Reviews for Time Capsule - 3 TB

Have to say that I am disappointed with the Time Capsule. It could be so much better than what it is.

First of all it does not back up iPad, iPod or iPhone unless they are already backed up on your computer.

This is purely used to backup your Mac and will not automatically back up a windows PC.

The reason this disappoints is because it could be so much more. The automatic backup of your Mac is a good feature but I wanted this so that I could free up space as well as back up my system. I hoped that I could move photos, videos, etc to the TC and then access them as required through any of my Apple devices which would free up loads of space. Ok you can write to your TC but the problem is the data you write will eventually be wiped over automatically and without warning when your Mac backup is updated as it works on a first in first out basis when deleting old files.

An option to allocate x amount of space for backup and another amount for hard drive style storage as well as easy access and streaming to other Apple devices would make this an amazing product. Unfortunately it doesn't do this.

This is the message I get -

"Time Machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not available."

But the green light is on...I am VERY disappointed and at a loss to know what's wrong.

I DID rate it at 5 prior to that as it's effortless; you don't know it's there and it's automatically working away.

Our previous Linksys access point disconnected devices randomly, and had to be restarted once or twice a day :-/ ... and since my old backup disks were low on space, we decided to go for the Time Capsule.

Extremely easy setup - even more than expected. Perfect connectivity for all of our devices (3 iPads, 4 iPhones, 1 iMac, 2 MacBooks, 1 AppleTV) - have not had to restart the Capsule since we bought it three weeks back ... particularly popular with the kids (and my wife), now they can watch Netflix without interruptions :-) Also i got 89 Mbs via wireless on our 100 Mbs fiber, when in the same room or the the rooms next to it, and 25 Mbs when in the rooms furthest away (where the Linksys previously couldn't stream flicks from Netflix).

I've learned taking backup the hard way ... and with a Time Machine - Time Capsule combo it is extremely hassle free (compared to Buffalo devices). All three mac's backup without any worries (and the first backup used restricted bandwidth, so it didn't affect normal use). Need to see though how the setup handles errors - I expect a disk break down in two to three years, and when that happens on the Time Machine I truly hope notifications on the macs are aggressive enough so I will notice it and be able to get a new disk/time capsule.

Works really well as a back up device. Have had for 4 years backing up 4 Macs. No hassle, works in the background and works flawlessly for retrieving files.
NB: Don't expect it to back up iPhones/iPads as these are not OSX compatible and back up to iCloud automatically anyway.

This is a back up device for your MAC first and foremost, it is NOT a storage device unless you connect an external hard drive to the USB port. If you connect a powered USB hub you can connect multiple drives that solves the storage issue, you can also point additional Time Machine back ups to these hard drives if you have more than one MAC. Its an excellent WI-FI router, ours has an Air Port to extend range over a large house, works without fault. Have had to use a Time Machine back up when a hard drive failed in one of our iMacs worked without fault, but slow. Love mine. Don't understand the issues with it.

since upgrading to OX Lion the time Capsule is just about worthless. to retrieve files is a complicated mess Apple needs to sort out the compatibility problem between Time Capsule and OX Lion

Really needed a 3Tb server to free up the MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs we have. First unit shipped lasted twenty-four hours before dropping off the network for no apparent reason. Power cycling is the only option and this did not last. Reset entire device - no dice. Sent back (after a lot of telephone wrangling) got a replacement - guess what - doing EXACTLY the same thing. These are too unreliable - especially if you rely on them for your critical backups.