racer-xx

Q: Airport Time Capsule fail?

I have an Apple Airport Time Capsule ‑ 2TB (ME177LL/A). Today, I was unable to access the drive in finder for the first time ever. The airport icon does not appear in airport utility. I upgraded to El Capitan over a month ago, no real changes to my machine, no new apps installed. I did some googling and found the only real option for me (after a power off/on of both the airport and my machine) was to reset the router to factory settings which I appear to have done. Besides killing the wifi (which was still working before the reset), the airport now appears under "Other Wi-Fi Devices (1)" button. But whenever I select that and it attempts to connect (so I can presumably do a manual setup) it fails and simply says an unexpected error occurred. I don't know if I have lost all my files on the disk, since this appears to be a failure of some sort which allows addressing the router itself. It was still working as a bridge providing internet and WiFi before the reset, now it only is providing internet to whatever is hooked to it via ethernet.

 

I've kind of had my gripes with this product over the years, but now the lack of diagnostic information is kind of irritating. Is there anything else for me to do short of another reset?

Airport Time Capsule 2TB ME177LL/A, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 11, 2016 4:00 PM

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Q: Airport Time Capsule fail?

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  • by LaPastenague,Solvedanswer

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Jan 12, 2016 12:55 PM in response to racer-xx
    Level 9 (52,476 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 12, 2016 12:55 PM in response to racer-xx

    First off.. no files will be lost on the hard disk.. for that to happen the TC would fail to boot or would have a disk failure error..

     

    Your issues are totally El Capo .. and fairly typical.

     

    Why it should choose now to happen instead of a month ago when you installed.. is part of the fun of wireless networking.. it is atrociously unreliable.

     

    I want you to start over.. yeah I know.. sorry..

     

    Disconnect the TC from the network and plug it by ethernet into the computer.. however leave the wireless turned on.. Apple is depending more and more on a less and less reliable network strategy.

     

    Do a full factory reset.

     

    Factory reset universal

    Power off the TC.. ie pull the power cord or power off at the wall.. wait 10sec.. hold in the reset button.. be gentle.. power on again still holding in reset.. and keep holding it in for another 10sec. You may need some help as it is hard to both hold in reset and apply power. It will show success by rapidly blinking the front led. Release the reset.. and wait a couple of min for the TC to reset and come back with factory settings. If the front LED doesn’t blink rapidly you missed it and simply try again. The reset is fairly fragile in these.. press it so you feel it just click and no more.. I have seen people bend the lever or even break it. I use a toothpick as tool.

    N.B. None of your files on the hard disk of the TC are deleted.. this simply clears out the router settings of the TC.


    Go to the wireless and ethernet on the computer and make sure you have IPv6 set correctly to link local only. eg..


    Screen Shot 2016-01-12 at 12.21.02 pm.png


    This one set to auto could be why you have problems.. one day it autoed to the wrong settings.. auto is a plan for disaster.


    Now try and open the TC setup in the airport utility.. No luck.. do it manually..


    Accept that auto .. is always a bad idea.. so here we go.


    1. Click on File and Configure Other.


    configureotherelcrapomanualsetup1.png


    2. Type in the IP address.. always 10.0.1.1 after a reset. No password needed yet.


    addresselcrapomanualsetup2.png


    3. Now you can see all the parts of the setup.. you will go to each tab to do the setup.


    mainsummarymanualsetup3.png


    4. First is Base Station.. and change the name .. short, no spaces and pure alphanumerics strongly recommended.

    Same for any passwords. Internet will be DHCP for most people with nothing else.. then wireless


    elcrapomanualsetup5.png


    Then network.. pick what you want yourself.. you are now in control.


    For most people they will set DHCP and NAT or Off (Bridge Mode)


    elcrapomanualsetup4.png


    5. Once you finish making changes.. use Update to configure them to the TC.. and wait for it to reboot..


    If all is good it will come up on the main utility.


    elcrapomanualsetup6.png


    If this still has errors just click the TC icon and go back into the setup and fix anything there.


    Any step fails tell me which one..


    You may need to change over to ethernet if you have problems though.

    In the airport utility now ethernet is under Other Wi-Fi Devices.. which makes no sense at all. Ethernet will only show up when it is connected and working.


    elcraposetupotherwifidevicesethernet.png


  • by racer-xx,

    racer-xx racer-xx Jan 12, 2016 12:58 PM in response to LaPastenague
    Level 1 (5 points)
    iPhone
    Jan 12, 2016 12:58 PM in response to LaPastenague

    Thank you for the detailed response. Actually it was a simple matter of the TCP/IP settings reverting to auto when I had previously set them to link-local.

     

    Still not happy that this setting continues to bounce and thus takes my files offline intermittently, but it's resolved for now. Was yesterday some soft deadline for IPv6 settings to take effect or something? I am pretty sure I have never touched the IPv6 options since day 1.

  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Jan 12, 2016 1:07 PM in response to racer-xx
    Level 9 (52,476 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 12, 2016 1:07 PM in response to racer-xx
    Actually it was a simple matter of the TCP/IP settings reverting to auto when I had previously set them to link-local.

    Oh.. that is the auto removal of manual setup.. it will be due to a full dropout of the network and it restarting back to defaults.

     

    Aint computers fun.

     

    I am pretty sure I have never touched the IPv6 options since day 1.

    It can revert every now and then.