GABarber

Q: Airport Extreme and Cox Internet IPv6 Problem

This is a notification to others as well as a question:

 

I have Cox Cable High Speed Internet at several locations using an Airport Extreme 3GB connected as a router to the Cox cable modem.

 

For more than a week we would regularly find in the morning that the outside connection to the internet DNS servers were lost.  We called Cox several times, and they performed the usual reset of router and modem and things seem to work for a while.  But the next day gone again.

 

They came out and replaced the hookups, I I had to buy a new cable modem and replaced a digital switch.  Each time things seemed to work for a while.

 

I thought about replacing the Airport Extreme (as I read others had done in a similar situation to no avail).

 

After much frustration, I started to search for Airport Extreme and DNS and found similar tales.

 

After several unproductive calls with Cox Internet first tier support, I finally reached a tier who acknowledged that Cox was rolling out IPv6 and was having a problem with Airport Extreme Routers.  They said Apple was working on it and gave me a number to call at apple router support.  Unfortunalely the number they gave was no longer valid.


I persisted and eventually got to Apple support and indeed they knew of the problem and said Cox was working on it.. But there was a temporary fix - and that was to turn off iPv6 on the airport extreme (more precisely (internet > Internet Options > Configure Ipv6 : Link-Local Only).

 

For now this seemed to stop the overnight drop that seems to happen between 12:00 AM and 2:00 AM.  From experience I dont think its really an IPV6 compaibility issue, but how the router responds to some sort of reset signal/test signal that the service does in the early morning.

 

So the question is - does anybody know for sure whats going on or who is really working on this.  From my perspective both camps think its the other's problem.  BTW - Ive read about others with Non Apple routers chasing something similar.

Posted on Mar 2, 2016 9:07 PM

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Q: Airport Extreme and Cox Internet IPv6 Problem

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  • by Tom380,

    Tom380 Tom380 Jun 5, 2016 7:28 PM in response to askin6305B
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 5, 2016 7:28 PM in response to askin6305B

    Cable Modem Mac address: D4:0A:A9:00:3F:51 The modem is an Arris SB6190.

     

    Let me add recent observations for your use. I am located in Orange County, CA.  Last night about 8pm PDT I lost IPv6 connectivity, however, I did maintain IPv4 connectivity, download/upload speeds were not affected.  This morning about 8am PDT, I still had IPv4 connectivity, however, speeds were approximately half of normal value.  Around 1pm PDT today IPv6 connectivity was re-esablished and has continued.   I did not have to re-set the modem or the Airport Extreme. However, download/upload speed continues to be about half normal value. 

     

    Since I upgraded the Airport Extreme to the new firmware, the modem and Airport do not need to be re-set to regain internet access when IPv6 connectivity is lost.  It appears it defaults to IPv4 with no action on my part.  Likewise, when IPv6 is regained, the modem and airport automatically re-establish the connection with no action on my part.  The firmware update appears to have corrected the problem where I had to re-set the modem or Airport manually, which I had been experiencing since April.

     

    Hope this is useful information.

  • by OCRamón,

    OCRamón OCRamón Jun 5, 2016 7:34 PM in response to askin6305B
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 5, 2016 7:34 PM in response to askin6305B

    Bingo #2!  Sometime in the last 45 minutes (currently 1930 PDT) ipv6 went down again.  WAN ipv6 address appears to be unchanged according to Airport Utility(see my previous post).  However I am back to 0/10 on the test.

     

    I'll leave it this way for a while to see if ipv6 comes back...

  • by I_Dont_Want_A_Username,

    I_Dont_Want_A_Username I_Dont_Want_A_Username Jun 5, 2016 8:04 PM in response to OCRamón
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 5, 2016 8:04 PM in response to OCRamón

    Would be good to see a user with an older Airport Extreme/TC that uses the 7.6.7 firmware report their experience.  For me, it didn't work and I gave up - switched to a Netgear router.  But I'm still curious to see if anyone has one working (say a mid-2011 model) with the "new" Cox services.  Fortunately the $140 or so it cost to replace the router was not a budget-breaker for me, but someone else might feel differently.  Cox DID break what was working before, after all.

  • by Gino_Cerullo,

    Gino_Cerullo Gino_Cerullo Jun 5, 2016 9:08 PM in response to I_Dont_Want_A_Username
    Level 3 (567 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 5, 2016 9:08 PM in response to I_Dont_Want_A_Username

    I_Dont_Want_A_Username, now that you have the Netgear router have you been testing your IPv6 connectivity at the IPv6 test sites? I'm curious to know if your IPv6 connectivity is staying up consistently or if it goes down occasionally like it does for AirPort router users but you haven't noticed because it does not affect performance.

     

    Can you run the IPv6 tests occasionally on the IPv6 test sites and let us know if it goes down.

     

    http://test-ipv6.com/

    http://ipv6-test.com/

  • by starhopper,

    starhopper starhopper Jun 5, 2016 11:00 PM in response to starhopper
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Jun 5, 2016 11:00 PM in response to starhopper


    Gino - when I enable the "Block Incoming IPv6 Connections" button, my score goes down to 16/20 on the test because it fails the ICMP test.  When I disable the "Block Incoming IPv6 Connections" button, it goes back up to 19/20.  So, I disabled it.

  • by CromeYellow,

    CromeYellow CromeYellow Jun 5, 2016 11:08 PM in response to starhopper
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 5, 2016 11:08 PM in response to starhopper

    I'd like to hear from someone at Cox or Apple what the correct or best setting is for this "Block Incoming IPv6 Connections," including for those of us who do not care to enable firewall in general.

     

    Online there is nothing definitive.

     

    As far as Firewall in general, most discussions end with something like "In summary, a firewall isn’t really necessary on a typical Mac desktop, just as it isn’t really necessary on a typical Ubuntu Linux desktop. It could potentially lead to more hassle with setting up certain network services. But, if you feel more comfortable with it on, you’re free to enable it!"

  • by CromeYellow,

    CromeYellow CromeYellow Jun 5, 2016 11:11 PM in response to CromeYellow
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 5, 2016 11:11 PM in response to CromeYellow

     

     

    askin6305B

     

    what say ye?

     

     

     

    Hello askin6305B

     

    I have the latest Time Capsule hard wired ethernet to a Netgear CM400 cable modem.  The TC is then ethernet hard wired to a latest model iMac.  I also have three latest model Airport Extremes set around the property, set to "Extend a Wireless Network."  Over all setup is like this:

     

    AP_utility.jpg

    Where the bottom AP Extr is the farthest one away, and appears to bridge / extend off the one above it.

     

    I updated all four devices to 7.7.7 several days ago.

     

    Then I changed from local link to ipv6 "automatically" on the TC, and checked the box to "Enable iPv6 Connection Sharing" and also checked the box under Network options to "Block Incoming ipv6 connections" and "allow incoming IPsec authentication."  I allowed the system to fill in automatically the Cox DNS servers for ipv4 and ipv6.

     

    IPv6_setting.jpg

    IPv6_setting2.jpg

    IPv6_setting3.jpg

     

    On the three Airport Extremes, they were set under Wireless to "Extend a wireless network" and under Internet / Internet Options for all three Airports, "Enable IPv6 Connection Sharing was" UNchecked (not checked).

     

    Initially under this setting I was getting the 10/10 http://www.test-ipv6.com/  here on all devices, iMac hard wired, iPhone 6 plus via WiFi, other iMacs via WiFi, Ipads, everything:

     

    ipv6test.jpg

     

    but during this same period, on the iMacs, both hard wired and via WiFi, I would get these results on the other test http://ipv6-test.com/:

    ipv6test2.jpg

     

    However with WiFi iOS devices (iPhone / iPads), I was getting 19/20 on the above test.  I never could figure out why the iMacs were getting only 16/20.

     

    Speedtest.net showed good speed (above the advertised 150/10 I am supposed to get on my premier plan) on the ethernet wired iMac.  Speeds varied via WiFi, but everything worked.

     

    HOWEVER, about 24-26 hours later, internet stopped working on the iMacs - the ethernet hard wired one, and the two iMacs connected via WiFi.

    Airport Utility showed all green lights on all four devices. Network / Assist Me / Diagnostics, on the iMacs showed all green lights and "Your Internet connection appears to be working correctly."  Review of the Network / Advanced / TCP/IP didn't show anything remarkable to me.

        Error I was getting on the iMacs was when trying to use a browser - no connectivity no sites loading.

     

    AT THE SAME TIME, an iPad and 6 plus iPhone connected via WiFi were working fine! with speedtest app coming in at decent speeds.


    A restart of the modem and Time Capsule, resolved all errors, but ONLY for another 24-36 hours when I experienced the exact same issue - inability to load any websites on the iMacs (both ethernet and WiFi iMacs unable to load any websites on browsers), but the iOS devices (iPhone and iPads, via WiFi) were working fine.


    Since I was unable to load any websites on the iMacs (both ethernet and WiFi iMacs), I could not do any tests other than the Network / Assist Me / Diagnostics, which, again, showed all green lights and "Your Internet connection appears to be working correctly." Review again of the Network / Advanced / TCP/IP didn't show anything remarkable to me.



    Because of trying twice to keep things going with ipv6 enabled, I gave up and reverted to "link-local only" setting again on the Time Capsule, with no changes on the Airport Extremes.  This link local status keeps me going indefinitely with no reduction in speed, and no connectivity issues on any devices.

  • by MacProblemsInSoCal,

    MacProblemsInSoCal MacProblemsInSoCal Jun 5, 2016 11:58 PM in response to I_Dont_Want_A_Username
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 5, 2016 11:58 PM in response to I_Dont_Want_A_Username

    I have this version of the AEBS and as of today I have still been experiencing issues for the past two weeks.  I upgraded to 7.6.7 on June 3rd, but it has been no help.  I've been following this thread the past two days hoping that someone else might still be experiencing the same issues even after the updates and might have a solution. What I have been doing is when the connection goes out, I alternate between local-link only or native in the internet options and it resumes working for a few hours. I'm in Orange County as well.  Today was the longest it worked without an interruption going pretty much the whole day, but about an hour ago my connection became really slow while on native.  I've done that test when my settings are on native and I've received 19/20.

  • by sunjon,

    sunjon sunjon Jun 6, 2016 5:09 AM in response to CromeYellow
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 6, 2016 5:09 AM in response to CromeYellow

    Crome,

     

    A few things to check on your iMacs, if you haven't already, since they seem to have more iPv6 and general connectivity issues than other devices:

     

    • Are you running current version of OS X on iMacs?
    • Have you tried different browsers?  Current version of software for each?   Safari has had some reported issues with IPv6
    • OS X has IPv6 settings too -- check System Preferences, Network, TCP/IP - you'll see settings similar to those on AE router
    • Do you have OS X firewall enabled on the iMacs (System Preferences, Security and Privacy, Firewal on/off;   if firewall is On, advanced settings provides Stealth Mode option, which conflicts with part of the IPv6 protocol.)

     

    Casual web search shows that Apple users have reported IPv6 issues in all of these areas over the past couple of years.

  • by YatBob,

    YatBob YatBob Jun 6, 2016 5:19 AM in response to OCRamón
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Jun 6, 2016 5:19 AM in response to OCRamón

    I also experienced the 12 hour loss of ipv6, except this time I also lost ipv4 and had to reboot the modem

  • by YatBob,

    YatBob YatBob Jun 6, 2016 5:22 AM in response to sunjon
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Jun 6, 2016 5:22 AM in response to sunjon

    I'm not crome but those items have been mention before and I have verified each one including changing browser and it did not help me

  • by Gino_Cerullo,

    Gino_Cerullo Gino_Cerullo Jun 6, 2016 5:44 AM in response to starhopper
    Level 3 (567 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 6, 2016 5:44 AM in response to starhopper

    starhopper, check the settings on the personal firewall on your Mac.

     

    Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall > Firewall Options…

     

    "Enable stealth mode" should be unchecked. Before you test again, make sure you enable the firewall in the Apple Airport router.

     

    Screen Shot 2016-06-06 at 8.26.14 AM.png

     

    As I posted earlier, Stealth mode prevents a reply from ICMP ECHO_REQUESTs. For IPv6 to work properly it requires ICMPv6 ECHO_REQUESTs to receive a reply. So devices/computers that have a stealth mode option, it should be disable if you want IPv6 to work properly.

  • by I_Dont_Want_A_Username,

    I_Dont_Want_A_Username I_Dont_Want_A_Username Jun 6, 2016 6:28 AM in response to Gino_Cerullo
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 6, 2016 6:28 AM in response to Gino_Cerullo

    Gino, Since replacing the mid-2011 Apple router/TC with the Netgear R6400, we've had no downtime, outages, or error messages on any devices (three macs, two iphone, ipad, sonos, apple TV, Roku, two NAS, printer, etc.), except the Apple TV (gen 3) which required a restart.  (Not unusual.)  Response time to DNS queries is fast using Google's public DNS service.  IPv6test.com results show: 17/20.  Test-ipv6.com results show 10/10.  I am in Santa Barbara Cox service area.  One side observation is that having QoS has greatly improved the quality of Vonage VoIP calls, which I use primarily for work teleconferencing.  I missed not having QoS on the Apple router and thought that having 35-60 down/6 up Mbps service would always provide enough bandwidth for a high quality VoIP call, but it doesn't.  QoS has fixed that issue.  Have not had to reboot anything since installation.

     

    I'm still watching this thread with interest and hoping all the issues are eventually resolved, which benefits us all.

  • by Gino_Cerullo,

    Gino_Cerullo Gino_Cerullo Jun 6, 2016 6:36 AM in response to I_Dont_Want_A_Username
    Level 3 (567 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 6, 2016 6:36 AM in response to I_Dont_Want_A_Username

    I_Dont_Want_A_Username, thanks for the update, glad everything is working out for you.

     

    Just out of curiosity, on the IPv6test.com where you only got a 17/20, other than the Hostname test which will always fail, which other tests failed?

  • by I_Dont_Want_A_Username,

    I_Dont_Want_A_Username I_Dont_Want_A_Username Jun 6, 2016 6:54 AM in response to Gino_Cerullo
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 6, 2016 6:54 AM in response to Gino_Cerullo

    On the 17/20 test, besides the hostname fail, ICMPv6 is being filtered by the Netgear device, "1. Reconfigure your Firewall: Your router or firewall is filtering ICMPv6 messages sent to your computer. An IPv6 host that cannot receive ICMP messages may encounter problems like some web pages loading partially or not at all." and "2. Get a Reverse DNS Record: There is no reverse DNS record to associate your IPv6 address with a host name. Reverse DNS records are required by some Internet protocols and are usually managed at the ISP level."

     

    My guess (just a guess)  is the first issue is because the Netgear router setting for NAT Filtering is set to Secure rather than Open.

    NAT Filtering

    This option determines how the router deals with inbound traffic. The Secured option provides a secured firewall to protect the PCs on LAN from attacks from the Internet, but it may cause some Internet games, point-to-point applications, or multimedia applications not to work. The Open option, on the other hand, provides a much less secured firewall, while it allows almost all Internet applications to work.

     

    I haven't run into an issue yet where I would need to try Open to see if it fixed it.  I don't see any other settings in the Netgear router that specifically address ICMP.

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