I have a 2008 Mac Pro and it has no wifi card in it. I have a time capsule. Can I connect the time capsule to my router via wifi and use an Ethernet cable from the time capsule to my Mac Pro to access the Internet?
Mac – Using Time Capsule to Access Internet
macmac protime-capsule
Related Solutions
Yes you can. Since the Time Capsule is an Airport Extreme with an internal hard drive it's relatively easy to convert it into a wireless to wired bridge assuming you already have it set to hook up to the wireless network.
- Open up Airport Utility and start Manual Setup on your Time Capsule
- Go to the Internet section
- Under Internet Connection be sure Connection Sharing is set to Bridge Mode
If bridge mode is turned on it will share the connection and essentially act like a switch.
Yes - once you have things set up - Windows, iOS and Mac will all see the Time Capsule even when it's not running the network and your router still handles routing.
Of course it depends on how you set up the Time Capsule since out of the box, it will want to be a router and you could hook things up in a troublesome manner unintentionally. The time capsule has a firewalled connection (The WAN port) that if you use, you have to tear down several settings to allow someone from "outside" the network to see the drive. The Time Capsule has several internal ethernet ports as well as potentially joining the network over WiFi which wouldn't be firewalled.
I would set up the Time Capsule in bridge mode so it doesn't turn on DHCP/NAT, etc and connect to your router if possible over ethernet to one of the LAN ports and not the one WAN port. The ports you want look like this:
As long as it's in bridge mode and you connect over WiFi or a LAN port, everything should be fully functional and all Macs and PC will see the Time Capsule as if it were running the network. It might also function for bonjour sleep proxy and other nice to have items - but that also depends on the router settings.
Related Question
- How to add the Time Capsule to an existing network, in Ethernet
- Mac – Access to Time Capsule via Internet
- Time Capsule on Public Network
- Mac – Time Machine can’t find Time Capsule – but can mount it
- Using the Time capsule to improve WiFi from the network supplied modem
- Airport Time Capsule Third Generation Roaming connection with a Google wifi router
Best Answer
This depends on the type of WIFI network that is being produced by your WIFI router, as to whether the TC can extend it or not. Basically, the best way to find out is to experiment on your TC - fire up your Airport Utility, and in the Wireless configuration option, look to see if it will let you extend rather than create a wireless network, and then see if will find your existing network.
EDIT: I should add that the brand of wireless router is a primary consideration as well. Many brands don't play well with TC, AE, or any other Apple networking gear.