Connecting Airport Extreme to Actiontec Q1000 Gateway

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Connecting Airport Extreme to Actiontec Q1000 Gateway

Searched the forum, but no luck, so starting a new post. I have DSL service to my home from Centurylink to an Actiontec. Q1000 gateway modem. Since the signal is weak in the other side of my home, I have extended a cat5e ethernet cable (tested and working properly) to the center of my home and to the WAN port on an Airport Extreme (4th generation).

Airport utilitiy tells gives me 3 status messages:

1) Ethernet unplugged

2) Internet connection - no valid IP address

3) No DNS servers

I assume issues 2 & 3 will be resolved when issue #1 is resolved.

I know the "outgoing" port from the modem works as I can plug it directly into my laptop and I can access the internet. I used a professional cable tester for the cat5 and it is working properly. This setup has worked before.

So I'm confused. Thanks for any help someone can provide.

Posted on Apr 17, 2014 5:49 PM

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Answer 1

turbostar

Level 4

2,941 points

Apr 17, 2014 6:04 PM in response to grahamfromaz

i didn't see this explicitly, connect your laptop to the end of the extended eth cable, does it still work then?

the one thing you should google is whether you need to enter your PPoE credentials or something since you're using DSL, i think it requires your login information to work

if these are fine, then proceed with

power down your modem and leave it off for 5 mins

fully reset your extreme and for now, we'll set it up with a short eth cable and move it to the final location later (this only if you confirm the long eth cord is working now)

to reset, power off extreme and push in reset button, keep holding reset button while you reconnect power and only release reset when amber light flashes after 10-20s

wait a minute, you should get a green light then open airport utility, look under 'other wifi devices' to set it up and follow the prompts to 'create a new network' - your isp box is actually a router, too, so you need to make sure the extreme is setup in bridge mode (check under network tab)

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Answer 2

grahamfromaz Author

Level 1

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Apr 17, 2014 7:52 PM in response to turbostar

Laptop works fine when connected to other end of ethernet (the apple extreme end). But no green light on the WAN port on AE, and only green LED on front is for a short second upon re-start. Still flashing amber (was solid amber when using airport utility to set up wifi network).

Followed your steps but got same result ("waiting for an ethernet cable to be plugged in"). Maybe i had order wrong? For instance, should DSL cable be plugged in during re-start? Same on router re-start WITH ETHERNET CABLE?

So I guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was ;)

Any more specifics on the step-by-step would be great. Thanks for your time.

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