AirPort Utility 5.6 vs. 6.0

On your iphone, go to settings, general, reset. and choose reset network settings. It will erase any wifi passwords you have stored and should get it working again. You'll need to reinter your wifi password so write it down.

madronemedia wrote:

On your iphone, go to settings, general, reset. and choose reset network settings. It will erase any wifi passwords you have stored and should get it working again. You'll need to reinter your wifi password so write it down.

That didn't work either. But I just figured it out in case anyone else has this issue. I changed my network name to a name with no spaces and it connected.

georgn,

This is a little off-topic but I can't figure any other way to contact you: What are you doing in order to monitor usage via SNMP? I've looked into this over the last year and never found a satisfactory solution.

May I ask you a question? (of course, ok) If you have a printer that is networkable, meaning it has an eithernet port on the back of it, how come you choose to use the usb cable instead of an eitnernet cable? (Presuming that it does have an eithernet port in the back of it).

"mac address filter in AU 6 it's really no more available?"

My initial impression has been corrected in another thread. MAC address filtering is indeed available in AU 6.0. Here's where:

AU v6.0:

Network tab:

√ Enable Timed Access:

Click the 'Timed Access Control' button:

+ Wireless Clients:

Fill in the 'Description' and 'MAC Address':

Set the 'Wireless Access Times'.

I am a bit disturbed to report that Apple has REMOVED Airport Utility v5.6 from its Downloads list.

Not sure why you posted this information. AirPort Utility 5.6 was never pulled, and remains available as of 8:30 CDT, Feb 1.

Thanks Gino. I found it had returned as well. I can testify on my pile of Apple Mac OS X Server books that v5.6 was NOT on downloads pages 1 or 2 for over two hours. Considering the critical nature of having v5.6 available to We The Geeks, my concern was inspired.

Sorry to have to contradict you Bob, but as I replied to Gino, v5.6 was NOT on pages 1 or 2 of the Downloads are for over two hours. When something as critical as v5.6 is PULLED from Apple's list, of course I am concerned and want EVERYONE to know how to obtain it. v6.0 is a significant downgrade in functionality that has put A LOT of people into a panic that never needed to have happened if only Apple had adequately documented v5.6. Sadly, Apple's poor documentation of v5.6 remains. Thus my altruistic efforts to make sure as many people know about the critical nature of v5.6 as possible. Get it?

I will have to agree - Saw the 6.0 interface and went "Whaaat??"

But OK, the 6.0 interface looks nice and I have to say that I quite like the quick overview it gives (even if the window is a bit bigger than really required for my taste).

But it seriously fails when you require access to a little more advanced settings and information. Fortunately you can (still) download the 5.6 version and have both installed, but ..come on Apple - you can do better. Let's have that intuitive advance interface in a 6.x update soon, please.

MAC address filtering is available (see earlier post in this thread: Network >Timed Access Control), but - in best Douglas Adams style - " It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'." Maybe "Beware of the Lion" would have been better.

6.0 is a truly horrible example of what Apple is currently doing wrong.

Good to find this thread...another feature of the previous version that is also now missing from this update:

If Airport Utility V6.0 is used on a Time Capsule the option to archive the TC disk onto a USB HDD is gone.

I use it to create an offsite emergency backup on a USB drive. Tried to do the same this morning and had to search around and call support and then finally revert to AU 5.6

I agree with the many opinions here that this utility revision is a very retrograde move.

Have anyone else noticed how slow Aiport Utility 6 is compared to Aiport Utility 5.6 and earlier versions?

If I want to edit settings on my Aiport Extreme, Aiport Utility 6 show "Reading setting on..." for 40-50 seconds, but with Aiport Utility 5.6 I can click Manual Setup after 1 second.

That's because v6 is reading the settings on all your connected AirPort routers as soon as it starts up. This is so more information about the router is available when you select it without having to actually go into the configuration mode. Previous versions of AirPort Utility only read the settings when you clicked on the button to start configuring it.

Thanks for that clarification. Unfortunately for me the "more information" has little value for me most of the time. The good thing is that Apple released 5.6 so I didn't have to retire my airport extreme.

A comment thread between myself and Glenn Fleichmann of TidBITS may be of interest to those concerned about the future of Apple's AirPort Utility. It is in response to Glenn's article "AirPort Utility 6.0 Screencast Walkthrough".

http://tidbits.com/article/12783

Glenn's last comments are of particular concern to me and probably everyone else here:

The guidance I received is that, unequivocally 6.0 is the way forward, and that the vast majority of Apple Wi-Fi users don't use the features that were removed.

The reason the 5.x tree remains and 5.6 was released, is clearly to provide legacy support for the edge users (in Apple's marketing view) who required features that the mass-market does not.

Apple has slowly removed itself from network and server infrastructure over the last several years. Remember that the original AirPort came in a PoE version with a Plenum rating? And the AirPort Management Utility (1.0 and never updated)?

The Xserve is gone. Leopard Server is a small-office add-on. AirPort Utility 6 is aimed at home users with no more than a handful of access points. It's pretty clear how that direction has been set.

I personally hope that the poor reception of AirPort Utility v6.0 from generally everyone will alter Apple's course regarding their Airport efforts. I also hope Apple provide far better documentation of their updates in the future. I remain dismayed that Apple's documentation for AirPort Utility v5.6 continues to be misleading for 802.11n base station users:

• Works with AirPort Express 802.11g and AirPort Extreme 802.11g base stations