I upgraded the HDD in my 2013 2TB Time Capsule to a 4TB. It is possible as iFixit says but about the same level of difficulty as a hard drive replacement in a Mac mini if you have done that.
You will need some very thin spudgers to get the base off.
Also there are a few thin wire connectors that are not for the faint hearted.
Drive used: Seagate Barracuda 4TB 7200rpm (ST4000DX000). It is a hot running drive ordinarily but does not appear to heat the TC up (any different to what the 2TB did). Even with doing the initial backup of 5 Macs at once it did not get too hot. I am guessing the writing speed is not challenging for it, or the internal fan is efficient in moving the hot air from the top down out the vents in the base.
A few tips worth noting:
1. Find a very thin plastic, but stiff, spudger to get the base of. Two or more would help. The black base is a soft plastic and is marked easy. A thin spudger shouldn't leave any marks.
2. You need a torx kit. 8 from memory.
3. Connectors are very delicate. I used long flat tweezers as I have used on minis and MacBooks in the past.
4. I left the sata cable attached to the logic board and only levered it off the HDD.
5. HDD is a snug fit. I removed it by holding the device end gently letting the HDD drop out the bottom, being super careful it does not grab wiring. Move it side to side to ease it from the rubber edges holding it in inside.
5. The HDD is only held in with rubber edges. You may need to reposition the rubber up inside the unit with say a driver before you fit the new drive back in. It is very snug because the 4TB drive has a little more alloy on the edges. It fits fine though. There is no forcing it.
6. You need to format the HDD through 'erase' in the AirPort App when you boot back into the TC. You can rename it to what ever. I pre-formatted the drive in HFS+ but the AirPort app brings up a note to rebuild the drive anyway. It's a simple excercise in the app.
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'''UPDATE:''' So I pulled the Time capsule apart after 14 months to check how dirty it was. Unfortunately is was really packed full of dust. I don't live in a dusty environment at all either. I was really surprised. There was dust on the transformer (inside) and on the outer blades of the fan. So I did a full clean with vacuum, soft brush and compressed air can.
I upgraded the HDD in my 2013 2TB Time Capsule to a 4TB. It is possible as iFixit says but about the same level of difficulty as a hard drive replacement in a Mac mini if you have done that.
You will need some very thin spudgers to get the base off.
Also there are a few thin wire connectors that are not for the faint hearted.
Drive used: Seagate Barracuda 4TB 7200rpm (ST4000DX000). It is a hot running drive ordinarily but does not appear to heat the TC up (any different to what the 2TB did). Even with doing the initial backup of 5 Macs at once it did not get too hot. I am guessing the writing speed is not challenging for it, or the internal fan is efficient in moving the hot air from the top down out the vents in the base.
A few tips worth noting:
1. Find a very thin plastic, but stiff, spudger to get the base of. Two or more would help. The black base is a soft plastic and is marked easy. A thin spudger shouldn't leave any marks.
2. You need a torx kit. 8 from memory.
3. Connectors are very delicate. I used long flat tweezers as I have used on minis and MacBooks in the past.
4. I left the sata cable attached to the logic board and only levered it off the HDD.
5. HDD is a snug fit. I removed it by holding the device end gently letting the HDD drop out the bottom, being super careful it does not grab wiring. Move it side to side to ease it from the rubber edges holding it in inside.
5. The HDD is only held in with rubber edges. You may need to reposition the rubber up inside the unit with say a driver before you fit the new drive back in. It is very snug because the 4TB drive has a little more alloy on the edges. It fits fine though. There is no forcing it.
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6. You need to rebuild the HDD through 'erase' in the AirPort App when you boot back into the TC. You can rename it to what ever. I pre-formatted the drive in HFS+ but the AirPort app brings up a note to rebuild the drive anyway. It's a simple excercise in the app.
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6. You need to format the HDD through 'erase' in the AirPort App when you boot back into the TC. You can rename it to what ever. I pre-formatted the drive in HFS+ but the AirPort app brings up a note to rebuild the drive anyway. It's a simple excercise in the app.
I upgraded the HDD in my 2013 2TB Time Capsule to a 4TB. It is possible as iFixit says but about the same level of difficulty as a hard drive replacement in a Mac mini if you have done that.
You will need some very thin spudgers to get the base off.
Also there are a few thin wire connectors that are not for the faint hearted.
Drive used: Seagate Barracuda 4TB 7200rpm (ST4000DX000). It is a hot running drive ordinarily but does not appear to heat the TC up (any different to what the 2TB did). Even with doing the initial backup of 5 Macs at once it did not get too hot. I am guessing the writing speed is not challenging for it, or the internal fan is efficient in moving the hot air from the top down out the vents in the base.
A few tips worth noting:
1. Find a very thin plastic, but stiff, spudger to get the base of. Two or more would help. The black base is a soft plastic and is marked easy. A thin spudger shouldn't leave any marks.
2. You need a torx kit. 8 from memory.
3. Connectors are very delicate. I used long flat tweezers as I have used on minis and MacBooks in the past.
4. I left the sata cable attached to the logic board and only levered it off the HDD.
5. HDD is a snug fit. I removed it by holding the device end gently letting the HDD drop out the bottom, being super careful it does not grab wiring. Move it side to side to ease it from the rubber edges holding it in inside.
5. The HDD is only held in with rubber edges. You may need to reposition the rubber up inside the unit with say a driver before you fit the new drive back in. It is very snug because the 4TB drive has a little more alloy on the edges. It fits fine though. There is no forcing it.
6. You need to rebuild the HDD through 'erase' in the AirPort App when you boot back into the TC. You can rename it to what ever. I pre-formatted the drive in HFS+ but the AirPort app brings up a note to rebuild the drive anyway. It's a simple excercise in the app.