What backup messages mean

When a backup set needs you, its pill says Needs attention or Paused, and a box on the card explains why in plain English with a button to fix it. This page lists those messages, word for word, with what they mean and what to do. Many of the same messages also appear under Data Backup in Job Insights.

%% caption: Working out what a backup message needs from you
flowchart TD
  A{What does the pill say?} -->|Needs attention| B{Is the message about a passphrase?}
  B -->|Yes| C[Set passphrase… or Re-enter passphrase…]
  B -->|No| D{Is it about reaching the destination?}
  D -->|Yes| E[Connect the drive, go online, or sign in again, then Try again]
  D -->|No| F[Read the message, fix the cause, then Try again]
  A -->|Paused| G{Does it say Waiting?}
  G -->|Yes| H[Nothing to do: it starts by itself when the condition clears]
  G -->|No| I[Resume or Back up now when you're ready]

Passphrase messages

"Set a backup passphrase for “…” before its first cloud backup." The set points at a cloud account but no passphrase has been chosen yet. Click Set passphrase… and follow The backup passphrase.

"That backup passphrase didn't match." The passphrase stored on this Mac doesn't open this backup. Click Re-enter passphrase… and type the one the backup was made with. Nothing is deleted. Until you do, automatic backups for this set wait instead of retrying.

"This destination already holds a backup that was locked with a different passphrase, so a new one can't start here." There's already a backup at that place made with another passphrase — often your own, from before. If you know that passphrase, use Re-enter passphrase… to reconnect to it. If you'd rather start a separate backup, use Change destination.

"Enter your recovery kit to reconnect this Mac to your Delta Trust plan." The set backs up to Delta Trust or Delta Drive, and this Mac isn't connected to your plan yet. See The recovery kit.

Reaching the destination

"Couldn't reach the backup destination (make sure the drive is connected). Connect the drive or check your network." The drive isn't plugged in, or — with (check your network) — the cloud account couldn't be reached. Plug the drive in or get online, then click Try again. Automatic backups don't raise this at all: they wait quietly and try again once the destination is back.

"Your cloud account's sign-in has expired, so the backup can't reach its files. Reconnect the account in Data Transfers, then run the backup again." The account needs signing in again. Your passphrase is fine. Sign the account back in from the Cloud Accounts window (see when an account needs signing in again), then click Try again.

"The cloud account wouldn't accept the backup (permission denied)." The account's access no longer allows writing there. Test or reconnect the account (see testing, editing and removing an account), then try again.

"This cloud account refused to store the backup …" That type of account can't take the kind of writes Data Backup needs. Use Change destination to pick another drive or a different, storage-style cloud account.

"There's no bucket called “…” in this account, so there's nowhere to put the backup." The bucket name is wrong or the bucket was removed. Use Change destination, pick the account again and choose one of its buckets from the list.

"The destination is out of space. Free some up (or pick a larger destination), then try again." Make room at the destination or move the set somewhere bigger. Storage Studio never deletes your versions to make room by itself.

Backups that stopped part-way

"Backup was stopped — it will pick up where it left off when you run it again." You clicked Stop. Click Resume or Back up now when you're ready.

"The last backup didn't finish — Storage Studio closed while it was running." It picks up where it left off; nothing is lost. Click Back up now. (For a set that has never finished a backup, the message starts "The first backup hasn't finished yet".)

"The backup was saved but its safety check didn't pass, so the newest version may be incomplete." Click Back up now to make a fresh version. See Backup versions.

"This backup is busy with another operation — try again in a moment." Wait a minute and try again.

"The backup couldn't finish (…). Try again, or switch to a different destination." Something else went wrong; the brackets give the first useful line of the reason. Try again; if it keeps happening, change the destination or contact support.

Waiting messages

These need nothing from you — the backup starts by itself when things change, and Back up now always works regardless. The first two turn the pill to Paused; the others appear in orange under the line that says when the set runs.

• "Paused while your Mac is busy — … It picks up where it left off on its own."
• "Waiting for a faster connection — the upload to … is running at about …, which is too slow to finish a backup."
• "Waiting for power — you asked for backups to run only when plugged in."
• "Waiting for Wi-Fi — you asked for backups to stay off hotspots."
• "Waiting until … — you asked for backups to stay out of these hours."
• "Waiting until your Mac is less busy."

See Backup schedules and triggers and Backup speed, battery and the network.

Other messages

• "Nothing was backed up — the set has no readable sources." — the folders in the set have gone or can't be read. Check them with Add folder or file.
• "The backup engine isn't available in this build, so backups are paused. Reinstalling Storage Studio restores it." — reinstall Storage Studio; see Moves or transfers say a component is missing.

If a backup simply didn't happen and there's no message, see A backup didn't run.

See also: Data Backup · The backup passphrase · Where a backup can go