time capsule keeps disconnecting

Hi there,

I have a 2tb time capsule, its approx from 2011. I don't use it as a wifi router, it is solely to backup my laptop. I connected it to my laptop with a wire and tried to back up, the laptop starts to back up and then disconnects. When I go to Airport Utility it shows that the time capsule is disconnected. Can anyone help? It doesn't look like it needs to be updated. No error message comes up.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Apr 25, 2021 4:27 AM

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Posted on Apr 25, 2021 6:22 AM

A few things to check.......


Make sure that the Ethernet cable from your laptop connects to one of the three LAN <--> Ethernet ports on the Time Capsule.......not to the Ethernet port labeled "O".


Turn off the WiFi on your Mac to make sure that the connection will be over the wired Ethernet cable.


Does the Time Capsule now appear if you check in AirPort Utility?


If not, does an Other WiFi Devices button appear? If yes, click on that to see if there is an option to select either WiFi or Ethernet for the connection.


If you are still having difficulty with the back up, post back with the exact text of any messages that appear on your Mac. A screenshot would really be helpful as well.


If the backup starts, but does not finish, what message appears?


It's your call, but I would not keep any data on the Time Capsule that you cannot afford to lose, since the Time Capsule power supply and hard drive are long overdue to fail on a 10 year old product.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 25, 2021 6:22 AM in response to nhg-1234

A few things to check.......


Make sure that the Ethernet cable from your laptop connects to one of the three LAN <--> Ethernet ports on the Time Capsule.......not to the Ethernet port labeled "O".


Turn off the WiFi on your Mac to make sure that the connection will be over the wired Ethernet cable.


Does the Time Capsule now appear if you check in AirPort Utility?


If not, does an Other WiFi Devices button appear? If yes, click on that to see if there is an option to select either WiFi or Ethernet for the connection.


If you are still having difficulty with the back up, post back with the exact text of any messages that appear on your Mac. A screenshot would really be helpful as well.


If the backup starts, but does not finish, what message appears?


It's your call, but I would not keep any data on the Time Capsule that you cannot afford to lose, since the Time Capsule power supply and hard drive are long overdue to fail on a 10 year old product.

Apr 25, 2021 1:19 PM in response to nhg-1234

Just to add a bit to Bob ..


Using the TC this way often has problems unless you have a very clear setup with manually configured TCP/IP settings for the ethernet connection, where you use router / gateway and dns set to the same IP as the wifi.

You should also mount the TC by IP rather than leaving the computer to use normal bonjour to find the TC.

I can give more details but need to know how the TC is setup now. Is it standalone with no connection to your main network?

It also helps to know your wifi settings i.e. what is the home IP of the main router and TC home IP is set to default, i.e. 10.0.1.1


Since you are plugging the TC directly into the Laptop.. our experience is slower and far more prone to issues on OS11 than simply using a USB drive plugged into the laptop. Since you are effectively dependent on a corded backup plugged into the laptop anytime you want to backup.. I would change over to using USB and sell off the old TC.

You can use the TC over the network with it plugged into your main router if that is feasible.. and convenient.. but don't use direct connection. Still it is OS11 and Apple has moved on from Time Capsules.

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time capsule keeps disconnecting

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