Airport Extreme WAN port stopped working???

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Level 1

9 points

Airport Extreme WAN port stopped working???

Hello all,
I have an airport extreme (192.168.1.2) and a ADSL router (192.168.1.1). I have the ADSL router connected to the WAN port and have it configured as bridge mode. My router handles the Internet connection.

Yesterday for no reason Internet stopped working. After a little troubleshooting I noticed I could not ping my router, 192.168.1.1. I checked my router and noticed the LAN port LED was acting strangely, on, then flashing then off. Strange. I changed my router as I thought the LAN port was screwed. With the new router the same.

The Airport utility does not detect any errors and it correctly configured. I made no changed prior the the error. Any ideas why the Airport Extreme port suddenly stops working? How can I test if it is a hardware error? Its seems pretty strange the WAN port would just die? I have my router, telephone line and Airport all connected the a special surge plug and UPS in case of lightning strikes etc. No storms the other day.

Thanks,
Rob

Mac Pro 2.8ghz Intel Quad Core 4GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.6.3), Roland MT32, Roland SC-55

Posted on May 30, 2010 11:46 PM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

148,297 points

May 31, 2010 11:53 AM in response to wintersgrass

When configured as a bridge, all ports on the AirPort Extreme perform as Ethernet ports ... there is no longer a distinction between LAN & WAN. The Extreme's router function is disabled and it is performing as both a Ethernet switch and Wireless Access Point.

If the "WAN" port appears to not be functioning, have you tried connecting the ADSL router to one of the Extreme's "LAN" ports instead?

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Answer 2

wintersgrass Author

Level 1

9 points

May 31, 2010 12:27 PM in response to Tesserax

Hello,
Thanks for the reply. Ok works fine in the LAN port. I've tried plugging in another PC to the WAN port and same thing. Crap. Looks like my WAN port is shagged. I've never had a switch in all my years IT loose a port. Is this something common on these Airport Extremes?

Is there any other way to confirm the port is dead? A self test or logs?
Thanks,
Rob

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Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

148,297 points

May 31, 2010 2:04 PM in response to wintersgrass

I've never had a switch in all my years IT loose a port. Is this something common on these Airport Extremes?

I have ... but most of the time it related to power surge or physical damage as the culprit. You mentioned that you didn't experience any electrical storms recently, but that doesn't rule out some other condition that may have caused a power spike on the data line. I don't think this is manufacturer-related as this could happen to anyone's electronic gear.

Is there any other way to confirm the port is dead? A self test or logs?

It sounds like you already performed a pretty reasonable test. However, you can perform a number of tests, depending on the equipment you have handy. One that doesn't require any hardware testers is to ping both the port and any devices on the switch. For example, connect a computer to the WAN port and another to any of the LAN ports. Can you ping the other computer in either direction?

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