How to get AFP to work with a Airport time capsule from outside of the LAN

This is a fairly long process. Not sure if I would recommend it.

1. Start the Airport Utility.
2. Select your Time Capsule or AEBS. Make a note of the IP Address shown on the right -- you will need it later.
3. Click Manual Setup.
4. Check your "Connection Sharing" setting under the Internet Tab.
5. The following tutorial is valid if your "Connection Sharing" is to

"Share a public IP address", the normal setup for a home network. You

will need to have a static IP address, or use a free dynamic DNS

service. If you have a different type of "Connection Sharing," you

probably don't need a tutorial to set up remote access to your disk;

adapt this one as needed.

1. Click Disks (at the top of the dialog box), and then click File Sharing.
2. Select (check) the "Enable file sharing" checkbox and the "Share

disks over Ethernet WAN port" checkbox. It is strongly recommended that

you also set Secure Shared Disks to "With base station password" and

Guest Access to "Not allowed"; not making these changes may allow

unauthorized users to access your Time Capsule/AEBS hard drive.

Click Airport (at the top of the dialog box), and then click Base Station.

Enter a Base Station Password and verify it in the Verify Password box.

Click Advanced (at the top of the dialog box), and then click Port Mapping.

Click the plus sign (+) to add a new port mapping.

In the Public UDP Port(s) and Public TCP Port(s) boxes, type in a

4-digit port number (e.g., 5678) that you choose. In the Private IP

Address box, type the internal IP address of your Time Capsule or AEBS

that you wrote down in step 2 (for example, 192.168.0.1). In the Private

UDP Port(s) and Private TCP Port(s) boxes, type 548. Click Continue.

In the Description box, type a descriptive name like "Time Capsule File Sharing" or "AEBS File Sharing". Then, click Done.

When you have made all changes, click Update.

Your Time Capsule/AEBS will restart. Once it does, you are now ready

to connect to the Time Capsule/AEBS hard drive via the Internet. To do

this when your MBA is away from home:

1. In the Finder, click Go > Connect to Server.
2. Type in the correct domain name or external IP address for your

network, plus a colon and the port number you specified in step 11. For

example, "www.myhomedomain.com:5678" or "123.123.12.123:5678".

Click Connect.

You will be prompted for your user name and password. The user

name can be anything you like; the password should be the password for

the Time Capsule/AEBS which you specified above.

Click Connect.

I have an airport time capsule setup downstream from the router (i have the wan port of the tc plugged into the wan on the router)

That is an unusual type of setup. Can you clarify on the details for us?

Normally, you would connect an Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <--> ports on the main router to the WAN port on the Time Capsule.

Since the Time Capsule is downstream from your main router, the Time Capsule needs to be set up to operate in Bridge Mode, which Apple calls "Off (Bridge Mode)" just to make things confusing.

Unfortunately, it looks like the nice instructions from VinceDaVinci were designed to be used with a much older 5.6 version of AirPort Utility that has not been included on Mac for 8-9 years. So, they are not going to track well with the 6.3 version of AirPort Utility that you likely have on your Mac.

For example.....Step 3 says "Click Manual Setup". There is no manual setup setting in AirPort Utility 6.3.x. The next Step 4 says...."Check the Connection Sharing setting....". There is no Connection Sharing setting in AirPort Utility 6.3.x. And, it goes on....

Can you clarify which version of AirPort Utility you are using? To do that, open AirPort Utility, click on the AirPort Utility menu in the upper left corner of the screen and then click on About AirPort Utility.

Chances are, you will see AirPort Utility version 6.3.x., correct?

Thanks for the clarification.

Since VinceDaVinci answered first, he should be afforded the courtesy and opportunity to modify the 10+ year old instructions that were previously provided.....so that they will track correctly with current 6.3.x versions of AirPort Utility.

Things would be tons easier for you if your "main" router was also an Apple AirPort product, but I have a feeling that this is likely not the case.

(The previous instructions from VinceDaVinci assumed that the Time Capsule was actually your "main" router. It appears to me based on your initial post that this is not the case.)

As I mentioned, it is fairly complex, the security protocol of both TC and router are designed and set to stop any attempt to get inside your LAN. I did not explain how to set your router in order to give access to your Time capsule, although it is necessary, it might vary from one to another. But it is possible.

As far as versions differences, maybe BOB Timmons can spot out the differences in the instructions. I wouldn't know, or do I believe them to be so distinct.

Remember when you'll try to test your settings at home, you'll need to try to access your TC from an outside point, not from one of your devices part of your LAN. Have fun with this !

maybe BOB Timmons can spot out the differences in the instructions

Your instructions called for the Time Capsule to be set up to "Share a public IP Address". That would mean that the Time Capsule is set up as the main DHCP and NAT router on the network.

But.....Ryan_fur told us that I have an airport time capsule setup downstream from the router.

That means that the Time Capsule is now set up in Bridge Mode to work correctly on the network. But.....In Bridge Mode, the Time Capsule cannot be configured using the instructions you provided (which assume that the Time Capsule is acting as the main router on the network).

It's a whole different ballgame to set up things when the Time Capsule is downstream from the main router. Do you want me to work with Ryan_fur directly from this point on?

Before we begin, there are some things that we need to discuss and confirm.

First item......In order to access the Time Capsule from a remote location over the Internet, you need to have a fixed static Public IP Address provided to your router from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Normally, the Public IP Address that your ISP provides to your router changes.....sometimes daily. That is not going to work if you want to access the Time Capsule from a remote location over the Internet.....because you won't know what Public IP Address has been assigned to your router from the remote location.

You have to be able to reach your router from anywhere outside of your network and to do that, the router needs to have a fixed static Public IP Address.

Most of the time, ISPs do not provide a fixed static Public IP Address to their normal residential customers. So, if your ISP cannot provide you with a fixed IP Address, you may need to change your service to a business account....at a higher price, of course.

So, is your ISP providing you with the type IP Address that you need for remote access?

Next item........I mentioned some of this previously, but we will review. I can tell you exactly how to configure your Time Capsule for remote access......assuming you have the fixed IP Address that you need......IF.....your main router is also another Apple AirPort product.

If your "main" router is not an Apple Airport, then things can get really difficult if not close to impossible.

I can tell you in general what settings need to be applied to your main router.......assuming it has the capabilities you will need......but I can't tell you exactly "how" to do it.....because I don't have your router here to be able to check and follow along with the setup.

So, if you have a 3rd party router......please provide the make and model number so that I can try to download the manual for the product to see what I can find. We do NOT need the serial number of your router.....just the manufacturer name and model number.

There is yet more to discuss before we can proceed, but we need to get a very clear understanding of what we will be dealing with.

If your ISP cannot provide your router with a fixed static Public IP Address.....or.....you don't want to spend the money necessary to get this type of IP Address.......then we'll have to stop right here....since there will no reason to continue.

Write down the fixed Public IP Address that your ISP is providing for you and keep it handy.

Set up a fixed Private IP Address for the Time Capsule, so that it will always receive the same IP Address from your router. Example......if your router provides 192.168.x.x addresses, set up the Time Capsule to use something like 192.168.1.50

Set up Port Forwarding on your router using the Private IP Address that you have assigned to the Time Capsule.

Assign the following port values to the Private IP Address of the Time Capsule

Public UDP Port 8888

Public TCP Port 8888

Private UDP Port 548

Private TCP Port 548

On your Mac......from a remote location

Open the Finder

Click on the Go menu at the very top of the screen

Click on Connect to Server

Enter the following in the Address Bar

afp://Public IP Address of your router:8888

So for example if the Public IP Address at the WAN port on your router is 123.45.67.89, you would enter this as

afp://123.45.67.89:8888

Click Connect

Enter any User Name

Enter the Device or Base Station Password for the Time Capsule

Click Connect