WDS Error - Airport Wireless device set up as part of a WDS network. . . .

I have exactly the same problem as you. I have a brand new Extreme 'N' in a WDS with an old Airport Express b/g. After a while the WDS is lost. Airport Utility opens saying there is a WDS error and even though the Airport Express shows green on its indicator, it doesn't appear in the Utility.
When I try to reset the Express via the tiny reset button it won't reset unless it is pressed several times. It is as if it is TOTALLY locked.
The whole network then has to be set up again and it will work normally for variable amounts of time - sometimes it happens again after a day or after several weeks.

I have tried setting the radio mode on the Extreme to 802.11a - 802.11 b/g and this seems to hold for the longest time.

Exactly the same problem here with 2 airport expresses as remotes on a wds network. Neither will connect reliably using any type of security. They connect for 5 minutes then disconnect and report errors.

Tried all available firmware from 7.2 to 7.4.2 with same symptoms

Old airport extreme sets up as wds remote on same network with wep security perfectly.

As a last resort, the only way I can get the expresses to work is to disable all security, disable the advertisement of the network, and only allow specific mac addresses to join the wds network - just to prevent any old joblo from joining

The lack of standardization between the airport expresses and extremes, even within the same product range is ridiculous. Using these things for anything beyond "the absolute basics" and expecting them to work reliably is hopeless

Similar problem - first Mac problem I've had in 25 years that's so intractable that I'm making my first forum post (and then probably my first support call to Apple). Unfortunately Fred360's solution isn't going to work for me as I have to have my Expresses in WDS mode, not client mode, to bridge a wired device.

I had an old Airport Extreme b/g (~7 years old) and two Airport Expresses b/g (~5 & 6 years old) set up in a WDS (Extreme as main and both Expresses as Relays). The Expresses are used for AirTunes AND to bridge a wired client (Tivos) to the wireless network. No encryption, running in g-only mode, with latest firmware (which hasn't changed for these old g devices in a couple of years). This worked perfectly for about 5 years, and then a few months ago I started getting the "WDS error..." described above. The only changes to the network at that time were adding two new iPhone 3GS's and a new MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard. The error primarily only affected one of the two Expresses (the slightly more distant one), and swapping the Expresses still generated an error in the same physical location (regardless of which Express was in that location).

Assuming that 7 year old base station was wimping out, I bought a new Airport Extreme b/g/n - which, sadly, did not solve the problem. If anything, it's worse now, affecting both Expresses at the same time. Interestingly, the old Extreme base works find as a 3rd WDS remote.

The problem is temporarily solved (for anywhere from a day to a week) by power cycling the Expresses (which merrily maintain their green light). Hard reset and re-setup of Expresses does not help.

Call it a wild hunch, but I wonder if it might be something about running Snow Leopard on computers on the network that has set this off. This was a perfectly stable set up for 5 years and the problems began about the time I got my new MacBook w/ Snow, and then expanded to the 2nd Express when I started running Snow on computers in it's vicinity.

I'd rather not downgrade the computers to Leopard to find out, or replace both Express units (I only kept the new Extreme base because I figured the old Extreme was near the end of it's life anyhow).

Oops... meant to say the Expresses were set up as WDS remotes, not relays. - Sorry!
(one can't edit one's own posts on this forum to make corrections? Dang!)

BTB83, Welcome to the discussion area!

It is possible that at that location there is some type of RF interference or material which is blocking the RF signal such that the WDS link is broken.

BTW, you can edit your post... if you do it within a time limit. After that, you can't edit your post.

Remember this was working for 5 years before it got flaky:
RF interference: possible, but doubtful. No new RF devices in house except more 802.11 wireless iphones and macs. Computers near the Express (WDS remote) see "full" signal strength from and can still connect to the Extreme (WDS main).
And there have been no changes in the "material" between the main and remote.

Editing post: Hmmm.... I hit "post" and saw the error within a minute - could not find anything to click on that said "edit".

Thanks
Ah hah! found the "edit" button. Silly me - I was looking for the word "edit", but it turns out to just be an icon that looks more like a chat icon than an edit icon.

Message was edited by: BTB83

Message was edited by: BTB83

Rf interference many times comes from something outside your control. A neighbor's network, a malfunctioning device that has started to leak RF energy at an unfortunate frequency. Since we can't see RF energy it is very tough to determine what is happening.

I would suggest moving the device to see if the errors go away or reduce in frequency. Of course another thing to try is to change the channel used. Many times that is a great workaround for RF problems.

If I have to move the device away from the things it's cabled to, it won't be useful!

I pointed out that the ability of various computers to connect to the main base station has not been affected, even for one right next to the Express unit. Every other wireless device in the house continues to work fine - this seems to be specifically a WDS issue. An external RF problem would likely affect most wireless devices in the house, not selectively affect the WDS remotes.

But I have tried different channels - no effect.

Thanks

...this seems to be specifically a WDS issue.

Certainly. That is a very good diagnosis since you have replaced devices in that location and each device is having the same problem.

The quality of RF connection for WDS is probably more critical than the RF connection to a normal wireless client.

In case anyone reads this thread...

My problem was ultimately solved by replacing the old Airport Express b/g unit with a newer b/g/n unit. Everything works fine now, and it's all on 2.4 GHz, so 2.4 GHz interference was probably not the problem (would like to get it all working at 5 GHz but that's another issue... the range seems to be too great).

My conclusion, if you are having ongoing problems with a 5+ year old Airport unit, it's probably just time to replace it!