Removing the Time Capsule Model A1302 Lower Case

Written By: rousp
  • Comments: 24
Removing the Time Capsule Model A1302 Lower Case

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

3

Time Required

20 - 40 minutes

Introduction

This guide shows you how to open your Time Capsule for the first time. Take your time with the first step, especially if your Time Capsule is of some age; the adhesive can become quite hard.

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    • Place a piece of cloth or a similar soft material on a clean, flat surface. Place the device upside down on top of the fabric.

    • Open the Time Capsule by exposing the screws that hold the device together. The screws are concealed by the rubber base, which is the bottom surface of the device.

    • Use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the rubber base, which softens the adhesive holding it on.

    • Starting in a corner, carefully lift the rubber base to prevent tearing. You can use a guitar pick or a small, plastic ruler to help separate the rubber from the metal.

    • Take your time to prevent tearing the adhesive. Ensure that you don't overheat the device.

    • If you tear some of the adhesive, don't worry. The existing adhesive is more than enough to allow the rubber base to stick back onto the unit during reassembly.

    • During reassembly, you can apply heat to the rubber base. This will enable the adhesive to flow and form a better bond with the device's metal casing.

    Slowly start peeling at one corner... worked better than shown on the pictures.

    Markus -

    Slow down particularly near the bottom label where it is stiffer. Either that or I needed to give it more heat. Going too fast can risk tearing the rubber base if the adhesive is strong.

    ElvinC -

    If you are wondering if the Time Capsule will still work as a router if you remove the HDD and leave it out, the answer (according to another webpage I read) is YES, it will still work. Apparently, you get a warning with the AIrPort Utility about a missing HDD, but it still works. I wanted to keep and reuse the 1TB Hitachi HDD for offsite data backup.

    CraigH -

    Use an iron instead of a heating gun or hairdryer!

    Gradually raise the temperature while checking for separation, while moving over the rubber. I first cleaned the rubber with some soap, to avoid scorching dust or grease. The setting for synthetic fabrics seemed to do the job with my Tefal iron; probably a little over 100 degrees centigrade. No steam off course!

    Worked like a charm without leaving almost any residual glue.

    Sticking the rubber sole back after the repair was also successful.

    Frits de Bruijn -

    Thanks for sharing this.

    kenatkenichikato -

    Adhesive tape used is Nitto No. 5015. I found a piece of a back-paper left underneath the rubber…

    vesa -

    Is there a possibility to change an already changed 2TB SATA to a bigger one? Mine is full. because I added another MacBook Pro, but I’d rather not buy a newer TimeCapsule

    Bette Rose -

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    • Once the rubber base is separated from the device, remove the 8 Phillips PH00 screws that attach the metal bottom of the case to the plastic top of the case.

    • Use the Philiips #00 Screwdriver.

    • Some revisions of the Time Capsule have 10 screws. The A1254 revision has two screws in the upper right and lower left corners, as shown in the second image. In this situation, be sure to remove all 10 screws.

    Confirmimg 10 screws for Model A1355

    pkeenan8 -

    Larger screwdriver size can help with sticky screws.

    ElvinC -

    One of my screws was already stripped by Apple, so I had to drill it out.

    CraigH -

    Instead of removing the rubber floor, I cut windows in the rubber base at the designated places and dug them out. To do this, I had rectified the photo and printed it out as a square with an edge length of 19.8 cm and used it as a stencil.

    Statt den Gummiboden zu entfernen, habe ich an den bezeichneten Stellen Fenster in die Gummiplatte geschnitten und ausgehoben. Dazu hatte ich das Foto entzerrt und als Quadrat mit der Kantenlänge 19,8 cm ausgedruckt und als Schablone benutzt.

    Markus Kluft -

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    • Position the rear side of the device (the side with Ethernet connectors) so that it is facing you.

    • Lift up the left side of the metal plate and slowly flip it over the right edge of the device.

    • To prevent damage, do not lift the metal plate straight up or use force. As shown in the second picture, the fan is attached to the metal plate and connected to the logic board next to the power connector.

    • Since many people have had serious problems with the fan power connnector breaking, it is advisable to NOT try to disconnect the fan power connector. Be VERY careful with this connector. It is extremely fragile. If you absolutely have to disconnect the fan from the logic board, VERY carefully use a spudger or tweezers to do so.

    It is really not necessary to disconnect the fan and you risk breaking it off of the logic board. :(

    rdemby -

    I'd destroyed the connection between my fan and logic board by trying to remove the fan. This is a bigger problem than a broken hard drive. DO NOT TRY TO DISCONNECT THE FAN. Instead be careful with the base (making sure not to stretch the fan wire) as your proceed to step four.

    redmonton11 -

    I wish I had read the comments too!! DO NOT try to disconnect the fan!!!! The connector broke off with out a lot of force. Now I have a worthless piece of metal and plastic!!!!

    mightyquinn6362 -

    This is not my guide, but in order to try to prevent future damage, I've edited the guide to warn against disconnecting the fan from the logic board. Hopefully the update will be approved soon :0\

    Jeff G -

    Replaced 2 x 1500 uF capacitors ant the Time capsule is back to work !

    Thanks for this guide.

    gilberto -

    I had no issues removing the fan plug from the board.

    angelopadilla -

    I used a block to lean the cover on so it didn't fall completely flat on the surface. The wire connecting the fan is too short for that.

    pkeenan8 -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

rousp

Member since: 18/02/10

6648 Reputation

6 comments

I accidentally edited this page, instead of the fan. Could anyone tell me how to reverse that/reverse it for me? Thanks!

Jamy Mahabier -

Just un-edit the page to what it used to be.

Reid Fleishman -

must I put back on the rubber bottom or can I leave it off for maximum airflow?

Strider -

My thought exactly. I left it off and put small felt pads on each corner for noise reduction AND for better airflow.

Tkappock -

cann anyone tell me what kind of screws the timcapsul has on the bottom, I kind of lost them and need to get replacement screws but io can not find anything under PH0 Screws online…

ginol95 -

My TC was made lot of noise and warming. (I thonk was the HDD problem) When I opened and tried disconnect the fan it broken the board plug… Today I use without fan, the noise is over (was the fan) and it continue warming same way…

George Nass -