Missing Time Capsule Device in AirPort Utilities + Want Backup Mode Only

Reset your TC to factory by powering it off.. holding the reset button .. power on and keep holding in reset for about 10sec.

No files are lost on the hard drive.

The TC will reappear in your Airport Utility and you can reconfigure it.. For now leave the wireless on unless you are using ethernet to the TC.. ethernet makes life much much easier.

So there are several important changes to make.

1 Change it to static IP

This is exactly like your situation .. a TC plugged into my main router. It will get an IP by DHCP.. sometimes your main router will have dhcp reservation.. but you can also fix it on the TC itself.

Swap to static. All the current settings remain except DNS.. no idea why dns greys out but you need it for the TC not to complain. So fill it in with the same number as was there. or 8.8.8.8 (Google public DNS)

2 Go to the Internet Options down the bottom and change the IPv6 to link-local only.

Save and then use update to fix all that up.

Take special note of that IP address you have assigned the TC.

Now something really strange will happen..

If your computer is using ethernet the TC will likely disappear entirely.. if by wireless to your main computer you should not have issues.

Simply turn off your airport utility and restart it.. it is fairly dumb.. do not use forget.

But since you have the IP .. use configure other in the top menu.

Use the IP address and put in the password.. and thereupon behold all manner of mysteries.

Your TC will magically reappear.

And you should now have a full airport utility.

There is an old network saying that goes something like this........whenever you make a change on a network, everything will change on the network.

The "secret" is to perform a Hard Reset on the Time Capsule and then set it up again. As it stands now, the Time Capsule is still remembering the settings that it used to connect to your "old" network, so it has no idea how to connect to your "new" network.

So, the Time Capsule needs to "forget" its old settings so that it can be set up again with the "new" correct settings to connect to your new network.

Get things working that way first......then.....you can turn off the WiFi and use the Time Capsule only as a wired back up hard drive.

If you need more help.....without all the jargon......post back to let us know.