Hard Connected Airport Express units are not seen from Xfinity Wireless Router

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Level 1

8 points

Hard Connected Airport Express units are not seen from Xfinity Wireless Router

I have two Airport Express units each connected with hard lines to an Xfinity four port + wireless router. The units perform as expected in Bridge mode as wireless access points providing IPs 10.0.0.nn in the range sepecified in the Xfinity router. All my wireless devices notebooks, pads, phones connect to any one of the access points including directly to the Xfinity wireless or to the remaining hard line of the Xfinity router. This system was connected to an ASUS pocket router when the modem from Comcast had only one Ethernet port which went to the ASUS router. In the original ASUS configuration the Airport Express units were visible to the Airport Utility when connected from any of the possible paths, ASUS wireless or any one of the Airport access points. This included the 4th hard wired line at the ASUS router. All was well!

The new Xfinity wireless router and modem is exceptionally fast and I would like to keep it in use. However, the Airport Utility cannot find either Airport Express from the Xfinity router, either through the hard line to it or through the wireless to it. All devices are network 10.0.0.nn. It is also true that a ping of each Airport Express unit responds in milliseconds from any path to the network so the actual route to the Airports through the Xfinity router is functional. I am assuming that the discovery scheme in the Airport utility uses some different mode to seek the Airport Units and this function is not working. Incidently, if one connects to either of the Airport express units via their wireless, the Airport Utility does see both Airport Express units. Also from these two connections, one can stream music to the Airport Express.

There must be some mode either in the Xfinity router or in the Airport Express unit that enables the Airport Utility and iTunes to see the Airport Express units and stream music. We had it before with the ASUS. For now I can only stream when connected wirelessly to the Airport Express units.

Any Ideas!

AirPort Express 802.11n (1st Gen)

Posted on Aug 15, 2013 7:16 PM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

148,321 points

Aug 16, 2013 8:43 AM in response to umjwc

Per chance are you attempting to access the AirPort base stations using version 6.x of the AirPort Utility? If so, be sure that both all of the routers and the Mac are configured for IPv6. As a minimum they should be configured for "Link-local only."

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Answer 2

umjwc Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 15, 2014 11:24 AM in response to Tesserax

Changing to IPv6 Link Local did not make an observable difference. I can still connect wireless to both Airport Express units directly as access point (bridge mode) and when that is done both Airport Express units can be seen, configured and used. If I recconnect as I would perfer, hardwired to a port on the Xfinity 4 port router or connected to the builtin wireless on the Xfinity router, the Airport units are not visible to the Airport Utility or to iTunes. However, I can ping the two Airport Express units from either the hardwired port on the Xfinity router to from the builtin wireless on the Xfinity router. What I don't know is the prototcol for the Airport Utility or for iTunes that is used to discover Airport Express units.

If there is a way to manually set the IP of the Airport Express units with the Airport Utility, I can set the Xfinity Router to assign the IP for those two ports. That is my new attempt.

JWC

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Answer 3

umjwc Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 15, 2014 1:35 PM in response to umjwc

One more approach that does not work. I set the IPv6 to tunneling on the two Airport Express units and the router to provid a fixed IP. No harm in that since they are hardwired and are not going anywhere. Set to 10.0.0.102 and 10.0.0.103 since my printer is 10.0.0.101 and needs a fixed I to always be at the same place. Both Airport Express units still work as access points for connection. Both can be pinged from outside (i.e. other machines on the local network 10.0.0.x). The units are only visible for iTunes or Airport Utility if the utility is running connected to one of the two Airport Express units themselves. Both Airport Express units can be seen from either of the two Airport units but not from any other computer on the 10.0.0.x network. This implies that the Xfinity router is responsilbe even though it does not restrict communication between the two Airport Express units that also passes through the router.

I'll diddle with the settings on the router next to see if I can come up with any scheme that will work. Does anyone know how the Airport utiltiy or iTunes discovers the Airport Express.

JWC

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Answer 4

umjwc Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 15, 2014 7:07 PM in response to umjwc

More trouble with Airport Express, probably 1st Generation, but perhaps not. I'll have to look. I checked that the Mac Airport Utility 6.3.1 also behaves the same as Window 7, 5.6.1 version of Airport Utility in that it can only see the Airport units if connected to one of the two acting as access point (Bridge mode). I will probably have to get out my old router and plug it directly into the Xfinity and operate it as an access point with all the separate wired and wireless connections to the old router which worked when it was disconnected. What a crock this has been.

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