Time Capsule Guest Network has disappeared

Question

Level 1

25 points

Time Capsule Guest Network has disappeared

My Time Capsule (Simul. Dual-Band II, v7.5.2) Guest network has disappeared, and there doesn't seem to be any option in Airport Utility (v5.5.2) setup to restore it. I set up the Guest network when I bought the TC last June (using different password from main network), and it worked fine until last week. The only recent changes have been (1) update from TC firmware 7.4.2 to 7.5.2 after which I THINK (but not 100% certain) that Guest network continued to work fine and (2) changing my DSL modem from Bridge mode to normal mode. Bridge mode was a carryover from having a previous Belkin router, and I didn't change it for subsequent Airport Extreme and TC. During a recent discussion with a GREAT CenturyLink Telco tech rep [who said she wished everyone had a Mac], I learned modem's Bridge mode is not needed with Apple routers, so I reset the modem to normal. TC recognized the different input and led me through setup change where TC was put into Bridge mode. I think this is where I lost my Guest network.

How can I reestablish the Guest network? Thanks a lot for any advice or suggestions.

Don

Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, aluminum Mac mini, Time Capsule, Airport Express, 4GiPod Touch, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Jan 2, 2011 9:22 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,114 points

Jan 2, 2011 9:52 AM in response to donbo

How can I reestablish the Guest network? Thanks a lot for any advice or suggestions.

The Guest Network is indeed not available when the Time Capsule is configured in Bridge Mode, so the only way you can regain the use of the Guest Network feature is to change your Time Capsule back to it's previous settings.

To do this, you would open AirPort Utility and click Manual Setup
Click the Internet icon
The setting for Connection Sharing should be "Share a public IP address"
Click Update at the lower right to save settings

You will likely see a message advising about a Double NAT on your network, you'll need to click "ignore" on this message. This is likely the way you had your Time Capsule configured with the previous modem/router, so unless there is something different about your new modem/router, you should regain the option of the Guest Network.

Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

Reply

Answer 2

donbo Author

Level 1

25 points

Jan 2, 2011 11:08 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Bob:

Thanks for your reply! I did as you suggested, but selecting "Share a public IP address" brings up an error window saying "The DHCP range you have entered conflicts with the WAN IP address of your AirPort wireless device." and asks me to correct two problems: "DHCP beginning address" and "DHCP ending address."

Is there anything else I can do with AirPort Utility or should I just put the DSL modem back in Bridge mode and let my TC setup do the reconfiguration?

Don

Reply

Answer 3

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,114 points

Jan 2, 2011 11:27 AM in response to donbo

If you restarted both the modem/router and the Time Capsule, and still get the DHCP error (which is caused when there are two routers on a network) then it looks like you'll need to go back to the modem in bridge mode.

Reply

Answer 4

donbo Author

Level 1

25 points

Jan 2, 2011 1:57 PM in response to Bob Timmons

I put the modem (Embarq EQ 660R) back in Bridge mode, but then - despite several tries/configuration changes - I couldn't get the Time Capsule wireless network restored. I finally gave up, put the modem back to normal and the TC back to Bridge mode and all is working OK now - except of course for the "Guest" network, which I guess I really don't need anyway.

While the modem was still in Bridge mode, I was tempted to "Restore Default Settings" on my Time Capsule, but I didn't know if that would affect ONLY the networking functions of the TC or if it also would zero out my Time Machine settings/passwords or erase my backups. I didn't want to take a chance, so I didn't do it.

Thanks again for your help. Happy New Year!

Don

Reply

Answer 5

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,114 points

Jan 2, 2011 2:35 PM in response to donbo

OK, not sure if you still want to try to get the Guest network enabled or not.

Due to the DHCP conflict message you received earlier, you'll need to make a slight change in the DHCP settings to see if a new setup will avoid the conflicts.

Open AirPort Utility - Click Manual Setup

Click the Internet icon

Change the Connection Sharing back to Share a public IP address

Then click the DHCP tab below the icons

Look for the DHCP Beginning Address. It is now 10.0.1.2, change this to 10.0.2.2. Then change the DHCP Ending Address to 10.0.2.200

If you are using the 192.168.1.x range, then your beginning address would be 192.168.2.2 and ending 192.168.2.200

Click Update.

If you get the Double NAT message, click "ignore" and Update again if needed.

Worth a try if you want to have a Guest network option. Otherwise, the Bridge Mode setup is the technically correct way to configure things.

Reply

Answer 6

donbo Author

Level 1

25 points

Jan 2, 2011 2:52 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks - I'll try that. Have to do some yard work first, though. In the meantime, maybe you could tell me if it's possible to post a .png screen shot as part of my forum post. If it IS, could you tell me how to do it?
Thanks!

Reply

Answer 7

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,114 points

Jan 2, 2011 2:57 PM in response to donbo

Sorry, I'm not up to speed on the techniques of posting screen shots, so can't help on that area.

Reply

Answer 8

donbo Author

Level 1

25 points

Jan 2, 2011 6:29 PM in response to Bob Timmons

I changed to "Share a public IP address." My IP range is 192.168.2.x, so from the DHC tab, I changed the beginning address to 192.168.3.4 (3.3 was not accepted). I got the Double NAT message, clicked "ignore," and was able to reestablish my network. Not having any more time tonight to see if Guest network could be added, and discovering that my two iPod touches seemed to take longer to do internet functions, I've switched back to Bridge mode. Your suggestions DID work, however, and I thank you again. I'll post here if I ever get my separate Guest network back.

For Apple: I wish you would give us a "Revert" function after a configuration change has been executed. "Restore Default Settings" is not always what we'd like to do, and we might find it hard to remember all the settings needed to restore to our previous state.

Bob, if I might ask an unrelated question: Do you know how to open Airport Extreme or Time Capsule's Port 5001 for Slingbox access? If "yes," when I have time I'll post the question on a separate thread (if I can't find the answer by forum search). Thanks again for your help.

Reply

Answer 9

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,114 points

Jan 2, 2011 7:12 PM in response to donbo

Not having any more time tonight to see if Guest network could be added

It has always worked for me in the past when I've helped other users with this, but anything is always possible.

...and discovering that my two iPod touches seemed to take longer to do internet functions...

NAT is basically a firewall, so you're going through multiple layers, which will slow things down a bit. Normally on a home network it is negligible for most users, but experienced users may notice a slight lag.

For Apple: I wish you would give us a "Revert" function after a configuration change has been executed. "Restore Default Settings" is not always what we'd like to do, and we might find it hard to remember all the settings needed to restore to our previous state.

The answer is often "you can already do that", but Apple is not good at documenting things that are buried in the 90+ page manual. All of the AirPorts have a "Profile" option which allows you to save all of the settings to one of five possible "Profiles". When you "hard reset" one of the AirPorts, you do have an option to restore to a previous "Profile". The whole thing is a bit tricky and takes some head scratching before it makes sense.

Do you know how to open Airport Extreme or Time Capsule's Port 5001 for Slingbox access? If "yes," when I have time I'll post the question on a separate thread (if I can't find the answer by forum search).

Tesserax is our forum expert on things like that, so a post to his attention would be the way to go. I can't give you the actual specifics since I haven't done this and only provide answers for things that I've done, but the path to start on is below. (Of course, this won't work if the AirPort is in Bridge Mode) and the Double NAT may come into play as well.

Open AirPort Utility - click Manual Setup
Click the Advanced icon
Click the Port Mapping tab
Click the + tab at the bottom to start things in motion

Reply