How to setup new VELOP mesh system with existing Time Capsule

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

Power up the Time Capsule and let it run a minute.

Next, we need to check to see if the Time Capsule is set up in Bridge Mode......which it must be.....in order to work correctly on the Velop network. Unfortunately, the article never mentions this, and simply assumes that the Time Capsule is in Bridge Mode. It may or may not be.

Please follow the instructions below carefully.

Log onto the Time Capsule WiFi network that you were using before you installed the Velop mesh system

Open AirPort Utility on your Mac Finder > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility

Click on the Time Capsule to select it

Click Edit in the upper right corner of the smaller information window that appears

Click the Network tab at the top of the next window

Look for the current setting for Router Mode.......it will be DHCP and NAT.....DHCP Only.....or....Off (Bridge Mode). There will be a check mark next to the current setting

IF......the current setting is Off (Bridge Mode), then the Time Capsule is already set up in Bridge Mode. Apple calls it Off (Bridge Mode) just to confuse folks, because Bridge Mode is not OFF in Bridge Mode, but that is another discussion.

IF.......the current setting is DHCP and NAT or DHCP Only.......you will need to select Off (Bridge Mode) and then click Update at the lower right of the window and give the Time Capsule a minute to restart again.

Please post back on your results and we will continue.

If you lose the Internet connection for some reason, log back onto the Velop network that you have already set up.

Well, we know that the Time Capsule is not set up in Bridge Mode.....and it needs to be.

This may sound strange.......but power off the Velop network temporarily......all Velop devices.

Keep the Time Capsule powered on

Restart your Mac

When the Mac restarts, log onto the WiFi network from the Time Capsule. You won't have an Internet connection, but you should be able to use AirPort Utility to check the settings using the instructions above and change the setting over to Off (Bridge Mode) on the Time Capsule and then Update to save the new settings.

After the Time Capsule restarts, power it off

Power up the Velop network again and make sure that you are connected to the Velop network

Then, power up the Time Capsule again

Post back on your progress and then we will recheck the settings on the Time Capsule again and turn off the WiFi on the Time Capsule.

The old backups will be accessible.......IF.......the hard drive is not damaged.

We're going to start all over.

Connect the Ethernet cable from an Ethernet port on the Velop router to the WAN "O" port on the TC

Power up the TC if it is not already on

Hold in the reset button on the back of the TC for 7-8 seconds and release

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

Click on the WiFi menu at the top of the Mac's screen

Look for a listing of New AirPort Base Station

Click on Time Capsule, or it might say AirPort Time Capsule

That will start up the setup "wizard". The wizard will take a few seconds to analyze things and then suggest that you set up the TC to create a network. That is the correct setting. We will turn off the WiiFi on the TC later. The window will look something like this, except that you will see a Time Capsule displayed.

Network Name......Type in anything that you want, but not the same name as the Velop network. Later, the network will be turned off after some checks

Base Station Name.....Type in a device name that you want to call the TC. You can use the same name that you used before if you wish

Password.....Type in a password for the TC

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

Click Next and the setup wizard will automatically apply the correct settings for the TC......(including Bridge Mode).

After a minute, there should be a green light on the TC

Close the AirPort Utility window

Now make sure that you are logged onto the Velop WiFi network......not the TC wireless network

Open AirPort Utility again on the Mac and the TC should appear

Does it?

If yes, click to select the TC, then click Edit

Click on the Wireless tab at the top of the next window

Change the setting for Network Mode from Create a wireless network to Off

Click Update and let the TC restart

Post back on your progress.

First things first. Get the Velop system set up and working so that all of your WiFi devices will be able to connect reliably.

Then, post back at that time and we'll walk you through the setup of the Time Capsule.

But what are the steps? What's first, second, next?

If you review the article again, you will see that it has told you what is first.......

connect the Time Capsule via ethernet to the rest of the network via its WAN port.

This means that once you have the Velop system up and running, you will use an Ethernet cable to connect from one of the Ethernet ports on the Velop router to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule.

The other steps in the article are pretty straightforward, but we'll go through them again at the time, along with another check to make sure that the Time Capsule is set up in Bridge Mode......which the article assumes. Best to make sure that it is, which we will do.

I don't find how to deal with the TC.

If you ask Velop for help regarding the Time Capsule, they will refer you to Apple Support, so I would not spend much time asking Velop about this.

Might be another discussion, but if the Time Capsule is 5+ years old, it is at or past the point where it becomes suspect regarding the power supply and hard drive, so hopefully the Time Capsule is not going to be your only backup plan.

with an ethernet cable connect TC to WAN port on VELOP parent

The Ethernet cable will connect from a LAN <--> port on the Velop router to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule. For now, power off the TC and disconnect the Ethernet cable to the TC, and proceed with the setup of the Velop system.

reset TC as a disk not a base station with Airport Utility (check that TC is in Bridge mode - how?)

The article does not mention a reset for the TC. Are you perhaps looking at another article? Or, are you saying that you do not want to follow the steps in the article and start over again with complete new setup, which would be required if you reset the TC?

(check that TC is in Bridge mode - how?)

We said before that we would walk you through the steps in the article and detail any steps.....like Bridge Mode.....that will need to be checked.

If you are saying that you do want to reset the TC......meaning that we will start all over again from scratch with a new complete setup for the TC......please let us know. This will be completely different than following the steps in the article.

The TC now has ethernet cables from a solar system and Powerwall attached. I assume I can leave those alone or should I move them over to the VELOP ports?

You should move the solar system and Powerwall connections over to the Velop router. The reason for this.....say the TC has a problem. If so, then the solar system and Powerwall will also have a problem. If you move the solar system and Powerwall connections over to the Velop router, if the TC has a problem, the solar system and Powerwall will not be affected.

So, to summarize at this point

Power off the TC

Get the Velop system up and running. Check to make sure that all your WiFi devices are connecting to the Velop system correctly

Connect the solar system and Powerwall systems to Ethernet ports on the Velop router and check to make sure that they are working correctly

Next, decide whether you want to follow the article that you linked above as your guide, or whether you want to reset the TC and start all over again with a complete new setup on the TC.

Let us know of your decision on how to proceed with the TC

I gather I don't have to mess with Time Machine on my laptops during this process.

That will remain to be seen, and cannot be known until you try to restart the backup process. Remember that Time Machine on each Mac has been programmed to locate the Time Capsule at a defined destination or location on your network. But.....you will have a new network.....and a new destination for the Time Capsule......when the new Velop system is up and running.

It is possible that the old settings on each Mac might still work.....and possible that they won't. If they don't, then we will have more work to do at the time to get Time Machine backups running again.

Looks like I can get into this Tuesday

Got it. Post back when you are ready. In the meantime......if the TC is still hooked up and operating on your network......you can check to see whether it is set up in Bridge Mode or not at the present time.

Open AirPort Utility on your Mac Finder > Applications > Utilities > Airport Utility

Click on the TC, then click Edit in the smaller window that appears

Click the Network tab at the top of the next window

Check the current setting for Router Mode

It will either be DHCP and NAT....or Off (Bridge Mode)

Please do not change the setting at this time, just note the current setting and then cancel to get out of AirPort Utility.

Once all is good I'll investigate replacing the TC with a new B/U disk.

That unfortunately will likely open a whole new can of worms, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

If it were me, and the TC is sounding suspicious.......the first thing that I would do is connect a spare blank USB drive formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) to the TC and use the Archive function in AirPort Utility to copy all of the data on the TC disk over to the USB disk.

That way, you will at least have a record of your backups if they are valuable to you.

Then......you can decide if you want to continue to try to use the TC to back up your Macs.

If the Archive has completed, simply power off the USB drive or disconnect it from the USB port on the TC. The screen shot above indicates that the Archive is still under way. You won't see an "Edit" button until it completes fully in my experience.

If the TC is still making noises, personally I would not use it for future backups, since the unit is heading downhill and will need replacement soon. If the TC fails, you will of course lose the data on the hard drive inside the TC.

Once the Archive has completed and you want to try to get Time Machine backups going again......

Run a Time Machine backup to see if the current settings on your Mac will work. Click on the Time Machine "clock" icon at the top of the Mac's screen and then click on Back Up Now.

If the process starts correctly, you may see "Preparing" for a long time before the actual back up begins. Let the process run until it completes or until you see an error message appear.

If an error message appears to the effect that Time Machine cannot find the backup disk, then more work will be needed.

If the process completes, then run a Time Machine backup on your other Macs one at a time.

It is probably fair to say that there are a number of users that are having problems with Time Machine on their Big Sur Macs, but this is most likely due to the fact that Apple made a number of significant changes in the way that Time Machine operates on the Big Sur operating system.

Of course, the only users who really post on the support forums are the ones that are having issues. We rarely see a post from a user who takes the time to say that everything is working fine on his/her network. If there were major problems with Big Sur and Time Machine, the forum would be flooded with posts, and it's not.

Maybe I'll try the external drive slot the router has

Not sure which slot you are referring to here. There are Ethernet ports and a USB port on the back of the Velop routers that I've seen. As we mentioned previously, you can connect a USB drive to this port, but Time Machine backups will not be supported.

https://www.linksys.com/us/support-article?articleNum=316684

The simplest, fastest, and most reliable way to back up has always been a USB drive connected directly to a Mac. I don't see that changing.

The next best thing would be a product called a Network Attached Storage device, or NAS for short. This product connects to an Ethernet port on a router, so you can back up over the WiFi or over a direct wired Ethernet connection.

Unfortunately, your Mac won't know which network to connect to if they are both named the same.

Rather than log onto the Time Capsule network, log onto the Velop network......before.....you power up the Time Capsule.

Then, stay on the Velop WiFi network and follow the same instructions above to see if you can access the settings on the Time Capsule and check the settings. You will be able to do this....IF.....the Time Capsule is already set up in Bridge Mode.

If the Time Capsule does not show up when you open up AirPort Utility, the Time Capsule is not set up in Bridge Mode and things get more complicated. Post back if that is the case. Do not change the name of the Velop network, we'll come at this from another angle.