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Time Capsule getting hot

CmdrLaForge

CmdrLaForge

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 26, 2003
4,677
3,246
around the world
Hi guys,

yesterday my Time Capsule arrived. I installed it and everything works fine. Today I put my hand on top of the capsule and IT IS HOT!

Is that normal ?

Thanks for the feedback
LaForge
 
Well it runs warm but you have to expect that because it running a wireless system and a hard disk drive. There's a fan inside to keep it running at proper temperature. Check out most external hard drives, they have very noisy fans running at high speeds because they get hot so it's very normal.
 
Mine runs warm too. It runs even warmer when doing backups (especially long ones) but if it's in a properly ventilated area it should be fine. I've also heard about raising it off the surface it's on to help with heat dissipation by allowing airflow underneath the unit (somebody suggested placing a stack of 5 pennies under each corner of the unit).
 
I haven't seen a definitive answer yet on whether the HDD spins down when it's not being used. Does anybody know for sure?
 
Tom J said:
I haven't seen a definitive answer yet on whether the HDD spins down when it's not being used. Does anybody know for sure?
Click to expand...

It does spin down. After a backup and no activity the drive spins completely down and there's no discernable sound coming from TC.
 
Mine seems really random, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It always runs kind of warm to hot.

One night the fan seemed to run all night. Another night it was completely quiet. I wish there was some way to have more control over it. In the manual there is supposed to be a "Power" tab you can access through Airport utility but I didn't see it anywhere.

I've considered just pulling the plug at night when there's no chance for use, but it's a bit of a pain in the ass and seems kind of ridiculous to have to do for a piece of "high tech."
 
I was getting really worried because my Time Capsule was too hot to touch. What I ended up doing is pulling off the rubber foot on the bottom, exposing the metal bottom cage and venting holes. I also put the TC on a small wood block to help with ventilation, and temperatures are much much better now. I can post pics if wanted.
 
It;s a problem with all apple products, my mbp, my appletv and many others, airport extreme...

dont know why dont take it into account when building things
 
rittchard said:
Mine seems really random, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It always runs kind of warm to hot.

One night the fan seemed to run all night. Another night it was completely quiet. I wish there was some way to have more control over it. In the manual there is supposed to be a "Power" tab you can access through Airport utility but I didn't see it anywhere.

I've considered just pulling the plug at night when there's no chance for use, but it's a bit of a pain in the ass and seems kind of ridiculous to have to do for a piece of "high tech."
Click to expand...

I am doing the same as well. I thought Apple is getting green ? With my old WiFi Router I had the option to configure a night sleeping mode where it turned off the WiFi and the CPU clock was reduced dramatically. That way I could leave it always on.

With the TC I have to turn it off and on again.

In addition my first Time Machine backup failed. Basically that was the whole message "Backup failed" After 90 of 165 GB.
 
CmdrLaForge said:
Hi guys,

yesterday my Time Capsule arrived. I installed it and everything works fine. Today I put my hand on top of the capsule and IT IS HOT!

Is that normal ?

Thanks for the feedback
LaForge
Click to expand...

It's the stinkin' power supply! Most of the heat comes from near the Ethernet ports. If you search 'inside apple time capsule' you can see a break down of TC and there is the 30W power supply. I purchased a small laptop cooler to help mine from becoming an inferno.
 
I elevated mine with some paper towel card board core cut outs. About 1/8 of an inch thick. I have 3 of them under my Time Capsule.

Maybe it's in my own mind, but it definitely feels like the warm vents from under it.

Only time i hear my fans is when the hard drive has been working hard, normally it's off.
 
Hot all the time...

I installed my TC 1TB in early March. I have 1 MBPro 15.4", an HP desktop, a Toshiba laptop & 2 Blackberry Curves 8320 that use Wi-Fi for making calls.

The initial backup of my MBP, about 65GB, took most of the night and the TC was VERY hot.

After that, I have only updated the TC using Time Machine a couple of times, the last being about a week ago.

Last night, I sat at the HP (my wife's main computer) to check my email since I had left my bag in the car. I noticed the TC's fan was running. I touched it & it was VERY HOT. Almost to the point I couldn't touch it.

Why in God's name is it running so hot?? Time Machine isn't being used and none of the other computers even access the TC's hardrive, only use it for wireless access point.

Makes me really wonder about the long term longevity of the TC. As we all have learned, heat is a computer's enemy.

I am going to initiate some of the "adjustments" that other posters here have used.

On a side note, I am rather disappointed in the TC as a wireless router. The only computers that are connected without a hitch is my MBP and the HP(which is connected via ethernet so doesn't really count.) The Toshiba laptop and the 2 Blackberry Curves 8320 have hit or miss connectivity which is very frustrating. Especially when I had no problems with my previous Netgear router or the Linksys routers at work. :(
 
Mine is warm, I rarely hear the fan, maybe once a week if that. I hear the drive start when a backup session begins or when the drive is accessed.

Other than that, elevating it seemed to have worked for me.

Any warmness in TC i notice is on the left side of the device.
 
My Time Capsule is less than 24 hours old, connected only as a router, and I have never even started a back up.

The hard drive seems to running constantly, fan noise noticeable always, and I could cook eggs covered in chicken feces on it and not get salmonella it's so hot. The bottom is even hotter.
 
Heat source...

Well, after researching this forum, found some images of the TC opened up and saw the innards.

Yesterday, the TC wasn't as hot as before, but still very warm. But I did notice that the heat seams to be coming from near the rear, right side/middle (as you face it the TC with the ports on the back).

If I understood the images correctly, the heat is coming from the power supply, not the hard drive. Where the HD is, the TC is not very warm.

Either way, it's unnerving that it is so warm and that there seems to be no logic as to why and how it gets hot. :confused:
 
Yeah, like others have mentioned, I believe this is because of the power supply. IIRC, the AEBS had a cord with power adapter, whereas the TC has it built in. I like it built in since power adapters are a PITA, but this coupled with the hard disk and router are the source of a ton of heat.
 
The "rubber foot" is intended to not only buffer vibration & deadened the sound but I read somewhere that the composition of the materials used in the "rubber foot" also draws heat away from the TC chassis.

frunty said:
I was getting really worried because my Time Capsule was too hot to touch. What I ended up doing is pulling off the rubber foot on the bottom, exposing the metal bottom cage and venting holes. I also put the TC on a small wood block to help with ventilation, and temperatures are much much better now. I can post pics if wanted.
Click to expand...
 
CmdrLaForge said:
Hi guys,

yesterday my Time Capsule arrived. I installed it and everything works fine. Today I put my hand on top of the capsule and IT IS HOT!

Is that normal ?

Thanks for the feedback
LaForge
Click to expand...

i highly doubt that thing is gonna get cold or keep ur place cool. i mean it is giving u ur internet connection along with backing up ur data. be happy its at least u cant say its not working!!!!.
 
Hot and loud fan

My time capsule is VERY HOT and the fan runs all the time. does this hard drive ever park it's head and rest? I am not sure that the "combo" deal from apple is that great. It may be better to have a Airport "N" and a another drive.
 
Hot Time Capsules

I'm glad I found this thread.

Many if not all of the posts in this thread, I assume, are coming from residents of the US.

I live in a tropical country and do not have the benefit of ambient temperatures in the 20's (centigrade)... more like 30's :)

When I went into an Apple Store/Retailer, I noticed just how hot the TC and even Airport Extremes got - and that was in an air-conditioned environment.

I'm afraid unless Apple can guarantee safe/reliable operations in my local climate, or if other posters can confirm this (over time), I'm going to play safe and not get a TC yet.
 
Getting warm is one thing, respecting the environment is another. A hot Time Capsule uses lots (too much) power, which in turn taxes our environment (and electricity bill. Apple could solve this in a better way.
 
Just to add a quick comment - in the meantime my TC broke (temperature sensor!) and I got it replaced under warranty.

Just for your info.
 
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