Airport Extreme and Earthlink

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Level 1

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Airport Extreme and Earthlink

I just bought a new AEBS. Set-up was easy enough or so I thought. I am connected as follows- phone line to ZyXel DSL Modem, AEBS to modem via ethernet cable, i-Mac to AEBS via the same. I got the green light and an easy connection to the internet. I then set up a closed wireless network and my HP (Win 7) notebook connects to that wireless network just fine.

Here's the issue- I cannot have both computers access the internet at once without a message (via an Earthlink web page) telling me that I have to drop the connection with the other computer before my current choice can access the net.

After doing so, the Earthlink page reloads and tells me that "any computer in your household can access the net" but if I try to access the net with the other computer I get the same message and the cycle begins again.

Earthlink says they do not "support" Airport so they were no help. They referred me to a webpage address that "might help" but the page did not load. That page referred to a newer modem and some config set-up for that modem.

Has anyone with Earthlink overcome this issue? I'd appreciate any successful workaround solutions.

Thank you.

i-Mac, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 1, 2011 10:14 PM

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Answer 1

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,162 points

Feb 2, 2011 5:40 AM in response to Aviwolf

Welcome to the discussions, Aviwolf!

I don't use Earthlink, so can't provide "hands on" experience with them, but have used a ZyXel modem in the past.

Can you check a setting on the AirPort Extreme?

Open AirPort Utility - Click Manual Setup
Click the Internet icon
What is the current setting that you see for Connection Sharing?

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Answer 2

Aviwolf Author

Level 1

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Feb 3, 2011 6:19 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Bob- thanks for taking the time to respond.

Currently, that's set for "Off (Bridge Mode).

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Answer 3

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,162 points

Feb 3, 2011 6:37 PM in response to Aviwolf

That's the correct setting since the modem handles DHCP services, so it is responsible for assigning a different IP address to each device that connects. In Bridge Mode, the AirPort Extreme simply passes this information through.

Can you verify that the modem/gateway is setup correctly to provide multiple IP addresses?

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Answer 4

Aviwolf Author

Level 1

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Feb 3, 2011 8:17 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Hmmm, I'm not sure.
How would I verify that it does or doesn't?
Earthlink was no help with most info, is there another way to check?

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Answer 5

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,162 points

Feb 3, 2011 8:22 PM in response to Aviwolf

There must be some utility or web address like 192.168.1.1 for example to allow you to check the settings on the modem. Look for info on the labels on the back and bottom of the device.

If you locate a specific model number, enter that into your Google search for more info.

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Answer 6

Aviwolf Author

Level 1

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Feb 3, 2011 9:28 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Well, this may help ... or not.

It seems that in order to reach that page, I'll have to disconnect the AEBS because E'link (or "net rules") will not allow me to see that page through the router, only directly through their modem.

Does my having to take that approach tell you anything more about E'link's protocol?

I'll fiddle with this and get back to you.

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Answer 7

Lee4000

Level 1

0 points

Feb 11, 2011 8:00 AM in response to Aviwolf

Currently, that's set for "Off (Bridge Mode).

I haven't had Earthlink for a few years now and I didn't use a Airport Extreme at the time but...

Why do you have it set for 'Bridge Mode'?

I bet if you change it back to the default 'Share a Public IP Address', that you will be able to access the internet from both of your computers simultaneously.

I have 5 wireless devices/computers connected over 2 wireless networks (2.4/5ghz) and they can all access the internet simultaneously.

Also why do have a closed network setting checked? I'm not an expert on wi-fi security, but it is my understanding that running a closed network is actually less secure because of the information the wireless router is sending/receiving when a computer or other device tries to connect to your network. Try turning that off and on in your testing.

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Answer 8

Feb 15, 2011 12:43 AM in response to Aviwolf

Aviwolf,

I'm in the same situation as you.

I used to have a router and a wireless device (both Linksys). The router died so I bought an "all-in-one" Airport Extreme base station. However, I'm beginning to think it isn't a true router, at least as far as Earthlink is concerned.

I set up the AE the same way I did my previous system ... closed network (ie, not broadcasting the SSID), MAC filtering, WPA2 password (I used to have WEP on the old system), etc.

The other computers can connect to the wireless device (the Airport Extreme), but not to the internet through Earthlink.

Apple doesn't seem to let me specify in the AE software that the main IP is dynamic. It just assumes it is what it is when you set up the device. I'm connecting wirelessly using the Ethernet software option, but have tried PPOE (the only other option) as well. If you use the Ethernet option there is no space to enter the login username and password for Earthlink. And if you use PPOE, you get an error that Earthlink doesn't use PPOE.

So, if you must use the Ethernet option to connect wirelessly to Earthlink, you have to log in using your browser (or release the connection using your browser so another computer can access it). It seems to me as though I need to buy a $10 router to put between my DSL modem and the Airport Extreme to break out the IP addresses, the same way I used to have a router between the modem and the older wifi system.

If anyone has any better ideas, or has come across this, please give a holler.

Thanks.

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Answer 9

Jun 3, 2012 11:06 PM in response to Aviwolf

I'm not sure if you guys have resolved this issue, but seeing how these posts are over a year old, I sure hope you did. I want to add my resolution steps to help anyone who may have had technical issues accessing the internet using Earthlink DSL and an Airport base station. I recently subscribed to Earthlink for my DSL and have an Airport base station (2nd generation). I had used with my previous DSL service (verizon) without and issues and did not expect the issues I did with the zytel modem Earthlink provided me.

So this is what I did to access the internet and set up a wirless connection via the Airport base station.

In spite of what the Zytel moden instructions said, I did not switch my DSL modem's setting to 'bridge mode' - instead I kept it as 'routing'
Using the AIrport utility, I did not choose PPOE for my connection on my Airport base station. Instead I chose Ethernet.
I also set the Airport base station to bridge mode

I am able to have multiple devices connected to the internet at the same time via the Airport wireless router. This includes a macbook, an PC laptop, my iphone, and an android tablet.

Hope these insights are useful!

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Answer 10

ebraun

Level 1

17 points

Dec 16, 2012 4:39 AM in response to Aviwolf

Hi,

I am having the same problem discussed here. Was this issue ever resolved? I have tried some of the things mentioned here without success. Earthlink is of no help on this.

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Answer 11

Mar 13, 2013 9:43 AM in response to Aviwolf

The trick is that the DSL modem must be in bridge mode and the AEBS has to be setup to connect via PPPOE to allow multiple computers to connect at the same time. If you have the Zyxel P660R D1 modem see this link for how to do this:

http://support.earthlink.net/articles/dsl/zyxel-p660rd1-how-to-set-the-modem-for -bridge-mode.php

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