How to Backup Your Apple Airport or Time Capsule Settings So You Don’t Get Burned

Recently, while trying to simply restart my Time Capsule router from the iOS Airport Utility App, I accidentially reset the router to its default settings.

Why, oh why Apple did you have to place that "Reset" button so close to the "Restart" button where it is oh-so-easy to hit before your morning coffee? Anyway, I digress. I had to setup all my port forwarding, mac address filtering and passwords again from scratch, taking a half-day to complete with my complicated setup.

NEVER AGAIN.

Here is how you can backup your Apple Airport and Time Capsule settings so you can recover from a reset with ease:

These instructions pertain to the Mac version of Airport Utility, but the PC version is probably similar. Or not, I don't know. I have been fortunate enough to not have to do any real work on a PC in almost a decade.

1. Open Airport Utility

   

   You can find it in /Applications/Utilities/Airport Utility.app

2. Click on the Device You Want to Backup

   

   This little overview sceen pops up and shows you a few details about your device.

3. Click Edit

   Go ahead and click it. I'll wait...

   

   After clicking edit, you should be looking at your setup for your device.

4. Export Your Configuration File

   

   Go to the menu bar, then select File > Export Configuration File…

5. Save The File Someplace Safe

   

   You might have to set this up again after a crashed computer without backup, so I advise storing these files someplace like Dropbox or Google Drive.

Later, if you have to restore the configuration file, repeat steps 1-4 but select Import Configuration File… instead.

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