From extreme to mesh system

Not a big deal.....but Time Machine is software on your Mac that is used to back up the Mac to another hard drive.

A Time Capsule is hardware........an AirPort router with a built in hard drive that can be used store backups made by your Mac. As we mentioned before, an AirPort Extreme is simply a WiFi router. It has no built in hard drive, so it cannot be used to back up your Mac that way.

Connect an Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <--> ports on the main TP Link router to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule.

You can use any length of Ethernet cable that you wish

This connection must remain permanent at all times.

Power up the Time Capsule and let it run for a minute or two

Hold in the reset button on the back of the Time Capsule for 7-8 seconds and then release the reset button

Allow a full minute for the Time Capsule to restart to a slow blinking amber light status

On your Mac......

Click on the WiFi menu at the top of the screen

Look for a listing of New AirPort Base Station

Just below that listing, click directly on AirPort Time Capsule, or it might simply say Time Capsule

When you click on AirPort Time Capsule or Time Capsule, that will start up the AirPort Utility setup "helper" or "wizard"

The wizard will take a few seconds to analyze the network and then display a screen that will look similar to the example below, except that you will see a Time Capsule pictured

Network Name.......Type in a short simple name for a network Later, you can turn this off if you don't need a WiFi signal from the Time Capsule

Base Station Name......Type in a device name for the Time Capsule. You can use the same name that you used previously if you wish

Password......Type in a password that will be used for the Time Capsule. You can use the same password as before if you wish

Verify......Type in the same password to confirm

Click Next, and the setup wizard will automatically apply the correct settings to the Time Capsule to connect to the TP-Link network

When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done

There should be a green light on the front panel of the Time Capsule at this point

Post back on your progress and we will continue with the setup

An AirPort Extreme does not have a built in hard drive, so you are likely asking about a Time Capsule.

Once the new mesh system is set up, the Time Capsule can be reconfigured to act as wired backup hard drive when the Time Capsule is connected to an Ethernet port on the main router of the mesh system. Then, you can back up to the Time Capsule over the wireless network provided by the mesh system.

Post back when you have the mesh system set up and operating, and then we'll tackle the setup of the Time Capsule. You will need an Ethernet cable to connect the Time Capsule to the mesh router.