On the mac forums, there are people reporting that upgrading can affect the Mac recognizing the Time Machine. In this case, the person updated from Catalina to Mojave. They state when they ran Time Machine, it was formatted in MacOS Extended as Case/Journal/Encrypted. They cannot restore from the Time Machine image. They even tried a migration assistant program, which never found the drive and recovery mode tells them the drive has to be in APFS.
How to Troubleshoot the Time Machine when Mac Won’t Recognize It
There are a few ways to troubleshoot this issue. Start by making sure the backup disk is connected to the Mac and its power sources firmly, as cords can come loose, and that the backup disk is turned on.
Now, make sure the disk is connecting to the same network and that the network is up. Check the Wi-Fi icon at the top right of the screen or check the network under System Preferences > Network. It should tell you if you’re connected.
You may also need to update and install the recent macOS update, as well as downloading the latest software and firmware for a Time Capsule, if you are using that.
How to Find the Old Files Manually
You might also be able to find old backed-up files with the finder and extract the files that are most needed. Simply open Finder, often on the Dock where the icon looks like a face. You can also find it in the Applications folder. Search in the bar under Backups.backupdb.
Issues with Newer OS
According to Apple’s support pages, upgrading to macOS Monterey can mean that your backups were not upgraded enough with the new system. Newly created backups can only be used on macOS Big Sur or later.
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