Reviews for Time Capsule - 2TB

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 :(

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!

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.

I have a 2nd generation Time Capsule and wanted to upgrade it to latest 4th gen so bought it. upgrade was worth it though think that its a bit costly.

When is apple coming up with Time Capsule with USB 3.0 support and internal drive with either hybrid or SSR drives ? Is it gonna be Gen 5 or Gen 6 ? Would definitely upgrade it especially for USB 3.0

So i bought the TIme caspsule about 9 months ago. when i purchased my first macbook air along with it. it works great teh design is sleeek, and it just works. i have my TC hooked up to my router which is then connected to a desktop PC. i can access the contents of teh TC from that hooked PC and it amkes sharing files between a Mac and PC easier.
Pros:
good design
reliable
automatic back ups
dualband wifi is great

Con:
its a bit tricky setting up the TC on a PC, its not impossible just a few more steps.

These boxes are "pretty good".

High notes:
- Very easy to setup
- Flawless Wifi usage. Fast too.
- Built in Hard disk is very convenient.
- Apple Time Machine backup software works perfectly with it.
- Super Quiet and very small footprint.

Low notes:
- Very slow for network storage, even wired via Ethernet.
- Sealed unit with no vents. Why? These things get HOT!
- 1 died, but Apple replaced it without needing the old one back (Free 1TB HD!)

I highly recommend these boxes for Wifi + Backup + Ease + HD Convenience, but if you want a fast external hard disk the G-Technology boxes sold from Apple are better and faster, but of course you pay for that speed.

I was very skeptical about this product for the past few years. I was really interested but read so many horrible reviews of the hard drive crashing and it being junk. I recently needed a new wifi router so I bought a 900 dual band series from another brand, and it worked just fine I suppose, but i noted that it slowed down to the slowest piece of equipment in my home, notably either the Wii or the iPhones. I still needed a hard drive. I returned the other unit and got this, works great, no issues, backs up automatically. Worth the money, much faster internet on my computer noted as well.

We have a household full of laptops, many with digital photos that weren't getting backed up in a timely fashion. We really appreciated the smooth way that Time Machine integrated with this unit. The wifi power was also great. After we had it connected for about a month wifi internet started dropping, wifi network remained in place but no internet (internet still worked on the Ethernet connection), and the disk "could not be found." Tried half a dozen resets and other config changes to no avail--the thing is dead now and I've hooked up my old Cisco router. Hope apple will honor the warranty without a lot of hassle.