Apple disbanded its router hardware team in 2016 and officially exited the business in 2018. Now in 2025, Apple is signaling that one of the last remaining benefits of its networking hardware will be disabled next year.

Spotted by @StellaFudge on X, macOS Tahoe 26 includes a warning message when using Time Machine to back up a Mac to Apple router-connected storage.

The next major version of macOS will no longer support AirPort Disk, or other Time Capsule disks, for Time Machine backups.

When Apple exited the router business, it sold three products: the small AirPort Express, the more robust AirPort Extreme, and a version of the AirPort Extreme that included internal storage for Time Machine backups called Time Capsule. Each product could also connect to a USB drive for Time Machine backups.

While macOS Tahoe 26, announced on Monday and released in beta, will continue to support backups to storage connected to Apple routers, Mac users should expect macOS 27 to lose support. That’s the macOS version due to be announced in June 2026 and released later next year.

For alternatives, network-attached storage (NAS) solutions like Synology offer a way to continue using Time Machine for wireless backups over the local network.