hallorandom

Q: Connecting Airport Express to switch disables wireless

Hi experts! Here's my current configuration:

 

Comcast router -> Airport Express -> 8-port switch -> in-wall ethernet cords -> Airport Extreme -> Smart TV, Xbox, Sonos, etc.

 

I have my network set up with the Airport Express as the primary base station in my basement next to the Comcast router and 8-port switch which is connected to all of the in-wall ethernet cords for the rest of the house. Upstairs, next to the TV, is the Airport Extreme which is set up to extend my network.

 

My goal is to connect the switch to the Airport Express downstairs so that I can add other devices in the other rooms of the house, but as soon as I connect it to the switch, the network goes down and I can no longer connect to the internet. As soon as I unplug the switch, I'm back up and running.

 

Have I done something wrong in my set up? I need the Airport Extreme to be near the TV so I can connect my other devices (Xbox, Smart TV)

 

Please help!

AirPort Extreme 802.11n (2nd Gen)

Posted on Sep 8, 2014 6:59 AM

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Q: Connecting Airport Express to switch disables wireless

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  • by Bob Timmons,Solvedanswer

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Sep 10, 2014 9:14 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 10 (105,338 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 10, 2014 9:14 AM in response to Loner T

    Everything looks good. You may not have to enter the base station password if it has been previously saved on your Mac.

     

    1. Factory reset Express

    Correct

     

    2. Connect <--> on Express to <--> on Extreme (Primary base station, already functioning)

    Connect from a LAN <--> port on the Extreme to the WAN "O" port on the Express with a spare Ethernet cable that you know is working.

     

    3. Open APU, wait for connection via ethernet

    You will have to use the steps that I previously provided and refer to the screenshots that LonerT has generously provided.

     

    4. Move Express to final location

    Correct

     

    5. Connect (O) on Express to in-wall Ethernet port (which is connected to switch)

    Correct

     

    I prefer to setup the Express with it directly connected to the Extreme, so I know that the configuration is working. If for some reason, things do not work when you move the Express to the remote location, you will have to start troubleshooting the Ethernet wiring and switch(es).

     

    If you connect the Express up front at the remote location and try to configure it that way......and you have a problem.....you won't know whether the problem is the Express or the wiring.

     

    Some users do not want to set up the Express with it connected directly to the Extreme as I suggest....to save a few steps....Your call on that, but as I said, if the  setup has  a problem, you won't know whether the problem is the Express or the wiring.

  • by hallorandom,

    hallorandom hallorandom Sep 10, 2014 5:03 PM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2014 5:03 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    Ok guys, I'm still not quite there yet. Here's a folder full of screenshots for my process...

     

    https://www.dropbox.com/sh/282khpvfzuls94d/AAAlPH_guUkXCv7k6u1dz3wHa?dl=0

     

    Basically, I got as far as extending the network with the ethernet cord. However, when I move it to the final spot and connect it to the in-wall port the amber light goes all flashy on me .

     

    Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?

  • by hallorandom,

    hallorandom hallorandom Sep 10, 2014 5:14 PM in response to hallorandom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2014 5:14 PM in response to hallorandom

    I figured it out! The APU was remembering one of my previous (failed) attempts where I created a new network with the same settings. As soon as I moved it back near the Extreme, reconnected the ethernet, then changed "Create a new network" to "Extend a network" it worked.

     

    Thank you both for all of your help! This was quite a learning process for me and highlights the fact that the documentation is indeed WAYYY out of date. I'd be embarrassed if I were them. Apparently they have bigger (wearable) fish to fry

  • by hallorandom,

    hallorandom hallorandom Sep 15, 2014 5:02 PM in response to hallorandom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2014 5:02 PM in response to hallorandom

    Ok guys, I'm still having a bit of an issue...

     

    When I configured with the above settings, all seemed well for a while. Now, I have a blinking amber light on the Extreme. When I go to the APU, I see the following status message on the Extreme:

     

    Conflicting DHCP Range

    This AirPort base station rejected ad DHCP address in the same subnet as it's internal DHCP server. Try switching your AirPort Base station from using DHCP and NAT to bridge mode. If you still want to use DHCP and NAT to share a single IP address, change your DHCP range.

     

    Did I do something wrong or skip a step in the configuration?

     

    When I click "Edit this setting" I see 3 options:

    10.0 (selected)

    172.16

    192.168

     

    It also seems I can edit the Range beginning and ending manually, but have no idea what to enter there

     

    Any advice?

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 15, 2014 6:08 PM in response to hallorandom
    Level 7 (24,770 points)
    Safari
    Sep 15, 2014 6:08 PM in response to hallorandom

    There should be no internal DHCP server on the Extreme. It is connected via Ethernet to the upstream router/modem. How did the settings get changed.

     

    This is what you should see, on the Extreme

     

    Internet Tab -> Connect Using DHCP

    Wireless -> Create a Wireless Network

    Network -> Off (Bridge Mode).

     

    Please verify.

  • by hallorandom,

    hallorandom hallorandom Sep 15, 2014 7:13 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2014 7:13 PM in response to Loner T

    This completely nuked my network. Can't access settings to undo it. Factory resetting

  • by hallorandom,

    hallorandom hallorandom Sep 15, 2014 7:21 PM in response to hallorandom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2014 7:21 PM in response to hallorandom

    Ok, I'm back up and running with the blinking amber. Any other thoughts as to why this would be happening with the configuration Bob Timmons recommended?

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 15, 2014 7:22 PM in response to hallorandom
    Level 7 (24,770 points)
    Safari
    Sep 15, 2014 7:22 PM in response to hallorandom

    This is strange. You have two independent Airport devices each in bridge mode. Please disconnect and power down just the Extreme.

     

    Do you get WiFi and Internet from the second Express?

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 15, 2014 7:26 PM in response to hallorandom
    Level 7 (24,770 points)
    Safari
    Sep 15, 2014 7:26 PM in response to hallorandom

    If you factory reset the Extreme, the Express is the only thing left, and it is working. Please do not change any settings or save, but just view them on the Express. They should be the same as the original you set them up as, and you can compare them to you screen shots that were initially set up.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 15, 2014 7:38 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 7 (24,770 points)
    Safari
    Sep 15, 2014 7:38 PM in response to Loner T

    To re-setup the Extreme, you will end up repeating Bob's procedure in the reverse, where the roles of original Extreme and the Express are reversed. Before you make any changes, though, I will wait for you to review the configuration on the Express.

  • by hallorandom,

    hallorandom hallorandom Sep 16, 2014 12:47 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2014 12:47 PM in response to Loner T

    I'd rather reset the whole system and do it in the "correct" order. Is it possible to see what I did wrong initially? It seemed to work for a while before the collision was detected.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Sep 16, 2014 1:18 PM in response to hallorandom
    Level 7 (24,770 points)
    Safari
    Sep 16, 2014 1:18 PM in response to hallorandom

    If you want to set it up from scratch again, then

     

    1. You can note down the configuration of the Express, which seems to be working once the Extreme was reset to factory defaults.

    2. Reset the Express to Factory Defaults.

    3. Assuming the Extreme is also at Factory Defaults, connect the WAN 'O' port of the Extreme to your modem router via ethernet cable and set it up to create a Wireless network using the known SSID from the Express configuration with the same wireless password.

    4. Verify that your WiFi works. You can use Alt+WiFi to ensure the BSSID in the WiFi connection matches the Extreme.

    5. Connect the WAN 'O' port of the Express to one of the LAN ports on the Extreme and configure it using Airport Utility.

    6. Move the Express to its designated location, connect it via ethernet to your network and then check WiFi connection in the proximity of the Express and verify the BSSID is the same as the Express MAC address in Airport Utility.

     

    At this point your are setup with a working network and using the configuration as Bob recommended.

     

    Verify that both the Extreme are setup in Bridge mode, Create a Wireless Network, and use DHCP to get their respective WiFi addresses. You may want to preserve screen shots for future reference. If this happens again, the settings can be verified against the screen shots that you save, to check for any differences.

  • by fdmar,

    fdmar fdmar Apr 14, 2015 1:18 AM in response to hallorandom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 14, 2015 1:18 AM in response to hallorandom

    Hello, I saw this post, and it is similar to problems we are having.

     

    I don't know all the specific terminology, but I will do my best.  Our home is 'hard-wired', where we have multiple media outlets, with the cables converging in the basement.  We tried to set up our system like this:

     

    Feed --> Cable modem --> Airport Extreme 5th gen -->  16 port switch --> in-wall internet + other devices (Control4, Internet Gateway for Garage door).  The in-wall internet goes to the rooms in our home.  This worked fine, except that our Airport is in the basement, so the wi-fi signal and speed is weak on the upper floors.

     

    When we tried to move the Airport to the upper floors for better wi-fi signal, and it looked like:

    Feed -> Modem -> Switch  -> In-wall internet + devices -> Airport

    ...the wi-fi would work, but none of the other in-wall internet connections would work.  And we tried to plug the Airport directly into the switch, and we had the same problem. 

     

    What are we doing wrong?

     

    For reference, here are our devices:

     

    Airport Extreme 5th gen

    http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MD031LL-AirPort-Extreme-Station/dp/B00FTOXP3Q/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428999240&sr=8-1&keywords=airport+5th+generation

     

    Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem  SB6141

    http://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Motorola-SurfBoard-SB6141-DOCSIS/dp/B00AJHDZSI/ref=s r_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428999271&sr=8-1&keywords=motorola+surfboard+sb6141

     

    TP-Link 16-port Gigabit switch

    http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-SG1016-1000Mbps-17-3-inch-Rackmountable/dp/B002 HAJQGA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1428999360…

     

    Hope someone has some insight into our problems,

     

    Thanks

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