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Time Capsule - amber light and no wireless connection.

The amber light is blinking on my Time Capsule and I can't connect wirelessly to the internet through it any more. It is connected to my modem via an ethernet cable, but when I go into AirPort Utility, the Time Capsule says it's not connected to the internet. I can still find it's network, but when I try to connect, it fails.

Time Capsule-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Aug 14, 2012 7:49 PM

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12 replies

Aug 14, 2012 7:54 PM in response to hahfam

I would try a reset by holding down the button on the back of the time capsule for ten seconds. After the reset go into airport utility and set it up again like new. This shouldn't effect any data on the harddrive.


If this doesn't work try connecting the modem directly to your computer via ethernet. If you still can't get online it's probably a problem with your ISP and you should give them a call.

Aug 25, 2012 10:13 PM in response to hahfam

Same issue. My 1TB (1st gen) Time Capsule quit working (i.e., no wifi or ethernet). The amber light blinks faster than usual (6-8x/sec) compared to how fast it would blink when it cannot establish an internet connection through my cable modem (2-3x/sec).


What I can confirm is:


  • The internal fan works.
  • The small green led lights on the ethernet ports light up
  • The hard disk inside the timecapsule DOES spin up!


Other than this, I am completely clueless as to what it could be. Hard resets do nothing. My Time capsule is only three years old and now dead in the water. Since I have no warranty left on it I guess it becomes a $400 paper weight.

Aug 25, 2012 10:52 PM in response to LaPastenague

My reset lever was not jammed. The micro switch that is pressed by the lever works fine -- making a crisp "clicking" sound when pressed. I had already taken the TC apart before posting here to replace the HD on an off-chance that it might solve my problem. It didn't.


When the Time Capsule failed, it was after I had made some changes to my airport settings. My TC never restarted after applying those changes.

Aug 25, 2012 11:00 PM in response to nonsensical

A rapidly flashing amber light means that the TC is in reset..


Perhaps it is something else..


Open it again.. remove power plug from the hard drive.. power up the TC and describe the exact sequence of the front led.


Generally Gen1 TC are dead now. The power supply cooked.. did you do anything about this.. if you have a meter, measure the 5v during boot.. if it collapses even momentarily when the led starts rapidly flashing I would say you might have power supply issues.. as every other Gen1 does, had or will.

Aug 26, 2012 12:36 AM in response to nonsensical

Which terminals would I need to probe for testing 5V?

The last few pictures on this page give a pinout of the board plug.


https://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modem s/apple-time-capsule-repair/repair-type3?pli=1


Use a thin paper clip or some piece of thin wire and push it into the top of the board plug pin 1.. Measure from that pin to metal frame which is gnd. The voltage should be 5.1v.. and should not drop much at any time. Once the board LED starts rapidly flashing it strongly suggests to me a corrupted firmware.. it could have done something really strange.. I have never seen a TC do it.. other than holding in reset.


I think you might need to replace it.. main board repair is much more complicated than power supply and generally not worth it.

Dec 30, 2012 5:11 AM in response to LaPastenague

I have the same issue: restarted the TC and it didn't come up. The amber light is flashing rapidly. After disconnecting and connecting the power cable the TC directly goes into rapid amber flashing.

Opened the TC, reset button doesn't seem to be stuck. Disconnected the harddrive with no success. Only the fan is working and all LAN lights are on. Don't have the tools to measure the power supply.


Anything else I can try?

Dec 30, 2012 1:11 PM in response to Kuif71

Disconnected the harddrive with no success. Only the fan is working and all LAN lights are on. Don't have the tools to measure the power supply.


Anything else I can try?

All lan lights on is the key indicator here.. the TC is stuck in boot cycle. Something has failed. Same with fan on.. the fan should turn off at the end of the bootloader cycle. That it has failed shows the TC has hit a problem.


I have to say it is not one I have seen before. Since you disconnected the hard disk.. both power and sata connector?? Then I would say a voltage regulator has blown.


Exactly what model is the TC.. I need the A1xxx model from the rubber foot.


And just to say.. sorry but I think your TC is dead.. permanently dead.

Time Capsule - amber light and no wireless connection.

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