Time Capsule not mounting via Ethernet to USB-C on MacBook Pro

That USB-A connection is intended for connecting external storage onto that time Capsule. Not to connect into it as a storage device.

How to erase an AirPort Time Capsule using AirPort utility:

• Erase an AirPort Time Capsule in AirPort Utility on Mac - Apple Support

If you don’t recall the network settings and accounts and such, you can factory reset the Time Capsule: unplug Time Capsule, press and hold the reset button, then plug in the Time Capsule, and then release the button. This resets the saved configuration settings, but does not erase the contents.

This reset can allow you to access the Time Capsule using its default settings using AirPort Utility. Your MacBook Pro will need to not be connected ro some other Wi-Fi network.

FWIW, the USB-A connector is usually used for the host / initiator end of the connection, and USB-B for the target / client / recipient end of the connection. USB-C doesn’t differentiate the host / initiator and target / client / recipient connectors; the cable can be connected either way.

sawteeth wrote:

A post said the UBS port on the Time Capsule is not for connection to a Mac. Thus I used an ethernet to USB-C to my MacBook Pro. but it does not mount. It only flashes yellow. Thus, I cannot erase the drive.

Yeah, I was not entirely certain what “2TB Time Capsule will not mount ethernet to USB-C on MacBook Pro OS 26.6” was intended to indicate, whether it was trying to connect back-to-back Ethernet or via USB, or why an Ethernet dongle would be involved here. It left me with more questions and uncertainty than I’d prefer.

Again…

• Disassociated the Mac from local Wi-Fi, reset the Time Capsule, connect via Wi-Fi, and erase using AirPort Utility. This akin to a new network.

• If you do want to try wired, reset the Time Capsule, plug the Time Capsule into your router, and try AirPort Utility and its erase via Wi-Fi (and wired).

Existing Time Capsule drive should mount and be usable under MacOS 26.

But if you erase it, it will NOT allow you to use it any more.

and MacOS 27 felt out refuses to talk to it any longer.

AFP deprecated:

The terminology around this issue is very confusing. You need to read carefully to understand  exactly what is being retired.

When you back up to a Server, you use a Server communication protocol to talk to the Server. Examples of Server communication Protocols are Apple File Protocol (AFP), which should rightly be called Apple File [Server] Protocol. and Server Message Block (SMB) developed by Microsoft and revised and updated many times since it first use. 

What is being retired is every version of Apple File Protocol (AFP), This is not to be confused with Hierarchical File System Extended (HFS+) MacOS Extended, or the relatively new Apple File System (APFS). AFP (being retired) is a very old Server communication protocol, NOT A Disk Format.

sawteeth wrote:

Thanks everyone, but this is going nowhere. It can be operator error, however I have done everything in both the Time Capsule Setup Guide and your online instructions. I tried to reset the device, but I still get a flashing amber light. Airport Utilities said the setup was complete, except for these 3 things: Ethernet Unplugged, no internet connection, No DNS Servers.

Did the erase succeed?

This because unplugged, no internet, no DNS, and blinking amber are all irrelevant to the goal of recycling.

All that matters here (for recycling) is the completion of the storage erase.

But but but...

Time capsule HAS Ethernet ports.

¿Why would someone plug a USB adapter into the Time capsule if they have an Ethernet cable?

<< Ethernet Unplugged, no internet connection, No DNS Servers. >.

Those are all Router issues.

If you intend to use the device as a Router, you will probably need to fix them.