Apple has tacitly extended the warranty period on Time Capsule hard drive-equipped wireless routers released between February and June 2008.

The Time Capsule was launched in January of that year, but didn't ship until the following month. Punters were pleased with the machine's merger of 500GB or 1TB "server grade" - according to Apple - storage and 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking.

Until late 2009, that is, when reports hit the web of TCs dying in their droves. Many were detailed by the TimeCapsuleDead website.

As of 15 February 2010, the site had recorded 2500 dead TCs. The histories of all those machines show the average lifespan of the hardware to be 19 months 20 days.

The units that failed were first-generation TCs that shipped during the period Apple has only now - nine months on from the first reports mentioning the problem - said it is extending warranty coverage.

In practice, this means Apple will repair or replace your first-gen TC if it dies. It also said it will refund money it has been paid for past repairs to TCs sold within the stated period.

The warranty extension runs to three years from the original date of purchase. Full details on Apple's website here. ®