Should I buy Time Capsule?

Hi.
I'm a little lazy when it comes to backing up files, and so I'm seriously considering buying Apple's +Time Capsule+, since it does it all automatically.
But I've read some reviews in Apple Store, and people seem to either hate it or love it.
What's your honest opinion?
Is it worth the money?
-AM*

Whether you should buy a Time Capsule matters on a few things.
* Do you have a laptop that moves around the house a lot or multiple laptops? If yes, then a TC is a good investment. If you have a desktop or just one laptop that usually lives in one spot, then you can use Time Machine with an external hard drive for much cheaper.
* Are you comfortable with or willing to learn about networking? To really put the TC to good use, it helps to have a good baseline of experience setting up home networks. Because it is Apple, it's pretty user friendly for the surface functionality, tho.
* Do you have multiple computers working off of one media collection? If so, run it off of your TC hard drive or an attached hard drive. I love the iTunes synchronization program Syncopation--add music to one iTunes library and the shared drive and it will pop up in the other libraries too without duplicating the file. I also have the Apple TV and the whole ensemble works very well--my friends are quite jealous.
* Do your wireless devices have 802.11 N capabilities? The TC is fast if you have the right cards in your computers and other devices, but if you're still on G and will remain there for awhile, then maybe you should wait.
* How budget conscious are you? How attached are you to Apple? If you're really comfortable with home networking, get a good N router and an NAS drive for cheaper.
* Do you like support boards like this one? My experience has been somewhat iffy with Apple's networking devices -- the firmware updates often seem to knock out a feature or make us come up with a work around. When the whole setup is humming, I'm pretty happy with it.

Similar Messages

To buy, or not to buy Time Capsule?

I am new here so if this question have been here before I can just apologize.
I am thinking about buying a 2TB Time Capsule. I thought reading the discussions would make my decision easier, NOT! After reading so much about DEAD TCs I am not sure at all if I should buy it.
Does anyone know if this problem is solved on the 2TB TC? Hoping for an answer so I can order it as quick as possible (or not). =)
Message was edited by: tatianaf

I have had a dual-channel TC since they first came out and couldn't be happier. If you have an Apple computer with the Apple Care extended warranty this may cover your TC. This applies if you purchase the TC within 2 years of the purchase of the computer.
My environment includes an XBOX 360 (wired), Roku HD-XR (wireless N), Apple TV (wireless N), 2 Airport Express units providing wireless N bridging for a Slingbox Solo and my Blu-Ray player, 20" iMac (wired), MBP 13" (wireless N). My TC is the 500GB model so I use the internal drive as a NAS and connected a 2GB USB drive for the TimeMachine service to the MBP and iMac. I also have the guest network active and available for friends and visitors.

Looking to buy Time Capsule. What is the best way to connect printer to network?

Looking to buy a Time Capsule. I have a wifi canon printer currently. If I connect the printer to the Time Capsule via wifi will it be shared the same as if I connected the printer via USB? I would like anyone who connects to my network be able to use the printer. I want to know the best way to configure it so that is easy to connect. Thanks
Dustin

If I connect the printer to the Time Capsule via wifi will it be shared the same as if I connected the printer via USB?
Yes, assuming that the printer is located where it can receive a strong wireless signal.
I would like anyone who connects to my network be able to use the printer. I want to know the best way to configure it so that is easy to connect
Follow the steps provided by Canon to install the printer and have it "join" the wireless network that will be provided by the Time Capsule.

There are multiple MAC's in my house and I am considering buying Time Capsule to use as a file sharing device. Is anyone doing this? Pros/Cons?

I have multiple MAC's in my house. I would like to create a file server environmet. I am considering using Time Capsule. Is anyone doing this? Pros/Cons?

The Linksys should be about as fast as the Time Capsule. So you might as well connect the Time Capsule to the Linksys, disable sharing and wireless.
Solution two is to use the TC as the router, wireless and network drive. This would save the power the Linksys needs. What is the Linksys connected to? a separate modem?

Considering buying time capsule have some Mac address related questions

Hi,
as mentioned above I'm considering buying a time capsule for backup and wifi purposes.
My internet providers connection depends upon a set Mac address from the first computer you register with, the system works with any router which then clones the MAC address and issues a wifi signal to all computers. I don't have access to the origional computer which we registered our connection on, it went to the great computer graveyard in the sky and I have no record of the Mac address.
I Would like to use the time capsule system as a router and remove my existing router. my questions
can the time capsule spoof or clone a Mac address ?
I Don't want to be offline while we deal with technical support as they are quite inept sometimes.
Is it in this case really plug and play ? Can I just plug it in set it up on my Mac and away it goes where other non Apple devices can use the wifi.
Without the existing router the cable that comes into the house connect directly to the ' original ' computer and the Internet only works on that computer
hope someone can help me I would like to purchase this device

The Time Capsule cannot clone a MAC address, so quite simply, the product is not for you.

Should I Partition Time Capsule To Limit Space Consumed By Backups?

I just got a Time Capsule and I want to use it as a file server as well. While it's 3TB and I think that should be fine, my concern is that Time Machine will just keep backing up indefinitely. So over time it would use those 3TB of space. My HD is 250GB and I was thinking of creating a partition of 750GB so there would be plenty of space for TM backups, but it would hit a threshold and not keep eating away at all the space I want to use as a file server. Does all this logic sound right and is this a good idea?

I am only a lowly level 7 but I maybe able to help.
What OS are you running??
Mavericks??
Keep your TC name short, no spaces and pure alphanumeric. Indeed all your network names shoud comply with this.
SMB has tighter rules than AFP and now Mavericks has changed to SMB default network.
You can also use AFP however..
Just type AFP://TCname.local (use the domain as well.. that helps). Or use your IP address which should be static.. as per your remote access thread.
AFP://TCIPaddress (where you substitute the actual IP should keep it on the straight and narrow).
Don't forget to save the password in your keychain when asked for it.
As a BTW..
Some people are finding issues on SMB and using CIFS instead.. apparently there is some issues with SMB implementation on the latest OS.. so using CIFS takes it back to v1 instead of v2. IMHO stick with AFP.

HT2497 how should i configure time capsule with time warner arris as separate networks?

i have been using the time capsule 4th generation with my home network but my connectivity seems to sometimes disconnect atleast with my macbook pro i always seem to be having to go place my cursor on the wifi logo to keep it consistent? i could jsut try and continue but really want a simple fast direction in what to do and how to configure this so that i only have access to my time capsule and network while my family may have access to the arris time warner cable network... ive heard of bridging and have had it so that my router be a bridge. whats the benefit and actual meaning of bridging in lame terms? i understand that bridging means it just runs internet through that device... so that device isnt setting any ip adresses? anywho ive messed around with the twcale internet site a bit hope i havent messed up too much. when i called time warner cable today they said they could only assist me with the arris side and not advise me with time capsule config... now i want to call apple but it seems i have to pay to call them? wow. and i bought the time capsule and best buy and was on hold for 10 minutes while being hung up rght when i seemed to be about to be helped. oh joys. anywho... help please?

We recently switched back to TWC here in the valley, att was horrible. We get 22.6 download and 2.24 uploads usually, however...we too have been having issues with the internet becoming sluggish throughout the day, not just at peak usage times. We have 2 computer plugged in directly and 3 others wireless but not on at the same time all the time.
I haven't gone into the Arris this time around, but am thinking there are settings that are screwed up. We have been using the Time Capsule's wireless connection and it is terribly slow. I'm not sure if there is a problem with the settings there or what.
Anyone, anyone, Beuler, Beuler?

Questions before I buy Time Capsule

Hi All
I hope you can please help with my questions before I go and buy a time capsule. I currently have a 5 month old 2.4ghz mbp and a PC running Vista. The PC is connected via ethernet to a billion 7402GL and the mbp connects via wireless. I was going to buy an external hard drive to store data and I thought I might try the time capsule as it will be networked.
I am not 100% sure I know how time capsule works so any info would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to work out the setup in my head I have had a read through these forums but I thought I would ask specific questions in relation to my setup.
When I connect the time capsule to the billion can I still use the billion for wireless or do I have to use the time capsule? Also do I connect the TC to the Billion using ethernet or wireless? I want the mbp to access the data on the TC via wireless and the pc via ethernet. I will be getting an imac once I sell my pc so that will also need to connect to TC. I will mainly use the TC for storing data but I might start using time machine as well. Is it possible for a ps3 to access TC?
I will be attaching a printer to it so I would want to be able to print from any computer that connects to the network.
What would be the best setup? Any help and suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

If you already have a working wired/wireless network, and a spare ethernet port on your router, just connect the TC to the router with an ethernet cable. Turn off the TC's wireless, and it'll work fine.
No need to change any of your connections, you can carry on using your existing router.
Printing will work fine from any computer connected to your router (or to the TC, if you wish), but the printer driver needs to be installed on each computer, and the printer has to be one that works with the TC.
I don't think that there's a way of using the TC as a server with a PS3. The PS3 needs to see a DLNA server - I don't think that there's any way to get this running directly on a TC.
You can get a Mac to run as a DLNA server (application called "MediaLink"), and it might be possible to get the Mac to link to the TC. This way, you could access the TC from the PS3, but the Mac would have to be switched on for it to work.

I accidentally set my airport express to base station when it should be my time capsule and can't set it back

I'm an idiot!
I have my Time Capsule as my base station. I have two Aiport Exrpres' that connect to them.
One of the AE's was not working right, so I went it, did a soft reset, and using the Airport Utility, I accidentally identified the AE as the base station.
I've now gotten the Time Capsule set as the base station, and of of the AE's working off of it...however, when I plug the other AE in, it trumps the Time Capsule and shows it as the base station, and then the TC doesn't work.
I've tried doing a soft reset, and then hitting forget, but I can't figure out how to how it show as the child to the parent (the TC), as the other AE does.
Help!!
Thank you,
Dennis

Thank you, that seems to have done the trick...I knew Apple would be much easier than Windows!
I appreciate your help!
Dennis

Should I get Time Capsule 500GB

Hi all, at the moment I have a MacBook with 160GB hard drive and need an external hard drive. I have been looking at time capsule however I am not sure if it is the one that I need. Do any people have any views on it. I will of course use it for wireless internet replacing my rubbish router I use at the moment. But the thing that attracts me is the wireless back up. What does everyone else think?

as a wireless or even wired backup device its kinda slow. if you don't mind that then it works fine. some people would need that functionality. for Time Machine I use a reliable firewire 800 external drive for my backups. I use TC as a storage/transfer device on my local network and over the internet. in this way it has replaced me burning to optical, using flash drive or attaching via usb or firewire unless the file size is too huge and I'm in a hurry. I use TC as an itunes file server and for AppleTV serving.

Should I use time capsule as router, or use the one from ISP?

I have a Sagecom wireless modem/router provided by my ISP (Bell). I currently have Time Capsule set as a bridge on my network and connects directly to my modem by ethernet. Would there be any advantage to using my Time Capsule as my wireless router instead of my Sagecom modem?
Would it have more range, or be faster, or backup faster?

I have the latest 3TB time capsule (got it about 3 weeks ago). I will admit I have no info on the Sagecom router. I did a Google search and found almost nothing. That being said, this is what I got from my network info:
PHY Mode:          802.11n
Channel:          11
Country Code:          CA
Network Type:          Infrastructure
Security:          WPA2 Personal
Signal / Noise:          -35 dBm / -87 dBm
Transmit Rate:          195
MCS Index:          23
I am running a iMac that is one month old.
Where can I get more info?

Thinking of buying Time Capsule - How Fast?

I have a macbook using an old LinkSys wireless router. When the router is hooked up to my macbook via ethernet, the internet speed is over 8 megs but the best I can get from my linksys wireless connection is 3.5 megs of speed. Thinking of upgrading to the Time Capsule for wireless backup plus hopefully a faster wireless experience. Can anyone report about your speed using Time Capsule as your wireless router?
Thanks

I get a connect speed of 300mb when in 'n' only wireless mode. When in mixed mode I get 130mb. I keep it in mixed mode so I have a single Wireless network across 5 devices and can roam with anything WiFi enabled. If my iPhone was 'n' then it would be different.
I do get better throughput than with the Netgear Router but the Apple is sensitive to positioning. If you are only getting 3.5mbs how far from the base station are you?

Is smart to buy the new Time Capsule?

Hi, I'm seriously thinking of buying Time Capsule, however, if the only new things in Time Capsule are the HDD and the speed of backup (as I read in some other thread), do you think it's smart to buy it or do you think Apple will add some more features soon which will work more with the iCloud or they will add this features thru the software update in Time Capsule?

You are asking us to speculate about features which Apple has not announced. This goes against the Terms of Use of these forums.
I would suggest you base your purchase decisions on what is available now. You can always change your mind later if Apple makes different features available.
Best of luck.

Using time capsule as additional memory

I recently bought a 500GB time capsule because I thought I could kill two birds with one stone.
First, my router went out and I needed a new one.
Second, my macbook is saying that my disk is full and I can't rip any more CD's to my itunes library.
So, I was hoping someone might be able to help me figure out how I can free up the space on my macbook by transferring my itunes library over to the time capsule. I'm just scared to death of losing all my music. I work at a radio station and this is just not an option. Is there a way to do this? Please help. I only have a few more days before I can return the time capsule if I made a mistake in buying it.

Hey, Ashley:
If you connect your Time Capsule to your modem then open Airport Utility, you can set up your Time Capsule as a router. At the end of that, the Time Capsule will reboot and you can then join the wireless network it creates (or plug into it via ethernet). Once you're on the Time Capsule's network, open Finder and you should see the Time Capsule listed under Shared in the left-hand column. Select it, click Connect As and enter your admin info. The Time Capsule's internal drive should then appear in the Finder window (as well as any drives connected to the Time Capsule's USB port). Double-click the drive and it will mount on your desktop. You can then drag and drop anything you want onto it.
Keep in mind, if you're connected wirelessly, the transfer rate will suffer. It's still usable, but if you're going to be transferring, say, 100 GB of data, you may want to connect via ethernet.
Moving your iTunes library is pretty straightforward. Make sure to close iTunes then, literally, drag and drop the iTunes folder in your Music folder (not the iTunes Music folder, the iTunes folder located directly in Music). This will copy your library over. This may take awhile (if using wireless, a LONG while). When the copy finishes, hold down the Option key while clicking on iTunes. It will prompt you to Create a new iTunes Library or Choose one. Click Choose Library and select the iTunes folder on your Time Capsule. It may take a bit longer to load iTunes than what you're used to. After it opens, test a few songs and make sure everything is working all right. If successful, you can delete the iTunes folder on your computer, freeing up all that space.
Now, a few things:
You will only have access to that iTunes library if the Time Capsule's drive is mounted. That means you WON'T have access outside your network (ie, not in your house). And you WON'T have access until you open Finder, click on the Time Capsule and double-click the Time Capsule's drive for it to mount. You CAN keep two iTunes libraries (ie, one on your Time Capsule, one on your computer). You can keep your whole library on your Time Capsule, and then keep a smaller library on your computer. To maintain this, just option-click iTunes and you can choose between multiple libraries.
That's a lot of info! I think the two most practical solutions are keeping your whole library on the Time Capsule and using your iPod on the road; or buying a larger hard drive for your MacBook and using your Time Capsule solely as a backup solution.
Michael

Time Capsule or External Hardrive

I want to back up iPhoto and iTunes as seemlessly as possible.
Question is should I get Time capsule or is their a cheaper alternative (ie external hardrive).
Most important thing I want to back up is all the photos but also all the keywords and faces tagged that I did. Was not sure if that was saved though external hardrive or just through capsule.
Thanks!!

Basic Backup
Get an external drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
SuperDuper!
Synk Pro
Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete external drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets especially for Firewire drives (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.

Should I buy Time Capsule?

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