firmware update 7.6.4 for the AirPort base station

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Jolly Giant Author

Level 7

25,464 points

firmware update 7.6.4 for the AirPort base station

hey, looking for this older sw and wonder if any1 know where i can her hold of it?

AirPort

Posted on Nov 28, 2020 10:35 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

168,002 points

Nov 29, 2020 6:23 AM in response to Jolly Giant

If you are asking about the two "g" AirPort Expresses.........model A1084 or A1088......firmware 6.3 is as high as you can go with these products. Nothing else newer.

Neither of these products have any kind of settings for IPv6, by the way, so that would not be the issue.

Considering that these devices are at least 12 years old and as much as 16 depending on when they were purchased, it is remarkable that they will even power up at all, much less function somewhat normally. Most of these products failed after 5-6 years of use.

Pat yourself on the back for your amazingly good luck.

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Answer 2

Jolly Giant Author

Level 7

25,464 points

Nov 29, 2020 5:30 AM in response to Jolly Giant

thank you both for the replies. i didnt provide any details, didnt wanna bother any1 with my life story ;) but here it is:

i used my gear to stream content around the house, then took a looong leave of absence from it because...reasons. recently pulled it all from storage and set it up

iMac late 2009 that cant go north of OS 10.7.5, wifi enabled but hardwired to
a 1st gen Airport Extreme (AX) running firmware 7.6.1 (could upgrade to 7.8.1 but dont fix it if ....) creating a wireless network
2 Airport Express 802.11g (AE) running firmware 6.3 with speakers connected and set up in bridge mode
ATV 2 hooked to TV and my receiver

as you can see, pretty much vintage gear, all gotten around the same time and all working perfectly still (credit to Apple here). in fact the "youngest" piece in the arsenal is an iPhone 5s that i use as remote.

now i'm seeing infrequent stutters and disconnects when streaming to the AEs. my research here suggested an issue with "IPv6" hence my idea to upgrade the AEs to 7.6.4 which is supposed to fix "an issue that may cause an IPv6 Tunnel error". however, rereading the support article it states AE 802.11n and i have "g" so i might not even be able to use the firmware update anyways.

in the end, it may be another network that is messing with mine and i might end up having to hardwire everthing but that would cause additional expenditure for powerline adaptors and cables.

btw, option clicking on the firmware number as suggested isnt working as it only gives me the option to upload another version but i'd had to download that other version first.

so, if any1 has any bright ideas i'd appreciate hearing from you.

thank you!

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Answer 3

Nov 28, 2020 11:44 AM in response to Jolly Giant

What model number of AirPort Base Station do you have?

You won't be able to install an earlier version of firmware than your AirPort was originally supplied with, so for example if your AirPort originally came with firmware 7.6.7, you normally won't be able to install anything earlier than that on the AirPort.

If 7.6.4 or an earlier version was already installed when the AirPort was new and you have upgraded firmware versions since that time, you can see a history of previous firmware that was installed on the AirPort as follows:

Open AirPort Utility on your Mac

Click on the AirPort and a smaller window will appear

Look for Version in that window

Hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the current firmware version number and a drop down list of other firmware that was previously installed will appear.

Select the version that you want to install and click Update.

The example below shows an old AirPort Express and the previous firmware versions for that product:

Finally, ancient firmware like 7.6.4 will may expose your network to a number of security risks depending on how the AirPort is used on the network, so I would think twice about installing old firmware, even if it is possible to do.

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Answer 4

Nov 29, 2020 7:51 AM in response to Jolly Giant

As it stands now, you have set up the Expresses to connect using a wireless connection.

If you want to connect the Expresses to an Ethernet cable or to an Ethernet cable from a powerline adapter, you will have to start over, reset the Expresses and reconfigure them to create a wireless network and then turn off the WiFi on the Express if you don't need additional WiFi coverage in the areas where the Expresses will be located.

Personally, I never had much luck with powerline products and gave up on that idea and ran the Ethernet cabling. Best investment that I ever made in terms of performance. You may have better luck with powerline though.

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