Airport self assigning IP address

safetygrl wrote:
My Airport extreme wireless card suddenly stopped working - it has self assigned an IP address and won't connect to the internet. When I try to diagnose the problem using the utility it can't find the card.

Welcome to Apple's discussion groups.

What utility do you mean? Have you tried running the Apple Hardware Test that should be on the system disc(s) that came with your Mac? (Boot with that disc in the Mac and the "D" key held down.) Do you see the card in System Profiler (Apple menu -> About This Mac -> More Info -> Network category, AirPort item)?

If things check out so far, you might try resetting your connection settings using the steps listed in this message:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10695921&start=1

They're not guaranteed to solve the problem, but they'll only take a minute or so to try.

By the way, the message section where you posted your message is intended for discussions of Apple's AirPort Extreme WiFi router. Your post might have been better posted in the Snow Leopard section "Getting Online and Networking" or in one of the hardware sections.

safetygrl wrote:
Thanks for the reply - nothing works.

Let me try to recap: Your MacBook Pro can connect via WiFi to the Internet everywhere except at your house. If so, then the hardware on your MacBook Pro is working fine and the software on it is at least mostly working well.

Once again, what "utility" are you using when it "can't find the card" and what do you see that convinces you of this?

I used the airport utility tool to see what IP address it was assigning, I set it up to assign the IP address manually and that didn't work.

What type (brand and model) of wireless router are you using? Do you have any other wireless gear other than client computers? When you pull down the AirPort menu bar item on your MacBook Pro, do you see your home network? Can you select it?

Hi there,
I am having the same problem, except on my new iMac. Obviously I cannot try the wireless outside the home, as the poster did, because it is a desktop, but I am writing this from my iBook G4 that works fine here at home, as does my wife's laptop wireless. Therefore the problem is not the home router or cable modem.

Suddenly, today, the iMac's airport wireless is no longer able to connect. Message showing in system preferences, Network is the following: "Airport has the self-assigned IP address 169.254.204.184 and will not be able to connect to the internet."

What changed suddenly? I made no changes at all. There has not even been a shutdown since yesterday.

I tried the steps in the link above, with no success. Help!

Thanks,
Paul

Paul Robichaud wrote:
I am having the same problem, except on my new iMac.

There has not even been a shutdown since yesterday.

If that's the case, you didn't try all the steps suggested in that link, at least not since yesterday. Sometimes a reboot can fix things that other techniques can't.

In the worst case your iMac has suffered a case of "infant mortality", where something in it has broken. I'd run the Apple Hardware Diagnostics on the system disc that came with your iMac, by holding down the "D" key while booting with that disc in the optical drive. Run the diagnostics several times. You might also look in System Profiler (in the Utilities folder or Apple menu -> About This Mac -> More Info. Select the AirPort item under the Network item on the left. See if it shows your AirPort card.