Steebie1044

Q: My Airport Extreme intermittently shuts down completely.

My Airport Extreme (newest model) will shut down completely, all by itself, with the green light completely off.  When I unplug and replug the device, it starts again and the green light comes back on after it boots.  It's as if a "circuit breaker" cuts off the power.  No other equipment shuts off, so it's not the electric outlet.

iOS 7.0.6

Posted on Feb 24, 2014 8:21 AM

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Q: My Airport Extreme intermittently shuts down completely.

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  • by netnothing,

    netnothing netnothing May 23, 2015 7:42 PM in response to Steebie1044
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Wireless
    May 23, 2015 7:42 PM in response to Steebie1044

    Just adding my name to the list. I have two AE, one downstairs and one upstairs connected via Ethernet. One downstairs has been rock solid. Newer one upstairs will randomly shut down, sometimes it takes months, other times weeks.

     

    Both plugged into UPS.

     

    -Kevin

  • by mrcutter1,

    mrcutter1 mrcutter1 Jun 13, 2015 8:53 AM in response to mrcutter1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 13, 2015 8:53 AM in response to mrcutter1

    Update: It's now been about a month since I moved the AE to the other side of the room and it's been working flawlessly. No issues whatsoever. I cannot give an explanation why multiple units had so issues plugged into a socket 10 feet away. I will continue to give updates in the future and check this forum.

  • by Björn Hedin,

    Björn Hedin Björn Hedin Jun 18, 2015 5:11 AM in response to Steebie1044
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 18, 2015 5:11 AM in response to Steebie1044

    I had the same issue, replaced my Airport but that didn't help. Then I had an electrician at home for other reasons and mentioned my problem. He noted that I used the same power outlet as my refrigerator and he suggested that the refrigerator compressor starting and stopping could have something to do with it. I then changed to another power outlet and since then my airport has worked flawlessly.

  • by mrcutter1,

    mrcutter1 mrcutter1 Jun 18, 2015 6:04 AM in response to Björn Hedin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 18, 2015 6:04 AM in response to Björn Hedin

    It appears this model is Extreme-ly sensitive to the electrical current of the socket it's plugged into. To me, that's a design/component flaw and needs to be addressed by Apple.  I suggest that everyone who is experiencing this shut-down issue should try plugging their AE into a different socket location at their home or office.

  • by danielknorris,

    danielknorris danielknorris Jun 28, 2015 3:57 PM in response to mrcutter1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 28, 2015 3:57 PM in response to mrcutter1

    Was out of the house for a month... During that time the AC for the house was off.  The Airport stayed on the entire time.  Since I've been home the unit has been reset a dozen times. 

     

    I Was wondering if the power fluctations when the AC powers on might be causing the unit to shut down.  Seems this might be a solution to the problem. 

  • by Thermus,

    Thermus Thermus Jul 1, 2015 6:08 PM in response to danielknorris
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jul 1, 2015 6:08 PM in response to danielknorris

    Same issue here.  Purchased my 802.11ac in March 2015.  Problems exactly as described started a few weeks ago in early June.  Was solid up until then, but then I started getting periodic dropped connections and the power light would go out.  As others have mentioned, unplugging and plugging back in resolves the issue temporarily (failures every 2-3 days now).

     

    I had an older gigabit Airport Extreme plugged in for the longest time in the same place and never had any problems, but I'm starting to suspect the theories about sensitivity to power fluctuations in the newer model may be true.  The timing of these dropped connections corresponds to when we started using A/C in my house this year.  Although these circuits are completely isolated, I can imagine a large power draw when the A/C compressor kicks on could briefly limit the power to other things in the house.  As danielknorris mentions, could this be the root cause.  If so, I'd expects reports to increase in the summer months.

     

    I have an Apple Store appointment tomorrow to swap out this unit.  I hope to report this solves the problem, but will post again if it doesn't.

  • by AceNeerav,

    AceNeerav AceNeerav Jul 1, 2015 11:21 PM in response to Thermus
    Level 1 (107 points)
    Apple Music
    Jul 1, 2015 11:21 PM in response to Thermus

    I dont think this has anything to do with the AC. I have two units in my home and most of my failures have been around 7-10pm when the AC isnt powered On!

     

    maybe its the internet port thats sensitive to fluctuations to power in the broadband cable. I remember my cable operator telling me that sometimes there can be a power surge in cable lines just like in cable television.

  • by Thermus,

    Thermus Thermus Jul 3, 2015 10:13 AM in response to AceNeerav
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jul 3, 2015 10:13 AM in response to AceNeerav

    Swapped mine out yesterday under warranty.  So far so good.  Will post again if the same issue crops up.

  • by jalencarTX,

    jalencarTX jalencarTX Aug 18, 2015 7:28 PM in response to Steebie1044
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 18, 2015 7:28 PM in response to Steebie1044

    I just got an Airport Extreme about a month ago. It start to shut down last week...  It happened about 3 times now...  Will try to replace outlets to see if works..  The problem is my cable modem is fixed so I can't move it that far..  Very disappointing have that happen with an Apple Product..

  • by lalig,

    lalig lalig Dec 20, 2015 7:20 AM in response to jalencarTX
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2015 7:20 AM in response to jalencarTX

    Are you using a shielded LAN cables? If yes, try to use an unshileded cables to avoid potential differences between devices connected to AirPort.

  • by rao_94583,

    rao_94583 rao_94583 Apr 20, 2016 6:54 PM in response to Steebie1044
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 20, 2016 6:54 PM in response to Steebie1044

    Just like everyone else on this thread, and elsewhere, my Airport Extreme started doing this last month.  Took it to the genius bar, but it's a month out of warranty.

     

    I was about to throw in the towel and buy a new one, but thought I'd plug it in until I did.  I noticed that the unit has air vents at the bottom, so (on a whim) I laid it on its side.  It's been a good three days now, and it has yet to shut itself off.

     

    Since this solution is right up there with waving a dead chicken about, it might be important that I laid it down with green pilot light at the bottom. I didn't check the phase of the moon, though.

     

    Hope that works for someone out there.

  • by ptrkch,

    ptrkch ptrkch May 2, 2016 12:58 PM in response to Steebie1044
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 2, 2016 12:58 PM in response to Steebie1044

    I bought an Airport Extreme 802.11ac two weeks ago, to extend my existing TimeCapsule 802.11ac. After one day it shot down and continued to do so almost every day for a week. My TimeCapsule is in my office, but we have poor wifi signal in our living room so I decided to set up an extra Airport Extreme. Several posts in this thread suggest that the problem is caused by a poor power supply and that unstable power can cause this problem - for example if it is connected to a power outlet close to a refrigerator. It so happens that my new Airport Extreme was connected right next to our refrigerator (on the other side of the wall).

     

    I tried to swap my TimeCapsule and my new Extreme, and then both of them worked without any problems for four days. I swapped the them back and my Extreme started to shut down again. So it sounds likely that unstable power caused by our refrigerator has caused the problem because of a very sensitive power supply in the Extreme, and it looks like the Time Capsule power supply is a lot more robust.

     

    I ended up returning the Extreme and bought an Airport Express instead. It is connected at the same place as the Extreme - just next to the refrigerator, and it has worked for two days now.

  • by AceNeerav,

    AceNeerav AceNeerav May 2, 2016 8:46 PM in response to ptrkch
    Level 1 (107 points)
    Apple Music
    May 2, 2016 8:46 PM in response to ptrkch

    IN India we have two supplies at home. One is called domestic - 220V 10 A and the other is called industrial (referring to cottage industries) which is 440v 15A. Refrigetors, small or big, are plugged into those indistrial lines, as required by law. So manufacturers dont give an option to run it via the donestic line.

     

    NOw the router is plugged into a stabdard 220v ac mains.

     

    I Dont think there is an interefrrence. Although the conpresssor of the fridge turning on again might lead to voltage fluctuations.

     

    ANyone knows a one-device voltage stabilizer?

  • by rdeza,

    rdeza rdeza May 11, 2016 2:27 AM in response to ptrkch
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 11, 2016 2:27 AM in response to ptrkch

    Just to make sure this thread is alive and Apple realizes that latest AE is faulty... here another one with the same issue. Returned the first one after 9 months and got a new one, doing same stuff.

     

    I'll describe my power configuration as a reference:

     

    My AE is plugged to a power strip together with a lot of other gadgets (router, NAS, fiber ONT, TV,  tivo...) and that strip is plugged into the filtered socket of a PLC, that is plugged to the wall socket. I have a twin wall socket, unused as recommended by PLC vendor, to make sure all noise get filtered by the PLC so the bandwidth obtained is optimal ...

     

    Reading this thread, maybe a super sensitive power supply is the origin of this crappy AE.

    i'll try moving the AE plug to the second wall socket and see if that makes a difference...

    I'll come back and update

     

    C'mon Apple, do something!!

  • by rdeza,

    rdeza rdeza Jun 15, 2016 4:08 AM in response to rdeza
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 15, 2016 4:08 AM in response to rdeza

    Well, It's funny that I finally decided to buy a new AC access point from ASUS (sad, having every possible apple product) and then Apple released new firmware 7.7.7. Since I've updated it, my APE is up and running without an issue.

     

    By the way, in my case, the cause was for sure electrical interference in the power supply. I was able to shut down my APE at will by turning on the smoke extractor in the kitchen

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