Comcast "traffic management" blocks Extend mode of AirPort Express 'n' ???

Thanks for your inputs. Where to begin?

Todd, I would not expect anyone to have read all 223 posts on this thread 🙂 ; however, to the best of my recollection, there have been over 30 Comcast users that have posted on this thread, and with the exception of Randy, NONE have been able to access ANY sites on the Internet with an Express extending an Extreme or with an Extreme extending a TC, regardless of whether or not password security was enabled. The only way Comcast users have been able to access the Internet in the Extend mode is with an Express extending a TC, or with an Extreme extending another Extreme, and those users have had complete access to the Internet, regardless of whether or not password security was enabled.

There have also been over 10 non Comcast users that have posted on this thread, and when operating in the Extend mode, ALL have been able to access at least SOME sites on the Internet, if not all sites, some with password security enabled, and others only without password security enabled.

So, without making any attempt to explain this phenomenon, I can say with some assurance that there are definitely two different boats here, Comcast users and non Comcast users.

Todd, if you were a Comcast user, here is what I would try. Use your Express to extend, or be extended by, your TC, preferably (but not necessarily) in 5 GHz n-only mode with WPA2 password security enabled, and then hardwire your Extreme to your Express or TC via Ethernet and use it to Create a separate, differently named, n-b/g compatible network, again with WPA2 password security enabled. The two networks will function together as one local network, and any clients of one base will have complete access to any clients of the same or any other base, and all clients will have full Internet access. However, since you are not a Comcast user, I do not know whether the above setup will work for you.

Batman, as a Comcast user, to date there are only two solutions for you to access the Internet in extend mode: (1) replace your Express with a second Extreme and use it to extend, or be extended by, your first Extreme, or (2) replace your Extreme with a TC and use it to extend, or be extended by, your Express. If you cannot return your replaced base for a refund, then hardwire it via Ethernet to one of the other bases in your network, and use it to Create a second, differently named, network that will function together with the first network as a single local network. I've been using option (1) for over a month, and it works perfectly. I have my first Extreme being extended by my second Extreme in 5 GHz n-only mode with WPA2 password security enabled, and I have my Express hardwired to my second Extreme via Ethernet for the purpose of Creating a second network that is n-b/g compatible.

Hope that helps. Please let us know how it all works out.

Message was edited by: GARYsParries

Randy, the 'Extend' mode is unique to 'n' devices, so you must have been using the WDS mode with your Express 'g', which, as you know, works perfectly fine with both 'n' and 'g' Expresses, just not at 'n' speeds.

Todd, we could go back and forth ad infinitum on the cause of this Extend mode problem. It certainly is possible, and even plausible, that the root cause is the same for both Comcast users and non Comcast users, and that this same cause is producing two distinct sets of symptoms depending on whether you are or are not a Comcast user, and that it is just a mere coincidence that Comcast employs 'traffic management' while FIOS and most others do not. All I am trying to do is find workarounds to the problem. And besides, I would never argue with anyone who has read every post on this thread. 🙂

So, with that in mind, I would be interested to see if the same solutions that work for Comcast users also work for non Comcast users (we already know that the reverse is not true, namely, disabling password protection does not resolve the problem for Comcast users, only for non Comcast users ... and Randy). If you try using your Express to extend your TC in 5 GHz mode with WPA2 password protection enabled, and it works, that would certainly bolster your argument of one boat vs. two. 🙂

Message was edited by: GARYsParries

Todd, now that you have verified that using an Express rather than an Extreme to extend your TC resolves your FIOS Internet access problem completely, your theory of a root cause to the problem is looking better and better all the time.

I just tried putting my second Extreme (the one that extends my first Extreme) in the Join mode, but I got the same 'brick' effect that you got, and had to manually reset the base. I guess that is why they do not normally include 'Join' in the Extreme's Wireless Mode pull-down menu. 🙂

One other thing I might mention. Before I switched to the 5 GHz mode, I had big problems with the wireless connection to my iMac in the basement due to poor signal-to-noise ratio. However, once I switched to 5 GHz mode, the connection became rock solid, and I have had no problems ever since. I realize that 5 GHz does not penetrate walls as well as 2.4 GHz, but in my case, the reduced noise at 5 GHz more than compensated for that.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your setup.

Dis, I guess no one has updated yet, but don't hold your breath. I think the solution to this problem is going to involve an Airport firmware update ... at a minimum.

Jseg, I am not sure what you are asking. I currently have no problem using Comcast to access Google.com in the Extend mode with WPA2 password protection enabled. Do you still want me to try with password protection disabled?