Why won't my Time Capsule extend my wireless network? I'm trying to get my 2009-era Time Capsule to extend my home wireless network (broadcast by a non-Apple router). I reset the Time Capsule and AirPort Utility can see it on both my iPad mini (iOS 6.1.3) and my Mac Mini (OSX 10.8.2). In both cases, AirPort Utility will happily allow me to set up the Time Capsule and have it join my existing network. When I go back and tell AirPort Utility to have it extend my wireless network, the Time Capsule tries to update itself and then just fails. It tells me "An error occurred during the update", and then AirPort Express can no longer see the Time Capsule:



At this point, I restore the Time Capsule using the tiny button on the back and lather, rinse, repeat. 

The Time Capsule hadn't been used in a few months, so I tried this both before and after updating the firmware. There has been no change in the result. 

Where do I even begin to troubleshoot?
If you are trying to extend a wireless network that is not an Apple Airport base station it cannot be done. You can join a network but this will not increase the range of your wireless network. 

Unless you have a firmware that supports WDS on your 3rd party wireless router.