Retrospect needs to be listed under System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Full Disk Access. This applies to both a local Retrospect engine and a remote Retrospect Client application. Note that if you have already followed these steps under macOS Mojave, no further action is required.
Retrospect Backup 17 for Mac screenshot
Before you get started, ensure you have downloaded Retrospect Backup 16.5: Downloads.
Engine
Client
See our Knowledgebase article for full technical details and troubleshooting steps.
Retrospect 17.5, 18, 18.1, 18.2 for Mac is certified for Monterey and APFS. APFS is recognized as a valid volume type, and Retrospect is able to back up, restore, and copy the data. Retrospect supports restoring an HFS+ volume to an APFS volume and restoring an APFS volume to an HFS+ volume as long as there are no case-sensitivity issues with files in the same directory. HFS+ is case-insensitive by default, whereas APFS is case-sensitive by default. You can work around case-sensitivity restore problems by using "Copy to a new folder" mode. Following the Big Sur compatibility steps, the engine and client will be able to back up your application data under Big Sur.
As with every system update, we strongly recommend that you perform a backup before and after the upgrade, in case you encounter issues and need to roll back. Previous versions of Retrospect for Mac and Retrospect for Windows have limited support.
Retrospect 16.5, 17 for Mac are certified for Catalina and APFS. APFS is recognized as a valid volume type, and Retrospect is able to back up, restore, and copy the data. Retrospect supports restoring an HFS+ volume to an APFS volume and restoring an APFS volume to an HFS+ volume as long as there are no case-sensitivity issues with files in the same directory. HFS+ is case-insensitive by default, whereas APFS is case-sensitive by default. You can work around case-sensitivity restore problems by using "Copy to a new folder" mode. Following the Catalina compatibility steps, the engine and client will be able to back up your application data under Catalina.
However, these versions are not fully compatible with macOS Big Sur due to further changes to Full Disk Access.
Retrospect 15.5, 15.6, and 16 for Mac are certified for Mojave and APFS. APFS is recognized as a valid volume type, and Retrospect is able to back up, restore, and copy the data. Retrospect supports restoring an HFS+ volume to an APFS volume and restoring an APFS volume to an HFS+ volume as long as there are no case-sensitivity issues with files in the same directory. HFS+ is case-insensitive by default, whereas APFS is case-sensitive by default. You can work around case-sensitivity restore problems by using "Copy to a new folder" mode. Following the Mojave compatibility steps, the engine and client will be able to back up your application data under Mojave.
However, these versions are not fully compatible with macOS Catalina due to further changes to Full Disk Access.
Retrospect 14.6 and 15 for Mac are certified for APFS but not Mojave. APFS is recognized as a valid volume type, and Retrospect is able to back up, restore, and copy the data. Retrospect supports restoring an HFS+ volume to an APFS volume and restoring an APFS volume to an HFS+ volume as long as there are no case-sensitivity issues with files in the same directory. HFS+ is case-insensitive by default, whereas APFS is case-sensitive by default. You can work around case-sensitivity restore problems by using "Copy to a new folder" mode. However, on Mojave, scanning will hang, so your backups will not complete.
Retrospect is able to install and backup/restore APFS volumes. These show up as SMBFS in the user interface. However, Retrospect Client for Mac is able to install but not run. You will need to upgrade to protect your APFS volume on any Mac client. Moreover, on Mojave, scanning will hang, so your backups will not complete.
Retrospect for Mac will install on APFS, but licensing is not functional and prevents any operation. Retrospect Client for Mac also is able to install but does not run. You will need to upgrade to protect your APFS volume. Moreover, on Mojave, scanning will hang, so your backups will not complete.
Retrospect 8 for Mac lacks a decade of features and fixes. At this point, you should not be using this version to protect your data.
Retrospect Client for Mac fully supports APFS and Mojave.
Retrospect Client for Mac supports APFS but not Mojave. On Mojave, the client will appear to succeed without error but actually fail to protect many application data folders.
Retrospect Client for Mac is able to install but not run. You will need to upgrade to protect your APFS volume on any Mac client. Moreover, your application data will not be protected on Mojave.
| Minimum Version Required | Latest Version Supported | |
|---|---|---|
| OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) | Retrospect Backup 8 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 16.1 for Mac |
| OS X Lion (10.7) | Retrospect Backup 9 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 16.1 for Mac |
| OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) | Retrospect Backup 10 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| OS X Mavericks (10.9) | Retrospect Backup 11.5 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| OS X Yosemite (10.10) | Retrospect Backup 11.5 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| OS X El Capitan Leopard (10.11) | Retrospect Backup 13 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| macOS Sierra (10.12) | Retrospect Backup 14 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| macOS High Sierra (10.13) | Retrospect Backup 15.5 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| macOS Mojave (10.14) | Retrospect Backup 15.6 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| macOS Catalina (10.15) | Retrospect Backup 16.5 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| macOS Big Sur (11) | Retrospect Backup 17.5 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
| macOS Monterey (12) | Retrospect Backup 18.2 for Mac | Retrospect Backup 19.2 for Mac |
