donhertz
Level 1 (9 points)
Wireless

Q: Airport wired connections do not work, wireless does

I have an Airport Extreme running the latest firmware.  Wired ethernet connections to the Airport are not working.  All wireless connections work fine.  The error is different depending on the device trying to connect but usually is something regarding "unable to contact DNS" or "can't locate gateway."  I'm guessing it has something to do with my hardware set up, (although it did work at one point), but I'm no networking expert so not sure what to check.  Here's my set up:

 

Signal comes in to a Cisco cable modem (supplied by the cable company - Charter) The Airport is connected to that.

A single ethernet cable runs from the Airport to a wall jack.  That wall jack comes out in the basement near my entertainment center.  There is an 8-port Netgear switch connected to that jack behind my entertainment center.  All of my various entertainment devices are connected to this switch - (TIVO, AppleTV, Playstation, Steambox, and an iMac).  None of these devices can connect through ethernet, but wireless will work (although the signal is weak and performance is slow.)

 

I swapped out the Netgear switch, but that didn't fix it.  I've tested all of my ethernet cables with a cable tester, and they are all good.

 

On a few occasions, when I've powered off everything and powered it back on again (switch, Airport, and modem included) everything suddenly work.  But after a short while (maybe an hour, sometimes more?) they all fail and I have to switch back to Wireless.  At one point, I went into my TIVO and set it up with a manual address and changed the DNS servers to Google's public addresses (this was a shot in the dark on my part).  It worked and I thought I'd fixed the problem, but then the next day I noticed it could no longer connect again and any attempts to get it to connect since then have failed.

 

Any idea what's going on?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Don

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 1:34 PM

Close
donhertz

Q: Airport wired connections do not work, wireless does

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Sep 26, 2016 1:52 PM in response to donhertz
    Level 9 (52,675 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 26, 2016 1:52 PM in response to donhertz

    How old is your airport extreme? This is typical of failing power supply in a Gen 4 or Gen 5. It might be either the external supply which is easy to replace or internal which means you need to buy another router.

     

    Test by powering off the AE overnight.. if you find it works cold for an hour or so and then fades away as it heats up you can be pretty sure it is AE to blame.

     

    Same problem for some older Netgear switches.. if it is a few years old just replace it.. they had a bad batch of capacitors go through.. easy to google..

    eg http://www.mccambridge.org/blog/2008/04/howto-fix-a-broken-netgear-gs108/

     

    For most people a switch is a $30 or less purchase so why bother.. but I am a DIYer who hates ewaste.

     

    Lastly it could be the ethernet cord.. if this is a proper cabler installed in the wall with wall plates.. the punch connections can sometimes go bad.. or patch cables go bad.. but your symptoms sound more hardware to me.

     

    The connectivity lights on the switch and the AE will give you some idea if the ethernet cabling is to blame but you need a proper network tester to be sure.. they are expensive.. although a computer on each end with no switch or router and fixed IP should give you gigabit and transfer files with zero error bits.

  • by donhertz,

    donhertz donhertz Sep 26, 2016 2:27 PM in response to LaPastenague
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 26, 2016 2:27 PM in response to LaPastenague

    It's a 5th gen Airport Extreme.  I'll try the power off test overnight.

     

    Shouldn't be the cord.  I own a proper cord tester (I make my own cords) and they all test out okay.

     

    Thanks again.

     

    Don