pranaone

Q: Connecting Mac Pro, AirPort Extreme, and (optionally) Airport Expresses to Xfinity

I was at a client's house, trying to set up wifi and Airport Expresses with xfinity.

 

After unplugging and resetting the modem several times, ensuring I had restarted devices in order and seeing 2 green lights in the Airport Utility, I found out it was only set up for wired, not wireless.

 

Then, I saw options: "Create a wireless network" or "Extend a wireless network". Another 1/2 hour goes by. Couldn't get either to work.

 

Having trouble getting online wirelessly through the AirPort Extreme by itself. Could not get the Airport Expresses to work either. This is his setup:

 

Xfinity internet

Motorola SURFboard SB6120 router

(What looks like) an Apple Mac Pro ‑ Xeon (has 2 ethernet ports in the back - one plugged directly into the AirPort Extreme)

AirPort Extreme Base Station A1521

2 Apple Airport Expresses A1264

[ an older Time Capsule (1 or 2 TB), not being used ]

 

It's a 2 story house. He has network wiring in the walls and outlets upstairs.

 

Mac is running Yosemite, all updates ran, he was advised by a local shop not to upgrade to El Capitan just yet.

 

As mentioned above, I was able to get online with the modem directly and through the AirPort Extreme, that's about it.

 

If I recall correctly, I found the modem IP to be 67.180.200.1, however, after entering in the address bar of a browser, as I've done before, it did not resolve. I could ping it, but did not get the login screen.

 

I followed https://customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support/internet/set-up-xfinity-internet-o n-mac-os-x/. I don't recall a Show menu. I recall "Configure IPv4 menu, select Using DHCP.". I think I did do that. Pretty sure PPPoE was not selected.


Called Comcast around 7 times. Always got a busy.

 

He is using a neighbor's wifi, and his network is not showing, so 'wifi connected' isn't really true. It's not connecting to his own network. Here are images of the screens and the Mac.

 

http://postimg.org/gallery/16rmy1c5e/

 

I go back tomorrow to revisit. Can someone advise what to do?

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Jun 15, 2016 11:32 PM

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Q: Connecting Mac Pro, AirPort Extreme, and (optionally) Airport Expresses to Xfinity

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  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Jun 16, 2016 10:40 AM in response to pranaone
    Level 9 (54,452 points)
    Wireless
    Jun 16, 2016 10:40 AM in response to pranaone

    Motorola SURFboard SB6120 router

    Just so you are aware, we get a lot of post here at the ASC about the Arris / Motorola SB61XX series of modems with the AirPort base stations for either dropped connections or poor Internet data transfer rates. Both of these devices, in themselves, are bad, they just don't "play nice" together.

     

    The other issue we get is related to IPv6. That is, a number of major ISPs are rolling out IPv6, which have also been problematic, specifically with Cox. Comcast has a site specifically around setting up IPv6 with Apple routers that may be helpful in your client's case. You can find it here.

    It's a 2 story house. He has network wiring in the walls and outlets upstairs.

     

    Mac is running Yosemite, all updates ran, he was advised by a local shop not to upgrade to El Capitan just yet.

     

    As mentioned above, I was able to get online with the modem directly and through the AirPort Extreme, that's about it.

     

    With an Ethernet backbone, it sounds like your client would best be served with a roaming type network setup.

     

    One network configuration setup would be:

    • AirPort Extreme directly connected to the modem by Ethernet.
    • All the other base stations would be connected back to the Extreme by Ethernet taking advantage of the home's Ethernet backbone.

     

    This configuration would provide for the best overall bandwidth for both wired and wireless clients.