Gene Surber

Q: Airport Extreme 4th Generation

I am running Yosemite.

 

I have a 3 TB Airport Time Capsule that is connected to my computer via ethernet. I then have an Airport Express plugged into the wall to extend my network on my second floor.

 

I have a 4th Generation Airport Extreme that is set to bridge mode that is connected to the network via ethernet cable in my basement television room.

 

The Airport Extreme constantly drops out and Airport Utility says that it can't find it. As the utility does not give me the option to restart it, I have to daily go down and unplug the ethernet from the Extreme and replug it back in, at which point it is again recognized by the Utility. The strange thing is, the green light stays solid on the Extreme and does not go amber or blinking amber when Airport Utility is reporting the problem. Whether I open Airport Utility on any of my devices (e.g., iPad, iPhone, another computer), Airport Utility reports the same issue--the triangle with the exclamation point and the only option is to "forget the device."

 

Last night, I reset the Airport Extreme with a paperclip and unplugged it. Plugged it back in a re-set it up on the network. Today, I checked on it by opening Airport Utility and again, the same problem.

 

What is going on? Is the Airport Extreme defective now? As far as I know it has all the same settings as the Airport Time Capsule.

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), Mac Pro Mid-2012, 3.2 GHZ, ATI 5770

Posted on Oct 23, 2015 12:05 PM

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Q: Airport Extreme 4th Generation

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  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Oct 23, 2015 12:22 PM in response to Gene Surber
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    Oct 23, 2015 12:22 PM in response to Gene Surber

    The only difference with the Airport Extreme is that it did not have iPV6 set to on. So I have turned it on just now to mirror the settings on my Time Capsule.

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Oct 23, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Gene Surber
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    Oct 23, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Gene Surber

    I have a 3 TB Airport Time Capsule that is connected to my computer via ethernet. I then have an Airport Express plugged into the wall to extend my network on my second floor.

     

    I have a 4th Generation Airport Extreme that is set to bridge mode that is connected to the network via ethernet cable in my basement television room.

    Just to make sure I understand your current network configuration is the Time Capsule your "main" wireless router? That is, is it directly connected to your Internet modem using an Ethernet connection? What is the make & model of your modem?

     

    You then have the Express configured to extend the TC's Wi-Fi network using a wireless connection between them ... correct? What is the model # of your Express base station?

     

    Finally, is the 4th gen AirPort Extreme (in the basement) connected to the network by wireless or Ethernet? If by Ethernet to which base station is it connected back to?

  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Oct 23, 2015 1:02 PM in response to Tesserax
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    Oct 23, 2015 1:02 PM in response to Tesserax

    The 3 TB Time Capsule is my main wireless router. It is connected to my modem and directly to my computer via ethernet.

     

    My modem is a Motorola "Surfboard" (it is a cable modem... not sure about its specs, but it seems to be working fine).

     

    The Express is set to extend the network. I'm not entirely sure what generation it is, but it is one that plugs into the wall socket. It seems to be fine and doesn't tend to drop from the network/Airport Utility.

     

    The 4th Generation Airport Extreme located in the basement is connected to the network via an ethernet and goes back to the Time Capsule. The 4th Generation Extreme is set to bridge mode.

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Oct 23, 2015 1:15 PM in response to Gene Surber
    Level 9 (54,684 points)
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    Oct 23, 2015 1:15 PM in response to Gene Surber

    Thanks for the update. It looks like you have a hybrid Wi-Fi network that includes extending by both a wired and wireless connection.

     

    Let's start by temporarily removing the Express from the network configuration by just removing it from power. We will come back to it after we get the TC and AEBS working together properly.

     

    Since both of these base station are interconnected by Ethernet you have the fundamentals of a roaming type network. The key items for a successful roaming network are as follows:

    • All base stations must be interconnected by Ethernet.
    • Only the "main" base station should be configured as a router (default configuration); all of the other base stations must be reconfigured as bridges.
    • All base stations must have a unique base station name.
    • All base stations must use the same wireless Network Name, security type, & password.
    • Since the "extending" base stations are in bridge mode, it doesn't really matter which port (WAN or LAN) that you connect the Ethernet cable to, but for consistency, I would recommend that you use the WAN (circle-of-dots) port.

    So, go ahead and re-setup a roaming network between the TC & AEBS. Please post back your results when you have completed this.

  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Oct 23, 2015 2:03 PM in response to Tesserax
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    Oct 23, 2015 2:03 PM in response to Tesserax

    The Extreme and Time Capsule are connected by ethernet.

     

    The Time Capsule is set to "create a wireless network" under "network mode" Under Network it is DHCP and NAT, It also has checked "Enable Access Control" and says "timed access control..."

     

    The Extreme is set to "create a wireless network" and under "network" the router mode is "off (bridge mode." It also has checked enable access control and says timed access control.

     

    The Time Capsule is named "Adrael" and the Extreme is named "Gene's AirPort Extreme." The Airport Express is named "Airport Express." The security is set to WPA/WPA Personal on all three devices. All have the same passwords. The Extreme and the Time Capsule have the options for a 5 GHZ network, the Express does not. The Ethernet that connects the Extreme to the network is plugged into the plug with the circle of dots.

     

    I changed the IPV6 settings and will post back if the network goes down again.

  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Feb 17, 2016 2:44 PM in response to Gene Surber
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    Feb 17, 2016 2:44 PM in response to Gene Surber

    I completely re-set up my network yesterday and reset all the stations (Time Capsule, Airport Extreme, & Airport Express). Today, the Airport Extreme was dropped from my Airport Utility again. When i unplugged and plugged it back in again Airport Utility recognized it. The Airport Extreme, every time I go down and unplug and plug it back in, always has the green light on the front solidly on.

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Feb 17, 2016 3:03 PM in response to Gene Surber
    Level 9 (54,684 points)
    Wireless
    Feb 17, 2016 3:03 PM in response to Gene Surber

    I completely re-set up my network yesterday and reset all the stations (Time Capsule, Airport Extreme, & Airport Express). Today, the Airport Extreme was dropped from my Airport Utility again. When i unplugged and plugged it back in again Airport Utility recognized it. The Airport Extreme, every time I go down and unplug and plug it back in, always has the green light on the front solidly on.

    Sorry, that this is not working for you.

     

    I would like for you to try the following:

    • If your AirPort Extreme is still named "Gene's AirPort Extreme," please change it to "GenesAirPortExtreme" or "Genes_AirPort_Extreme." I would like for you to remove any punctuation marks or spaces from the name.
    • Power-off the Express. We are going to try to get the Time Capsule (TC) and AirPort Extreme (AEBS) to work together consistently.
    • Since you have a 3TB TC, I am going to assume that it is, at least, a 4th generation model. The model number would be: A1409. Is this correct? Also, earlier you said your Express is the type that plugs into the wall. There are two versions of these and they look identical: 1) An 802.11g, model A1084, and 2) An 802.11n, model A1264. Which one is it? Yes, it will matter when we add it back to the network configuration.
    • Ok, with just the modem, TC, & AEBS in the mix, power them all down. Order doesn't matter.
    • Power-on the modem; wait at least 15 minutes to allow it to initialize.
    • Power-on the TC; wait at least 5 minutes to allow it to initialize.
    • Power-on the AEBS; wait at least 5 minutes to allow it to initialize.
    • Now let the network run as is. I would suggest at least a day.
    • Does the issue with the AEBS re-appear?
      • If it does, it may be that the AEBS has reached its useful life. The 4th generation Extremes came out in 2009 and were discontinued in 2011. Typically, networking hardware is good for about 5 years.
      • If it doesn't, please post back and we can go over adding the Express again.
  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Feb 19, 2016 10:10 PM in response to Gene Surber
    Level 2 (243 points)
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    Feb 19, 2016 10:10 PM in response to Gene Surber

    Thinking that the problem may be with my older Airport Extreme, I purchased a brand new Airport Extreme. I named it all one word when setting it up (TVRoomExtreme). In addition, I replaced the ethernet that was connecting the Time Capsule to create the roaming network. I originally had a 100 foot ethernet. Now I have a 50 foot (the shortest I can have as the 25 foot won't reach).

     

    I then, out of curiosity set up the old Extreme to extend the network and put that upstairs in my bedroom. The other Airport Express was left in the hallway, also extending the network (both working wirelessly).

     

    Strangely enough, when I went into the television room and streamed a movie over Apple TV to my television I opened my iPad and noticed that the brand new Airport Extreme was asking for a password (even though it is, of course, set to the identical settings as the Time Capsule, which includes password--and yes, set to bridge mode). It would not accept the password and I then got the usual "Device Not Found" message, with the only option being to forget it. After unplugging the device and plugging it back in, it showed up as the older previous one always did.

     

    Doing some research, I set the "Configure IPv6" to "Link-local only" in my Network preferences. I'm a little confused as to whether I need to do this in Airport Utility as well for the Time Capsule and the Airport Extreme?

     

    In addition, I completely unplugged the old Extreme and the Express to test if the new Extreme goes off line again. I'm beginning to suspect that it has something to do with the Apple TV and the Sony Blu-ray player that are plugged into (via ethernet) the Airport Extreme in the television room.

     

    This is beyond frustrating.

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Feb 19, 2016 10:36 PM in response to Gene Surber
    Level 9 (54,684 points)
    Wireless
    Feb 19, 2016 10:36 PM in response to Gene Surber

    Doing some research, I set the "Configure IPv6" to "Link-local only" in my Network preferences. I'm a little confused as to whether I need to do this in Airport Utility as well for the Time Capsule and the Airport Extreme?

    Yes, all of the base stations should be configured for: Link-local only. This is primarily to help the AirPort Utility "find" the base stations. By default, it is set to "Automatically" which should work, but seems to have some issues with the utility.

    In addition, I completely unplugged the old Extreme and the Express to test if the new Extreme goes off line again.

    Did it? That is, with just the TC and the new 802.11ac AirPort Extreme, did the new Extreme go off line again?

     

    Earlier, you mentioned that you had a Motorola Surfboard modem. It would really help if you can find its model number. It may be printed on one of its sides or on the bottom of the device. The reason I'm asking is that the Arris/Motorola SB61NN series of modems have been known to be incompatible with the AirPort base stations. Neither are bad in themselves, but they just don't "play nice" together. The types of issues we find here at the ASC is similar to what you are experiencing.

  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Feb 21, 2016 8:58 AM in response to Tesserax
    Level 2 (243 points)
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    Feb 21, 2016 8:58 AM in response to Tesserax

    Firstly, thank you for being so diligent and helpful in my troubleshooting this problem. Your insights have been very much appreciated.

     

    I am now on day 2 and my roaming network remains up. The wired new Airport Extreme continues to be recognized by Airport Utility. I did not, as of yet, go in and change on the TC and The AE themselves the IPV6 local. This remains only chosen in my network preferences. I wanted to see how things turned out on the current set up first before changing too many variables.

     

    That said, as strangely as this sounds, I am almost positive my problem has something to with either my Sony Blu-ray player or the Apple TV (or both) in the television room that are hard linked by ethernet to the Extreme. I say this because the previous set up would be fine until movies were streamed or Netflix was watched on those devices. But, that then makes it even more confusing as to why it isn't going down now since the extended Express is unplugged.

     

    Anyway, I am now going to reconnect the old Extreme and allow it to extend the network and see what happens. In the end, I may not need to have the network extended anyway as I have found that the TC and the AE are sufficient for wireless coverage of the house. I just wanted to ensure strong coverage everywhere. If the problem returns, I will probably just choose to have a roaming network alone and put to rest the old extreme and express.

     

    BTW, my Cable Modem is the Motorola Surfboard S86120. Is that one of the modems that contributes to this problem in your experience?

     

    Thanks again, will follow up.

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Feb 21, 2016 9:17 AM in response to Gene Surber
    Level 9 (54,684 points)
    Wireless
    Feb 21, 2016 9:17 AM in response to Gene Surber

    Thanks for the updates. Keep us posted and be sure to ask for any additional assistance if you need it.

     

    As far as your SB6120. It is the SB6141, in particular, but just about any in the SB61NN series have been reported as having incompatibility issues with the AirPort base stations. Again, neither are bad in themselves, they just don't "play nice" together. The most common complaint is inconsistent Internet connectivity or less than expected download/upload speeds ... so, yes, your modem may be a culprit. Streaming from the Internet to either your Apple TV or Sony Blu-ray player could potentially be impacted. However streaming from a local media host to either of these devices should NOT be affected because of this.

  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Feb 21, 2016 10:47 AM in response to Tesserax
    Level 2 (243 points)
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    Feb 21, 2016 10:47 AM in response to Tesserax

    I have the old Airport Extreme up and running and checked it out. I just did everything that we usually do on devices in the television room -- turned on the Blu-ray player let Amazon and Netflix run for a bit, then went to Apple TV and ran Netflix and streamed both a movie from my iPad as well as one over the internet. I came back up and checked Airport Utility and the new Extreme remains recognized.

     

    I'm praying that my issue was as simple as telling IPV6 to "link local only," but things rarely turn out this simple :-( Keeping my fingers crossed though!

     

    I have looked at the "Motorola Model MB7420 16x4 686 Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Certified by Comcast" on Amazon that sells for $89.99 as a possible replacement modem if things continue as they have been, but I'm loathe to buy another modem when this one appears to be working... it is always a hassle to get it set up... calling the cable company, etc.

     

    We have another Apple TV in our bedroom upstairs where I connected the old Airport Extreme as extending the network. Prior to connecting it, that Apple TV only had 4 bars on the network... after doing so, it was showing to be at full strength. But, strangely, in the Apple Utility diagram, the old Extreme showed dots demonstrating it was extending the New Extreme located in the basement, rather than the Time Capsule which is the main router. After unplugging the New Extreme, the old one upstairs then reset itself to the Time Capsule and when I plugged the New Extreme back in, everything was showing as coming from the Time Capsule as I think it should. I include these details in case they suggest what my issue may actually be.

     

    Another odd thing is that the 5 Ghz network is showing up as choosable on my old iBook which I keep in the TV Room, the iPhones, the iPad, the Mac Mini, and the Mac Pro 5.1. BUT--it does not show up as choosable on the Mac Pro 1,1 (2007 model) that I keep also in the TV room and connects wirelessly. It will only let me select the 2.4 Ghz network. This is all fine, but I find it odd as previously the 5 Ghz network would also show up on that computer. I usually try to have only the devices that stream movies connected to the 5 Ghz network anyway.

     

    As it stands, I will let things sit as they are for a couple of days before plugging in the Airport Express again and go from there. Thanks again.

  • by Gene Surber,

    Gene Surber Gene Surber Mar 12, 2016 4:09 PM in response to Tesserax
    Level 2 (243 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 12, 2016 4:09 PM in response to Tesserax

    It has been several weeks, and so far, the New Airport Extreme has gone down only once. The old Airport Extreme that I have to extend the wireless network in the bedroom now has not gone down a single time.

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Mar 13, 2016 11:11 AM in response to Gene Surber
    Level 9 (54,684 points)
    Wireless
    Mar 13, 2016 11:11 AM in response to Gene Surber

    It looks like you have a pretty steady extended network now ... so it will up to you if you think you really need the AirPort Express to reintroduce it back into the network. Ideally, you would want to add it to the roaming network by using an Ethernet connection, if possible. Otherwise you would need to configure it to extend the current roaming network.