Migration Assistant Not Working? Get Your Mac Moved (2026)

When Migration Assistant isn't working, update macOS on both Macs, keep them close together on the same Wi-Fi network, plug in any laptop, and turn off antivirus, firewall and VPN software on both until the transfer is done. Those are the checks Apple lists first. If that fails, connect the Macs with a cable or restore from a Time Machine backup instead.

A new Mac sitting next to the old one, both showing a spinner, is a deflating way to spend an evening. Most of the time the cause is ordinary: the network, a sleeping Mac, a password prompt nobody saw, or an app that won't come across. This guide goes symptom by symptom, then covers the routes that skip Wi-Fi entirely.

Check these before you try again

Four things need to be in place on both Macs before a transfer has a fair chance. Apple's Migration Assistant guide and the macOS 27 User Guide open with these checks:

1. Update macOS on each Mac. The two Macs don't need the same version of macOS, but each should be current for what it can run.
2. Turn on Wi-Fi on both and keep them near each other. If either Mac runs OS X El Capitan or earlier, or you aren't sure, connect both to the same Wi-Fi network.
3. Plug in any Mac laptop. A battery warning halfway through a long transfer is avoidable.
4. Turn off antivirus, firewall and VPN software on both Macs until the transfer is finished, then turn it back on.

On the Mac you're moving to, you'll find the app in System Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Open Migration Assistant, or in the Utilities folder inside Applications. On a brand-new Mac it also appears during setup. Start it on both Macs: the new one chooses From a Mac, Time Machine backup or startup disk, the old one chooses to transfer to another Mac.

Migration Assistant can't find the other Mac

If the new Mac never shows the old one in the list, the two machines can't see each other on the network. Go down this list one step at a time, and look at the new Mac's list again after each:

1. Quit Migration Assistant on both Macs and open it again. On the old Mac, get past the password prompt and choose the transfer to another Mac, then check whether the new Mac now shows it.
2. Join both Macs to the same Wi-Fi network, checking the network name on each. A guest network on one Mac and the main one on the other is an easy slip.
3. Turn off the macOS firewall on both Macs for now. It's in System Settings > Network > Firewall (Apple's firewall page). Turn it back on when you're done.
4. Disconnect any VPN and pause third-party security apps on both Macs, as Apple recommends.
5. Restart both Macs and your router, then try again with the Macs next to each other.

If the list is still empty after a restart, stop fighting the Wi-Fi. A cable or a backup disk (both below) take the network out of the equation.

Migration Assistant is stuck or taking hours

A slow transfer isn't always a stuck one. Apple says large transfers might need hours to complete and that progress can appear to pause along the way.

How to tell if it's still working

Open Activity Monitor on the old Mac (it's in Applications > Utilities), click the Network tab and watch the data sent. If the number keeps climbing, the transfer is alive and you should leave it alone. I check this on the old Mac before I decide anything is frozen, because cancelling a transfer that was simply slow means starting over.

Stop either Mac from sleeping

A Mac that dozes off mid-transfer can stall it. On a laptop, go to System Settings > Battery > Options and turn on Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off. On a desktop Mac, it's System Settings > Energy > Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off (Apple's sleep settings). Switch it back afterward.

Restart with less to move

If the transfer truly stops (the data counter flatlines for a long stretch), quit Migration Assistant on both Macs, restart them and run it again with fewer items selected. Apple's guide lets you expand each category and pick what goes. On my own moves to a new Mac, I bring over my user account, files and settings first and reinstall apps myself afterward; a slimmer first pass is easier to finish, and apps often have newer versions waiting anyway.

Password, authorization and account-name problems

Migration Assistant stops and waits whenever it needs a person to approve something, and those prompts are easy to miss on the other screen. Apple's steps include several:

• A security code on the old Mac. Check it matches the code on the new Mac, then click Continue. If you never see a code, look at the old Mac's screen; it may be waiting there.
• Authorize. If asked, click Authorize and enter the password of an administrator account that already exists on that Mac.
• Passwords for transferred accounts. For administrator accounts, click Set Password and save it. For standard accounts, write down the temporary password shown; the user changes it at first login.
• An account with the same name. If the new Mac already has an account with that name, choose to rename the old account and keep both, or replace the existing one. Replaced data can go to a Deleted Users folder.

If you created an account during setup with the same name as your old one, renaming the incoming account is the safer pick. You can tidy up duplicate accounts later in System Settings.

Apps, files or email missing after the transfer

Migration Assistant tells you what it couldn't move. When it finishes and finds problems, it shows a migration summary listing documents that didn't transfer or incompatible software (macOS User Guide). Read it before you click Done, and screenshot it if the list is long.

• Apps that didn't come across may be incompatible with the new Mac, or a newer version was already installed. Download those again, from the Mac App Store or wherever you bought them.
• Email transfers, but Apple notes you may need to set up the account again in your email app. The Apple Mail guide walks through adding Gmail, iCloud and Outlook accounts.
• Things stored in iCloud, such as iCloud Drive, Photos with iCloud turned on, and passwords, sync back from iCloud once you're signed in to your Apple Account on the new Mac with those features turned on.

Migration Assistant copies; it doesn't delete anything from the old Mac. So leave the old Mac as it is after the move, at least until you've opened the apps and files you rely on.

Use a cable instead of Wi-Fi

A direct cable between the two Macs is often faster than Wi-Fi, Apple's iMac guide says, and it removes the network from the problem. An older Apple guide gives the example of a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cable.

The catch is the cable itself. A USB-C plug doesn't mean it's a Thunderbolt cable, and Macworld notes that some USB-C cables carry only USB 2.0 speeds between Thunderbolt ports; look for the lightning-bolt icon on both ends, or use a Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 cable. I've grabbed a USB-C cable from a drawer before and only realized from the crawl that it was a charging cable. Then:

1. Connect the two Macs with the cable and plug in any laptop.
2. Open Migration Assistant on both, choosing From a Mac, Time Machine backup or startup disk on the new Mac and the transfer to another Mac on the old one.
3. Pick the old Mac on the new Mac's screen and carry on as usual.

Restore from a Time Machine backup instead

If you have a recent Time Machine backup of the old Mac, Migration Assistant can copy from it instead of from the Mac itself. That route skips Wi-Fi and works even if the old Mac is broken. Apple's restore steps:

1. Connect your Time Machine backup disk to the new Mac and turn it on.
2. Open Migration Assistant and choose From a Mac, Time Machine backup or startup disk, then click Continue.
3. Select the backup disk, then the backup you want. Expand the list to pick an older one.
4. Choose what to transfer, set passwords for the accounts, and wait. Apple says it can take hours.

If the old Mac still runs, back it up one last time right before you do this, so nothing from the last few days is left behind. The same backup can also bring back a single message later; the guide to recovering deleted emails covers that.

When the old Mac won't cooperate

Sometimes the old Mac is the problem: it won't open Migration Assistant, it crashes, or its disk is failing. You can still get the data off it.

Share the old Mac's disk over a cable

An old Mac with Apple silicon can share its disk from macOS Recovery. Connect the Macs with a USB, USB-C or Thunderbolt cable, shut the old Mac down, press and hold the power button until Loading startup options appears, click Options, then Continue, and choose Utilities > Share Disk (Apple's Share Disk steps). On the new Mac, it shows under Network in the Finder sidebar; connect as Guest and copy your files.

An Intel-based Mac uses target disk mode instead: hold the T key as it starts up, or choose Restart in Target Disk Mode in System Settings > General > Startup Disk. Apple says to connect the Macs with a Thunderbolt cable, and the old Mac then appears as a disk in Finder on the new one (target disk mode).

Check the old disk and the hardware

If transfers keep failing at the same point, the old disk may have errors. Start the old Mac in macOS Recovery, open Disk Utility and run First Aid on each volume, its container and then the disk itself (Apple's First Aid steps). If Disk Utility says the disk is about to fail, copy what you can now.

For a suspected hardware fault, run Apple Diagnostics. On Apple silicon, press and hold the power button until you see the options, then press and hold Command-D. Intel-based Macs need the D key held as they start up (Apple Diagnostics).

How I set up a migration so it works the first time

A migration goes smoothly when it isn't squeezed in before a busy morning. I start mine in the evening with both Macs plugged in, side by side, and let it run overnight. My checklist before clicking Continue:

• Fresh Time Machine backup of the old Mac, just in case.
• macOS updated on both Macs.
• Both on the same Wi-Fi, or joined by a real Thunderbolt cable.
• VPN, firewall and security apps paused on both.
• Sleep turned off on both while plugged in.
• The admin password for each Mac written down, and someone checking both screens for prompts.
• The old Mac kept as it is until the new one has proved itself.

Once you're in on the new Mac, sign in to your Apple Account, open your email app and your calendar, and check the apps you use every day before you wipe or sell the old one.