mathiasstromberg
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Flashing amber – Extreme won't connect

Hey!

 

After a reset of my Airport Extreme I cannot connect to it again.

The amber light keeps flashing, and when I use Airport Utility to try and get it to connect to my existing network (not Airport based, ZyXel wireless router) it finds the Extreme but then goes in to "waiting for the Airport Extreme" mode with the spinning wheel.
After a few minutes I get "Unexpected error, please try again".

Which I have, a hundred times.

At first I thought it was a problem with Mavericks cause that what a lot of people named as reason but then I tried with my wifes old Macbook which have Airport utility version 6.2 and though it gets a bit further the above scenario happens.

 

Greatly appriciated if any one has any suggestions on this!

 

Mathias, Stockholm

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9), Also used old MacBook

Posted on Jan 9, 2014 10:39 AM

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mathiasstromberg

Q: Flashing amber – Extreme won't connect

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  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Jan 9, 2014 1:55 PM in response to mathiasstromberg
    Level 9 (54,901 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 9, 2014 1:55 PM in response to mathiasstromberg

    What is your goal for using the AirPort Extreme base station with your existing ZyXel wireless router? That is, is your goal to extend the wireless range of the ZyXel for example? If so, will the connection between routers be wired or wireless?

  • by mathiasstromberg,

    mathiasstromberg mathiasstromberg Jan 9, 2014 11:04 PM in response to Tesserax
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 9, 2014 11:04 PM in response to Tesserax

    Ultimately, it's extending the network and getting it to work in the whole house but I would be happy now just to be able to be able to set it up on it's own so I can use it with my back-up hard drives, even if it doesn't connect to the main network.

     

    I have used it earlier with a different router – connected with an ethernet cable – where the router was in bridge mode and the AE was used as a wireless transmitter to create a more powerful network since the built-in wi-fi in the router was crap. The new one is a little better though but in a different room as it's adsl, not 4G as earlier, and works "alone". I thought I'd use the AE (wireless) to enhance the signal since it gets quite low still in the kids rooms …

     

    The weird part is that I cannot log on to the AE even though I JUST resetted it (again and again). It just keeps flashing the light and Airport Utility giving me the "Unknown error, try again" thing …

     

    Thanks again for all suggestions …

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Jan 10, 2014 6:38 PM in response to mathiasstromberg
    Level 9 (54,901 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 10, 2014 6:38 PM in response to mathiasstromberg

    Ultimately, it's extending the network and getting it to work in the whole house but I would be happy now just to be able to be able to set it up on it's own so I can use it with my back-up hard drives, even if it doesn't connect to the main network.

    Unless the connection between the two routers will be a wired one, you will NOT be able to extend the ZyXel's Wi-Fi network with the Extreme as the two are incompatible for this feature.

     

    You can; however, set up the Extreme to provide its own wireless network without it being connected to the rest of your home's network or to the Internet. You would; however, need to change Wi-Fi networks when you need to access the back-up drives. Note: If you are planning on using Time Machine for backups this will not work very well as TM, by default, will attempt to back up once an hour. Not sure you will really want to do this.

     

    You would be better served if your can connect them both via Ethernet, and then, reconfigure them both for a roaming network. With this type of network, not only can you extend the overall wireless range, both routers would be on the same network subnet and you wouldn't have to switch Wi-Fi networks for the backups.

  • by mathiasstromberg,

    mathiasstromberg mathiasstromberg Jan 11, 2014 1:14 AM in response to Tesserax
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 11, 2014 1:14 AM in response to Tesserax

    Ok cool, the roaming network may be a good idea for me, probably gets me the range I want from the network as it has done this once before.

     

    But: the main problem still remains – and is doubled, really, since I also need to connect to the base ZyXel base station to be able to configure it.

     

    No wifi-units shows up in Airport Utility 5.6.1 (the old one) and in the Mavericks one, 6.3.2 only every third time or so (and that's when I get the "unexpected error" message) – so again: thanks a lot for your tips & I will set up a roaming network a s a p but need to get "in to" the Airports. Very odd that they just don't show …

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Jan 11, 2014 10:24 AM in response to mathiasstromberg
    Level 9 (54,901 points)
    Wireless
    Jan 11, 2014 10:24 AM in response to mathiasstromberg

    No wifi-units shows up in Airport Utility 5.6.1 (the old one) and in the Mavericks one, 6.3.2 only every third time or so (and that's when I get the "unexpected error" message) – so again: thanks a lot for your tips & I will set up a roaming network a s a p but need to get "in to" the Airports. Very odd that they just don't show …

    Ok, here are a few things you can try:

     

    • Perform a "factory default" reset on the AirPort Extreme. Note: You may have to do this a few times to get it to take. The end result will be that the Extreme will broadcast an unsecured Wi-Fi network with a network name of something like: Apple Network NNNNNN
    • On your Mac, click on the AirPort icon in the OS X menu bar. You should now see the new base station in the pop-up menu. If you do, select it and the AirPort Utility should start up to allow you to administer it.
    • If the new base station does NOT show up in the menu, does the base station's Wi-Fi network show up instead? If so, then temporarily connect your Mac to this network, and then, run the AirPort Utility to configure it.
    • If the new network does NOT show up in the menu, then temporarily connect the Extreme to the ZyXel router using an Ethernet cable. Can the AirPort Utility find the base station now? If so, go ahead and configure it for a roaming network.

    Please post back your results.