Time Capsule jitters spawn in memorarium protest

Jonny Evans
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October 12, 2009
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There’s a few complaints going round concerning Apple’s Time Capsule product, and a quick surf to the company’s Discussion Forums reveals a trail of tears going back to mid-summer 2009.

No surprise then that some users have grown sufficiently annoyed to create ‘The Apple Time Capsule Memorial Register’, urging those in possession of no longer functioning units to sign up to submit a “few details of your beloved Time Capsule”.

We can’t be sure this is a serious problem - it’s alleged that some units seem to expire after just 18-months of use.  If you’ve been affected, the Register also offers a handful of handy links where you may be able to find a solution to your problem. Also an amusing graphic (pictured).

Comments (17)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 12:30pm

Usually hard drives have longer warranties than the actual Time Capsule unit. Maybe people can get those replaced?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 12:39pm

Umm, the problem is not the hard drive, it is the power supply.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 1:09pm

So...what you are saying is that it is the power supply, and not the hard drive? I don't get it.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 1:29pm

Yes, the power supply is what goes bad. People have modified their TCs to use an external power supply, and get them working again.

Those who have simply pulled their hard drives out and put them into another case have been able to retrieve their data.

The hard drive isn't what dies, it appears to be a couple of capacitors going bad in the power supply.

I know because it happened to me. :-(

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 1:31pm

http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-an...

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 2:50pm

I strongly suggest the much more reasonable "type 2" repair:

http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-an...

That article gets one very important point wrong, though. The people who say that the higher voltage capacitors will last longer are *absolutely correct*. The caps almost certainly are not drying out. Their breakdown voltage is merely reduced because of the temperature.

Capacitors have a voltage rating known as the breakdown voltage. When the voltage across the capacitor reaches that breakdown voltage, the electrolyte becomes suddenly conductive, and the part fails catastrophically. As heat is applied, this breakdown voltage drops. If the breakdown voltage drops below the operating voltage of the capacitor (5V), the part... you guessed it... fails catastrophically.

By using capacitors with a higher breakdown voltage, when the temperature goes up, the breakdown voltage remains significantly above 5V. For a part running in a power supply in such a small enclosure, a rating of 200% of the operating voltage is a good idea.

In short, you really should squeeze 10V parts in there if at all possible.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 3:43pm

So, poor design?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 3:53pm

Maybe, or a batch of poor manufacturing.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 4:55pm

This is just like the bad caps that resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of PC motherboards in the 2001 - 2004 timeframe.

Asus, Abit, Shuttle, M-tech, and who knows who else were impacted.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 6:12pm

I was wondering how long it would be before someone derailed the Apple issue pointing back at Pc's

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2009 - 3:37am

I was thinking more about the iMac G5's that were prone to capacitors failing. And if history repeats itself, Apple won't even acknowledge the problem :(

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 2:21pm

I wound not call it a few...

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 2:47pm

Agreed, it's hundreds at a minimum!

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 4:49pm

<>

No, 'There ARE a few complaints...'

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 6:13pm

That is all fine and dandy until yours fails :) :) :) :)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 5:37pm

Mine just failed on sat. Apples replacing it under my MacBook's warranty, as the Time Capsule's is up. And since the router isn't working, neither is my self hosted website :( http://mackgoodstein.com/

joe (not verified) | October 12, 2009 - 6:01pm

then again I knew these beast get extremely hot. the first backup i did nearly cooked my rime capsule, from then on out, I placed some rubber footies under it to allow for better cooling and placed my primary one next to an open window so the cold air would help. also, don't let the drives spin 24-7