Time Capsule issues.

[Jefe's MacAir]

My Time Capsule quit broadcasting a wifi signal for no apparent reason the other day. First thing I did was reset the Time Capsule using the reset button on the back and reset our Xfinity modem/wifi. No workie. I then did a a search on how to reset my Time Capsule. When I tried pushing the reset button again, this time for 5 seconds, to reset the TC it had not effect. IOW it wouldn't reset what so ever using the reset button. No problem, I just unplugged it and let it restart. This worked. For about 10-15 minutes and back to square one. Tried again with the same results. I began using the Xfinity modem/wifi for wifi use temporarily. The TC did begin working again on it's own but shortly quit again.

The TC is displaying a green light and shows no 'issues' when I am able to briefly connect to it after a restart.

What do you think the problem may be? I'm happy to get a new TC w/ the faster wifi but they're not cheap and other than the current issue I've had zero problems w/ the TC.

 

[Weaselboy]

What device(s) are you using for wireless with the TC? Is this happening with multiple devices?

 

[Altemose]

I indeed ran into a similar problem. The AirPort's front light would stay green, however AirPort Utility said something along the lines of that it couldn't find it and offered for me to forget it from the network. I traced the problem back after messing with everything possible from wireless channels to IPv6.

It was connected to a Comcast modem which was capable of giving out IP addresses through NAT. AirPort Utility configures the router to go into "Bridge Mode" when this occurs. This makes you Time Capsule nothing more than an access point. My solution was to power off the modem and the AirPort. Then turn the modem back on with nothing connected. Next I restore factory settings by holding reset while plugging the AirPort back in until the front light blinks orange. Release the reset button and head to your computer, preferably a Mac running AirPort Utility 6.3 for my guide.

Open up AirPort Utility and you will see that a base station will need to be set up. Set up using your network name and passwords. Now the base station will restart. Now re-open AirPort Utility and select the base station and go to "Internet" and verify that it is indeed in Bridge Mode. Now set it to DHCP and NAT! This will cause a restart again. When the AirPort starts again it will flash orange and give a warning that there is Double NAT, this is perfectly safe to ignore. It means two devices are giving IPs, so essentially the modem gave the AirPort a IP, and the AirPort now translates it to a new set of IPs which are given to clients.

This has resolved my problem and it is rock solid now. Give it a shot and report back…

Altemose

 

[Jefe's MacAir]

I indeed ran into a similar problem. The AirPort's front light would stay green, however AirPort Utility said something along the lines of that it couldn't find it and offered for me to forget it from the network. I traced the problem back after messing with everything possible from wireless channels to IPv6.

It was connected to a Comcast modem which was capable of giving out IP addresses through NAT. AirPort Utility configures the router to go into "Bridge Mode" when this occurs. This makes you Time Capsule nothing more than an access point. My solution was to power off the modem and the AirPort. Then turn the modem back on with nothing connected. Next I restore factory settings by holding reset while plugging the AirPort back in until the front light blinks orange. Release the reset button and head to your computer, preferably a Mac running AirPort Utility 6.3 for my guide.

Open up AirPort Utility and you will see that a base station will need to be set up. Set up using your network name and passwords. Now the base station will restart. Now re-open AirPort Utility and select the base station and go to "Internet" and verify that it is indeed in Bridge Mode. Now set it to DHCP and NAT! This will cause a restart again. When the AirPort starts again it will flash orange and give a warning that there is Double NAT, this is perfectly safe to ignore. It means two devices are giving IPs, so essentially the modem gave the AirPort a IP, and the AirPort now translates it to a new set of IPs which are given to clients.

This has resolved my problem and it is rock solid now. Give it a shot and report back…

Altemose

I am running in Double NAT. I needed to in order to get the guest network option to actually work.

But, I'll give your method a go since I need to hard reset it anyway. Thank you for taking the time to type it all out.

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What device(s) are you using for wireless with the TC? Is this happening with multiple devices?

All devices. It's disappeared from the list. Both the regular network and the guest network.

We have a slew of devices connected. Three Airs, four iPhones, two Apple TVs, two iPads and a printer. Main devices were connected to the admin network. Kids stuff was connected to the guest network. Had to switch them all to the Xfinity modem/wifi router until I get this figured out.

 

[priitv8]

I'd scan the radio ether first to see if it's still emitting any wifi signal, before starting to mess with configuration.
The wifi is on a separate PCIe module that you can replace should you just have a dead radio on TC.

 

[Weaselboy]

All devices. It's disappeared from the list. Both the regular network and the guest network.

We have a slew of devices connected. Three Airs, four iPhones, two Apple TVs, two iPads and a printer. Main devices were connected to the admin network. Kids stuff was connected to the guest network. Had to switch them all to the Xfinity modem/wifi router until I get this figured out.

If this is happening with multiple devices, and it is not just a matter of the Internet dropping, but the wifi signal disappearing entirely, it sounds like you have a bad TC there.

Even if you had the TC configured wrong with/without bridge mode or double NAT etc, you should still be able to see the wifi.

 

[Jefe's MacAir]

Picked up an Airport Extreme today to use while I figure out what's wrong with the TC. It's going to be difficult to go back to the TC if I get it fixed as the new ac on the Extreme is not only fast but a very 'clean' signal. Based on my speed tests from speedtest.net. It's about 10 mbps faster than the Xfinity wifi and the signal is completely flat. The Xfinity signal while still pretty fast at about 45 mbps it's very choppy. While the Xfinity wifi is nice for backup I wouldn't want to use it full time. It's dropping the signal and acting up. Not so bad for surfing the web, it's very annoying trying to stream music.

Thanks for all the help. It's off the a Genius appt. soon. Hopefully.

Edit: I'm getting close to 60 mbps consistently with the new modem and Airport Extreme.

 

[priitv8]

You could take out the drive from old TC, put it into a USB enclosure, connect to new Extreme and continue TimeMachining.
Actually, you could also just wire it to Extreme via Ethernet and use it as a NAS to continue backups.

 

[Altemose]

Good idea having the Genius Bar take a look. At the least, they will be able to pull the logs and have a look at what's going on with your TC. In the best case scenario your Time Capsule will be replaced if under warranty. However, if it is out of warranty and they cannot replace it, then you have a brand new Extreme beaming clean and reliable signal to use instead. The best part of the new Extreme is that it offers full support for Time Machine. It is literally a Time Capsule barring the internal hard drive. Best of luck to you in your networking endeavors.