How to change Wi-Fi security of Time Capsule router

I did not review the details of the Linksys product on the Apple page, but if the Linksys router does not support Wi-Fi 6 as you say, then it also does not support WPA3 Security.......so you really gain nothing over the Time Capsule that you already have.

If you want to get up to date.....performance and security wise, you need a router that will handle Wi-Fi 6....(also known as 802.11ax)......AND......a router that will also support WPA3 Security.

The Time Capsule will be able to work with any router or mesh system that you choose. Remember that the Time Capsule also has 3 LAN Ethernet ports that can be used for connections, so your "main" router would not necessarily need 4 Ethernet ports. You could use a few Ethernet ports on the new main router and up to 3 more on the Time Capsule for Ethernet connections.

If you need more than 5 or 6 Ethernet ports, you can also add an Ethernet switch to any router to expand the number of ports. Switches come in 5-port, 8-port, 16-port, etc versions. For example, I have an 8-port Ethernet switch connected to one of the Ethernet ports on my main router.

How old is the AirPort Express? It may not be capable of handling WPA2 Personal, and that would set up a conflict on the network if you tried to make any changes on the TC.

In any case, if you were making changes to the TC, you would need to first power off the AirPort Express completely, then power it back up once the changes were made on the TC.

If the changes "stick" on the TC, then you can try to make changes on the AirPort Express.

Life just might be a lot easier if you left well enough alone, and start to think about replacing the TC and AirPorts. Even the "newest" Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme were designed 8+ years ago.

You should not need to replace the router but it is too old to get update to WPA3.

What is important is you are using WPA2 Personal with decent password. NOT WPA/WPA2.

My iPhone on latest update has no issues with this setting..

My recommendation would be to fix the Wireless Name .. change to something short, no spaces and pure alphanumeric.

I use the same rules for password but much longer. Fixing this on the TC then clearing out of the phone all the previous SSID and rediscover the newly renamed wifi network should get rid of the problem. If not then the only solution is replacement.

The only option shown is WPA2.

There are other available options in AirPort Utility.

WPA2 Personal is the default setting for the TC and the setting that you would normally want to use, unless you have a really ancient WiFi device or two that cannot connect using the higher level WPA2 Personal settings. In that case, you would have to try using the WPA/WPA2 Personal setting.

Apple Support says WPA3 usually needs 802.11ax, which this TC doesn't spec.

WPA3 and 802.11ax (also called WiFi 6) was years away at the time that the TC was designed in 2012-2013. You won't be able to use these types of newer settings on the TC because that would require different hardware on the TC.

Do I need to replace the router?

Possibly, if you have a number of other 802.11ax or WiFi 6 capable devices and want to take full advantage of their capabilities.....and/or......you want to have the strongest available security for your WiFi network.

Another option would be to add a newer router to provide your WiFi service and configure the TC for backups only.....so it would not provide a wireless network at all.

You need to reset the main Airport router and start over.

You cannot simply change security when you have client router like express dependent on the current value.

Start from the main router.. reset it and configure it correctly.. then you can do all the other units in the network.

If any unit is too old to be able to handle WPA2 personal it is too old to be used period.

requires at least one WDS peer.

This tells us that you have an ancient version of the AirPort Express that will not be able to handle WPA2 Personal security settings.....and that the Time Capsule is set up to work with the AirPort Express.

That means that the Time Capsule is operating now at far less than its capabilities, because it is using long outdated settings to work with the very limited capabilities of the AirPort Express.

So, even if you reset the Time Capsule back to factory defaults and then set it up again as LaPastenague has suggested, at best you will be able to change the security on the Time Capsule.....but.....not on the AirPort Express. So, no gain for your network unless you are prepared to not use the AirPort Express at all.

My advice would be to use the Time Capsule and AirPort Express "as is" for a few more months while you start to look for new mesh products to bring your system up to real world standards. Your version of the AirPort Express is more than 10 years old.....and the average useful life of home products is about 5 years.

Frankly, at this point it is remarkable that the Express will ever power up at all, much less operate. It should have failed long ago. Congrats on your remarkably good luck with the Express.

Start your search by looking at some of the mesh WiFi systems that Apple sells in their stores and online. While Apple sells these products, they do not offer service or support on them, so there is no requirement for you to buy from Apple unless you simply want to do so. Good luck.

Mesh Wi-Fi Networking

Apple discontinued the Time Capsule and other AirPorts in April 2018.

Before we talk about how to use a Time Capsule with a mesh system, it would make sense to figure out whether you should even consider doing this. Makes no sense to try to use an out of date Time Capsule when it is approaching its normal end of life.

About how old is the Time Capsule?

Is it tall....like a "tower"?

Is it flat.....like a small white pizza box?

If it is the older flat version, look on the bottom of the Time Capsule for the model number, usually embedded in the foam pad base. The model number starts with an "A" followed by 4 numbers. Post back that info.

The Time Capsule still has another 3-4 years of use available, so it can be used for backups.

It's not difficult to reconfigure the Time Capsule to work with a new mesh system, so you will be able to back up over the mesh WiFi network and not use the WiFi function on the Time Capsule at all. This way, you will be using modern up to date WiFi security on the network.

We can't recommend a specific mesh system, because we only recommend products that we have used ourselves.

When you are ready, post back and we'll provide the instructions to set up the Time Capsule to work with the mesh system that you choose.