airport express cannot be found by my iMac after a reset.

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airport express cannot be found by my iMac after a reset.

I visited the Apple Store to ask how my airport express, which I use only for streaming iTunes, could provide a better range as it only worked in the same room as my iMac. I was told to perform a reset and start again. I have done that and now all I get is a flashing amber light and no connection. I would welcome any help.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Dec 2, 2009 9:57 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 2, 2009 10:02 AM in response to rousdon

The AirPort Express(n) can "extend a wireless network" if the wireless network has been created by another Apple(n) router such as a Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme(n) or another AirPort Express(n).

Can you confirm:

1) That you have another Apple router that is creating your wireless network, and

2) Both your main router and the Express are "n" devices?

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Answer 2

rousdon Author

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Dec 2, 2009 12:29 PM in response to Bob Timmons

My main router is a Netgear. I do not know what a "n" device is. The airport express worked at first but only over a short distance. It is only since an Apple genius told me to reset and reinstall the airport express that the problem has occurred. I do not want to upset the settings on my Netgear router under any circumstances. They told me at Apple that the airport should work over a much larger area which is why they told me to reset. My iPod touch connects to the router over a distance twice as long as I wanted the airport to. I am just trying to play my iTunes library over my home cinema system in my sitting room about 25 feet from my study. Do you think the Airport is faulty, it still has 11 months of its guarantee.

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Answer 3

Dec 2, 2009 1:11 PM in response to rousdon

Thank you for the clarification.

I may have misunderstood your original question. If you are asking if your AirPort Express can "extend" or "boost" the wireless signal from your Netgear router, the answer is that it is not compatible for this purpose.

The AirPort Express will only "extend" or "boost" a wireless network if it has been created by another Apple router.

Your Express can "Join" the wireless network that your Netgear router is broadcasting and you will be able to use it to stream iTunes as you have done before.

Perhaps the Apple person was suggesting that you reset the device to erase its current settings and try to reconfigure it again. If the Express is located 25-30 feet from your Netgear, it should receive a strong enough wireless signal to operate correctly if there are not too many walls or other obstructions between the Netgear and the AirPort Express. Cordless phones can also cause interference issues if they are located near a wireless device.

It would have been helpful if the genius had provided you with more information about how to do this. Perhaps he did and you did not mention this. I have attached the Setup Guide for your reference.

To reset the device, make sure it is powered up. Hold in the reset button with an unfolded paperclip or similar object until the amber light begins to blink quickly. Hold it another few seconds and release the reset button.

Now you are ready to reconfigure the AirPort Express using AirPort Utility. This is located as follows: Hard Drive > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility. Follow the guided setup to configure your AirPort Express to "join" an existing wireless network. You will choose the network that the Netgear is broadcasting and enter the password normally required to join your network.

If the AirPort Express still does not perform reliably, then I would suspect that you either have a defective device or the Express is located where it is not receiving a strong enough wireless signal. You can test the signal strength if you have a laptop handy by trying to log onto the internet at the same general location as the AirPort Express. If your computer works well at that location, that is an indication that you have adequate signal strength for the AirPort Express to function correctly.

Please post back on your findings.

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Answer 4

Dec 2, 2009 1:46 PM in response to rousdon

I meant to add that if AirPort Utility is not locating the AirPort Express after you reset the device, it will usually help to temporarily connect an ethernet cable from your computer to the AirPort Express. Once you have the Express configured, you can move it back to the desired location.

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Answer 5

rousdon Author

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Dec 2, 2009 2:25 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks for your help. I have got the set up guide, but thanks for sending me the link, I know how to use Airport Utility. I had no problem setting it up originally. My problem is that when I run Airport Utility I get a window telling me no wireless device was found. The Airport is plugged in very close to my router and iMac and is blinking amber. If the device cannot be discovered does it mean that it is faulty? I will try connecting the ethernet cable tomorrow. I have to close down now. In the meantime thanks.

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Answer 6

Dec 2, 2009 8:46 PM in response to rousdon

If AirPort Utility still cannot "see" the Express after you try the reset above, the next step would be to try a Factory Default Reset of the device. To do this, you would:

Power down the Express
Hold in the reset button +and keep holding it in+ as you plug it back in to power
Release the reset button after approximately 8-10 seconds

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Answer 7

rousdon Author

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Dec 3, 2009 4:13 AM in response to Bob Timmons

I have tried the factory reset and then connected the Airport Express with an ethernet cable. On opening the Airport application the device appeared but had an amber light and a message saying that the Apple Device does not have a valid IP address. I am becoming more convinced that the device is faulty. It looks as if I will have to return it for replacement unless you are any other suggestions. The device really isn't worth all the time I have wasted on it.

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Answer 8

Dec 3, 2009 6:07 AM in response to rousdon

Since you performed a Factory Default Reset, which erased the previous settings, the device needs to configured again to function correctly. Follow the guided steps and configure the device to "join" the wireless network that the Netgear is broadcasting.

Click Update to store the settings and move the Express back to its desired location to see if the new settings will allow a better connection.

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Answer 9

rousdon Author

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Dec 3, 2009 9:42 AM in response to Bob Timmons

The problem is that the airport application will not allow me to proceed because it tells me that no Apple Wireless Device can be found. When the device was new set up was simple. The device was plugged in the light changed to green I was asked for my network password and away we went, though the range was very poor. It is only since I performed the factory reset that the device has become not discoverable. The set up procedure cannot be followed if the device cannot be found. When I asked the Apple Genius why the range was so poor he said it could be the device has a fault. I think he could be right. This is the first Apple product I have had that has not worked perfectly and I go back to a Mac Classic, which still works after 20 years!

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Answer 10

Dec 3, 2009 11:50 AM in response to rousdon

If AirPort Utility cannot find the AirPort Express after it has been reset to factory defaults, I'm afraid the device has experienced an internal failure and will need to be replaced. Repairs on the device are not practical as the case must be sawed in half to reveal the internal components.

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Answer 11

rousdon Author

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Dec 7, 2009 1:42 PM in response to Bob Timmons

I have been back to the Apple Store who replaced my Airport Express with a brand new one today. I Have plugged in an audio cable from a Bose system to the Airport as described on page 10 of the Setup Guide and inserted the Airport into a power socket. This one has behaved exactly as the previous one. I had a green light for one second, then a solid amber one for a minute or two then flashing amber. The Airport will not show a green light. If I click on the Airport Icon in the menu bar on the top right of the screen the name of my Netgear router is shown and has a tick beside it. Below is shown Apple Network 9a8fd7 which is not ticked. I do not want to do anything that might mess up my internet connection. When I open the Airport application Base station 9a8fd7 is shown with an amber light. Airport Express found with default settings is displayed. When I click continue another message says, setting up this Apple device require switching networks, switching may interrupt connection to the internet. So I choose the don't switch option because I do not want to risk losing my connection to the internet with my netgear router as that would be a total disaster. The Apple store told me that the Airport would work automatically but it doesn't. Any ideas? If you can give me any help I'd be very grateful.

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Answer 12

Dec 7, 2009 2:37 PM in response to rousdon

+When I click continue another message says, setting up this Apple device require switching networks, switching may interrupt connection to the internet. So I choose the don't switch option because I do not want to risk losing my connection to the internet with my netgear router as that would be a total disaster. The Apple store told me that the Airport would work automatically but it doesn't. Any ideas? If you can give me any help I'd be very grateful.+

The Apple Network 9a8fd7 is the wireless network that AirPort Express is broadcasting. You must select or "switch" to this network so that AirPort Utility will be able to configure the device. If you don't switch, you will not be able to configure the device because there will be no communication between the Express and AirPort Utility.

Once you have the Express configured, you can then switch back to your Netgear network by selecting it again. All you are doing here is temporarily selecting another wireless network, just as if you were logging on to another wirless network at the coffee shop. This will not affect your ability to connect again to the internet with the Netgear router.

Please post on your progress.

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Answer 13

rousdon Author

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Dec 8, 2009 1:48 AM in response to Bob Timmons

I selected the "switch"option you suggested. A window opened allowing me to input a password etc and then I got the following message, "A.E. unable to find Apple wireless device after restarting. the settings have been successfully updated but there was a problem rejoining the wireless network or finding the Apple device. You may need to select your network from the Airport menu and try again".
When I click on the airport icon in the menu bar the AE has disappeared. When I open Airport Utility no wireless devices are to be seen and the only message I get is "Airport utility unable to find any wireless device, make sure the device is plugged in and within range". In short I have gone backwards and the AE is still blinking its amber light at me! At Apple they assured me that all I had to do was plug the AE in wait for the green light and all would work automatically. How can they be so wrong? Apart from throwing the thing in the trash and saying goodbye to my money is there any last thing I can try? Thanks for your help.

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Answer 14

Dec 8, 2009 7:01 AM in response to rousdon

I am at a loss to explain why the exact procedure that I use and others use will not work for you.

A few thoughts:

When the AX "joins" a wireless network. The following items must be exactly the same as your main wireless network.

1) Wireless Network Name on the AX configuration must be the exact name of your wireless network

2) Wireless Security must the exact same settings that you are using on your main router for your wireless network. I suspect this may be the issue. What exact security settings are you using on your main wireless network? They may look like any of the following examples: WEP 128, WEP 40, WPA2, WPA/WPA2. Can you check your main router to see what security level you have it set to provide?

3) Wireless Network Password must be exact password that you use on your main wireless network.

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Answer 15

rousdon Author

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Dec 8, 2009 11:37 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Hi

This afternoon I spent more than an hour on the phone to Apple European Technical help. The first two technicians could not solve the problem. Eventually they passed me to their boss who has got the AE working. He started me off by asking me to perform three consecutive resets whilst the AE was under power. This allowed the manual set up button to become available. Then we deleted some settings three separate times. I can't remember what was done exactly. The WPA/WPA2 setting was changed. My computers have now found the AE but the light continues to blink amber. The man from Apple help told me not to worry about this and it is caused by the AE only being used for iTunes streaming and it will always flash if the AE is not used as a router. I find this constant flashing annoying and it says nothing about that in the Setup Guide. The other small problem is that iTunes keeps dropping out when the AE is more than about 20 feet from my iMac and router. As I bought it to stream iTunes in my Living room this disappoints me. I would not have bought the AE if I had known about its poor range and the incredible problems setting it up. If two Apple Technical Help chaps couldn't do it how do they expect the home user to cope? Would you say I have just been unlucky and do you think it is possible to get the AE to stop flashing? Again thanks for your interest.

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