Reviews for Time Capsule - 2TB

Plug and done!

The time capsule is amazingly simple to setup. It seriously is plug and play. All I did was plug it in, give it a name, set it to bridge mode to avoid wireless network issues and now I am up and saving files wirelessly. It is so fast and so simple.

Now, is it possible another hard drive like a seagate could have done it, possibly. My past experience with western digital or seagate hard disks and their software has been iffy at best. The disks do work, but the software never seems to work as simply.

About me:

I used to be a microsoft developer, certified web-dev, now have shifted away to the apple world. Why apple you may ask? Sure microsoft provides all the bells and whistles, non-proprietary soft are that works with any hardware, but do we really need that? All I want is a computer that works and one less headache.

There is a reason why apple's hardware costs a bit more ... IT WORKS and WORKS WELL. After working all-day, the last thing I want to do is have to put on an IT hat at home. The time-capsule is a bit of fresh air.

Thanks apple!

I have encountered a number of nagging issues with the Time Capsule. I have the 2TB version.
Issue 1 - Very slow internet speeds. When I connect directly to my cable modem box, my speeds (speediest from TIme Warner) are about 20 Mbps. When I connect my TC, the speed drops to about 5 Mbps (download) and gradually degrades to about 90 Kbps over the next few days. I have to power down the TC for a while and reconnect it before my speed again reaches 25% of my actual connection speed. On the Apple boards, I see that this is a common issue.
Issue 2 - I have no control over the files on the device. I started using a dedicated drive to back up one of my laptops but could not remove the backup from the device. Further, the device would, without warning or recourse, drop months of data or make it inaccessible.
Solution: Don't get this for backup. Don't get this for internet. It does neither well.

I had to replace my D-Link router for some irritating technical issues. Though I was using a brand new 1 TB HDD for time machine, I though of replacing my router with 2 TB time capsule. There was a great dispute in my mind over this, but in the end I got it. Duhhh...thats why I am writing this review.
The packing was awesome and so was the product inside. Didn't even read the manual, just hooked it up. Plugged my computer with the ethernet cord and works fine. Wireless part was some what tricky and I had to consult the manual. This was my first apple router/TC... Just read a paragraph on setting up this machine with TC and it was that simple. Just a few clicks and I was done. My Windows PC, TV (w/ built-in wifi), Roku player in other room, iPad and vonage phone all run fine. Pretty simple interface.
I do admit that it is an expensive thing and there are cheaper alternatives too. But if you can afford it, just get it and you wouldn't regret. Highly recommended.

The pros:
- Easy to set up
- Makes backing up your information completely automatic

The con, and it's a big one:
- The physical design of the enclosure, for some reason, covers the entire ventilation grid and fan output with a thick impermeable rubber "foot." As a result, the unit overheats very easily, and once it has overheated badly even once, it will act flaky from then on: "Unable to complete backup" with any of about 20 different random errors on every backup attempt (could not mount drive, network issue, permissions issue, could not find time capsule, unknown error, etc, etc, etc). If you buy one of these, once you've turned it on to make sure it works in general, you need to unplug it again and 1) permanently remove the rubber foot from the bottom and 2) set the unit on top of some kind of mesh riser to allow airflow through the bottom of the unit.

From a software perspective, it's still one of the best Apple backup solutions out there, but the enclosure design is laughably problematic.

I have my Time Capsule 2TB for less than 1.5 year. The hard disk died after I use it for 10 months. Since it was under applecare, I sent it back to get repaired and got a new one back. However, after using the "NEW" Time Capsule for a little bit more than TWO months, the hard disk died again, which means I lose my data AGAIN, just now. It's not under applecare anymore, and I am not sure if I want to pay and send it back AGAIN, since at least it can still work as a AirPort Extreme Base Station. The only thing I know is: I would never put data into this airport disk again. I also don't know what's the point to pay $300 the get a AirPort Extreme Base Station in the end.

This product will die right after the warranty expires. The power supply in mine died after 14 months and I lost everything I backed up on it. Apple suggested I buy a new one but since the reason I bought it in the first place was so that I wouldnt lose all my data I decided that was idiotic. I can't believe Apple has fallen so far.

Time capsule stopped backing up both wirelessly and with an Ethernet cable after a few months. Help by Genius bar and Apple Care, and replacement with another Time Capsule, have not solved the problem. So, the problem is specific to my computer. Interestingly, I have 3 other hard drives that work fine by Firewire cable, so there is some arcane issue that is specific to Time Capsule.
I have decided I don’t have time for this and am giving up. The router works fine, but I am stuck with this hard drive that does nothing but consume electricity and generate heat as I cannot access it. It would be better to keep the hard drive and router separate.

I read a dozen reviews and a lot of them said negative things about how the box drops the connection. I decided to try out the Time Capsule for myself and within TWO days I'm already starting to have issues. If anyone reading this has one PC in their home then do NOT BUY THIS ITEM! I have almost all Mac computers but my Fiance has a Dell, when she connects she can barely get online half of the time. I have spoken with Apple and there is nothing they can do about the issue, the posts online that I have found about the issue all say Apple has to update the firmware to fix the issue which they have not done since 2011. Please Please Please take my advice and do your research first, you don't have to go much further than just typing in "Time Capsule drops internet connection", you will see how many issues they are having. Another thing, god forbid you try and backup your computer or transfer a file to the Time Capsule, it KILLS the internet!

Apparently, a recent power outage damaged the system on my iMac (2007 version, running Lion) such that it would not boot. Simple (but lengthy - over the wifi connection) process to reset the system using the Time Capsule. Took over 12 hours to reload all the data (250 Gig or so), but it worked flawlessly. I have an older 500 Gig Time Capsule, which isn't big enough to back up all three computers. I am upgrading to the 2Tb Time Capsule soon. The information (financial files, pictures, etc.) are too valuable to take the chance. I would highly recommend this solution.

I seriously damaged the HD of my MacBook Pro. It was necessary to install a new disk, and no information was recoverable from the old one.
Thanks to Time Capsule no information was lost. Even Safari favorites, desktop files, and emails ... everything was recovered.
A must have ...