Airport TimeCapsule connected to the ethernet port and used for backup only with iMac connected to ethernet as well. Everything working fine from time to time.

I just got a Airport TimeCapsule

Is the Time Capsule tall shaped.....like a "tower"? Or, is the Time Capsule flat, shaped somewhat like a small pizza box with rounded corners?

If you have the tall or "tower" version, let's just say you have the "tower".

If you have one of the the much older flat versions, please look on the bottom of the device for the model number. It was usually embedded in the foam pad base. The model number starts with an "A" followed by 4 numbers.

Please post back the model number of the Time Capsule that you have.

Do I need to plug the WAN as well and put it as a bridge?

As it stands now, it sounds like you have connected an Ethernet cable from a LAN <--> port on your router to one of the three LAN <--> ports on the Time Capsule, correct?

That should work, but a better setup in theory would be to connect the Ethernet cable from your router to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule and then configure the Time Capsule to operate in Bridge Mode, which Apple calls "Off (Bridge Mode)" in the settings in AirPort Utility.

So, you would still have only one Ethernet cable connecting the Time Capsule to your router....not two.

You can leave your Mac connected to one of the LAN ports on the Time Capsule, no changes needed there.

Post back when you can and we will continue.

Interesting! As I would not expect any speed enhancement with using a SSD. Actually, for data back ups, using HDDs is preferred for both overall performance and longevity.

Some of the issues with using SSDs are:

• Too many read/writes will wear out an SSD much faster. Most, if not all SSDs, have write limits. Also, the TC does not support TRIM.
• Your TC is bound by two factors: 1) Gigabit networking. Worse for wireless, and 2) The processor in the TC cannot handle full gigabit speeds. Maybe only half that, especially with a lot of small files.

That's why you will never find data centers using SSDs for this purpose. Of course, they wouldn't think of using TC anyways. Just saying.

Curious, the original HDD was a 3.5" form factor. Is this SSD also 3.5" or did you use some type of adapter to secure it inside the TC?

Open AirPort Utilty

Click on the Time Capsule

Click Edit in the smaller window that appears

Click the Network tab at the top of the window

If you want to turn off the wireless function on the Time Capsule......

AirPort Utility > Time Capsule > Edit > Wireless Tab > Network Mode Off > Update

Important.......you cannot be connected to the Time Capsule Wi-Fi and turn off the Wi-Fi. OK if your Mac is connected to a Time Capsule LAN port to do this, but Wi-Fi still must not be enabled on the Mac when you do this.

When you have all the changes, power off the Time Capsule, power off your router, wait a minute, power up the router, then power up the Time Capsule.

The name of the Time Capsule should appear on the left panel under Locatons on any Finder window on your Mac.

If it doesn't click Finder at the top of the screen, then click Finder Preferences. Click the Sidebar heading, then make sure that there is a check mark in the box next to Connected Servers.

Htotheizzoo wrote:

I just got a Airport TimeCapsule, swap the HDD for a SSD.

I let Bob continue to assist you with your Time Capsule ... but this statement caught my attention.

Are you saying that you replaced the TC's internal HDD for an SSD?

Probably a good idea to swap out the hard drive since it would not be possible to know exactly how old the Time Capsule might have been. Could have been as old as 10 years.

I'll let Tesserax explain the downside of using an SSD in the Time Capsule.

🙏 that's awesome advice Wish me luck