Reviews for Time Capsule - 2 TB

We had the original 1TB for 4 years and never experienced a single problem. As soon as we got the new 2TB version, we've had nothing but problems with it. Our home is suddenly full of "dead zones" where there were none before, and we've been unable to complete full backups. We've had network techs come to the house, they could not offer a solution. Based on the reviews here mainly being 1-star "didn't work" or 4-5 stars "worked great," I would guess there is a very high rate of "lemons" with this product. Well, that's what you get when you manufacture in China I guess. I'm looking very forward to moving away from Apple products completely, it seems each new iteration is more problematic than the last.

I am a long time Apple fan and user; but I have to say I am very disappointed in the Time Capsule for the following reasons:
1. The initial backup of my MacBook Pro, with 151GB of data on the HD, took almost 3 days using the wireless. In all fairness, Apple says it will take longer for the initial backup if you choose to do it over wireless; but in comparison, it only took 4 hours to do an initial Time Machine backup with a plugged in portable hard drive.
2. I wanted to replace my existing Airport Express (which is being used to connect a Vonage box to my existing network) with the built-in router in the Time Capsule (essentially an Airport Extreme). It turns out the Ethernet ports on the back are deactivated when you "join" an existing wireless network (unlike the Airport Express).
3. In order to activate the Ethernet ports you have to "extend" an existing network with the Time Capsule. But Apple doesn't let you extend from a non-Apple wireless router.

A big disappointment that Apple put those limitations into the Time Capsule when the Airport Express has no such limitations. Returning it tomorrow :(

Bought the 2TB to replace my WD 1TB which have given up the ghost and I must say has lived up to expectations.

Installation was simple, straight forward even with bridged to current Sky router. All very smooth and up in running in minutes. Switched over all other WiFi devices to new Time Capsule and all is very well.

Seems to have solved issues I was having with Sky WiFi as well which is a bonus indeed!

After being easy to setup and quietly backing up photos wirelessly for 18 months my 2TB Time Capsule (cost £249) failed yesterday, with a maximum of only 639GB of space ever having been used :(

The only hint I had that something might be amiss was a 'parse bundle could not be found' message appeared on my iMac screen. The light on the time capsule changed to amber and in a trice the light went out. Since then nothing, it's completely dead.

Bought from John Lewis in July 2011 but whereas I thought it had a 2 year guarantee I was told it was just one year.

I would recommend anyone thinking of buying a time capsule to Google it beforehand! Not to just rely on this site, Which and Amazon, as I did. It seems there are sites where a fair number of users indicate it has an average life span of between 18-22 months.

Such a disappointment for what was and still looks like a brilliant product; plus at the time I could have purchased a 1TB one for less money but bought the bigger one because I thought it would be more economical in the long run...... I was expecting 4-5 years akin to my Western Digital passport. And yes, I know things will fail but I honestly hadn't expected such a comparatively short time frame.

Obviously my opinion may change but one week in I really can't fault the Time Capsule. I got a reconditioned 2TB model. Out of the box I simply plugged it into my existing router with a ethernet cable and turned the power on. I didn't have to fiddle around with loads of complicated settings the Time Capsule did it all itself! The dual band wifi is so clever also, My MBPRetina, iPhones and AppleTV running on one band and my housemates computers running on another. No lag at all.

Can't fault it.

The wireless router part of the time capsule has been very serviceable and speedy. However, its main purpose--as a backup server--is flaky and unreliable. And if a backup is unreliable, it's not a backup, is it? My drive experienced problems 9 months into the first year, which appeared to resolve themselves. But the drive started failing again 3 months after the warranty expired, so I replaced the drive myself (quite the ordeal--thanks for sealing a hot-running device, designers). It seemed to work for awhile, and now it has utterly failed again. The reset button doesn't work, the light stays amber, even though the warranty was barely over and the thing never did work properly.

Do not purchase Time Capsule!

Fantastic! definitely buy one of these things if you wish to speed up your Internet or to back up a mac and to share hard drives. Great Product

I have had zero issues with my TC. A little research is needed to fully use all of it's capabilities but it along with Apple's Time Machine software is simply wonderful.

TWO ISSUES: While I haven't had any issues yet, it really should have more ventilation. It definitely gets hot and I can see this being an issue. Also, I think it's been around long enough that Apple could have a thunderbolt port available now. This would speed up backups considerably as well as keep the unit from working so hard (thereby keeping the temp at a more appropriate level).

NOTES: While it's a great backup system, I recommend having an external/portable backup system as well. I use time machine on a 2TB external once a month and keep it stored in my firesafe. If someone were to rob you or god forbid your house burns down- the backup system would be pretty useless.

Every few months I get a message from the time capsule advising "Time Machine completed a verification of your backups on “xxxx”. To improve reliability, Time Machine must create a new backup for you." It destroys all the previous back ups and starts over... again. Why it has 2 TB is beyond me as it never seems to use but 500GB. I'm going back to WD, reliable and without wasting another 7-8 hours every few months to get a simple back up done. I have no idea what I have lost trusting this thing. But the last time it did this was 12/11/2012. By March 2013, it wants to do it again.