Filed under: Accessories, Peripherals, Bad Apple
Dead Time Capsules can hang out together
We'd like to give you a friendly reminder that our own Lauren explored the AppleCare agreements, and found that any computer-centric AppleCare agreement that's in force should cover this Time Capsule failure (as it's considered a peripheral used with the Mac). That does not mean that our readers who don't have a current agreement should be left begging on the streets by Apple. This is something that needs to be addressed. Hopefully this new site will be a good resource for all of our readers.
Thanks, Pim and KB!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
GolferTrav said 7:38PM on 10-11-2009
Is there any active cooling on these things???
If not, why is anyone surprised that an external HD that runs 24/7 craps out in 18 months? Even if it has some sort of power management.
I've had major issues with some Maxtor NAS drives who's fan isn't big enough to compete with the heat out here.
I'd be interested to see the data on what type of environment the these Time Capsules live in. A/C? High temperature regions?
Reply
Jordan said 8:43PM on 10-11-2009
Does Apple ever use fans?
Ethan said 9:17PM on 10-11-2009
It doesn't seem to be the hard drive that is dying. It appears to be a power issue for the TC itself. Note also that a recent large scale study by Google found that drive failure is not as correlated to heat as conventional wisdom previously attributed.
Why are people surprised? I think it's obvious. I'm used to first gen issues in Apple products, but rarely are they of such significance and scale. This isn't a semi-defective product or one whose capabilities were exaggerated. This is a product whose entire raison d'être is data integrity and is now catastrophically failing to do so in record numbers simultaneously. It's not just *surprisingly* bad, it's *shockingly* bad.
Apple made-good on this for me personally (my mac pro is under apple care so they replaced my dead TC) but, although it was a generally positive customer service experience, I walk away with a bad taste in my mouth. I have a new TC that is the same first-gen as my dead TC. I will use it now merely as a router and one that I expect to die again in 17 months time.
NoAndThen said 11:06PM on 10-11-2009
It does have a single cooling fan. It has nothing to do with overheating, however; I've read several independent reports throughout different forums of people who have tracked the problem to a few bad caps in the power supply, and some have actually built an external supply or soldered in new caps...
Apple needs to acknowledge this.
That being said, my first-gen bought in March 08 is still going strong... for now.
Ket said 12:11AM on 10-12-2009
mine died around 18 months (born 2008/03/06 -- dead 2009/09/10). I took it apart to salvage data off the drive. poked around in the power supply bundle while in there. clearly a bad cap (one was leaking). my replacement wasn't another TC..
macserv said 8:25AM on 10-12-2009
So, if it's a bad component (capacitor) then this issue *should* be limited to a (sizable) manufacturing batch, and there's no reason to think that this problem would occur on a replacement TC. Is my thinking correct here?
Ket said 12:52PM on 10-12-2009
@macserv: i guess we will know in 18 months from the new batch of TCs. still, i'm not willing to give apple another 500 to figure out the new lifespan.
if i didn't care about retrieving the data on the failed TC, i could have had it replaced for free under apple care. however, since there were not provisions to get my data off that drive with a replacement, i cracked it to remove the drive and went elsewhere (another NAS using several standard SATA drives).
'tis sad, because otherwise i liked the TC. i just don't trust them anymore.
TMM said 8:26PM on 10-11-2009
What load of crop.
First of all GolferTrav is right.
Second of all:
Where is the register for the Time Capsules that still run fine?
Of course the average age is about that amount of time. Because that's about the time it has been out. Duh.
Another example of brain dead hysteria on the internet.
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macserv said 8:27AM on 10-12-2009
What bugs me about the site is that they are not requiring a valid TC serial number to register (lots of "Unknown" on that list), so anyone can go and create a fictional record.
Rob said 1:46PM on 10-12-2009
While the number of affected units is probably small, having that many power supplies fail almost simultaneously is indicative of a bad batch. Apple should just offer to replace them; the cost to Apple would be trivial, and it would prevent disgruntled customers. I know that if I purchased something marketed as a server grade backup solution and it failed after a year and a half, with no repair by the company, I'd avoid their products in the future.
Martin said 8:38PM on 10-11-2009
I just thought I'd remark that whoever made the banner image for that site (and this post) is very talented. It looks like Arlington Cemetary, but for Time Capsules.
And interestingly, the average lifespan has decreased by 16 days since this post went up (~2 hours).
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Dan Mosqueda said 9:39PM on 10-11-2009
The picture is tasteless. It is offensive to the memory of Service Members who have given their lives in defense of our nation for over 200 years. It may seem trite to some, but when young men and women are actively fighting in a fever-pitched battle, it's in poor taste to be "clever" as in this picture.
Please take it down.
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JKT said 10:30PM on 10-11-2009
In your opinion. I respect and have visited many American cemeteries, both here and abroad, and see nothing wrong with the image at all.
Le Big Mac said 10:46PM on 10-11-2009
Besides, there's no way that's a military cemetery. The grass is much too long.
Dustin said 11:38PM on 10-11-2009
When was the last time you saw a normal cemetery with white headstones, dress-right-dress? The inference is there, if you're too blind to see that... well, okay...
Matthew said 2:44AM on 10-12-2009
Blah blah. Nobody cares.
Dustin said 9:55PM on 10-11-2009
TUAW Staff:
Can you please take down the image?
As a service member for nearly a decade and one who has laid to rest friends in a National Cemetery, I find the image insulting to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
Thanks
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JKT said 10:38PM on 10-11-2009
Please explain how it is in any way insulting. It *references* cemeteries but does not in any way make fun or diminish servicemen's sacrifices.
Further, those servicemen died to prevent such un-freedom-like activities such as the censorship you are advocating. Stop it. YOUR REQUEST diminishes their sacrifice. Go learn what "freedom" means before posting further. Thanks.
Dustin said 11:38PM on 10-11-2009
When you degrade the image of a headstone with that of a an "Apple product," you simplify those sacrifices. Such sacrifice is never that simple.
Desterado said 12:12AM on 10-12-2009
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
You're an idiot.
Go mourn over your lost friends or something and stop wasting everyone's time.