Amber light fast blinking on Time Capsule

Sorry, not quite sure what is meant by "rapidly blinking".

If the amber light is blinking, it will normally do so at a rate of about once a second. A fast or rapid blinking light will normally only occur when the Time Capsule reset button is being held in manually during a Hard Reset.

If the amber light is constantly blinking quickly at 7-8 times a second, and you are not holding the reset button in, then this would unfortunately indicate a major problem with the Time Capsule since it is trying to reset itself continually.

Can you clarify please on what you are seeing?

Do you have the "tall" or "tower" shaped version of the Time Capsule? If yes, about how old is the device?

Or, do you have an older "flat" or "square" version of the Time Capsule.....that looks like a small white pizza box? If yes, look on the bottom of the device for the model number. It starts with an "A" followed by 4 numbers. About how old is the device?

Finally, are you able to temporarily connect your Mac to one of the three LAN <--> Ethernet ports on the Time Capsule using a short spare Ethernet cable? If yes, we may be able to learn more about the issue by checking the Time Capsule Status using a direct wired connection.

Strangely, the only thing that happened yesterday is that somehow the power was disconnected from the outlet (I think my labs tail may have pulled it out). When I plugged it back in, I was faced with the issues I described.

That sounds pretty much power supply to me.

Your symptoms mean that the TC has failed before boot.. which is a very severe problem.

Any idea what a repair will cost?

Nobody will repair them. If you were in Australia I would give it a crack because I am interested in what goes wrong.. if I was testing it.. I would check the boot sequence..

Tell us exactly what all the LED do.. particularly the ethernet port LED.. even if you have nothing plugged in.

Normal sequence is the power led goes green for a second or two.. then slow flashing amber.. all the ethernet LED will blink once.. The fan should start.. the noise you are hearing could be the fan or the hard disk.

As the boot proceeds it should eventually appear on the network and power led turn green.

To repair it I would open it..

See ifixit instructions ..

Disconnect the hard disk.. disconnect the reset button to ensure it is not jammed in (btw when you press the reset can you feel it click?) no luck I would likely then replace the power supply. Beyond that nothing is really available..

3 years can be lifespan of most domestic routers and the Time Capsule has always been somewhat worse than the Extreme due to the extra power load of the hard disk.

Apple no longer make them and if you have any applecare on a computer, ipad or apple tv, and the TC is actually under 3 years.. one day over is out of warranty.. ring apple immediately to check if it is covered.. the rules are complicated.

I would not buy another since apple stopped making airports in April last year.. what they are selling now is old stock.. you will need to buy another router .. talk to us about that if you want recommendation.

You might be able to pickup something cheap if you need a router fast..

Looks like LaPastenague has you covered here.

IF......you have AppleCare in effect on one of your Macs.......AND.....the Time Capsule is less than 3 years old......Apple will usually replace the defective Time Capsule under the AppleCare umbrella. Get with Apple Support if you think that you might meet the qualifications.