How can I access data on my old time capsule?

Please tell us exactly which Mac, model and year your old Mac is, and what macOS version it's running. Find that info by clicking the Apple menu () at the top-left of your screen and then select About This Mac. (Note- for privacy and security please never post your serial number.)

The general way of doing that is to click the Time Machine icon in the Mac's menu bar and select "Enter Time Machine". If your Time Capsule does not appear, try holding an Option key while selecting that menu item, and then select "Browse Other Backup Disks..."

The good news is that the Time Capsule appears in AirPort Utility, which means it is connected to your network. I don't understand exactly what is showing up as "my network" though. Can you select (single-click) the TC in AirPort Utility? What happens when you do that? An information window should appear with an Edit button (don't press that button just yet).

cgpr2477 wrote:

Sorry for repeat responses, my error,

The forum software sometimes even does that on its own. I've reported the duplicates.

cgpr2477 wrote:

Thank you. I'm new to all this forum stuff. So far I am finding it really helpful. I thought they had taken down the original comment but they have not so hopefully the very nice person helping me will get my response. Now, to be honest, I work for Apple! Sales specialist, and I answer a lot of the basic questions every day. Despite how I tell customers day in and out to trust themselves, be patient and calm down, I find myself often impatient and far from calm! Thank you again. Carla

I spent 20 years in retail. I know what it's like to be on your side. But yes, I still sometimes get impatient.

You're doing fine.

In addition to the other replies, you have a few choices to access the Time Machine (TM) backups on this Time Capsule (TC).

They are, in no particular order of preference:

• Using the AirPort Utility, create an archive copy of the data to an external USB drive attached to the TC's USB port.
• As the others have mentioned, access the TC via TM on your new Mac. The "Browse Other Backups" option, as John Galt has eluded to, would be the only way your new Mac will be able to "see" these backups. TM backups are specific to the Mac that creates them.
• Directly access the TM backups using the Finder app on your new Mac.

This last one is a bit more complex, but not too daunting. However, some items may not readily be directly accessible if they are stored in a database-like format. Photos in the Photos app, for example, would be these. Unless you saved photos outside of the Photos app, these would be far easier to access. Let us know if you want to know the steps to accomplish this last item.

The screenshot is very helpful for me to understand what's going on. It shows your Orbi network which I understand is the usual one you use to communicate, and another network created by the Time Capsule which won't be able to connect to the Internet. If I have that correct so far, and if all you want to do is browse the backups on that Time Capsule, then the "Browse Other Backup Disks..." option should work to restore individual items. This assumes you did not deliberately erase the Time Capsule (if you did that, it would have warned you about what was about to happen).

If you want to continue to use that Time Capsule to back up your Mac, then you would need to reconfigure the TC to act as a client on your Orbi network. The only way to do that is to connect its Ethernet "circle of dots" port directly to whatever Ethernet ports the Orbi network equipment may offer... and I'm not familiar with their equipment. Then, one would "hard reset" the TC, "connect" to it, reconfigure it to join the Orbi network as a client, and finally tell Time Machine to start using it. The good news is that all its existing backups would remain unaffected by that reconfiguration.

All I use for all my networks are Apple Time Capsules and AirPort Extreme / Express units, which limits my ability to assist with other manufacturers in anything more than a cursory manner. Apple made everything simple.

Hi John, I believe you are on the right track here, especially if the OP wanted to continue to use their TC for TM backups. In my case, just the opposite of you, (although I originally did have an all Apple networking ecosystem) I now only have one remaining TC that is configured to work with my Ubiquiti UniFi network ... so I'm definitely familiar with "mixed" hardware networking. In my case, I continue to use the TC, but only for file sharing. I rely on other hardware for TM backups.

FWIW. My offering was aimed at the OP NOT wanting to keep the TC in play, and some methods of accessing its data. However, setting it up as you suggested, even if it not to keep the TC in the long run may be far simpler.

• Using the AirPort Utility, create an archive copy of the data to an external USB drive attached to the TC's USB port.

I had forgotten about that option:

That would certainly make it easier to access those TM backups without having to reconfigure the network. Just connect that disk directly to the Mac, and "Browse Other Backup Disks..."

At least I think that should work.