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Time Capsule is online... but not visible in Airport Utility?

This is weird. My home network consists of a cable modem connected to a Time Capsule (latest generation), and a slightly older Airport Express (1st generation N) in "Extend a network" mode.

Tonight, my PowerBook told me that it cannot find the backup disk on my Time Capsule. I can no longer see the Time Capsule under "Shared" in the Finder, and I cannot see the Time Capsule in the Airport Utility.

BUT... and here's the weird part... I am still online!

I can see the Airport Express in Airport Utility, and it shows that it is connected to the Internet, and I am definitely online using the network that is being provided by the Time Capsule through my cable modem. But I cannot see or connect to the Time Capsule in any way.

I've unplugged and restarted the Time Capsule several times, no change in behavior.

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

Posted on Dec 6, 2016 5:24 PM

Best reply

LaPastenague

Level 9

67,226 points

Posted on Dec 6, 2016 8:52 PM

Very typical in Sierra.. is that what you are running??

There are several issues.. mostly AV software or security, cleanup and speedup apps.. get rid of all of them.

Otherwise I need more details.

What cable modem do you have? Make and model please.

Can you plug the computer directly into the TC by ethernet.. ??

If you have to use wireless.. turn off the Express so you connect directly to the TC.. there is a bug where if the computer doesn't connect directly to the TC it cannot see it..

Another method is to use the TC IP address.. if it is acting as router to the network and you set it to default .. ie didn't change IP, then it is 10.0.1.1 (you will see this if you open your wireless network on the computer and check the router address..)

In Airport Utility go to the top menu, file, configure other.. and type in the direct IP address.. it will then work.

For finder to use the TC.. use Go, Connect to server in the top menu again..

And type in AFP://10.0.1.1 which should then find the network resource and ask for the password.. remember to check it is included in the keychain.

No luck or find it hard to find out what is happening.. reset the TC to factory and start over.

Make sure the TC uses short names. No Spaces, no special characters.. pure alphanumerics.

Make sure it has a static IP address.. this is not an issue when the TC is router for the network.

Post a couple of screenshots of the setup .. after the factory reset and reconfigure..

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40 replies

tmelon

Level 1

11 points

Dec 14, 2016 8:11 PM in response to Barry Fishman1

This should not be marked as "Solved." Turning off the Back to My Mac feature is a helpful workaround if it's something you don't use, but it is in no way a solution for those of us who use it. I use Back to My Mac frequently when I'm out of town and I'd like to see this issue acknowledged before Apple shuts down for the holidays.

Dec 15, 2016 1:43 PM in response to kataroekfromnonthaburi

You, my friend, are a genius! Your procedure definitely solved the problem. In my case, I didn't have to delete the old instances of each AirPort (one a Time Capsule and the other just a standard AirPort) - I just logged into each via its IP address, made the change, and voila, both came back online.

Looks like Apple needs to fix whatever they broke here!

Dec 15, 2016 1:45 PM in response to josephsv

I had the same problem which is now resolved, at least until Apple fixes the problem. I'm just curious though what made you think that Back to my Mac was the problem? I'm not sure I would have made that connection.

Dec 15, 2016 2:11 PM in response to John Trautschold

The same issue has appeared several times with Back to My Mac in the past, so it is on the list of possibilities for "disappearing" AirPorts and Time Capsules in AirPort Utility.

Only a few users seem to be affected by Apple's problems with their BTMM servers on the latest episode.

Dec 15, 2016 2:24 PM in response to Barry Fishman1

An intersting side note to this. I was reading a fairly complex document in Preview a few days ago and as I do with these things went to invoke the pull down menu to look up a word. Didn't work, nix, nada, nothing. I pulled the PDF up in Safari and the menus worked. I then called Apple support and after two sets of chats and quite a bit of nonsense (reset NVRAM, really?) nothing worked. After they suggested that I reload the OS I just gave it up. The next thing you know I see an OS update on the App Store. I installed it--lo and behold, Preview has menus back.

I am becoming an Apple conspiracy theorist between the Preview issue and the TC!

Dec 15, 2016 2:41 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Ah ha! This is the first time this issue affected me so I wasn't aware of the past issues. Glad you were here to help. That saved me a lot of messing around. I was about to take the Time Capsule to the Apple store, which, where I live now, is an hour and a half drive!

trwesq

Level 1

4 points

Dec 20, 2016 7:07 PM in response to Barry Fishman1

Great news! Apple has released new firmware updates for Airport Express, AirPort Extreme, and Time Capsule that are reported to correct the Back to my Mac issue we have all experienced. The 7.7.8 update is available for 802.11ac base stations, and the 7.6.8 update is available for 802.11n base stations.

Dec 20, 2016 8:39 PM in response to trwesq

This is good news; however, with that said, I just tried updating my AirPort Extreme unit and the download failed! I guess I will try again tomorrow. I haven't yet tried to update my AirPort Time Capsule. (Yes, I've got two routers, connected together, in order to get full coverage for our house.)

Reid_GA

Level 1

8 points

Dec 21, 2016 6:02 AM in response to John Trautschold

John . . . I have a similar config: 2 Time Capsukes, one with master, the other slave. The master updated fine. The slave failed the update three times. When I powered off the slave and re-powered, it came up with the new release in place. Thanks for taking point on this issue!

Dec 21, 2016 1:36 PM in response to Reid_GA

Well, both of my routers are now up to date. I did not have to power either of them off. I just tried to re-download the update to each one and today it worked. Go figure. The good news is that the update seems to have fixed the "Back to my Mac" issue. I turned that feature back on on both units and everything is working properly now.

Time Capsule is online... but not visible in Airport Utility?