(yet another) Airport Extreme losing internet connection

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Level 1

8 points

(yet another) Airport Extreme losing internet connection

I have brand new Airport Extreme 802.11 N with firmware 7.6.2 connected to a brand new COX Cisco DPQ3212 cable modem and keep losing the internet connection.

My old airport extreme with an old cable modem worked for years. The problem started a week or so ago. I don't remember if I'd done a firmware update recently. I had COX come out. They gave me the new cable modem even though their equipment and network tested OK. So I took my airport extreme to an apple store. They don't do diagnoses on airports so I just bought a new one. But after installing and configuring the new airport I still have the same problem. Swapping ethernet cables doesn't fix it either.

Could this be a problem with the airport 7.6.2 firmware? I've seen threads about issues with 7.6 but I don't know if it is the same, or if patches are in 7.6.2, or what.

Pulling and reconnecting the ehternet between the airport and modem gets me reconnected to the internet temporarily.

Thanks in advance for help.

Posted on Mar 3, 2013 9:58 AM

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Answer 1

bozmoz Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 3, 2013 1:17 PM in response to bozmoz

My issue seems similar to what's on this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2500368?answerId=11877115022#11877115022

I've done all the suggestions on that thread except resetting the airport extreme to factory settings. I'd expect buying a new one covers that :-) but I'll try it anyway.

My cable modem always shows a solid light indicating a constant connection to the ISP. The modem's 'link' light indicating the connection between the airport and modem blinks rapidly as if data is being transferred even when I can't get to the internet.

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Answer 2

bozmoz Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 3, 2013 10:28 PM in response to bozmoz

I've switched back to my old airport extreme and reset it to factory settings. Still have the same problem.

Anyone had it this bad? Any help would be appreciated.

Next move is to return to new AE and maybe try a different brand router. Everyone tells me the Apple routers are great, and that's been my experience before this problem came up, so I'd like to keep using the AE.

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Answer 3

bozmoz Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 6, 2013 12:41 PM in response to bozmoz

The saga continues.

I'm now sure it is not a bad AE (yipee!) but is actually a bad switch or wiring somewhere else in my network. To test it I ...

1. configured all devices to not use the wifi network

2. unplugged the AE, my other switch, my NAS, and the cable modem

3. removed all ethernet cables from the AE

4. reset the cable modem (because it has a battery) and let it boot up and sit for 5 minutes -- all lights OK on modem

5. connected only the AE to the modem and started up the AE, letting it boot and sit for 5 minutes -- all lights OK on AE and modem

6. connected only one laptop to the AE via wifi, and used it for an hour -- no problems

7. connected one other laptop via wifi and used it also for an hour -- no problems

8. connected each other wifi device, with a minute or so delay between each, and let my family use them for a day -- no problems

9. connected the NAS via ethernet to the AE and let family use everything for a day -- no problems

10. started the old switch and let it boot and sit for 5 minutes -- no problems (duh, not connected! :-)

11. connected switch to AE via ethernet -- LOST INTERNET AFTER A FEW MINUTES, AT MOST

12, disconnected switch from AE -- regained internet after a minute or less

bingo!!

So. I probably I went slower than needed, but doing one item at a time starting from the cable modem eventually led me to the problem. Next step is to replace the switch and see how that goes.

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Answer 4

MKB1234

Level 1

8 points

Mar 8, 2013 10:10 AM in response to bozmoz

After the last Airport Extreme update I have wifi interruption problems on ALL my Apple devices. My iPhone 4S tries but stops updating apps and then nothing else loads. My iPad stalls and stutters with it's connection and my laptop just sits there and pages won't load. I restart, shut off wifi etc and the problem returns. Does anyone have a solution? I've talked to Apple to no avail and I've even tried trouble shooting with my internet service provider. It has definitely started after this past update. Oh, and the weird thing is...no one else in the house is having these problems with their Apple stuff!!!

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Answer 5

bozmoz Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 10, 2013 12:38 PM in response to bozmoz

It turned out to be the switch. Not the modem. Not the AE. Got a new switch and all's been fine for over a week now.

Sorry but I have no idea for MKB1234 :-(

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Answer 6

MKB1234

Level 1

8 points

Mar 10, 2013 2:19 PM in response to bozmoz

I reverted my AirPort Extreme to the last version and everything seems to be working fine. It must be a buggy update for my devices.

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Answer 7

Dec 3, 2015 8:13 PM in response to MKB1234

How did you do this? I've hard reset my AE to factory settings and all seems well for a day then in becomes intermittent then goes out. I reset the Cox modem, works great for day, maybe 1/2 day then dead again. Start process all over again.... LOST!

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Answer 8

gt2760a

Level 1

15 points

Dec 6, 2015 8:17 AM in response to bozmoz

I was having the same issue with my AE for the past month. The Internet kept going out every couple of hours. Cox came out to my home to trouble shoot twice and the problem still persisted. I called Apple Tech Support yesterday and we went through some settings on my AE and changed a couple of things and it has been running fine for 24 hours without any interruption.

First we checked to see if there was any other type of possible interference from other wireless devices. I am running OS X El Capitan on my iMac so the menu options may vary for your depending on what OS you are running but you should be able to find it. My iMac is hard wired to my AE but tech support told me to turn the on the Wi-Fi on my iMac for this exercise.

Go to the Apple Menu > About This Mac > System Report > Scroll down to Wi-Fi on the left hand side. On the right side of the screen, under Current Network Information, you will see the channel number that your AE is transmitting on. Below that, under Other Local Wi-Fi Networks, you will see all of the other Wi-Fi networks that your device is picking up and the channel numbers that they are broadcasting on. Write down all of the channel numbers from all of the other Wi-Fi networks. The purpose of this exercise was to then change the channel numbers on my AE to a different channel from any other Wi-Fi networks around. This should help with any potential interference.

Then go into the Airport Utility, open up the settings on the AE, go to the Wireless tab, and click on Wireless Options. The settings for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz were set to automatic. Change your channels to something different from the list of channels that you wrote down from the other Wi-Fi networks. Tech Support recommends choosing a higher channel for the 5GHz channel since the lower channels are more commonly used from other types of 5GHz devices. Then, save and update your AE.

Next, go back into the AE settings and click on the Internet tab. Then click on the Internet Options button. We changed the Configure IPv6 settings from Automatically to Link-local only. Then, save and update your AE.

Since then, I have not had any issues with my Internet not working. Again, it has only been 24 hours, but my Internet kept going out every couple of hours so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

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