macOS 26 and Add Backup Disk… on macOS 27.

Still not fixed?

1. If your backup disk doesn't appear in Recovery, unplug it and plug it in again, try another cable or port, and give it a minute. For a network backup, connect to Wi-Fi from the menu bar in Recovery first.

2. If you have no Time Machine backup, there's nothing to roll back to. Reinstalling macOS from the same Recovery window can fix a broken system and normally keeps your files, but back up what you can first.

3. So this never catches you out again, set up Time Machine with an external drive. It backs up every hour while the drive is connected.

   macOS 26 Tahoe General›Time Machine›Add Backup Disk

   macOS 27 Golden Gate General›Time Machine›Add Backup Disk…

4. Going back to an older version of macOS is a bigger job than a restore and usually means erasing your Mac. Ask Apple Support for the right steps for your model before you start.

5. If the restore stops with an error, or the backup drive makes clicking noises or can't be read, contact Apple Support. A failing drive is a hardware problem and may need a repair shop to recover.