How to Reset Migration Assistant After a Failed Mac Transfer

Resolve stalled or failed Mac migrations by force-quitting processes, clearing temporary data, and restarting the Migration Assistant workflow.

1. Force quit the Migration Assistant process. If the transfer has frozen, press Command + Option + Escape to open the Force Quit Applications menu. Select Migration Assistant and click Force Quit. If the interface is entirely unresponsive, open Activity Monitor, locate the Migration Assistant process, and click the X button in the toolbar followed by Force Quit.
2. Reboot the destination and source Macs. Restart both machines to clear volatile memory and reset network sockets. On both Macs, click the Apple menu and select Restart. Ensure both devices remain plugged into power throughout the reboot process.
3. Check disk space and system integrity. On the destination Mac, navigate to System Settings > General > Storage to verify there is sufficient space for the incoming data. Open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities and run First Aid on your primary drive to ensure no file system errors are blocking the migration.
4. Disable security software and firewalls. Third-party antivirus or firewall software often blocks migration traffic. Navigate to System Settings > Network > Firewall and temporarily toggle the firewall to Off. If you have third-party security suites installed, disable their real-time scanning features until the migration is complete.
5. Launch Migration Assistant again. Open Migration Assistant from Applications > Utilities on both Macs. On the source Mac, select 'To another Mac'. On the destination Mac, select 'From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or Startup disk'. Proceed through the prompts and select the specific user accounts and data you wish to transfer.
6. Maintain connection stability. If using a network transfer, ensure both Macs are connected via Ethernet to the same router rather than Wi-Fi. If using a cable, confirm the use of a high-speed Thunderbolt 3 or 4 cable. Avoid interacting with either computer until the migration reaches 100% completion.