diff --git a/pkg/service/backup/backupspec/paths.go b/pkg/service/backup/backupspec/paths.go
index b618eedac..494787fad 100644
--- a/pkg/service/backup/backupspec/paths.go
+++ b/pkg/service/backup/backupspec/paths.go
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ const (
 	Schema = "schema_with_internals.json.gz"
 	// UnsafeSchema is the name of the schema file that shouldn't be used for restore
 	// (so for Scylla versions older than 6.0).
-	UnsafeSchema = "schema.json.gz"
+	UnsafeSchema = "schema.tar.gz"
 	// TempFileExt is suffix for the temporary files.
 	TempFileExt = ".tmp"
 
diff --git a/pkg/service/backup/worker_schema.go b/pkg/service/backup/worker_schema.go
index be884c188..fcecec539 100644
--- a/pkg/service/backup/worker_schema.go
+++ b/pkg/service/backup/worker_schema.go
@@ -3,10 +3,13 @@
 package backup
 
 import (
+	"archive/tar"
 	"bytes"
 	"compress/gzip"
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"io"
+	"strings"
 	"sync/atomic"
 
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
@@ -15,6 +18,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/scylladb/scylla-manager/v3/pkg/service/backup/backupspec"
 	"github.com/scylladb/scylla-manager/v3/pkg/util/parallel"
 	"github.com/scylladb/scylla-manager/v3/pkg/util/query"
+	"github.com/scylladb/scylla-manager/v3/pkg/util/timeutc"
+	"go.uber.org/multierr"
 	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 )
 
@@ -25,37 +30,47 @@ func (w *worker) DumpSchema(ctx context.Context, clusterSession gocqlx.Session,
 	}
 
 	if safe {
-		if err := query.RaftReadBarrier(clusterSession); err != nil {
-			w.Logger.Error(ctx, "Couldn't perform raft read barrier, backup of schema as CQL files will be skipped", "error", err)
-			return nil
-		}
-	} else {
-		if err := clusterSession.AwaitSchemaAgreement(ctx); err != nil {
-			w.Logger.Error(ctx, "Couldn't await schema agreement, backup of unsafe schema as CQL files will be skipped", "error", err)
-			return nil
-		}
+		return w.safeDumpSchema(ctx, clusterSession)
 	}
+	w.unsafeDumpSchema(ctx, clusterSession)
+	return nil
+}
 
-	schema, err := query.DescribeSchemaWithInternals(clusterSession)
+func (w *worker) safeDumpSchema(ctx context.Context, session gocqlx.Session) error {
+	w.Logger.Info(ctx, "Schema backup for used ScyllaDB version is done via DESCRIBE SCHEMA WITH INTERNALS CQL query. "+
+		"ScyllaDB Manager will snapshot system_schema sstables, but they won't be used during schema restoration")
+	if err := query.RaftReadBarrier(session); err != nil {
+		w.Logger.Error(ctx, "Couldn't perform raft read barrier, backup of schema as CQL files will be skipped "+
+			"(restoring schema from this backup won't be possible)", "error", err)
+		return nil
+	}
+	schema, err := query.DescribeSchemaWithInternals(session)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	b, err := marshalAndCompressSchema(schema)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "create safe schema file")
 	}
+	w.SchemaFilePath = backupspec.RemoteSchemaFile(w.ClusterID, w.TaskID, w.SnapshotTag)
+	w.Schema = b
+	return nil
+}
 
-	if safe {
-		w.SchemaFilePath = backupspec.RemoteSchemaFile(w.ClusterID, w.TaskID, w.SnapshotTag)
-	} else {
-		w.SchemaFilePath = backupspec.RemoteUnsafeSchemaFile(w.ClusterID, w.TaskID, w.SnapshotTag)
-		w.Logger.Info(ctx, "Backing-up and restoring schema from output of "+
-			"DESCRIBE SCHEMA WITH INTERNALS is supported starting from ScyllaDB 6.0 or 2024.2. "+
-			"Previous versions restore schema via snapshot of system_schema sstables")
+func (w *worker) unsafeDumpSchema(ctx context.Context, session gocqlx.Session) {
+	w.Logger.Info(ctx, "Schema backup for used ScyllaDB version is done via snapshot of system_schema sstables. "+
+		"ScyllaDB Manager will try to create unsafe schema CQL archive, but it won't be used during schema restoration")
+	if err := session.AwaitSchemaAgreement(ctx); err != nil {
+		w.Logger.Error(ctx, "Couldn't await schema agreement, backup of unsafe schema as CQL files will be skipped", "error", err)
+		return
 	}
-
+	b, err := createUnsafeSchemaArchive(ctx, w.Units, session)
+	if err != nil {
+		w.Logger.Error(ctx, "Couldn't create unsafe schema archive, backup of unsafe schema as CQL files will be skipped", "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+	w.SchemaFilePath = backupspec.RemoteUnsafeSchemaFile(w.ClusterID, w.TaskID, w.SnapshotTag)
 	w.Schema = b
-	return nil
 }
 
 func (w *worker) UploadSchema(ctx context.Context, hosts []hostInfo) (stepError error) {
@@ -136,3 +151,45 @@ func isDescribeSchemaSafe(ctx context.Context, client *scyllaclient.Client, host
 	}
 	return out.Load(), nil
 }
+
+func createUnsafeSchemaArchive(ctx context.Context, units []Unit, clusterSession gocqlx.Session) (b bytes.Buffer, err error) {
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(&b)
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(gw)
+
+	now := timeutc.Now()
+
+	for _, u := range units {
+		if err := ctx.Err(); err != nil {
+			return bytes.Buffer{}, err
+		}
+
+		km, err := clusterSession.KeyspaceMetadata(u.Keyspace)
+		if err != nil {
+			return bytes.Buffer{}, errors.Wrapf(err, "describe keyspace %s schema", u.Keyspace)
+		}
+
+		cqlSchema, err := km.ToCQL()
+		if err != nil {
+			return bytes.Buffer{}, errors.Wrapf(err, "cql keyspace %s metadata", u.Keyspace)
+		}
+
+		if err := tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{
+			Name:    u.Keyspace + ".cql",
+			Size:    int64(len(cqlSchema)),
+			Mode:    0o600,
+			ModTime: now,
+		}); err != nil {
+			return bytes.Buffer{}, errors.Wrapf(err, "tar keyspace %s schema", u.Keyspace)
+		}
+
+		if _, err := io.Copy(tw, strings.NewReader(cqlSchema)); err != nil {
+			return bytes.Buffer{}, errors.Wrapf(err, "copy %s schema", u.Keyspace)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if err := multierr.Combine(tw.Close(), gw.Close()); err != nil {
+		return bytes.Buffer{}, errors.Wrap(err, "writer close")
+	}
+
+	return b, nil
+}