Questions & Answers
186 Questions from the Community
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I see units are failing after 18 months. How long is the Time Capsule warranty? (I'd hope at least 3 years.)
- Asked by TH from Byron Bay
- Sep 30, 2009
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Best Answer
If you are using the Time Capsule with a computer that's covered under AppleCare, the Time Capsule is covered. Note that they do NOT have to be on the same receipt. From the AppleCare Protection Plan terms & conditions:
"An AirPort Extreme Card, an AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme Base Station, Time Capsule, an Apple-branded DVI to ADC display adapter, Apple RAM modules and MacBook Air SuperDrive are also covered under APP if owned by you and used with the Covered Equipment."
Also, from Apple's page advertising the plan:
"An AirPort Extreme Card, AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme Base Station, Time Capsule, MacBook Air SuperDrive, and Apple RAM when used with a Mac covered by the AppleCare Protection Plan"
Note that I (and others) have verified this in practice - I am getting my dead 18-month old Time Capsule replaced under the APP on my MacBook pro.- Answered by RG from Portland
- Oct 23, 2009
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What is the average life span of 2TB time capsule? Do you lose access to your data if your Mac fails and you have to get a new computer??
- Asked by DT from Santa Barbara
- Oct 19, 2009
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Best Answer
The new 1TB and 2TB Time Capsules might have a different brand of hard drive or if not, they might have a better more reliable hard drive. The new Time Capsules were released April of 2009; so no one can say that" My 2TB Time Capsule died after 18 months!" I do not know if Apple has changed the hard drive or not; I would think they would try to do something about the two star rating for this product!
- Answered by JH from Hayden
- Nov 6, 2009
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So can this replace my wireless modem to allow my Internet and printers to be used on a wireless home network? I'm on a 24" iMac.
- Asked by MM from St Albans Park
- Oct 5, 2009
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Best Answer
It will replace the wireless part, but you will still need a modem for your cable or DSL. Many DSL modems have it's own router built in, this moves your Apple router one step away from the actual internet. This disables certain features that require a direct connection to the internet such as Back to my Mac.
If you do have two routers you will get a Double NAT error in Airport Utility and a flashing amber light on the Apple router. If your internet provider can't help you turn off the router in your modem they may be able to replace the router/modem they sent you with just a modem. I had to explain what I was trying to do to get them to replace it. If they can't replace it and you want to, or have to, stay with this provider you can set the Apple product to Bridge Mode where you're passed through directly to your ISP's router so services like iChat can connect to the destination directly.- Answered by RS from Alameda
- Oct 12, 2009
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Does time capsule automatically see aditional external drives and back them up as well as the mac book pro internal drive?
- Asked by CS from London
- Oct 2, 2009
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Best Answer
Yes.
In Time Machine preferences, you are shown a list of all hard drives, internal and external, connected to your computer. You can select which ones you want to back up using Time Machine, in this case, to your Time Capsule.
I have an external hard drive for extra memory, and I am able to back it up to my Time Capsule.- Answered by CK from Deerfield
- Oct 10, 2009
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Can the TimeCapsule be used for storage as well as backups? E.g. like a external disk connected to your MacBook Pro.
I want to use the TimeCapsule for backups in the first place, but I also want to use it as storage. Is this possible? It doesn't have to share it with multiple Mac's, only my MacBook Pro.
- Asked by SL from Arnhem
- Oct 6, 2009
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Best Answer
Yes, it can. If you open up the finder you should see your Time Machine listed with the name you gave it. If you select it, it will ask for the password you gave it and it will ask if you would like to remember this in keychain so that you can access the TM whenever you need. Access is over the net work as usual and can be accessed via any other computers on your network. This is great for keeping common data or transferring data between computers, much as a drop box.
- Answered by PJ from Tewksbury
- Oct 6, 2009
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can I use time capsule as a wireless router too?
can I use the time capusle as my wifi router, as well as a backup, and will it be as fast as
my belikn N router- Asked by AY from wrexham
- Oct 8, 2009
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Best Answer
Yes (cut and paste below from apple...dont know about speed)
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 included for both Mac OS X and Windows. Within 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- Answered by MG from Belmont
- Oct 8, 2009
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Verizon FIOS comes with a built in cable modem and wireless router. How can you use YC in this situation?
Interaction with Verizon FIOS
- Asked by PC from Newark
- Oct 6, 2009
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Best Answer
If the FIOS cable modem has an ethernet jack, you would connect that up to the TimeCapsule's "WAN" port. Then configure your laptops to use the new wireless network that is asserted by the Time Capsule box.
- Answered by BB from campbell
- Oct 7, 2009
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I currently use an Airport Extreme, if I get one of these , how will this fit in to my network? Can I use the AE to extend the wireless network ?
iMac 24 patched direct to Airport Extreme, Aiport Express on 1st floor, used to extend network - how best to add a Time Capsule to this wireless setup. For example, could the TC be used as the primary wireless router with the AE used to extend the network (in addition to the Express!!)?
- Asked by JB from READING
- Oct 20, 2009
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Best Answer
Yes, using the Airport supported WDS technology you can extend your network. Think of the Time Capsule as an Airport Extreme with an internal hard drive. You have all of the same base capabilities, plus TimeMachine back-up and a Network Attached Storage device.
In your current configuration, you could swap out your existing Airport Extreme for a new TimeCapsule and exploit the speed advantage of the direct ethernet connection, while gaining the daul-band support, greater speed and range, as well as the guest account feature your earlier Airport Extreme likely does not have. The greater range may actually improve the performance of your current Airport Express in its present position or permit you to move it further away and extend your network. You could also use your existing Airport Express to extend your network even further if you use all three devices.- Answered by SG from Aptos
- Oct 20, 2009
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So ... if I buy a Time Capsule, I don't need my Airport Extreme Base Station any more, is that right?
- Asked by GS from Edmonton
- Nov 27, 2009
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Best Answer
You could get rid of it. But you could make a stronger wireless network if you use both. You can link them together to broadcast one wireless signal.
- Answered by JM from Chestnut Ridge
- Nov 27, 2009
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Can I store my movie library on the time capsule and play them on my mac. do I need to have apple tv in addition to do this
- Asked by WS from Pretoria
- Oct 9, 2009
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Best Answer
Yes, you can. The only reason you would need an TV is if you were actually wanting to stream the movies to your TV. If your movie library is part of your iTunes Library, you may need to tweak some preferences to get it to be able to play it in iTunes, yet keep it stored on the Time Capsule drive.
- Answered by DC from Elk Grove
- Oct 19, 2009
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Can I use the same Time Capsule to bakcup my 3 Macs via Time Machine?
- Asked by JC from MIAMI
- Oct 20, 2009
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Best Answer
Yes. Time Machine creates separate backup files for each of your computers. These files will simply expand over time until your drive is full. Alternatively, you may wish to partition the drive using Disk Utility to allocate a specific amount of space for all or each of your computers.
- Answered by JM from Fiddletown
- Oct 21, 2009
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If I buy a new Mac Book Pro will I lose all the information that I have backed up on the Time Machine when I hook it up to the new Mac Book Pro?
I just want to make sure that I will still have all the information that I backup from my old computer when I buy my new one.
- Asked by CC from Mobile
- Oct 7, 2009
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Best Answer
During setup of your new Mac, it'll ask you if you have a Time Machine backup. If you do, it'll transfer all of your settings/applications/preferences/desktop icons, etc. After the migration is complete, your "new" computer will look just like your "old" computer.
I did this last month when my wife's hard drive failed. She had just done a Time Machine backup the night before, so the migration/restoration process was completely painless. Wonderful!
To your specific question: under the covers for Time Machine, each computer that's backed up is stored inside a separate folder. So the backup of one computer doesn't affect others backed up to the same Time Machine drive .- Answered by BB from campbell
- Oct 7, 2009
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What happened if the hard drive in the TC died? Is there a RAID system available for the MAC TC?
- Asked by HG from Franklin
- Oct 15, 2009
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Is Apple Care available for Time Capsule? (I just purchased a 2TB unit in London)
- Asked by IB from Cowes
- Oct 3, 2009
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Best Answer
MacBook AppleCare covers Time Capsule :
The AppleCare Protection Plan also covers the following when you use them with your Mac:
Included accessories such as the power adapter
Apple memory (RAM)
AirPort Express Base Station, AirPort Extreme Base Station, and Time Capsule
MacBook Air SuperDrive (for MacBook Air only)- Answered by DC from Balham
- Oct 9, 2009
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Does Apple perform Time Capsule upgrades from 1TB to 2TBs? If so, how much does it cost? I'm running out of storage space.
- Asked by SA from Louisville
- Nov 18, 2009
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Best Answer
The Time Machine software will warn you when you get to a point where your drive is getting too full. At this point, it will ask if you want to erase the earlier data (that which was first backed up), so you really don't need the bigger drive unless you're really worried about files which were on your drive 6 months ago and are there no longer.
- Answered by GW from Mississauga
- Nov 19, 2009
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Why a Mac Time Capsule? Can't I just use Time Machine to back up to ANY external HD?
Isn't a Time Capsule just an overpriced external HD? What does it do that a LaCie 1 TB drive doesn't?
- Asked by DG from Petty Harbour
- Oct 22, 2009
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Best Answer
You can use any external HD to backup with Time Machine. But the Time Capsule is a router with a hard drive built in. This allows you to create a wireless network, and backup with Time Machine wirelessly. And multiple computers can use the hard drive from all over your network to perform backups with Time Machine. And you can also attach a printer to the router as well to print wirelessly through your network. Basically, Time Capsule is just an Airport Extreme with an included hard drive.
- Answered by AG from Barrington
- Oct 23, 2009
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Can you expand the Time Capsule's storage capacity with an external USB hard drive?
- Asked by BE from El Dorado Hills
- Oct 8, 2009
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Best Answer
You can use it for storing files, it will not increase the space available for backups using Time Machine. Drives attached to the USB port on the Time Capsule will show up as separate drives to connect to, and mount as different icons on your computer.
- Answered by RS from Alameda
- Oct 12, 2009
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What is the maximum speed of time capsule? and do i like pay monthly for the internet or what?
- Asked by KC from perth
- Oct 6, 2009
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Best Answer
There are two speeds to be concerned with: (1) the wireless networking speed that impacts how computers attach to this device, and (2) the speed related to how this box connects to the Internet.
Wireless networking speed is governed by 802.11n (or "a" or "b" or "g"). It depends on what your laptop uses. This box supports all of them, with speeds of up to 160Mb/s, depending on distance between devices and obstacles in the way.
Internet networking speed ("WAN") of this box uses a 1-Gigabit Ethernet ("Gb") port. That's faster than anything that your Internet Service Provider provides, so there's no worry there.
You attach this box to your cable modem, for example, so this box won't increase your monthly payment beyond what you already pay for Internet service.
note: if your laptop is not 802.11n, doing a time machine backup will be slow. I personally found doing backups over 802.11g too slow for my tastes.- Answered by BB from campbell
- Oct 7, 2009
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how many computers can be used on one time capsule?
- Asked by MH from Santa Rosa
- Nov 23, 2009
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Best Answer
The limit is really based on how much needs to be backed up. The TC will let you know if you reach that limit. I Have 3 Mac's backing up to a 1TB dual band TC. And it all works fine.
- Answered by PJ from Tewksbury
- Nov 23, 2009
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I want something very quiet as will locate in a bedroom. Does this unit run silently most of the time or does disc spin permanently and / or fan run
- Asked by CS from BRISTOL
- Oct 13, 2009
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Best Answer
The unit is totally silent, bar when the disk spins up for access / backing up. Given the usual silence, the hard-disk crunching is quite noticeable in an otherwise silent environment. I have it on my living room under the telly. It's totally seemless, but I can spot when a Mac starts backing up from the crunching noise.
If you keep your Mac(s) on all night, bear this in mind as the unit would spring to life for the hourly backups, unless you configure the TC to back up on a different schedule.
AFAIK there are no fans, or not that I can hear anyway.- Answered by RS from LETCHWORTH
- Oct 15, 2009
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