Airport Extreme dropping connection

hello

here in Brazil we have a site that you can post complaints about certain companies and services. Look the qty of complaints that Apple has in the link below:

http://www.reclameaqui.com.br/indices/lista_reclamacoes/?id=2710&tp=9403f4c8cd5a f61c485541e9444950c069c79ffa&subtp=c92a9bc341d739044ff5400661d44a60a808be22

the red little face means that the complaint was not solved.

I'm afraid that I bought a big problem (Airport Extreme)!

discolemoande01

Re: Airport Extreme dropping connection

May 1, 2013 10:45 AM ( in response to Armanzo)

Okay, I just solved my problem! My internet is SUPER fast again. Hopefully this helps you as well. Comcast upgraded our network to IPV6. They even have their own link to the issue: http://www.comcast6.net/index.php/6to4config#faq3

Go into:

1. AirportUtility (firmware version doesn't matter so I updated back to the latest greatest version after downgrading)

2. Click on your base station then hit edit

2. Internet

3. Internet Options

3. Configure IPV6: Automatically

4. IPV6 Mode: Tunnel

5. Enable IPV6 Connection Sharing is Checked

This worked for me too -- would have been nice if comcast mentioned they were making a change...

I had same problem. I am on comcast cable internet. I did a couple of changes:

First one:

Go into:

1. AirportUtility (firmware version doesn't matter so I updated back to the latest greatest version after downgrading)

2. Click on your base station then hit edit

2. Internet

3. Internet Options

3. Configure IPV6: Automatically

4. IPV6 Mode: Tunnel

5. Enable IPV6 Connection Sharing is Checked

Second one:

Changed the Channel on which AEBS was operating. Modified it to use channel 10.

You can use hit and trial to pick one.

Working great for last 24 hours or so. :-)

Hope this works out of others as welll.

Thanks for the information. I notice an improvement in my home network.

The IPv6 solution worked for me for about 24 hours, then it was back to the same old issues

I've been having the same problem. Both wireless and wired computers are going out periodically. I went yesterday to the Apple store to get a replacement and I'm still having the issue. It happened again tonight but the strange thing was I was still able to access my Media Center through DLNA on my LG TV hardwired to the Airport Extreme but the MacMini, which serves as my media center was unreachable from the Internet. I also want to point out that my wireless name disappears altogether. I have a lot of devices hooked up in my network so it would be hard to figure out the culprit (if any). Although I shouldn't have to do that and Apple support should not play stupid that they have never heard of this issue. Come on Apple ...since 2007 you can't figure this out???? Hopefully someone here gets to the bottom of this.

I've had the 'network drop' issue with my Airport Extreme for the last 2 months. It reconnects when I pull the ethernet cable and plug it back in. I've tried downgrading the AE firmware, resetting to factory, etc. Nothing worked. I finally threw in the towel and created a script that monitors my network connectivity and restarts my interface if it senses it has dropped:

##############

#!/bin/ksh

while true

do

yup=`ping -c1 -t2 www.google.com|grep from`

if [[ -n $yup ]]

then echo "Internet is connected!"

else

ifconfig en0 down; ifconfig en0 up

echo "Down at `date +%m%d%Y%H%M%S`">>./dropped.out

fi

sleep 5

clear

done

###############

I know its a workaround, but its saving me the headache of constantly pulling my cable and putting it back in!

Good luck!

-Mike Gray

Hello, Same issue here. My Broadband Extreme BaseStation, 5th generation, is losing the wireless signal 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes more. The network completely disappears from my iPhone and iPad as well as everything else. Only unplugging the Apple router and plugging it back in solves the problem, but only temporarily. The wired is fine and I almost never lose that signal. There is also nothing near my router to interfere with it, plus I have it plugged into a UPS and signal cleaner. I have tried with and without. My PC is running Windows 8. I have updated the firmware, reset to factory settings, etc. with the same issues. I have a Cable modem through Cablevision and changed out the modem to a new model, but the same problem exists. I changed channels as well from 11 to 5 and same problems. This is very annoying and I am thinking of making this my last Apple router. I went from the 3rd generation to the 5th and so far am not happy. Too many people are having the same issue with the dropped wireless signal. Good luck to all......Brad

Same issue here. And it just happened again. It took three unplug / plug back in cycles to get it to 'stick'. I did lose LAN as well. Is there a way I can confirm this is the Airport Extreme (5th gen as well) and not my dsl modem. I recently replaced my modem, as I blamed bad behavior on it, but this was occurring prior to replacement. All signs point to this being the AE.

Like you - I upgraded from another router (a D-Link) thinking I would be better off. So far not the case.

Just curious - anyone know if the same issues exist with the new gen 6 AE?

I managed to fix the problem for myself by changing the MTU under hardware in Network Preferences(System) to a Custom number smaller than the 1500 default. Problem went away then.I used 1300.

Hi Mike,

I am using Windows 8.1. How did you change the MTU setting? I could not find this setting. I went to Control Panel, Network and Internet and then Network and Sharing Center. I cannot find anything that changes the hardware. Are you changing the setting of the network card itself? I am sorry but what is the MTU? Is this the Maximum Transmission Unit? What does the MTU affect? I thought the only way you could change the MTU was within the registry.

Thank you for your time and understanding.....Brad

Message was edited by: bhturnow

Hi Brad, sorry but I use a Mac and have not had to find out how to change the MTU in Windows hence cannot help. Essentially the MTU is a packet size.

I found this site for Windows users on how to change the MTU and a bit more about the issues

...mike

http://www.richard-slater.co.uk/archives/2009/10/23/change-your-mtu-under-vista- windows-7-or-windows-8/

Thank you Mike, The help is greatly appreciated. I contacted Optimum Online, my Internet provider, and of course they blame it on the router. They ran a bunch of tests and everything came back good. I wonder if it has to do with IPv4 versus IPv6. Thanks for your help and I will check out the MTU information you provided. All the best.

I had this same problem... I looked into IPv6 and MTU and Power, channels, bands, you name it. In the end once they were optimized, the issue was still there...

My AirPort Extreme (router) connects to my cable modem as well as offers modes of security to select.

WPA + WPA2 Personal is for home or Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) networks. In Personal mode, the encryption key is regularly changed and rotated so that the same encryption key is never used twice.

AES-CCMP was specifically designed for wireless networks for user authentication.

You need to make sure your security is set to WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES] or WPA-PSK [TKIP].

Network is back!