Level 1

10 points

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

In another thread, I posted that I was unable to access the Internet using my AirPort Express 'n' to Extend my AirPort Extreme 'n'. With the AirPort Express 'n' in the Extend mode, computers connected to it, either wirelessly or via the Ethernet port, were unable to access the Internet, even though the Network preferences of the computer showed that it had a valid IP address, and the Network preferences Diagnostics indicated that the connection appeared to be working correctly and showed all green status lights. This problem occurred only in the Extend mode of an AirPort Express 'n', and regardless of whether the AirPort Extreme 'n' being extended was in the 5.0 GHz 'n' only mode, the 2.4 GHz 'n' only mode, or the 'n' (b/g compatible) mode. Both AirPorts were running the latest firmware version 7.3.1, all IP and DNS information was verified to be correct, and OpenDNS addresses were tried with no effect on the problem.

In this previous thread, three other people reported the same problem with the same symptoms, and two people reported that they were NOT having the problem and that they WERE able to access the Internet with their AirPort Express 'n' in the Extend mode. Of the people reporting the same problem, ALL reported that their ISP was Comcast. Of the people reporting that their Extend mode WAS working, ALL reported that their ISP was NOT Comcast.

This seemed like too much of a coincidence to ignore, so I have started this thread to see whether or not other people are experiencing the same problem with their AirPort Express 'n' in the Extend mode and to see what ISP they are using.

Here are the results from the previous thread, and I will keep a running total of any new results reported.

People with Comcast ISP whose Extend mode is NOT working --- 4
GARYsParries
devasolomon
Boston Dog
dannym098

People with Comcast ISP whose Extend mode IS working --- 0

People without Comcast ISP whose Extend mode is NOT working --- 0

People without Comcast ISP whose Extend mode IS working --- 2
cardsdoc
MusicMan0725

For those of you that have not been keeping up with the news reports about the Comcast "traffic management" issue, Comcast has been accused by BitTorrent and the FCC of conducting unfair practices to manage their Internet traffic for the purpose of keeping traffic flowing smoothly. As a result, Comcast has agreed to discontinue these practices by the end of 2008.

MacBook Pro 17" Core Duo, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Apr 5, 2008 6:43 AM

237 replies

Apr 22, 2008 5:50 PM in response to kirreip

After many attempts with a TC and Extreme, the only way I could get all 3 machines to connect was through the WDS mode. Apple told me WDS backups to time capsule would be very very slow and may not work. They worked with me for about 2 weeks to get the devices to run at N speed so I could use time machine on all 3 machines. I thought my extreme was deffective, and it still might be. So i bought the new express and called my tech guy to help me set it up. I created a wireless network with the TC N b/g compatable. Allowed to be extended. WPA/WPA2 personel on channel 9. Then I plugged in the new express(N) and configured it to extend the wireless network on the same channel 9 WPA/WPA2 personel and all of a sudden it worked. All three machines are connecting at N speed and are all able to get to the net. Both ATV are working fine and all 3 machines are backing up. I just got this working today, I hope that it'll remain stable. I guess I can use my extreme to either join the network or use it as a paper weight. I can't add more about it, as I'm a technical moron. The Apple people were patient with me as I was patient with them. All devices are with the new firmware, too. All I can suggest is be pesistent and patient, and find a good tier 2 Apple tech to help you work through your situation.

GARYsParries Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 22, 2008 8:46 PM in response to GARYsParries

Scott, it sounds as if you have had a similar experience extending a TC-based network that we have all had extending a non TC-based network, except that, for whatever reason, with the TC-based network, only an Express will extend it, and not an Extreme, whereas with a non TC-based network, only an Extreme will extend it, and not an Express. One thing is for sure, there is absolutely nothing different about your setup that has not already been tried by everyone else ... except, of course, for the fact that you are using a TC. Go figure. 🙂

P.S. FYI, I now have my Extreme-extending-an-Extreme network in the 5.0 GHz n-only mode, and it works great. I have my MacBook Pro 'g' connected via Ethernet to the extending Extreme. I also have my Airport Express 'g' connected via Ethernet to the extending Extreme in order to create a wireless b/g network for when I am roaming around the house with my MacBook Pro, and it also works great.

Apr 24, 2008 5:32 PM in response to GARYsParries

I have a very similar problem on AT&T DSL. I've got an Airport Extreme (n), and an Airport Express (n). If the APX is doing range-extension, then I can't connect to many sites. Curiously, apple.com, cnn.com, and others seem to work fine (with DNS lookup maybe a bit slow), but Google and others are totally broken and take minutes to return if they ever do. With range extension off and the APX acting as just a regular client, then everything is peachy. I've tried manually setting DNS, switching DNS servers, flushing caches and so-forth -- no luck.

I actually have a parallel network of 802.11g APXes that are doing WDS, and that works fine, so it's clearly an 802.11n APX issue.

GARYsParries Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 24, 2008 8:18 PM in response to E.O. Stinson

E.O., this does not sound like the Comcast problem, where the internet is TOTALLY inaccessible; rather, it sounds more like the non-Comcast problem that Kirreip posted, where the internet was only PARTIALLY inaccessible. In that case, Kirreip was able to resolve the problem by running the network without password protection. I am not recommending this as a solution, but you could at least try it temporarily to see if that is the problem.

Message was edited by: GARYsParries

jseg2005

Level 1

40 points

Apr 24, 2008 9:21 PM in response to GARYsParries

EO. Just curious as to whether or not you are still having the issue, I am currently on at&t and I had the same problem in the same geographic region as you. It seems to be working fine now, I think it was actually an att issue. All my pages (google maps being one of them) did not open at all, if you can think of other web pages that gave you trouble I would be interested in finding out. As for the APEX base stations... I will have my two cents on tuesday. I will be doing my tests with a SB5101 modem since I am not one to rent equipment.

kirreip

Level 1

60 points

Apr 25, 2008 7:41 AM in response to GARYsParries

That's right, it seems that E.O. has the same problem as I allready described. How can that be? I mean, some people pretend that it works for them. Could it be a router/modem problem? It is like if there was some IP managment problem or something else. I will someday try another router as the one I've got from my ISP. But then, as described before, I have allready set the AP Extreme to manage my the DHCP thing and nothing helps.
We'll see what Apple can do about it. I mean, if it works with two AP Extreme (as described by GARYsParries), then there must be a problem with the AP express firmware.

Apr 26, 2008 4:52 PM in response to GARYsParries

I'm wondering... Now if I'm using my Netgear Router and I connect my AX to the router via ethernet, and I use the AX to extend the network, would I STILL have problems (again I do have Comcast)?

Apr 26, 2008 5:07 PM in response to GARYsParries

I've been following this thread closely as I have a very similar problem:

I've had Comcast internet and an Airport Extreme N (in Living Room) working perfectly for a few months.

About a week ago I bought a Time Capsule and successfully set it up to extend my network in another room (Office). The network functions perfectly, as I have backed up to time capsule daily now (from both the living room and office).

When I take my macbook air into the living room and wake it up, everything works perfectly... internet, network, everything.

BUT when I put the MBA to sleep and then take it into the office and wake it up, it successfully joins the network and can access all network resources EXCEPT the internet. Any attempt at loading a site, times out.

So basically the problem is the same... when connected through the living room airport express everything is great, but when connected through the office's time capsule, internet doesn't work.

Apple tech support said "hmm thats weird" then told me that Time Capsule had to be the main base station, and the Extreme had to be the extender. Followed their advice and switched the two. Same as before, expect inversed. Connecting to the Time Capsule (now in living room) works fine, but connecting to the Extreme (in the office) internet fails (while the rest of the network functions).

The the ****! this is driving me INSANE.

Apr 26, 2008 6:53 PM in response to stevecorby

Just spent the past 2 hours with a product specialist at Apple...

its seems the problem I'm having (which I identical to everyone else's) is a firmware bug involving WPA2 security. They've flagged the issue with the software development team, but no word on how long until a new firmware update is issued.

Removing all security from the network should allow internet to work... though completely unprotected...

GARYsParries Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 26, 2008 8:05 PM in response to GARYsParries

Steve, welcome to the club. The WPA2 security bug theory jives with some of the experiences on this thread, but I seem to recall the same problem when I switched to WEP security. I am not sure if I ever tried no security, but I am absolutely sure that my Extreme-extending-an-Extreme network is working just fine on Comcast with WPA2 security. 🙂

Anyway, it is very encouraging to hear that Apple thinks they have a handle on the problem.

Sal, I don't think the setup you have proposed will work, but it is certainly easy enough to try.

Apr 27, 2008 12:50 AM in response to jseg2005

I tried turning extending back on today and had the same problem - completely unable to connect to Google, and other things are spotty/slow if they work at all, so nothing's fixed here. Haven't yet tried running unsecured, but I've tried WEP and had the same problem.

Apr 27, 2008 5:38 PM in response to GARYsParries

you are correct, the problem does persist with WAP security also. Going with no security is the only way around the issue right now...

Apple is supposed to follow up with me on wednesday.. i'll keep you posted as to what they say.

Apr 28, 2008 2:44 PM in response to stevecorby

so we have narrowed the problem to only occurring when the network has some sort of security?

GARYsParries Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 28, 2008 6:59 PM in response to dannym098

Not so sure about that, Danny. To the best of my knowledge, there has been no Comcast user that has reported successful Internet access for clients of an Express-extending-an-Extreme, even without any security. It has been a few weeks since I returned my Express, but I do seem to remember trying that scenario ... unsuccessfully.

May 3, 2008 4:51 PM in response to GARYsParries

Hi,

I thought I would add my expreience. I have a WPA54G linksys wireless router, It got flaky one day so my son bought an airport extreme. I spent days trying to get it to work with no luck. The only time I could get it to work was when I used it in extend mode. Then it got all it network settings from my linksys. I didnt even try the wireless setup because I didnt want to use it in that mode. So I am returning the extreme until it will work out of the box.
thanks
-bob

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