Can't see Extreme station from mac, but I can from Windows

Question

Level 1

5 points

Can't see Extreme station from mac, but I can from Windows

Hi. I've got an iMac 400 slotloading with OS X 10.2.8 installed.

The version of the AirPort Admin Utility on the mac is 3.1.1. It cannot see the AirPort Extreme station.

My WinXP Pro can see it. It has the AirPort Admin Utility 4.2 installed.

The base station has firmware 5.6. I don't think that the mac 3.1.1 utility can recognize the extreme station any longer because of its firmware. According to the docs, it works with 5.1 firmware.

If I wanted to get the 5.1 firmware and reinstall it, where would I get it? I can't seem to find it in the downloads.

If I install the 5.1 firmware, would my PC admin utiltiy continue to work with the base station?

Thanks,
Doug

Posted on Oct 12, 2005 8:06 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Henry B.

Level 9

78,713 points

Oct 12, 2005 9:09 PM in response to Doug Baker

Airport Extreme firmware version 5.5.1 - which incidentally is far more stable than version 5.6 which Apple has pulled from its web site - is available at:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/airportextremefirmware551formacosx.html

The Airport Admin Utility for Windows will work just fine with firmware version 5.5.1 installed on your Base Station.

Reply

Answer 2

Doug Baker Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 13, 2005 9:51 AM in response to Henry B.

Thanks, Henry, for the link.

Unfortunately, firmware version 5.5.1 requires that I have 10.3, and I have 10.2.8 on my machine. According to Apple's compatability table, I'll need version 5.1.1, and I haven't been able to find that on the site.

Reply

Answer 3

Henry B.

Level 9

78,713 points

Oct 13, 2005 9:58 AM in response to Doug Baker

You only need one computer to configure the Base Station - and since you can easily do this from your PC, you really don't need to be able to do it from your Mac as well. I suggest you stop worrying about this, leave your Base Station running with the current firmware version, and use your PC if you ever need to make a configuration change.

Note that NO Base Station software needs to be installed on the Mac, for the Mac to be able to connect wirelessly to the Base Station. If your Mac is currently unable to establish a wireless connection to the Base Station, you have a different problem - and one that won't be solved by installing the Airport Admin Utility or downgrading firmware on the Base Station. Incidentally - what type of wireless security are you using on the Base Station - WEP or WPA? A base station configured to use WPA security will only be accessible by a Mac running at least MacOS 10.3.

Reply

Answer 4

Doug Baker Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 13, 2005 10:10 AM in response to Henry B.

My problem is that the mac can't see the base station at all. I connect to it through the Ethernet cable because the mac does not have an airport card. I used to be able to see the station and surf the net through it, but lost the ability some time ago, and I'm not certain why. Now I can only surf the web via the mac when I connect directly to the DSL modem.

Reply

Answer 5

Henry B.

Level 9

78,713 points

Oct 13, 2005 10:53 AM in response to Doug Baker

Understood - and in that case, there is a network configuration problem on that specific Mac. As I indicated above, installing software or downgrading firmware won't fix an issue like this.

On the Mac, take a look in System Preferences->Network->Show ethernet built in->TCP/IP tab. Confirm it is set to "configure using DHCP".

Reply

Answer 6

Doug Baker Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 13, 2005 12:02 PM in response to Henry B.

OK. That's done it. Thanks Henry.

Reply