Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

Jason Jackett wrote:
Mine has gone as well. Bought March 2008. No Applecare so apparently it will cost me £180 to repair and replace whilst a new 1TB one is just over £200....

Hmmmmm.....

£180 to repair is ridiculous. I am charging about £50 to repair them. Take it to your local TV repair shop and ask them to replace the faulty capacitors in the power supply. Or fix it up with an external hard disk power supply.
I have shown on my website at least 3 different ways to repair them.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-repair-type2

Zeb Ellis wrote:
What about replacing the capacitors and then relocating the apple power supply outside the TC case? Is it possible to solder longer wires onto the power supply to get it to reach outside the case? Perhaps with a few notches cut out of the case in the right spots?

That is too dangerous... And unnecessary.. just get a suitable power supply... the cisco 1700 router supply is readily available and cheap enough.. and utterly reliable in contrast to the current supply.

The method I outlined here.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair

With AppleCare on any of your current computers you will be fine... they will simply replace it.
Otherwise either sit and wait to see if there is some general recall or extended warranty... expect that to take as long as possible...!!

Or warm up the soldering iron or pass to a normal electronic repair shop and get the faulty caps replaced.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems

Power supply on Time Capsule 500GB failed (6F8110QWYZW, 500GB). Purchased 20-Mar-2008, died 24-Sep-2009.

Had to purchase a new one and butcher old one to recover my drive/data.

Failed Capsule was on 24/7 since purchase, used for Time Machine and other storage. At time of failure it was doing heavy download via connected DSL modem.

Internal drive now used in Drobo.

Let me add two more incidents to the list. The TC I have at home died with a power supply failure about 2 months ago. Apple replaced it under the AppleCare for my MacBook Pro. It was about 15 months old (purchased February or March 2008).

Yesterday, the 500GB TC that I put in my parents' house died with the symptoms many have described (powered off, wouldn't power back on completely, once it would power on briefly flashing the LEDs on the ports before powering off). It was purchased mid-March 2008, and had been in use just under 19 months.

My parents are 1500 miles away, so this is going to be a bit more tricky to resolve with Apple. My parents don't have a clue about the equipment.

I have a Genius Bar appointment for them this afternoon. Hopefully I can talk with the Mac Genius who is helping them out.

I'm *very happy to report* that I received the kind of service I've grown to expect from Apple. They promptly replaced my 20 month old, out-of-warranty Time Capsule today.

I made an appointment with a Genius online and took it into my local Apple Store. The very friendly and accommodating employee was familiar with the problem and after a few minutes I had a new (or possibly refurbished) Time Capsule. He stated that it was most likely a problem with the power supply. I did not loose any data since I only use TC to back up my active files. I use another HD and/or DVDs to archive. The Genius did mention that my purchasing record and recently purchased iMac (still under warranty) helped.

Good going Apple.

Edit to add: TC 500gb - Purchased 03.11.08 / Death 10.25.09

Message was edited by: Bill Fant1

PZS wrote:
That's why technology changes and improves. We learn from the past.

When you stick a thermocouple into the area between the power supply and TC main board, you will get a temperature rise of over 50C above ambient. Electrolytic Capacitors of the type used in the TC are rated at 2000hrs at there max temperature. In other words if they burn out after 2000hrs they are within spec. But nobody can say exactly how long they will last but each 10deg drop in temp roughly doubles their lifespan. (simple old half-life principle)
So the TC has lasted 13,000hrs for people running them 24/7. That corresponds pretty well to internal temperature of 75-80C. If people have 20C ambient plus 55C temperature rise that works out exactly right.

Now if we drop the temperature just another 10deg... the TC will last 26,000hrs. And another 10deg 52,000hrs... By turning on the fan to slow continuous speed, temperature controlled even to make sure the power supply never reached over 50C you can get that much improvement in their lifespan. That is what I measured with a thermocouple with the fan turned on.. temperature rise was only 30C.

Yes, technology improves but the basic science remains the same... when you boost the temperature the chemical reaction goes faster.
I have repaired 6 TC all with the same dead capacitors at the same lifespan.. Interestingly in the UK they had a TC with a different brand power supply... different capacitors, slightly different symptoms. But they are dying sure enough. Because the science of the chemical reaction doesn't change.

And the technology is to control temperature. Since speed of the chemical reaction is fixed, use a fan (active cooling) to keep things cooler. That is what your computer uses. (and anything that is too small for the heat generated) Along with heat pipes and some copper fins. You simply cannot generate 30W of heat in a small enclosure and not vent that heat in some way without getting a massive rise in temperature.

LaPastenague... B.E. Chem
Sometime electronic technician!!
Repairer of dead TC's.

http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-repair-type2

Okay so after reading all the posts for the last 2 months I decided to give Apple a call. I purchased mine in February and got it in march, and I have no computers with a warranty. I explained the situation to the lady on the support line and she immediately transferred me up to a manager. A nice lady named Marilyn then took over and told me without any further questions that they would send me a replacement. I asked if I could go to the Apple Store and she said yes and gave me a case #. They where polite and fast there and long story short one phone call and one trip and I have a new Time Capsule. By their responses it seems this is definitely a known issue now and they didn't say it was limited to certain serial #s but they did ask for mine even before I explained the problem. I would say to everyone on here put yours back together call them and let them know how good a customer you are (I told her about my $4,000 receipt this was on) and I'm sure they will take care of you too. This has been frustrating but a couple months isn't too slow for a big company to do a little of their own research and spread the word. Thanks to all you guys posting your problem and I wish you luck!

I just wanted to follow up on my experience with this. I went to the Genius Bar today and they confirmed that the unit is dead. I asked them if/what they could do about my data, since I believed the power supply was the issue and not the hard disk. They had to go in the back room and discuss a bit, but when they came back they told me that they don't open Time Capsules because they're sealed, like an iPod. If it were a computer they would have no problem removing the drive and wipe it. I pressed a bit and they told me that if I wanted to try to remove the drive and wipe it, I could and they would still allow me to swap the bad unit for a good one, but if there was any evidence of tampering, they would not be allowed to offer me a replacement.

I decided to take my chances and after finding some instructions online about how to disassemble a Time Capsule I had the unit apart. I put the drive in an external enclosure and sure enough, the disk was fine. I was able to recover my data and then I overwrote the drive. Time capsule reassembled with a reformatted and wiped drive I went back to the Apple Store.

I was told that I would have to wait for a replacement unit to be shipped to the store and that they couldn't give me one off the shelf because it was a different model. I made a comment and asked if they could get me the newer model and hopefully that one wouldn't have the overheating issues that this one did. The Genius got a bit defensive and said that they all run warm, but the passive cooling is adequate.

Per the Apple Store my replacement 1TB Time Capsule should arrive at the store in 1 - 2 days. Hopefully the replacement will last longer than my original one.

With the Time Capsule Memorial Register nearing 1000 registrations, I got an interesting email message from the UK today. The sender writes about an "repair extension program" for Time Capsules that seems to be in effect now. He writes:

a bit googling seems to show that the
"repair extension program" is what Apple use when they admit
there is a problem that they need to make good.

I phoned Apple (Netherlands in my case) to verify this, and it's true. Apple doesn't want to go public with it, and explicitly say that it is not a "recall", but they do advise everyone with a dead out-of-warranty Time Capsule on their hands to phone AppleCare and have their serial number checked. Apparantly, the issue at hand is limited to "certain batches" of Time Capsules, but the Apple representative didn't supply any details on what factors are of importance in their decision to replace a dead TC.

Only time will tell if the issue will recur with replacement Time Capsules after 18 months. The represantative was honest enough to admit to that.

With all the information I've gathered about dying Time Capsules in the last 6 weeks, I have a hard time believing that the issue is indeed limited to just "early 2008" models, as the thermal design seems not to have changed since January 2008. But who knows?

I'm really interested to hear about success or failure to get a replacement at http://timecapsuledead.org/contact.html

My TC died as well exhibiting the same symptoms that others have listed here. I called Apple and they said, "We have had problems with some of these units. We will ship another one to you. You should have it by tomorrow."

So, if you are having problems with yours, give them a call with the serial number. They will replace it!

One easy preventive measure is to remove the rubber "boot" covering the bottom plate and add some rubber, self stick, feet to get a little air flow going. In case Apple wants the unit back, just stick on the rubber boot and voila, good as new (looking).

If you want, you could go a step further and perform the fan mod described here: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-fan-mod Just leave off the rubber boot.

The final solution is to replace the internal power supply with an external Cisco supply (for model 1700 routers, +5V, +12V). Mating connectors are available here: http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g51/c385/s1005/list/p1/Connectors-6Pin_Connectors-6-Pin_VGAMale-Page1.html This is what I have been doing for DOA power supplies and cases that Apple refuses to replace.

You can also purchase a replacement, repaired and upgraded original PS from LaPastenague (in Australia) and get a discount if you send in a dead one. This is only a good solution if the fan mod is performed as well. FreddieTheOne in York, UK may also be doing some repairs, not sure of that.

I just called Apple Care, even though I don't have it on my Mac, and explained that my Time Capsule won't power up, and that it appears to be the common power supply problem that everyone is having. The support person took my serial number and after I was on hold for a few minutes, told me that they will send me a new one free of charge. He took my credit card number to insure they receive the defective one and said I should get it on Monday.

Kudos to Apple for doing the right thing (although they should really come out and make a public announcement about it).

A few days after my TimeCapsule stopped working (in September, 2009) I took it to the Genius Bar in Stamford, CT and they told me I was out of luck. I found this thread and it was very helpful. Not only because many replied with potential fixes and other advice, but some suggested waiting a bit and seeing if Apple eventually recognized the problem. I guess a similar situation happened with Airport Express.

So I waited. I read about the fixes, but am very non-handy with electronics and delayed such drastic action.

After seeing some recent posts about Apple replacing TimeCapsules (but not admitting the problem) I decided to call them today and see if it would work for me.

They asked for the serial number and put me on hold. After a few minutes I was informed that I'd be getting a new Time Capsule shipped shortly.

So, for those out there that are a bit nervous about taking the TC apart try calling Apple to see if your unit qualifies for the replacement.

Scubac wrote:

Anyway, the morale is - don't give up - Apple have a problem and they know it.

That is pretty shabby to even share the cost when in other centres they are replaced for free. I am finding that Apple apply the policy as inconsistently as this is not good enough... and at that price an outside repairer may be cheaper, and do a better job.

There are no parts actually available to the dealer to repair it, so where they will get another power supply I don't know.. if they are going to repair the existing one, well check there might be much cheaper ways around it...

See http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers

I don't have a repairer listed in Germany yet although lots of hits from there. Anybody who has repaired their TC in Germany and would like to assist other TC owners I am happy to list you as a repairer on the website. The guy in Holland might be cheap enough though.. Kees Vlaanderen tells me he has done several of them. Postage between centres I am not sure but you might be able to just pull out the power supply yourself and get him to fix that.

Otherwise take it to an electronics repair store and ask for a quote to replace the faulty caps in the power supply. Here are the instructions.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-repair-type2