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What to do with an 'old' AirPort Extreme?

I have an AirPort Extreme which I haven't used for a year or three - I have it plugged into my iMac by Ethernet and it shows up in Airport Utility as a device = with flashing orange dot = basically no internet connection, no DNS servers and no wireless network, I believe.

I recall having created a disk image on it.

I know you can do the reset back to factory defaults, but how do you wipe the whole thing = in case I want to sell or gift it ???

AirPort Extreme 802.11ac Gen1

Posted on Oct 18, 2021 9:11 AM

Top-ranking reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

168,686 points

Posted on Oct 18, 2021 3:11 PM

Thanks, for the info. As I mentioned previously, the AirPort Extreme does not have a built in hard drive, so the only thing that you need to do is restore the device back to Factory Default Settings to wipe out the previous settings for the AirPort.

There are different ways to do this, but I prefer the software method rather than a manual method that almost requires that you have 3 hands.

Open AirPort Utility

Hold down the option key while you double-click on the picture of the AirPort Extreme

Click on the Base Station menu (up at the very top of the screen, where you see other menus like File, Edit, Window, Help, etc

Click on Restore Default Settings

Give the AirPort Extreme a minute to restart to a slow blinking amber light status and then unplug the device from power.

If you want to do things the harder way, follow the instructions for a Factory Default Reset in this Apple Support document:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201945

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What to do with an 'old' AirPort Extreme?

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