Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

The problems were limited to first generation Time Capsules. Current units are generation 4, I believe.

Check this Apple Document for details.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3351

My Time Capsule is right in the middle of the affected units, but it's still going strong after almost 2 years. Keep in mind that this forum is like a hospital. Everyone here has a problem. But, most of the rest of the population is doing fine. They don't post here because they're not having problems.

Hello simmply_anna,

The announcement by Apple that the 'problem is fixed' is bogus. They have not announced 'the' problem is fixed but stated that between certain serial numbers, Time Capsules are swap-out items if defective. In that, they power down suddenly, etc.

This is a very limited admission of a problem that Apple have played down, as ever with skill and aplomb. The article mentions more than one other way to back up your data, pointing out that it is a good idea, mentioning all your personal stuff like pictures and letters, etc.

With that 'noted', let me now have my say on my general observations and specific actions taken recently by Apple, at least here in the UK.

*Apple have not 'fixed' the problem; it still persists.*

They have however 'beefed up' the design to offset early failure, which was the highlight of 1st generation units and the reason most people come to this massive forum and read pages and pages and pages of almost identical stories.

No substantial design change has taken place to remove the fundamental flaw in the design. The flaw is breathtakingly simple to understand and seemingly to correct.

However from an engineering perspective it is not 'low cost' to implement. Think it through a little more and you will understand why... if Apple were to alter the TC to correct its faults (and to do so would make it obvious to all with eyes to see and hands to feel) all the previous products would be deemed 'faulty' by omission of this correction and Apple would be deluged with irate customers demanding an upgrade, if nothing else.

To repeat, the internal fan (supplied and installed inside the TC by Apple) does nothing useful to cool the product.
1. There is no air inlet hole.
2. The fan points the wrong way.
3. The fan is not running.

Easy to fix, expensive to implement on new products because of the political (and business) reasons outlined above.

The Time Capsule is a great idea, very simple to implement and forgettably easy to use. When it works well we don't notice it (which is how it should be). When it goes wrong, we become irate and harangue Apple (people come here and complain), which is NOT what we or Apple want to happen.

I personally think the TC is a great product and i would advise all to buy and use one. HOWEVER, get it modified to run cool and it should have a long and productive life.

Apple cannot possibly modify the present design, it would be business suicide to do so. I suspect they will redesign to make a 'Next Generation' Time Capsule that could use aluminium as the case, with iPhone 4 style aerials built into the metal structure of the case, separated with visible 'slots' to prevent one area touching another. An internal fan that quietly gets on with its job and loads of other whizzy stuff that we all fall for and why we buy.

Time will tell and we shall see.

Recap: The 'fault' is not fixed. TCs work well but run hot. Keep them cool and long life can be obtained.

Regards,
Chris Fackrell,
YORK,
UK.

Mine died today and is within the range of serial numbers. Thankfully, it will get replaced for free as well as the data recovered.

Data recovery? Interesting! First time Apple has ever offered to recover or pay for data recovery, that I know of.

Just as i was reading an article about the Time Capsule problems, my WiFi network dies, then I go to my Time Capsule, and whaddayaknow, it's dead. I called Apple, but my serial number is outside their perimeter, so I have to pay for a repair. But I'm in Zhuhai, and the closet Apple store is in Shanghai, an airplane ride across the country.

Sadly I have to add my TC to the list. Serial# 6F8 **432N
Bought Jan 09 - Died Jul 10
RIP

<Edited by Host>.

Welcome to Apple Discussions

Please do not write your full serial number at any public forums. I have reported this to Apple to edit.

Hope you have time to go through this thread a bit in detail. There are many options available to you. Especially for you in Australia I would think you might want to see [this|http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and -modems/apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-repair-type2].

How much does apple charge to repair the power supply in the time capsule? I'm thinkig about sending it I. To the apple store in shanghai

Hi Wayland,

As far as I know, the apple store will not repair your PSU and return the original TC. If you have basic DIY skills, you can do this yourself. Or you can contact someone with such skills.

That said, I would suggest first please contact Apple customer service and speak to them. Try not to take no for an answer and get yourself bumped up to supervisor or manager level.

However, I am copy pasting below from post by freddietheone which more or less charts out the entire map for dead TCs.

Quote:

Options open to you are:

1. Sweet talk Apple into swapping this unit for a 'new' refurbished unit.
2. Loudly harangue Apple for producing a 'server grade' back-up device that has singularly failed to do what it was designed to do. It is not 'fit for purpose' and should be exchanged forthwith for a 'new' refurbished unit.
3. Do not approach Apple. Extract the hard drive and put it into something like a DROBO case and use it that way. Find some other way of wifi linking your computers though.
4. Get the unit 'repaired' by one of the people on this list, kindly compiled by Ray Haverfield (Melbourne, Oz. All round good guy).

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

5. Do it yourself, using Ray's help, etc.
6. Don't give up!

NOTE: Points 1 and 2 above have the same outcome but one might involve raised voices and unpleasantness.

You are following the path that so many before you have trodden. Welcome to the club!

UNQUOTE


Please note that the point no 2 above is written tongue in cheek and is just some humour, note the phrases in quotes and you will understand.

Best of luck and hope you will come out of this better informed and better equipped to deal with situations in life as well!!!! (this is essence of point no 6 above which applies to everything)

Recently, I obtained a few dead TC's without their HDD's. As an elect Tech for nearly 50 years I wanted to do some troubleshooting these units. I agree with Chris Fackrell and LaPastenague the placement of the internal power supply is a major setback for the proper cooling of the internal parts of the TC! Following is what I have experienced with these units by generation:

Gen Model Main Logic Battery Aiport PCB Antenna
G1 (A1254/MB27x) 820-2459-A CR2450 607-1746-A 631-546 Blk
631-545 Blue
631-515 Gray

G2 (A1302/MB76x) 820-2440-A BR2335 250-01689-04C 631-0859 Blk/Grn
631-0861 Blk/Gry
631-0860 Blk/Blu
631-0878 Blk/Red

G3 (A1335/MB99x) 820-2642-A BR2330 6074729 631-1194 Blk/Grn
631-1192 Blk/Gry
631-1193 Blk/Blu
631-1195 Blk/Red

G4 (A1335/MB99x) ??? ??? ??? ???

I have one of each of these units and all are working now! One each of the 1st three generations (G1 thru G3) I have modified with the basic change of adding the 1/2 inch hole in bottom of case; turning over the fan and rotating it 90degrees adding a resistor (I used 15 ohm 1/8 watt) in the 5v line and adding four legs on bottom to allow airflow into the unit. Here are my basic findings AFTER I modified each one:
The G1 model temp on top of the unit seemed to change very little.
The G2 model temp was a little cooler.
The G3 model temp was very much cooler.
The G4 model has not been modified yet; however, I noticed the MODIFIED G3 (A1355/MB99x) stayed 'cool' to the touch when compared to the UNMODIFIED G4 (A1355/MC34x) model. Note: My G3 and G4 units have been running 24/7 for over two weeks now and the temp remains the same ... i.e G3 stays cool while the G4 runs warm (NOT HOT)! Hope this info is helpful.

Larry

Hello Ihibrgr (and doesn't that come trippingly off the tongue) 🙂

Wow! Excellent details here. How I wish I had had such resources available when I started out.

However, I seem to have worked mostly on the G1 series of units (A1254) but without necessarily noting the Logic Board numbers. My first unit had the DELTA PSU installed and whilst it is more robust than the Flextronics unit and does not seem to succumb to heat stroke quite so readily, it still ran boiling hot, way over 40 degrees C topside outer case temperature. A second unit used the Flextronics PSU and ran a couple of degrees warmer. See the IR pictures on Ray's site:

http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-fan-mod/infra-red-pictures-of-time -capsule

I have noticed that different units vary considerably (even within the same generation type) when using the wifi link for large file transfers. The temperature differences can be as much as 5 degrees C. I have not dismantled any unit to establish why, working on the old adage *"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"* (Grammar? wots that?) So my research is observational only, for what it's worth.

I can only assume you mis-typed when you mention a 1/2" hole for the fan? A bit tiny surely? Or is that 1 1/2", which would be a better fit. I use 44mm, which I think is nearest fit to 1 3/4", which is almost a 'Grand Canyon' in proportion to the fan opening.

Did you tape over the other side of the fan? This stops air circulation around the fan edges and makes the airflow through the PSU, possibly, more efficient. There was a lot of trial and error with my two TCs on this point and DAYS and DAYS of temperature monitoring before the 'balance' was felt to be correct.

Ray favours cutting away the side of the fan, with it in its original position and whilst this did increase air-flow through the PSU, it was not as good as turning the fan over, but it is a close run thing.

I slow the fan down with a 33 Ohm 1/2 Watt resistor, since I was trying to get it as slow as possible (to keep down the noise). 45 Ohms seemed to be the limit but occasionally I would have a fan not start-up. 15 Ohms at 1/8 Watt will overheat I think, presuming the fan load characteristics are linear - I calculate 0.4 Watts for the resistance.

Does the fan run much slower at 15 Ohms? I never tried that small a value- maybe I should? My aim is to have speed of fan-control proportional to temperature inside the case. Getting the very small connectors is the bugbear there though, they are very hard to obtain.

An absolutely wonderful addition however, thanks so much for all this data. It must have taken ages to compile?

I hope tests continue and you add more info again.

Regards,
Chris Fackrell,
YORK,
UK

Chris: Thanks for the reply!! Didn't know if I got too detail or not detailed enough. Yes, I have both the Delta and Flextronics Pwr Sply and noted that they are constructed a little different but can be exchanged with each other. Yes, I visited Ray's site and notice his excellent photos of the IR readings.
I agree.."if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and that is why my very warm running A1355/MC343 has been disassembled yet whereas the A1355/MB996 has been fully disassembled and modified...and both are still running 24/7 with the modified still running cooler.
YES the hole is a 1 1/2inch (NOT 1/2inch) and I have made templates to use to locate the position for the pilot hole. What I initially did was measured the actual diameter of the fan opening (about 1 3/4") and noticed that one side of the opening is slightly flatten. I tried a 1 3/4 opening on a piece of metal and decided against it and chose a 1 1/2inch opening. To get the exact center of the location for the pilot hole I position the metal base so the inside is facing up! I then measured from the outside REAR (side with the ports) edge of the metal base to the center of the fan and found it to be 1 7/8inch and then measured from the the other (the left side) edge is at 1 1/2 inches.
No I did not use tape to cover the opened side of fan. I 0.30" (.75mm) sheet styrene and glued it to the fan fan opening to cover the opening.
I looked at the idea of 'cutting' away the 'other side' of the fan; but, decided to actually reverse and rotate 90degrees. I tried the 33 ohm (per your article) and found it running faster than I wanted it to; so, I reduced it to 15 ohm and I can barely hear it. In fact, I actually experienced the unit running cooling after I reduced the resistance from 33 to 15! As far as speed determining the speed of the fan; I decided that lowering the resistor size would reduce the heat generated by the resistor and would contribute to the cooler unit.
Yes, I am still testing, adjusting and evaluating my process. Also, I used 3/8inch wide x 3/16inch thick Rubber foam weatherseal to use as a seal between the fan and the metal case....seals real good! Finally, I fought for the rubber standards with too many problems so I used 4-40 3/8inch plastic screws and nuts.
More later...
Larry

Hello Larry,

I found the greater the resistance the slower was the fan. From what you have just said, it sounds like your fan runs slower with a lower resistance than 33 Ohms? The impedance of the fan is about 15 Ohms, so with a 15 Ohms resistor you will halve the applied voltage across the fan. With 33 Ohms you will have about 1/3 of the applied voltage across the fan (with 2/3 across the resistor).

Ideally the speed of the fan should be done with a PWM circuit where the PDF is proportional to the measured temp. I simply can't be a r s e d to sit and do the design. It already exists on the logic board but is inaccessible within hidden Apple code... grrr!

I'll eventually, when I move house again later in the year, have a workshop again and I can create a small PCB with SM components. One day.

Hope you understood my various TLAs?

Cheers,
Chris F.
Sunny. cloudy, rainy, windy YORK, on a typical English summer's day! 🙂
UK

Chris, I 100% agree with you!! As you well know, I am still testing/adjusting and evaluating my changes. Perhaps I do a little tighter bench checking and measurements before I go to far.

Have a great weekend....98 degrees F here and very muggy!!

Question: What gen/models are your T.C.s?

Larry

A serious contender that perhaps deserves some consideration:

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/network_storage/home-network-storage