Need alternative to timecapsule

[Altemose]

For me, I like dual backups, one on an attached drive and the other on a TC in another building. I tried to use a synology NAS at one point (maybe two years ago) for TM backups, but found restoring somewhat scary and unreliable... not that a TC is completely reliable.

Another idea since you never plug the laptops in is to use a cloud backup like Google Drive or OneDrive to constitute an offside backup in addition to the Time Capsule. That way it is completely seamless and wireless. Plus, with the incentives offered today with hardware purchases and upgrades I scored 115 GB of Google Drive space by buying a Chromebook to use alongside my Mac. It works great for hosting and sharing files as well as backing up data in addition to my AirPort Extreme with a USB hard disk.

 

[ColdCase]

I just don't trust google with my personal data... but that may just be cynical me.

 

[Altemose]

I just don't trust google with my personal data... but that may just be cynical me.

I do not either with my personal data, but I doubt Google would really care about my English homework.

 

[verdejt]

I use a Western Digital 3tb NAS connected to a Gigbit switch which is fed from the built in Gigabit switch in Cable Modem. I backup 2 hardwired iMacs and my wife's MacBook which is connected via WiFi. I have recently restored my wife computer from Time Machine when the hard drive crashed. This is a cheap option.

 

[danielwsmithee]

I'd highly recommend getting seperate boxes for the router and TimeMachine. You can't go wrong with a Synology NAS, and any router of your choosing. You could likely even take the drive out of your dead TimeCapsule, install it into a Synology NAS, reformat it and be up and running. The DS115J is the easiest single drive solution...

https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/DS115j