Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

My time capsule Only 1.5 Years old
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP6Ot18pm4w

I bought a new Apple computer within 24 months of buying the 500gb Time Capsule that failed. When I got Apple Care on the computer, Apple sent me a refurbished 500gb Time Capsule. I electronically defaced the failed 500gb Time Capsule I'd been using with a strong magnet, an Apple suggestion.

Frank Rader wrote:
I bought a new Apple computer within 24 months of buying the 500gb Time Capsule that failed. When I got Apple Care on the computer, Apple sent me a refurbished 500gb Time Capsule. I electronically defaced the failed 500gb Time Capsule I'd been using with a strong magnet, an Apple suggestion.

I actually tried to wipe or even corrupt the TC with a very large electro-magnet.. did nothing.. the disk is absolutely easily readable.. you would need an electro-magnet of huge proportions where the arms are long enough for the TC to pass into the gap, and even then the metal shielding inside would still prevent any true wipe I think..

Sorry!!

Just a follow-up. I scheduled apple support to give me a call. I wasn't expecting much as the product is out of warranty, but the answer is always "no" if you don't ask, right?

I explained to apple support what was happening to my time capsule and how my other friend had the same problem. I also mentioned the community forums here with others experiencing the same troubles. The apple support lady was nothing less than amazing! I know why I continue to buy Apple products for over 10 years.

She guided me through some "obvious" make sure it is broken troubleshooting steps. Oddly enough the timecapsule actually turned on the first time I re-plugged it in. It failed every other attempt, which is an obvious sign the capacitors are failing.

She seemed to be well aware of the issue. We were very polite to each other and she consulted with a higher up to see if she could do anything for me. She came back on the line and notified me that they would send me a replacement!

Wow. It made my weekend. I really do love the apple routers in regards to the airport utilities, so it is nice to have another coming to me. I configure sonicwall routers at work so you can understand how nice it is to have a home router that just requires button clicks.

Now, even though there is obviously an issue with the power supplies, my timecapsule was clearly out of warranty and apple didn't have to help me at all. That says a lot that they did.

For others having problems... I would suggest people use the online support callback feature.. You fill in your product serial number, configure a few drop downs of the problems you are having (dead unit / power supply is one of the drop downs coincidentally) and write a brief explanation of your problem. You then schedule a callback and have someone directly from the wireless division call you. No messing around with phone options.

Oh yeah, be nice to the support, they are people too!

Hello Stephen,

A good result!

Cheers,
Chris F
York,
UK

1TB, roughly 2 years old. 6F8101xxxxx serial, discovered dead yesterday.

On calling apple was told the serial number falls under the replacement category and have an appointment tomorrow at the apple store for an old for new exchange.

Thanks
About magnets and HD's. I have a Time Capsule I can test with, but do not want to test since the Time Capsule I had is at Apple. I've used a strong magnet - the kind meant for picking up nails at job sites or 100 pounds from under water - on several HD's and it messed them up sufficiently they had to be initialized.

Frank Rader wrote:
Thanks
About magnets and HD's. I have a Time Capsule I can test with, but do not want to test since the Time Capsule I had is at Apple. I've used a strong magnet - the kind meant for picking up nails at job sites or 100 pounds from under water - on several HD's and it messed them up sufficiently they had to be initialized.

Perhaps it worked.. I would actually like to know.. I did the test and it failed.. but my magnet was for degaussing things, but it is fairly powerful. But the TC is well shielded with continuous metal barrier around the hdd. It is designed so that the antennas for wifi extend outside the metal barrier which also helps to give them a ground plane to work from.

Sounds familiar, I have had the exact same issue.

My Time Capsule has stopped working like all of the others, but I guess that I am lucky as I bought it in March 2008 and it quit just in the beginning of June 2010.

Did anybody get any help from Apple?

Just thought I'd add my name to the list. I had my wife take the Time Capsule to the nearest Apple store and show it to the Store Genius. He confirmed that the power supply was dead. He told her that it wasn't covered by any original or extended warranty. She asked him to document that it had failed and he is supposed to have done that.

Interesting as I went in this morning and they have ordered me another one at no cost, maybe try again and talk to someone else.

When I was in the store another guy came with the exact same problem.

Thanks for the encouragement Raicon44, I called the Apple support line. They said the Apple Genius was wrong and my Time Capsule was within the serial number range and was covered by the extended warranty, so I'm looking at a new 500 GB Time Capsule. Interestingly, as many of you probably know, it comes in the brown box, with no power cord, and only the simplest directions that says to refer to the documentation that came with the original Time Capsule. I think it's considered a DIY replacement part.

It is also of some interest maybe only to me that I was not required to return the old Time Capsule. After my wife took the Time Capsule to the Apple Genius at the brick and mortar store, and confirmed with him that it was dead and he told my wife that the Time Capsule was not covered by any warranty, I broke it open. They first said the TC would need to be returned, but when I told the support line that I had opened it, they indicated that they did not need the old one back. I'm sure I would not have had coverage if I had opened it before we took it to the Genius Bar.

Another one bit the dust!! Serial number 6F8112xxxxxx...went out some time last night as came down to work, sat down with some coffee, saw no connection, looked at the TC, and alas, no green light. Luckily I kept my Airport Extreme just because I didn't want to give it away, but it has definitely outlasted the TC by a at least two years!

one more to this list...my TC died 15 days ago. I bought it in states but I'm living nowadays in Czech Republic. I'm just wondering if it is still on the warranty and even if it is, if I will can fix it here...

sad.

You can decode your TC (or any Apple product) serial # here: http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php

Give Apple Customer Service a (free) call. I understand they have been replacing out of warranty machines with refurbished units. Better than nothing but still does not solve the heat induced PS failures.

The internal PSU can be repaired or replaced with an external PS a la Airport Extreme. See Ray's excellent source of repairers here: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers