Mac users who still rely on Apple's Time Capsules could be in danger of device failure and data loss due to a newly discovered design flaw.

Time Capsule failure will result in data loss

Time Capsule was discontinued in 2018, but many Mac users still rely on the device to make timely backups. It is a single-enclosure router and HDD that backs up local data to a Mac.

According to a German data recovery company, Datenrettung, Time Capsule has a design flaw that leads to data failures and losses in aging machines. Golem reports that the German company has recorded several Time Capsule failures, all with the same defect.

The translated text from Datenrettung reads:

"We must assume that this is an error in the design 1 of the Seagate Grenada hard drive installed in the Time Capsule (ST3000DM001 / ST2000DM001 2014-2018). The parking ramp of this hard drive consists of two different materials. Sooner or later, the parking ramp will break on this model of hard drive, installed in a rather poorly ventilated time capsule. "

“Damage to the parking ramp then causes damage and serious deformation of the read / write unit to the next parking lot of the read / write unit. When the time capsule is turned on again or wakes up from hibernation, the data discs of the Seagate disk drive are destroyed because the distorted read-write drive pulls on it. "

The "parking ramp" is the part of the HDD that connects the unit to the external housing. Unfortunately, as the poorly ventilated time capsule heats up, the two materials heat up at different speeds, leading to possible wear and tear on the parking ramp.

The data recovery company suggests that users who rely on Apple Time Capsule should look for a new backup solution. This is because failure can occur at any time and data recovery is not always possible.

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