Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

My Time Capsule is having some of the same problems. It jumps on and off the network like crasy. Reboot and power cuts helps but only for a short while. I sure I need a replacement. I was so happy about the wireless network. But now, i'm getting fustrated. It's even worse that the Linksys crap I had before.

Shame on you Apple.

Add another TC to the list. I believe my TC was just 16 months old.

Not that this helps out any of the TC owners who have experienced failures but it does seem like the occurrence is lessening at least based on the posts to this thread. This is the first reported failure in 10 days.

My TC which has serial number in range XX807XXXXXX to...... failed last night.

Has anyone in UK had data transferred from bust TC to new one by Apple ? If so, how long did it take ?

Message was edited by: John McLean

Hello John,

A good question that I too asked. The answer was "didn't need data transferring" so we are left somewhat in the dark.

As an aside... I will be revamping (correct word?) the content of my website, to show +in detail+ just what I do and hopefully how to do it.

www.fackrell.me.uk

and the 'tricks of the trade'?

Well easy really;

1. keep the tools clean and sharp, (use the right tools),
2. measure twice and cut once,
3. be patient and take your time,
4. only use the best replacement parts,
5. (a favourite of mine) wear protective gloves to avoid cut fingers!

I hope they help.

Despite Apple's best customer intentions regarding the *sudden, strange and totally unforeseen failures of the Time Capsules... (my goodness... whatever caused that to happen?)*, their replacement policy and data transfer seems, on the face of it, to be good. Although the length of time to transfer, say 1TB of data, is presently unknown.

However... by my casual observation and accidental involvement in repairing and modifying over 50x TCs, the design flaw persists. The TC, even the latest version, still has no effective 'as designed' cooling. ('As designed' = Parts included inside the TC case, that serve no useful purpose... *+but could+*).

To re-re-reiterate;

1. The in-built cooling fan has no air intake,
2. The fan points in the wrong direction,
3. It does not turn on correctly (or effectively - 'at all')

A great product, that needs a bit of help to be a long-time great product.

Kind regards,
Chris Fackrell
YORK,
UK

I was on the verge of purchasing a Time Capsule, but now I have serious reservations. Has Apple made any official statement on this issue?
I am a new Mac user and I do not have Applecare - if I understand correctly it would not be possible for me to take out an Applecare policy only on a Time Capsule. Any guidance would be very much appreciated.

Neil

Hello NeilWB,

The nearest thing to an 'official statement' on the Time Capsule by Apple is:

*"Some ISPs are not currently compatible with Time Capsule. Product specifications are subject to change without notice."*

Apple must be reasonably secure that any new TC will not cook itself to death. Their replacement option presently running, only really covers the units with well made power supplies, that unexpectedly and quite surprisingly died for no known reason. (Warning!!! Irony lurks here. Beware!!)

Apple are snug and secure with their present product, the Time Capsule, in 1TB and 2TB sizes. The nastiness that befell earlier TCs, was entirely down to something called '+an oversight+'.

The poor engineer (or engineers, lets be reasonable here) that did not quite work out why the cooling fan should be INSIDE the Time Capsule has probably managed to cover up his tracks and avoid the ultimate humiliation - of being named.

Possible phrase muttered by the errant engineer...
"Phew! They blamed the fault on the Flextronics power supply! I think I managed to escape!"

He may well have been named, the poor b *t*d, but we will (gladly) never get to hear about it.

Quite simply, TCs run too hot. The cooling fan (already fitted inside the TC case):

1. Has no air inlet hole.
2. Points the wrong way.
3. Is not turned on.

Apart from those three carbuncles, the TC is an excellent product (no sarcasm used - I MEAN IT).
Get the boiling hot little pressure cooker modified and you will have years and years and years and years of good reliable service. Don't forget it is server grade. Just not made like one.

I put a 2TB upsized and modified TC 'FOR SALE' on my website last night and it has gone already!
Someone knows it makes sense. (To be modified that is).

Get a TC, they are very very good. They run hot however...

Regards,
Chris Fackrell,
YORK,
UK.

Another dead TC. Mine was a 500GB model from 2008 with serial number in the xx813xxxxxx range. It seems I did better than most people here by getting ~24 months of use, but it finally powered down permanently tonight.

Hopefully the Apple Store will do right by me tomorrow, according to the terms of their replacement deal (see http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3351).

Mine fried a few days ago. SN XX814XXXXXX. The local Apple Store gave me a replacement refurb XX809XXXXXX. It shut itself down 3 times in 4 or 5 hours of operation. They had no more replacement units so gave me a brand new dual-band with the same storage (1 TB). Stellar service despite the initial hiccup. In case it's scrolled back aways, here's the repair program: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3351 . I think it will ultimately be extended past the serial number range shown there until they get to the much newer range which uses lower power hard drives and improved thermal paste.

As with previous posts my failed TC was replaced at appointment at Genius Bar. Got 24 months from my first one which was from the "bad batch". Lasted twice as long as my Buffalo NAS. No complaints about this Apple product or support.

Chris,

Thanks for your detailed response - IIUC you are saying that the new Time Capsules have not had the design issue resolved, but do not seem to die after approximately 18 months. Am I correct? If there are still issues with Time Capsules, I would consider an Airport Extreme combined with an external hard drive - would this provide all the functionality of a Time Capsule?

Thanks in advance,

Neil

Hello NeilWB,

The new TCs are little different from the old, by design. A slightly beefed up PSU along with a slightly low-powered HDD, +might just+ make them last longer than 18 months.

Since 18 months have not yet passed, since the introduction of these things, longevity is conjecture.

IMHO I think they will last longer than 2 years, possibly even 3 years. This will take them beyond any Apple Care that they may have been tacked onto. Beyond this period I suspect Apple will have the magic 'Get out of Jail' card (as in the Monopoly game) and will be clear of endless swathes of users moaning about such a crappy (that's 'c r a p p y') and dreadful product.

The sheer simplicity and elegance of the TC is the reason I chose it and the fact it will work seamlessly with Snow Leopard and Time Machine. However, with a slightly more bits-and-pieces approach there is no reason why you cannot use an Airport Extreme with external drive via a USB hub to allow a printer as well.

That would be AE with external PSU,
a USB hub with external PSU,
a decent hard drive with PSU
and a printer with its power supply needs as well.

That is rather a lot of power connections and it may have the 1960s look of *mission control* but it does do what a TC does and since all the PSUs are out in the open, it will all run cooler and subsequently last longer. It will just look awful.

My own TC fan modification (and all the dozens and dozens I have done for others) will soon be coming up for their anniversaries. By comparison with unmodified TCs, the modified ones run about 10 degrees cooler.

Not a single one has had trouble, not one single return for a warranty fix (I offer one year on the repaired PSU - ONLY if the fan modification has been done).

I seem to be able to make TCs reliable when they have died and been assumed, +until recently+, to be beyond recovery. The 'refurbished items' however are only 'more of the same'.

Have a ' Eutechnics' modification and simply forget about your TC. Let it do what it has been designed for - acting as a reliable back-up-drive that simple works in the background and stores all your stuff.

Sorry... end of lecture and bragging. The TC is ever so neat an option for wireless backup, that is totally in keeping with the Apple image of minimalist design-shape and smart function. It apparently is 'server grade'... well it made me smile quite a lot! 🙂 'Server Grade' meaning something along the lines of '*Define QUALITY*?' 'Quality' means the customer getting what he or she wants... this is a slightly circular argument that could run for a while. I thought it was just a charming phrase of 'SteveSpeak'... and we all love that, don't we?

Kindest regards, I hope my waffle helped?

Chris Fackrell,
Sunny YORK, UK.

Thought I'd throw my 2 cents in... One of the users I support had a 1TB time capsule die on him. The power would flicker and a very high pitched shriek could be heard for about 5 seconds after it was plugged in. I disassembled it and found caps on the power supply had ruptured. I ordered some replacement caps from Mouser.com. I installed them today and the timecapsule seems to be working just fine. It is humming with a green light here on my desk. Data is intact and is configurable via the Airport utility.
The replacement caps were larger, but the same specs as the original. that made for a tight fin on the re-assembly. Unfortunately I didn't know about the trade in policy till after I cracked the case... besides I couldn't take a chance on data loss if the only solution was a whole unit swap.

I remember apple having a similar issue with bad capacitors on the old G5 iMacs and eMacs. I wonder if this is more of that sort of thing?

-Sonic84

picts:

old caps: http://www.sonic84.com/files/timecapsule/old.jpg

the two samxon caps (black and gold) and the (out of focus) teal capacitor had swollen and ruptured (that orange stuff at the end).

new caps: http://www.sonic84.com/files/timecapsule/new.jpg

The issue isn't so much bad caps as bad thermal design.. the cap next to the yellow tape wrapped transformer dies first.. followed by the second one down the line due to high ripple plus temp after the first one goes. I have repaired about 50 of them but very few now since Apple did the extended warranty. Please note.. apple at least in US and probably UK do offer file restore as part of this replacement.. not in Australia.. I did just repair one because Apple refused to do any data recovery even though the extended warranty promises they will.. but hey, this is Australia.. we always get treated this way.

See my pictures of the dead caps.. and how to fix it.
https://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modem s

Freddietheone also has excellent pictures on his website.. so if anyone wants to do this repair please check beforehand as there are some important points.. like the primary caps are charged and dangerous. And the secondary caps have to be 8x20mm max to fit.

http://www.fackrell.me.uk/

It will also die again in less than 6 months without fan mod to improve the cooling. The new caps being packed in even tighter and actually touching the transformer will lead to massive overheat.

Apple replacement announcement came too late. I already did the fan mod. That would surely leave me without warranty despite being in the reported range.

Man, Apple should really get its act clean. Are they even monitoring this and waiting for us to mod our device which ultimately void whatever they would now replace for free?