Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

There are two approaches to this dead Time Capsule issue:

1. Get in touch with Apple, repeatedly if necessary. They will replace TC if you have AppleCare on a connected computer. Some forum readers have gotten lucky and had their TCs simply replaced by making Apple customer service aware of the 60+ pages of disappointed purchasers. Press your case with Apple!

2. Repair - LaPastaneague (Ray) has posted some repair options here: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair IMHO, replacing a dead power supply with an external is the only long term solution (and easier to accomplish - safer too!) The fan modification can be done as well, fairly easily and will extend the life of the unit.

I am listed on Ray's site as a repairer-of-dead-time-capsules in USA. However, I am only on the second one and have not gotten a system down pat yet.

zmippie wrote:
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

Sounds like the "repair extension program" is a euphemism for not publicly admitting they have a problem and replacing the TC of those customers they deem too vocal and that could create PR problems in their mind.

As far as telling if the replacement will have a problem, an easy way to tell is to use the palm of your hand and place it on top of the new TC after its been running for a while. If your palm tells you it is too hot, you'll have your answer.

*GOOD NEWS!!!* My time capsule went out back in August, 2009, almost 18 months to the day. I kept inquiring with the Apple store, but they always said there was no support from Apple on this. I finally called Apple (about 2 weeks ago) and got through to one of their tech support personnel. After telling him my story, they said they would send me a new one, which they did, arriving the very next day. I am thankful to the Lord that Apple FINALLY stood behind their product. I asked if they were doing this for everyone, but they would not give me a straight answer, implying it had to do with some specific production runs (which is may be true).

In any event, my recommendation is to call Apple and ask for tech support for the Time Capsule. Have your serial # ready, and make your case that a $299 product should last longer than a year and a half or so. Let them know they replaced mine (I have not read all of the posts, so I assume there are others here who have been fairly treated by Apple). Apple is a great company that makes great products, so make them stand behind one that had obvious flaws with the power supply. Also, my new TC does not get as hot as the old one, so they seem to have tweaked the way it operates. I'm hopeful I'm not doing this again in 18 months! Now, go call Apple!

Brian

Add one more failed Time Capsule to the list--after approximately 18 months of use.

I called Applecare and was initially told that it was out of warranty and that there was nothing they could do. I mentioned that many were being replaced even when out of warranty but the person I talked to kept insisting that there was nothing that could be done. So I asked to be bumped up to a higher level and the person said that he would talk to his senior manager. 10 minutes later he came back and said that there was, in fact, a replacement policy and that my serial number was part of it.

Of course, I cannot access the hard drive because it will invalidate the warranty. Normally, that would not have been a problem because I have multiple backups. But a few days ago I copied some un-backed-up video files to it temporarily in order to clear up some space on my laptop (you have to love Murphy's Law). So I now have a choice between giving up the video files that I need or replacing the poorly designed Time Capsule at my cost. What stinks is that it would be very easy to get to the hard drive if it wasn't for the fact that the rubber base is glued on.

I won't be replacing it with a new Time Capsule. It worked well but not being able to access the hard drive without invalidating the warranty is a serious design flaw since it is supposed to be used to back up and store data. So my plan is to get an Airport Extreme Base Station, put the hard drive from the dead Time Capsule in an external enclosure, and then plug that into the Base Station. Never again will I trust or recommend a Time Capsule.

I purchased mine in March 2008 at the London Apple Store and it died yesterday. Thanks to this discussion I called AppleCare this morning with my serial number and was initially told that it was out of warranty so I had 3 options for support: a paid-for call, web information, or the Genius Bar. Before making a choice I explained the situation so the operator made enquiries and returned shortly to say it did fall within the range and a replacement would be sent out straight away.

They do take a credit card number to ensure you send the failed unit back, but I can live with that. Overall I am very pleased with the politeness and efficiency experienced this morning.

I also registered the failure using Apple's feedback, and also at http://www.timecapsuledead.org/ where, at the time of writing, there are 1,112 fallen Time Capsules most of which failed at 20 months old, the same age as mine.

Another one packed up - 500 Gb, purchased March 2008, out of warranty, no Apple Care.

Spoke to a very pleasant girl in Apple Care, who confirmed that my serial number was from a bad batch, and offered to replace it free of charge. My local apple store here in Aberdeen has a replacement, and I hope to pick it up tomorrow (1 Tb, so I assume brand new).

She wanted the old one back, which I am reluctant to do, but am hopeful that the apple store will be more sympathetic (especially as I am also buying a new computer from them). I am uneasy about giving away the last 18 months of my life, and this is an area apple should be a bit more relaxed about I feel. There is data on there I should never need, but if I do I would like to have the hard drive available - worth nothing to them. But fingers crossed I get to keep it.

So yes, these things shouldn't be failing, but it now seems that apple have acknowledged the problem, and are responding accordingly. So well done for that, and I will be happy to continue to use the product.

Just got off the phone with AppleCare. After I told them what the problem was they said that since it was a known issue they would replace it for free and they just needed to get a senior agent on the line. After a 5 minute hold try conferences me in with the senior agent who took my info and said they would replace it under the AppleCare on my iMac. Since I didn't have my iMac serial number with me he said he could do it a "different way". So my new 500gb TC is on the way.

This thread really helped. My time capsule died last week. Called the support line (based in greece) and explained what had happened. I don't have apple care on any of my macs so I quoted this thread and how in the UK if an item fails like this then it is deemed not fit for purpose. The operator was very professional and went way to discuss with his supervisor. On return he offered shipment of a new unit which should arrive in 4-5 working days. I have to return the faulty unit but explained that I needed to recover personal data from the drive and would follow the advise in this thread. He said this was OK and appreciated the trouble that this failure has caused. Getting the drive out was very easy and I purchased a cheap HDD docking station (ICY box IB-110 series) My mac could see the drive automatically and I'm now in the process of transfering my data to an old HDD I had kept for a rainy day.
I will then re-format the drive before re-building the time capsule.
From now on the time capsule will be for back up only!
Service from Apple (so far) has been excellent so has kept my confidence level high despite this obvious design failure.

I too had the same issue. Purchased my TC in April 08. It died about a month ago. It died at night, I spent an hour messing with my modem, the plug, etc. and then pulled it out of it's cabinet (on top of my dvd player) and made an appointment for the genius bar the next day (via my iphone).
When I got to the genius bar, they plugged it in, and it worked. So, I felt stupid - that I must've had something wrong with my set up. They told me to check the plug, if it didn't turn on, to go to Radio Shack and buy a new plug. I went home, plugged it in, and nothing. So, I went and bought the new plug. Got home - nothing. I even plugged it into other outlets to see if that was the problem. It wasn't. By now, I realized it wasn't the plug. i had read something about trying to put the TC in the refrigerator. I did that, figuring, what the heck. 3 hours later, I pulled out my cold TC, and plugged it in- and low and behold - it came back on. I knew this wasn't going to last, and i didn't want to have to put it in the fridge every time it went out. So, I called Apple's customer service number. Explained everything. The lady was very nice, put me on hold for a bit, and then said they were going to make an exception and replace it out of warranty. They got it to me the next day.
So, overall - I'm luckier than others in that I have a temporary solution to this problem. However, I know my days are limited, and that this one will go out in 18 months or so...

To update my previous post (where I got nowhere phoning Applecare with the usual 18 month dead Time Capsule and no Applecare on any computers) I went to the Apple store on Regent St in London yesterday with the defective unit to see a Genius.

A very cursory examination from the Genius and a single question ("Has the unit been opened?" cough "No") later he offered to replace it. They didn't have another unit in stock, but said they would call / email when they did and they would then swap the units. 24 hours later an email arrives and a quick trip to the store later I have a replaced TC - same model as the old one, but that will do me fine.

So - happy days. Looks like Apple (in the UK anyway) are doing the right thing with relatively little fuss - hope that others receive the same treatment.

There is still a chance you can get it replaced by Apple. Call customer service for your part of the world and keep escalating up the chain.

Since you have opened the little beast up and peered into the PS, it might be a tough sell to get an exchange.

However, they can be repaired by several methods. My preference is to replace the PS with an external, thereby removing the cause of TC failure. There are several techs around the globe doing repairs, if you don't feel like doing it yourself. See: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers

Phrogz wrote:
My 1TB capsule died this Christmas Eve, 21 months after purchase.

Followup: My local Apple store (one of three local, really) was super helpful. I made a Genius Bar appointment with the comment that as a loyal customer I was hoping for out-of-warranty replacement due to the known failures. As I had another Mac under warranty (a recent MacBook Pro purchase) the employee kindly and swiftly handed me a brand new capsule.

I would have liked to have had a shot to swap hard drives, or at least to watch as the old drive was wiped, but I had faith when she assured me that Apple routinely wipes the drives sent in and takes it very seriously.

Results of the call to Apple: They'll be sending me a refurb TC because the dead one is covered under my iMac's AppleCare plan. I mentioned this thread, timecapsuledead.org, and also asked if I could get a verbal exception from the rep to open the unit and grab my data off the drive. After he talked with a supervisor, he told me that they'd just send out the refurb unit and that I could keep mine. I'm satisfied with that, and will be looking into a power supply mod for the old one. AppleCare has saved me $800 in repairs/replacements this year, so it's more than paid for itself. I'll never buy another Mac without it.

The one thing you will observe with a quick reading of these forums is, Apple is consistent only in being totally inconsistent..

1. In some countries they still deny the problem.. Australia being one place where very few people have recounted even marginal help from Apple. Total denial of a general issue.. that there is a list of serial numbers of devices that should be replaced if reported dead.

2. If you claim under AppleCare, they still say you have to purchase it on the same receipt as an Applecare covered device even though the actual applecare fine print says no such thing. If they ever say that ask them where in the conditions it says that.. then ask to speak to a supervisor.

3. That if you press you get different stories. The staff are apparently told to use FUD... if you politely ask, you will be politely refused.. start to scream and rant about how much money you have spent on apple products and the story changes... they suddenly are co-operative and helpful. My usual comment is be polite.. well at least start polite.. but if you don't get your way get nasty.. it works.

4. Every country obviously has different consumer laws .. for instance UK has strong data privacy laws so if you press them they will allow you to keep the dead TC. Apply every consumer law you have at your disposal.. don't let them fudge their way out of it.

5. If you are stuck and they offer to replace but you cannot keep the old one, come back again later.. the policy might change on another day.. with another staff member or a different supervisor.. remember there is no consistency.
If you are finally stuck, never ask permission to open the TC and extract the data.. just do it.. neatly using heatgun to get the rubber about as hot as you can touch. It pulls off easily but be careful not to tear it.. Remove and copy the contents of the hard drive then scrub it.. put it back.. close it up.. Apple stores and repair centres are not allowed to open them.. so don't worry... just make it appear untampered with.

Obviously I can't speak for Apple, but here goes my 2 cents worth>
I was in an Apple store recently and overheard another customer discussing TC failures after 18 months. Seems the p/s is failing. He expressed same frustration: namely, that Apple sez it's out of warranty.

This piqued my interest cuz I have a friend with a 1TB TC that just failed. Told him about that; he took his TC to the Apple Store and they told him, "yep - the previous gen had some p/s problems (or PMU problems - can't remember what my friend said they told him). We'll replace this even though warranty has expired. Current generation has resolved the problems."

So again - can't speak for apple - maybe this is corp policy; maybe it was only that store. But they knew about it and replaced the TC.

Based on that, I bought a 1 TB TC a couple weeks ago.

Good luck.