Ruth Haines
The Airport Time Capsule is a two-in-one device that acts as a Wi-Fi router and an external hard drive, which automatically backs up all the computers on your wireless network. It can be used with a PC, but you will need to install Airport Utilities and Bonjour Print Utilities on your Windows computer. You can also use it as a shared drive with your Windows PC, allowing you to swap photos, music, or files.
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What You'll Learn
Connecting an Airport Time Capsule to a PC
The Airport Time Capsule is a two-in-one device that acts as a Wi-Fi router and an external hard drive that automatically backs up all the computers on your wireless network. It can be used with devices from various manufacturers, including Apple.
To connect an Airport Time Capsule to a PC, you will need to follow these steps:
Firstly, it is recommended to plug the Time Capsule into a surge protector to prevent any damage in the event of an electrical surge. Then, connect an Ethernet cable to the Time Capsule and your broadband modem or router. Plug the Time Capsule into a power outlet using the AC adapter.
On your PC, open the Airport Utility app. If you don't have it, you can download it from the Apple App Store. Once the app is open, click on "Other Wireless Devices" and select "AirPort Time Capsule". Then, select "Create New Network" and click "Next".
Follow the prompts to name your network, create a password, and restart your modem. You will also need to name the base station, which is the name for the Time Capsule. Having a separate name for the Time Capsule is useful if you ever need to add another Time Capsule to expand your network.
Finally, if you want to connect an external drive to your Time Capsule, format your USB drive before connecting it to the Time Capsule. You can format it as APFS, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system, or ExFAT.
Please note that the Airport Time Capsule uses the SMBv1 protocol to share files, which is an old and insecure protocol that has been disabled by default on modern versions of Windows. However, it is still possible to enable SMB on Windows 10 to access the Time Capsule.
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Using a Time Capsule as an external disk
The Time Capsule is a two-in-one device that acts as a Wi-Fi router and an external hard drive. It can be used as a wired external hard drive by connecting it via Ethernet to a Mac or router.
To set up the Time Capsule with a PC, first, connect an Ethernet cable to the Time Capsule and your broadband modem or router. Plug the Time Capsule into a power outlet using the AC adapter. On your PC, open Finder and go to Applications. Double-click the Utilities folder, then double-click Airport Utility to open the app. Click Other Wireless Devices, then select AirPort Time Capsule. Select 'Create New Network' and click Next. Follow the prompts to name your network, create a password, and restart your modem.
To use the Time Capsule as a wired external hard drive, disable the Wi-Fi by accessing AirPort Utility, selecting your device, and turning off the wireless radio under Wireless settings. Ensure Time Machine is set to back up to the Time Capsule's disk over the wired connection.
It is important to note that while the Time Capsule can be used for general storage, it is not recommended by Apple. Using the Time Capsule for general storage will reduce the space available for Time Machine backups. Additionally, Time Machine will not back up the files stored on the Time Capsule.
The Time Capsule is compatible with most modern desktops and mobile devices, and can be used with devices from various manufacturers, including Apple. It is important to ensure that your PC meets the compatibility requirements before attempting to set up the Time Capsule.
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Setting up a Time Capsule as a network drive
Setting up an Apple Time Capsule as a network drive is possible, but it requires a few extra steps. Time Capsule is a two-in-one device that acts as a Wi-Fi router and an external hard drive that automatically backs up all the computers on your wireless network.
Firstly, it is recommended that you plug the Time Capsule into a surge protector to prevent any damage in the event of an electrical surge. Then, connect an Ethernet cable to the Time Capsule and your broadband modem or router. Use the provided Ethernet cable to connect to the WAN port on the Time Capsule. Plug the Time Capsule into a power outlet using the AC adapter.
On your Mac, open Finder and go to Applications. Double-click the Utilities folder. This is where all your Mac's system applications are stored. Double-click Airport Utility to open the app. Click Other Wireless Devices. Select AirPort Time Capsule. Select Create New Network. Click Next. Follow prompts to name your network, create a password, and restart your modem.
To prevent the Time Capsule from acting as a Wi-Fi access point or router, and to use it only as a backup disk, open the AirPort Utility app on a Mac and select your Time Capsule. Click Edit. From the Network Mode pop-up menu, choose Off. Click Update, and the base station will restart and load the new settings.
Your Time Capsule will now act as a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. You can also use macOS's AirPort Utility app to connect your Time Capsule to a network over Wi-Fi or use it as a bridge to another Wi-Fi network.
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Using a Time Capsule with Windows 10
Using an Apple Time Capsule with Windows 10 is possible, but it requires a few extra steps. Firstly, you will need to enable SMB on your Windows 10 device. This is because the Time Capsule uses SMB1 to connect to Windows PCs, and Windows 10 turns this off by default as it is an old and insecure networking protocol.
You will also need to install Apple's Airport Utilities software for Windows. Once you have done this, you can follow the steps below:
- At the Apple Software Update window, uncheck the boxes for Mobile Me and Safari 4. You just want the update.
- Click Install 1 Item and click OK to accept the license.
- Press OK when notified that the software has been installed, then press Quit.
- Open the Airport Utility, which should now find your Time Capsule.
- You will need to temporarily change the IP address of your computer to 10.0.1.10 with a Mask of 255.255.255.0.
- Go back to the Airport Utility and update the Time Capsule firmware by clicking Update Firmware.
- Right-click on the drive and select Map Network Drive.
- Select Connect using a different username and enter the username/password you used to access the Time Capsule.
Note that you should only turn on SMB1 when you need to access your Time Capsule, as leaving it on will leave your computer at risk.
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Disabling a Time Capsule's Wi-Fi functionality
The Time Capsule is a two-in-one device that acts as a Wi-Fi router and an external hard drive that automatically backs up all the computers on your wireless network.
To disable a Time Capsule's Wi-Fi functionality, follow these steps:
- Launch Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility.
- Select your base station and click the Edit button.
- Enter the base station's administrative password, if prompted.
- Click the Wireless tab.
- From the Wireless Mode dropdown, choose 'Off' or select 'Off' from the Network Mode pop-up menu.
- Click Update, and the base station will restart and load the new settings.
Your Time Capsule will now function only as an external hard drive for backups and not as a Wi-Fi router.
Note: When you are ready to use the Time Capsule as a Wi-Fi base station again, follow the above steps and, in step 5, choose 'Create a Wireless Network' for a standalone network or one that is connected to others via ethernet, or ''Extend a Wireless Network' to make the Time Capsule connect wirelessly to another network.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, it can. You will need to install Airport Utilities and Bonjour Print Utilities on your Windows PC.
Open the Libraries folder on your desktop taskbar. Click on the arrow next to "Network" in the left sidebar of the Libraries folder to expose the Time Capsule. Locate files on your PC by opening the appropriate media library (Documents, Music, Pictures or Videos) or by opening other subfolders in the Libraries folder. Drag-and-drop files into the Time Capsule's folder.
The Airport Time Capsule can be used as a shared drive with a Windows PC, allowing for photo, music, and file sharing. It can also be used as a printer for your PC.
