Time Capsule - 2TB

Back up a lifetime's worth of memories with Time Capsule, a wireless hard drive that works seamlessly with Time Machine in OS X. It’s also a full-featured 802.11n Wi-Fi base station with simultaneous dual-band support. Choose from 2TB and 3TB models.1

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3.5

Based on 135 reviews

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Purchase Information

$299.00

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Overview

Wireless backup for your Mac.

Time Machine icon

NEW
Automatic backup with Time Machine.

Time Capsule works automatically with Time Machine in OS X Leopard or later to create the perfect no-hassle backup solution. There are no cables, and you can back up all the computers in your home to a central location. New technologies in Time Capsule and refinements to Time Machine make backing up to Time Capsule using Snow Leopard up to 75 percent faster than before.2

Storage icon

Server-grade storage.

The massive 2TB or 3TB server-grade hard drive gives you all the capacity and safety you need for backing up all your Mac computers.

Networking icon

Easy wireless networking.

Connect your DSL or cable modem to Time Capsule, then quickly set it up with the easy-to-use AirPort Utility, which is available as download for both Mac OS X and Windows. In minutes, you and up to 50 others can use your Mac computers or PCs to surf the web, stream video, share photos and more — without wires.3

Dual Band icon

Simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi.

For maximum range and compatibility, Time Capsule works simultaneously on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, allowing all the devices on the network to use the most efficient band automatically. It uses the latest 802.11n wireless technology, so you can enjoy up to five times the Wi-Fi performance and up to twice the range of 802.11g wireless networks.4

Guest Networking icon

Guest networking.

Set up a separate Wi-Fi network with a separate password for your visitors. Simply enable the guest networking feature, and your guests can use the Internet but can’t access other parts of your private network, such as your computers, printers and attached hard drives.

Drive Sharing icon

Wireless drive sharing.

Time Capsule also works great as a wireless hard drive, whether you have a Mac or a PC. It sets up in a snap, giving you a networked hard drive you can use for storing and sharing all kinds of files. If you’re a MobileMe member using a Mac with OS X Leopard or later, or an iCloud member with Mac OS X Lion, you can even access the files on the drive over the Internet.5

Printer icon

Print without wires.

Print documents, photos and more from any room in your home or office to a central printer connected to Time Capsule via USB. (See system requirements.)

Security icon

Strong security and access controls.

Protect yourself with the built-in firewall and industry-standard encryption technologies including WPA/WPA2 and 128-bit WEP.

AppleTV, iPhone, iPod touch icon

Works with iPad, iPhone, Apple TV and more.

Time Capsule works with Mac computers, PCs, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Apple TV and virtually all 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi wireless devices — all at the same time.

What's in the Box

  • Time Capsule
  • Printed documentation
  • Power cord

System Requirements

For Time Machine backup:
  • Mac with OS X Leopard or later
For set-up and administration:
  • Mac computer with Mac OS X v.10.5.7 or later and Ethernet or wireless networking capability
  • PC with Windows XP (SP3) or Windows Vista (SP2) or Windows 7 (SP1) or later and Ethernet or wireless networking capability
For wireless client access:
  • Mac with AirPort or AirPort Extreme wireless capability
  • PC with 802.11a/b/g/n
For shared hard drive:
  • Mac with Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later
  • PC with Windows XP (SP2) or Windows Vista; Bonjour for Windows included with AirPort Utility available as download via Software Update.
For shared printing:
  • USB printer
  • Mac with Mac OS X v10.2.7 or later
  • PC with Windows XP (SP2) or Windows Vista; Bonjour for Windows included with AirPort Utility available as download via Software Update.
  1. 1TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual formatted capacity less.
  2. Testing conducted by Apple in October 2009 comparing preproduction Time Capsule (Late 2009) with shipping Time Capsule (Early 2009) units. Testing was conducted on preproduction 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-based iMac (Late 2009) systems. Performance will vary based on system configuration, network, file sizes, data sets, wireless interference and other factors. Performance tests are conducted using specific systems and reflect the approximate performance of Time Capsule.
  3. Wireless Internet access requires a wireless-enabled computer, a base station or other access point, and Internet access; fees may apply. Some ISPs are not currently compatible with Time Capsule.
  4. Performance is based on a comparison with Apple’s 802.11g products.
  5. MobileMe and iCloud are available to persons age 13 and older. Internet access required. Terms of service apply.
 

Ratings & Reviews

3.5

Based on 135 reviews

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Most Useful Reviews

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    My iMac was stolen

    • Written by from northfield

    I have had the time capsule for a while and it worked fine as a wireless router. Two days ago we had a break in and my iMac,iPhones and several other items were stolen. I was very concerned that family photos were lost and that I would be spending countless hours getting everything back to where it was. The time capsule saved me. I was able to get my new iMac and iPhone back to where they were with minimal effort. Be sure to put it somewhere where it won't get stolen with your computer. …More

    1666 of 1772 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Time Capsule hits the sweet spot

    • Written by from Pembroke Pines

    I've been through external hard drives and USB flash drives, but they just weren't doing it for me. I did not want a hard drive connected next to my computer all the Time for automatic Time Machine backups. If I just wanted to drag and drop my files to a USB flash drive (or hard drive), I would have to do it after every iTunes song I download or after every picture I upload.

    It just felt highly impractical, so I decided to go with Time Capsule for the above reasons. Setup is very quick. It recognized my previous Airport Extreme configuration and passwords, so I really did not have to set up anything. Initial backup took about 45 minutes for about 20GB. After that, it's seamless. I really don't use Time Machine, because I primarily wanted a device that backs up for me in an easy-to-use way. Although having Time Machine is great for those times where you need to recover something you lost.

    Time Capsule also has a great design. I love the silver Apple logo.

    I have not noticed any jump in range or performance with this new 2TB Time Capsule compared to my last-generation Airport Extreme. The range may be slightly better, but if it is, it isn't that noticeable.

    You cannot beat this setup for backing up.

    As with all Apple products, 5/5     …More

    742 of 807 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Time Capsule is Great

    • Written by from Aliso Viejo

    Almost everything works like you would imagine it would... back up's are stored perfectly, and Time Machine makes finding back ups soooo simple! The only 2 negative things i have to say our...

    1. If you don't back up in the last 10 days (example, going on a trip, visiting a relatives house, or what ever)... so if you don't back up in 10 days your back up is going to be hard to reconnect with your Mac, for some reason if you don't back up within 10 days, you must verify the entire Back Up, and during this process you might be prompted to start all over (which means you loose all your previous back up, and you have to create a fresh one from your existing mac).

    2. You can only back up through your own Time Capsule wifi network. It would be so much better if you could back up over the internet, from anywhere (If you fix this problem, this would solve problem 1). There are work arounds, but that requires you have DNS.... I don't want a complicated work around, I want it so it "just works".     …More

    724 of 826 people found this useful

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Most Recent Reviews

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Awful. Do not buy.

    • Written by from BRAY

    It was nice while it worked. However, my Time Capsule stopped working after about 18 months. Apple refused to replace it or fix it. …More

    20 of 30 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Crashed but HD was still good.

    • Written by from Salisbury

    I had 2 of the 500gig TC's. My first one just died but I think it was just the power supply went south. I pulled the Hard Drive out, purchased an HD USB Caddy and all of my files were still there. Transferred the files over and all is well. I do agree for the price of the TC it needs to last longer, but DON'T throw your HD out until you check it. The caddy cost $50 from Best Buy and saved me a lot of heartache... …More

    16 of 20 people found this useful

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Very easy to setup

    • Written by from Sierra Vista

    I did not have internet at my apartment before I got this, so the day it arrived I went to the Cox store and signed up for their internet.

    I got home and since I dont have a computer I used my iPhone to setup the Time Capsule and within 5 minutes (maybe less), I had WiFi in my apartment.

    I havent tried the "hard drive" portion of it as I dont have a laptop (Im still waiting for the new ones to come out in July.

    Very Easy To Setup     …More

    10 of 14 people found this useful

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Questions & Answers

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Most Interesting

  • Can the Time Capsule act as an iTunes Media Server?

    • Asked by Vijay T from Chicago
    • Mar 20, 2010

    5 Answers

    Best Answer

    The Time Capsule / Airport with external drive can act as media STORAGE, but neither will run as a media SERVER. You will need at least one Mac running iTunes, with sharing turned on, and/or a media extender program like Null River's Media Link which will create a standard uPnP front-end that a PS3, Xbox or similar can poll.

    A Mac Mini is often used as a media server... but might not be as cost-effective as other solutions...     …More

    • Answered by Jason H from Wells
    • Aug 4, 2011

  • Can I use Time Capsule as 1) NAS and / or 2) iTunes server?

    • Asked by Don C from Los Angeles
    • Nov 29, 2011

    1 Answer

    Best Answer

    You can configure a TC to join an existing network as a client. However, it doesn't work (or least not for all intents and purposes). I bought it for the same purpose, but got shocking performance (< 1MB/sec). I called Apple support and was told that "a TC is not meant to be used in client mode". (If you configure the TC as the base station that provides the network, you get normal performance (better than 15MB/sec).) The recent firmware update (7.6) did not fix the problem, so you effectively cannot use a TC as NAS.

    You don't need to use all of a TC's disk for Time Machine. You can concurrently use it to store other files. (Obviously, the files on the TC won't really be backed up, seeing that they are on the same disk. If the disk dies, you lose those files, even if you back them up on the TC.)

    You can't use a TC as an "iTunes server". But you can tell iTunes to use a TC to store it's files on. Again, if the TC joins an existing wireless network, it will work only very poorly though.     …More

    • Answered by Michael H from Holland Park
    • Dec 4, 2011

  • So ... if I buy a Time Capsule, I don't need my Airport Extreme Base Station any more, is that right?

    • Asked by Guy S from Edmonton
    • Nov 27, 2009

    6 Answers

    Best Answer

    In my case, the Apple instructions worked perfectly. I first installed the Time Machine and created the home network, with all of my computers recognizing it--no problem for me at all. Then I took my old Airport Extreme and followed its instructions for creating a relay bridge to extend my wireless signal from the Time Machine to all over the house. I would go back to the start, find the user manuals--online if you don't have them printed out--and start by setting up the Time Machine to receive an input from your cable or DSL modem, and to connect wirelessly with all your equipment--or you can use ethernet cable. After the network is working, then try to set up your Airport as a wireless relay bridge to extend the wireless area of good reception. …More

    • Answered by David K from Houston
    • Feb 1, 2010

Recently Answered

  • I am interested in buying a 1T TC but am worried about it not working after 18 months or what not?

    • Asked by Matthew M from Gretna
    • Jan 20, 2010

    2 Answers

    Answer

    The failure rate of all HD's on the market after 3 year is 60%, I don't know what its at at 1.5 years but you are better off with an extra HD in one of your computers that can easily be replaced if it starts throwing errors or corrupting data. If you are worried about it working in 18 mos. there is also applecare... This only replaces the device and not the data however. Short of a drobo or raid solution, apple offers some of the best dependability around. Just remember, you normally get whatyou pay for, and if it ounds too good to be true.... …More

    • Answered by Alfred S from Roseville
    • May 3, 2012

  • What is the best upgrade option for a Time Capsule?

    • Asked by Walter A from Hialeah
    • Dec 22, 2009

    2 Answers

  • Does the time capsule have a built in airport extreme? I don't need one of each?

    • Asked by Don T from Stevenson Ranch
    • Nov 14, 2009

    3 Answers

    Best Answer

    "Does the time capsule have a built in airport extreme?"

    If you mean WI-FI router, than yes.

    "I don't need one of each?"

    If you mean Time Capsule and Airport Extreme together? No.
    The Time Capsule comes with all the great features. It's gonna be your backup drive and your wireless router in one. Plus you have the option to attach additional external hard-drive(s) and/or printer to it via the USB port included on the back. Trust me, you gonna love it.     …More

    • Answered by Szilard S from Destin
    • Nov 15, 2009

Featured Question

Any difference in performance between the 2TB and 3TB models?

  • Asked by Jason L from Hoboken
  • Apr 22, 2012
Answer
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