Time Capsule with iPad

[and 4096 others like this]

Hello,

This thread could go to iPhone topic, as well as macOS, MacBook Air, Apple TV and other, cause I have a question to Apple devices in general, so...

There is iPad, 2x iPhone, iPod Touch (all with iOS 11) and PC in my home.
I have in plans to change PC to Macbook Air (or whatever you call the next budget device Apple have in plans to show us this year) and add Apple TV to home theater.

The thing is, I am looking for NAS, and I don't know if Apple AirPort/Time Capsule is good choice (cause those are old devices). So here some questions, I would be glad if someone explain me what to do...

1. Is it worth to buy Time Capsule over the AirPort Extreme with 2TB HDD connected by USB? Is Time Capsule much faster than AP+HDD via USB?

2. Is it possible to send all pictures and documents from iPad and iPhone to AirPort+HDD/Time Capsule and have access to them from whenever I want, instead of using iCloud?

3. Can I use both devices from Apple TV. For example I have some movies at iPhone/iPad, I send them to TC/AE and want to watch it on Apple TV - I know about AirPlay, but... no.

4. Can iOS devices and Windows computer take advantage from Time Capsule?

5. Maybe I should take standard NAS?

I should also tell you, that I have LTE (non limited) internet in my home, so I have to connect whatever I choose, to my LTE router (there is no Apple router with SIM port as far as I know)...

 

[RedTomato]

Time Capsule is useless for iOS devices. They might as well exist in different worlds for all they use they are to each other. You can't send anything from iOS to a TC. It's been a sore point for me for many years.

Apple wants you to buy their iCloud Drive. Grudgingly, I got it last year. To my surprise, it's pretty good. I have the 2TB Family Shared Storage, which for £6 a month holds an online sync of 2 MBAs, 3 iPhones, 2 iPads. It also extends the onboard storage for all these devices, so lack of onboard storage space is no longer a problem (if you have good wifi).

That's probably best for you. Time Capsule is on the way out & is no longer being manufactured. The future of Time Machine is uncertain.

Airplay should be working for you to send movies from iOS to ATV. I have Airplay working on my Kindle Fire TV stick. In my experience though, it only works with SOME apps / media files, and not for everything.

Some LTE routers allow you to plug in a HDD or USB stick, so you could play round with that and see if you can stream media off that instead.

I used to have a NAS but between Amazon Prime and Netflix and another media app (P.....n T..e *cough*), I don't need it any more and decommissioned it a couple of years ago.

 

[ZMacintosh]

is this just for backups or something else?

iCloud storage may be a better experience, not sure about a better investment as it is a monthly cost.

 

[MandiMac]

iCloud storage may be a better experience, not sure about a better investment as it is a monthly cost.

Just do the math. For me it‘s 2.99 for the current plan that includes all my backup and online storage needs, whereas the TC would run me 300 and above. 100 months of iCloud, or around 8 years. I‘m fine with that.

 

[RedTomato]

Just do the math. For me it‘s 2.99 for the current plan that includes all my backup and online storage needs, whereas the TC would run me 300 and above. 100 months of iCloud, or around 8 years. I‘m fine with that.

iCloud is nice but by some definitions it is NOT A BACKUP.

If you lose your mac or idevice (or the SSD fails) and you get a new one, iCloud will load everything back onto it. For me that's a valid backup.

However, if you delete an important folder by mistake or a virus corrupts all your files, iCloud will happily sync that deletion / corruption. You have no way of getting your data back. For many people that means iCloud is NOT A BACKUP.

I had my Time Capsule 5 years and never once needed to recover a file from backup. However I don't like having the only copy of many of my files on iCloud. What if I lose access or Apple messes up? I run a small local server with a large HDD that keeps a local copy of all my iCloud files (& backs them up to Time Machine.)

 

[akash.nu]

I thought Apple stopped selling time capsules long back.

iCloud is nice but by some definitions it is NOT A BACKUP.

If you lose your mac or idevice (or the SSD fails) and you get a new one, iCloud will load everything back onto it. For me that's a valid backup.

However, if you delete an important folder by mistake or a virus corrupts all your files, iCloud will happily sync that deletion / corruption. You have no way of getting your data back. For many people that means iCloud is NOT A BACKUP.

I had my Time Capsule 5 years and never once needed to recover a file from backup. However I don't like having the only copy of many of my files on iCloud. What if I lose access or Apple messes up? I run a small local server with a large HDD that keeps a local copy of all my iCloud files (& backs them up to Time Machine.)

I think people misunderstand the use of iCloud storage. It should be counted as an extension of the existing storage capacity of the hardware one owns. That’s the point of auto sync.

The ability to be able to restore from backup is an added bonus of it being a cloud storage that keeps your data safe even when the device itself is lost.

 

[MandiMac]

However, if you delete an important folder by mistake or a virus corrupts all your files, iCloud will happily sync that deletion / corruption. You have no way of getting your data back. For many people that means iCloud is NOT A BACKUP.

By that definition, using Time Capsule isn‘t really a backup either. You‘d have to hunt down the non-virus-befallen files on your own, but I see where you‘re coming from!

 

[mochatins]

Long standing sore point with me, not being able to see my files from Time Capsule on my iPad!

VLC for iOS, however, is an app that plays nicely with it. It will stream video files from it flawlessly. And it's free.

 

[RecentlyConverted]

1. TC would be slightly faster, would still leave you a usb (2) socket ( for printer etc) and the possibility to upgrade to an internal SSD in the future if brave enough.
2. I send many photos and documents from/to TCs (and ixpand) using iPad/iPhone using FileBrowser for Business by Stratospherix Ltd

https://itunes.apple.com/es/app/filebrowser-for-business/id854618029?l=en&mt=8


They also do a nice app for Apple TV

3 Yes
4 Yes
5 Up to you. I still find the AE and TC very good.