I am trying to manage and configure my old Airport Extreme Base Station..cone shaped, white, 2003.....
Airport Utily version 5.6.1 doesn't recognize it....how far back version wise do I need to go so I can download the right version?
Thanks!
It depends on your version of Mac OS X.
Leopard, Snow Leopard: AirPort Utility 5.5.3.
Tiger: AirPort Utility 5.4.2
Panther: AirPort 4.2
Jaguar: AirPort 3.1.1
prehistoric versions: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1998
It depends on your version of Mac OS X.
Leopard, Snow Leopard: AirPort Utility 5.5.3.
Tiger: AirPort Utility 5.4.2
Panther: AirPort 4.2
Jaguar: AirPort 3.1.1
prehistoric versions: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1998
John,
I thought this would help but it didn't. Have tried Airport Utility 5.5.3 as well as 5.4.2 and the base station is still not showing up under either version!!! Our operating system is Snow Leopard. Is this some other type problem?
Without getting into a lot of details, version numbers, etc., the bottom line is that you need a very old Mac running a very old version of the Mac operating system to be able to configure the old AirPort Extreme.
Anything from Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion or Mountain Lion cannot be used to configure the Extreme. I doubt that Tiger,which came before Leopard could be used.
Sorry to be blunt, but unless you can go back 7-8 years on a Mac, there is no chance that you will be able to configure the old AirPort Extreme that you have.
I see that John has posted some other suggestions. They are worth a try.....you never know. I would love to be wrong.
Using Snow Leopard you should definitely use AU 5.5.3. Later versions won't work.
If it is not being recognized, yes it's another problem. Perform a "hard reset" and attempt to establish contact with it again:
Resetting an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule FAQ
Edit: Bob Timmons may be right. I no longer have an original AEBS to test. The AirPort Utility version is correct but if it can't find the Extreme it might require a Mac running Tiger. If you can locate one of those, I am certain that will work. Another alternative is to use a PC with a version of AU for Windows.
Just remembering....I used this base station with my current iMac with no problem till upgrading to the new square AirPort Extreme 8.0.1n, so that can't have been that long ago or that many operating systems or updates that it worked for me...my mom is now trying to use it with her MacBook intel core 2 with 10.6.8
Again, the base station is producing an Airport Network, it just isn't accepting her password for the network and not letting her see the base station to access any settings.
I'm not following you. There are two passwords for the Extreme. One is the password to access the base station's settings with AirPort Utility. The other one is the wireless network password.
You can temporarily disable the Extreme's password with a "soft reset". Read the above FAQ to determine how to do that. Despite what it says the "soft reset" remains in effect for only two minutes as I recall.
Once you do that you can change the Extreme's wireless network password with AirPort Utility, if you can find a version that works. Another option is to connect the Extreme directly to your Mac with an Ethernet cable.
Once you do that you can change the Extreme's wireless network password with AirPort Utility, if you can find a version that works.
and that version is AirPort Admin Utility 4.2, which will run on Panther 10.3.3 to 10.3.9.
At least, that was true for my 2004 version of the AirPort Extreme....looking at some old records and notes that I kept. I imagine that a 2003 version would be similar.
The base station isn't even being seen, so it's not a problem with the base station's password. It's a problem accessing the network that the unseen base station produces. When you choose the network, it either refuses the password or just refuses to connect to the network after trying for a while.
Please see my post above.
Tiger and AirPort Utility 5.4.2 will work too.
I still use Tiger on occasion and that is the version still installed, but I sold my original AEBSs when I no longer needed their dialup modem... only three years ago.
Jim Alden wrote:
The base station isn't even being seen,
You must find a version of AU that will work. The fact that it rejects the password means it is being "seen". Its password needs to be correct or you will get nowhere. That is the reason you need to reset it.
Tiger and AirPort Utility 5.4.2 will work too.
Wish that I still had the old AirPort to test. I don't think 5.4.2 will administer the device, but will standby and watch to hopefully be proven wrong.
OK, so it is model A1034, 2003. But as I said, I was using that base station with my iMac clear up until I got my dual band Airport Extreme in Jan. 2011, so I don't think I went 8 years without being able to access any Airport Base Station, and I never declined any software updates to Airport Utility....
Thanks for the info, but as John says above....you must find a version of AU that will work
That means trying the previous version, then working back until you find a version that will administer the AirPort.
If AirPort Utility 5.4.2 will work.....as John mentions above.....that's great because it will run on Snow Leopard. My opinion, based on my recollection is that it will not....but I hope that I am wrong.
If 5.4.2 will not work, then you are faced with having to find a Mac using an older operating system just to be able to try the earlier versions of AiPort Utility, which was known as AirPort Admin Utility at the time.
Good luck. Keep us posted on your progress.
Which version of Airport Utility do I need?
