Customer Reviews and Ratings

3.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 252 reviews

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Crashing all the time

    • Written by from Cochin

    40 of 70 people found this useful

    I bought this as my wireless storage, two weeks back. Still couldn't connect this with my Linksys ADSL WIFI Router WAG 120N to an existing home network. Initial setting up was ok. But It gets repeatedly disconnected from the network. i might have done 10 resets by now. I am getting frustrated by this. If anybody could give me a solution for this? i wil be quiet thankful or else i would have to throw this apple out. I never had such a bitter and frustrated experience from any of my other apple products. I blindly bought this without checking because it was from APPLE.

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Last less than 2 years!

    • Written by from San Jose

    53 of 67 people found this useful

    One of the rare apple products that does not meet their standards! Within two years, drive fails and cannot be replaced since it is mounted on the mother board! From day one, it needs a lot of reset and drive needs reformat to work! Every hour and day back up sounds very good but in the reality, hardware cannot stand it. Great disappointment to see apple products like this! 

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Best Router + Storage I've had!

    • Written by from Frisco

    24 of 30 people found this useful

    It is fast, reliable and offers all configuration options I want for my home network.

    Recently we contracted Verizon, and with the proper steps on Verizon's router, you can just skip it and let the Time Capsule do all the routing. My internet speed improved about 30% to load web pages!

    Then, it also has the storage.A NAS I recently bought is horrible compared to what a Time Capsule does. The NAS is costed the same, comes with the same capacity, is noisier, the interface is a nightmare and it doesn't let me access the discs as simple USB discs if I want to. Not to mention the bugs in network DNS and names, showing up double in my network because it is "Time Machine ready".

    One more thing... people should learn that any device with a mechanical hard drive is subject to fail. I also have a 1st Generation 500Gb TC that never let me down, even after 4 years.

    Was this useful? Best Router + Storage I've had!

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Good product but won't last

    • Written by from NEW YORK

    58 of 62 people found this useful

    If you are ok buying one about ever year then its worth the cost. It does a good job but then the disc fails or in my case gets a point of slowing down so much the product is not useful. It would be a welcome product in my home again if Apple could offer a better drive that works faster and is more reliable. Plus there is only hourly back ups available which ends up once an hour killing your machine while the back up happens. Just not a very configurable tool. Also if you are running 10.7 or up it will crawl once you do the install.

    Was this useful? Good product but won't last

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    power supply failure

    • Written by from Londonderry

    57 of 66 people found this useful

    The Time Capsule (2nd gen.) power supply went belly up one month short of th 3 year anniversary. Apple did replace the failed unit with overrnight delivery. That's the good news. The bad news is the 3 years of backups went out the window because Apple has no service for moving the data between the two units. I am using an external disk for my backups for now on. I'll use the internal disk for typical use and backup to the external USB drive.

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Not recommended as a share drive.

    • Written by from Boston

    51 of 52 people found this useful

    This may be a fine solution for a time-machine backup, but I do not recommend it as a wireless share drive for a time to centrally store and swap files.

    We've been using a Time Capsule at our office as a share drive for a couple of years now. We haven't lost data (I've hear some say that they're unstable) but it is CONSTANTLY crashing my machine when trying to copy or delete relatively large chunks of data (500 MB+).

    If you are only using this as a Time-Machine backup, or if you have limited need to move data, this might be a fine solution. But if you have large video, image, or other groups of files that you need to move, copy, or delete, steer clear.

    We've finally gotten a LaCie server (15TB for about $1,700) and even migrating bit by bit from the Time Capsule machine has me banging my head against the desk. I want to throw this thing out the window.

    I only give it three stars because I realize it may do a good job as a regular Time-Machine backup.

    Was this useful? Not recommended as a share drive.

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    So far so good, once I got it going...

    • Written by from Galloway

    32 of 37 people found this useful

    Call it 3 and 1/2 stars, mainly because set-up was not as easy as it should have been. I received my time capsule yesterday, and spent three frustrating hours trying to get it connected to my computers. A word of advice? Unplug or turn off your cable modem, and plug it back in at the same time you plug in the time capsule. TC doesn't recognize the internet connection unless the cable router is reset.

    Now that it's up? It's good; behaves as advertised and is able to share the drive with multiple computers. I also used it to replace a very old AirPort Express access point. I will update my review in a few months after I get to see whether it creates any problems in the longer haul.

    Was this useful? So far so good, once I got it going...

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    OUTSTANDING!!! SIMPLE!!! GENIUS!!! RELIABLE!!!

    • Written by from Merrick

    15 of 19 people found this useful

    Another simple, don't need a brain to use it Apple miracle!!. Have had mine since the first generation and not a single issue. Actually still running the 500GB... I don't understand some of the negative reviews, always runs backup quickly and effortlessly. Great wireless range in the house and wonderful to eliminate a wireless router and back up device. Have an HP laser printer networked in and print wirelessly from all computers and iPhones in the house....never had an issue. Going strong for over 3 years, will only replace when I upgrade to a larger iMac in the future. AMAZING job Apple :)

    Was this useful? OUTSTANDING!!! SIMPLE!!! GENIUS!!! RELIABLE!!!

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    It's okay

    • Written by from Spring

    38 of 44 people found this useful

    I can only give it 4 * due to the fact that I it will show I'm off-line but when I check my Time Capsule the light is green but I get the error that Time Machine can't be found. Tired of having to reset my Time Machine. I was really amped up when I purchased it because it had many uses well I still have to purchase and extender that goes in my wall and purchase more memory. Please send out an update so that it works correctly all the time not some of the time. I love my Mac products and won't change but if your going to sell products that don't completely work then bring the price down.

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    brutally slow

    • Written by from Montreal

    46 of 57 people found this useful

    I have my Mac Pro connected to the Time Capsule over ethernet and it takes an unbelievably long time to just pull up the restore Time Machine interface for a folder. IT then takes another minute to start to scroll back in time for a folder. This is with a freshly-formatted TC. It's awful and I wish I'd just stuck with a disk-based solution. This is unbearable. The extra star is because it at least works.

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Setup not so smooth

    • Written by from Valencia

    36 of 43 people found this useful

    I just installed my Time Capsule. The initial setup didn't go as smooth as I expected. following the instructions I connected all my ethernet items and the ethernet from the modem then plugged in the power. I elected to use the wireless to complete the setup. I had de-powered the modem as directed and there is no modem battery.

    Initially, the router worked but no internet connection. I replaced the cable from the modem (which had worked a few minutes earlier with my Linksys router). I could get internet and wireless connections but no ethernet connections. The setup onscreen prompted me to set up the airport extreme but no the time capsule? I did a soft reset then I could get ethernet internet but no wireless. Just the opposite from the original power up. I finally did a hard reset, started over and got the time machine setup.

    Then it went more smoothly. I did notice a check box if I wanted to name the 5GHz connection separate from the 2.4GHz connection. I elected that but there was no supporting documentation about making the selection.

    So I have 2 networks available - the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz. There is still a open network for setup that I have not setup. When I choose it, the setup wants to setup Airport Extreme but I don't have Airport Extreme - Only time machine? Anyway, once setup it works well. Doing I get very good speed checks on both my iPhone and Mac Book Pro.

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Out of Time Capsule

    • Written by from Charlotte

    66 of 73 people found this useful

    As a long term solution you would be better off buying a stand alone back up device and if you need wireless get a wireless router. I am about to be on my 3rd time capsule in 2 1/2 years.

    For ease of use, set-up and trouble free operation (if it is working) is excellent though. It is beyond my understanding why the do not last longer? Planned obsolescence I guess?

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    airport extreme base

    • Written by from CORONA

    48 of 54 people found this useful

    I bought like two years ago and suddenly stopped working, it was good but I think that last longer!

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    One of the best Apple Products!

    • Written by from MILFORD

    22 of 27 people found this useful

    I was hesitant at first to buy the Apple Time Capsule, but I am so glad I did. Time Capsule continuously backs up 3 of my Macs and allows me to store all my data within. Not only is it small and compact, but it is light and fits just about anywhere! It was saved me not only once, but around 4 time when either my hard drive has crashed or when I have switched computers. Great investment and has been an amazing product.

    Was this useful? One of the best Apple Products!

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Many hours lost to the Time Capsule

    • Written by from Atlanta

    42 of 47 people found this useful

    We had our time capsule repaired twice by Apple and it always came up with error messages after install. We found out that it really was only good for taking our time and encapsulating it in a place where we would never get it back. Love the other product I have bought from Apple, but the time capsule was not one of them.

    Was this useful? Many hours lost to the Time Capsule

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Waist of money and time!!!

    • Written by from ridgewood

    43 of 54 people found this useful

    I have never seen sth so expensive and so bad at the same time. It was sitting unplugged after last backup (first one) and now when I plug it in just do not start!!! Died when it was not in use!!!! 0 stars if it would be possible

    Was this useful? Waist of money and time!!!

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Life span is 1.5 to 2 years

    • Written by from Edson

    80 of 82 people found this useful

    I bought one about 2 years ago and though the world of the machine. It is a powerful and fast router and also seamlessly performed regular backup functions. It was the easiest back up device I have ever owned I set it up once and forgot about it. The other day it reminded me how important it was. Because IT DIED. I did a lot of sniffing around on the internet and found out that due to poor cooling the typical life span of one of these units is about 20 months. There is a lot of sites to go to re: mods and repairs for them so I guess I'll have to warm up the old soldering iron. It is not covered by warranty or re-call so it seems the best option is a total re-build in my spare time.....

    Was this useful? Life span is 1.5 to 2 years

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    If you have a Mac u also need this

    • Written by from Grand Junction

    29 of 30 people found this useful

    I have been using the time capsule for 3 1/2 years and have had 0 problems. Reliability and connection speed are better than any of the other brand routers. We usually have between 8 and 11 devices connected at any given time and it is still just as fast as if you only had 1 or 2 devices on it.
    The reason you need this with a Mac is because of the hard drive in it works seamlessly with time machine. Never worry about losing a single item on your Mac. I had my MacBook stolen and when I got a new Mac I just chose to restore from a time machine back up and poof all files and programs were back, just as if it was never stolen.

    A relit alive of mine just had her laptop crash and she had never backed up her iTunes library and now lost thousands of songs that had been imported from cd's ect. Time capsule makes sure that never happens.

    Was this useful? If you have a Mac u also need this

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  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Amazing

    • Written by from Pipersville

    30 of 32 people found this useful

    I have used Linksys products for years with decent success, but needing advanced setings and configurations. With all of the peripherals we use (3 ipods, 1 ipad, 1 iphone, 2 wireless N adapters, 2 Xbox 360's, 3 Laptops, 3 wireless Blu Ray PLayers) it has always been a challenge to port map with Linksys routers. With Time Capsule, it was easy, and most port mapping was done automatically, which was very impressive. In addition, the strength of the signal has been seriously better, allowing HD Video to play on peripherals, connections never go out. Just amazing. And using the 2TB internal drive to perform back-ups has been simple on both MAC and Windows based systems. Apple does it again, with a seriously superior product. Thank you Apple!

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    What a fantastic product, Time Capsule

    • Written by from Pine Grove

    27 of 29 people found this useful

    This is a dream product, I have all Apple products, an iMac, a MacBook Pro, iPod 4th generation,iPad2 and Apple TV also a HP 6150 all in one air print capable printer, I have Comcast as my ISP who had provided me with a wireless Gateway that wreaked havoc on my Apple toys, got rid of the Gateway and had them give me an eTMA modem and go away, I installed my Time Capsule myself in well under 10 min, everything connected like a charm and in another 5 min I was air printing and scanning wirelessly to all the IOS devices, the MacBook Pro and the iMac. Time Capsule is very user friendly as are all of Apple products. I cannot say enough good things about the Time Capsule, I am a 70+ yr. old senior grandma and have never even seen a router up close much less installed one, if I can do it believe me anyone can. Thanks loads Apple folks.

    Was this useful? What a fantastic product, Time Capsule

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