Airport Express keeps disconnecting from modem and losing the wifi signal

Question

Airport Express keeps disconnecting from modem and losing the wifi signal

I had a power outage at my house a month ago and ever since then my perfectly fine AE connection is now giving me trouble. It keeps losing the connection with the modem, therefore no WiFi. I say this because I've has Time Warner replace the modem, which when hooked up directly to my computer works fine. I've confirmed my software is up to date. I have even used a second, same generation AE with the same results. If I disconnect the power and reconnect it, the connection comes back but will not stay and even while the light remains green. I have also attempted to connect it via the Bridge setting without success. I have tried a hard reset but nothing I've tried so far has worked. I would welcome help. Thank you.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8), and Macbook air os 10.7.5

Posted on Mar 26, 2015 9:38 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

148,273 points

Mar 26, 2015 11:15 AM in response to illanabehrend

Is your AirPort Express base station connected directly to the Time Warner-provided modem by Ethernet or is it connected to that modem by wireless? What is the model# of the modem and your Express? If the Express is connected by wireless, is the Express configured to join an existing Wi-Fi network?

Reply

Answer 2

Mar 26, 2015 11:58 AM in response to Tesserax

My Airport is connected directly to the modem with Ethernet. My modem is model # : Arris DG1670A, I have an old Airport Extreme 802.11n, the flat square one.

Reply

Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

148,273 points

Mar 26, 2015 1:31 PM in response to illanabehrend

My modem is model # : Arris DG1670A...

Ok, the Arris is actually a gateway device ... a combination modem and wireless router. Not just a simple modem. Your AirPort base station, if connected by Ethernet, should be reconfigured as a bridge ... is it?

I have an old Airport Extreme 802.11n, the flat square one.

Sorry but your post said AirPort Express. Which is it? Better still what is its model#?

Reply

Answer 4

Mar 27, 2015 9:31 AM in response to Tesserax

My modem model is A1143 and I'm not sure how to configure it as a bridge, does this require anything special other than selecting the tab. Thanks

Reply

Answer 5

Tesserax

Level 10

148,273 points

Mar 27, 2015 10:02 AM in response to illanabehrend

Ok, the A1143 is a 1st generation 802.11n AirPort Extreme base station. Thanks for providing the model#.

You would reconfigure this base station as a bridge, as follows:

Run the AirPort Utility.
Select the Extreme, and then, select Edit.
Select the Network tab.
Change Router Mode to: Off (Bridge Mode).
Click on Update and allow the Extreme to restart.

Reply

Answer 6

Mar 27, 2015 11:31 AM in response to Tesserax

Thank you. I will try this as soon as I get home and hopefully this will work.

Reply

Answer 7

Apr 2, 2015 1:34 PM in response to illanabehrend

Hello again. I could not get it to work using the bridge method. I contacted TimeWarner and they said the wifi ability of my modem is not active so I'm wondering if this makes a difference?

Reply

Answer 8

Tesserax

Level 10

148,273 points

Apr 2, 2015 4:28 PM in response to illanabehrend

The modem's Wi-Fi may be disabled, but unless Time Warner also reconfigured it as a bridge, it should be performing as a router. The reason I had you reconfigure the AirPort as a bridge is so that you didn't have two routers connected in series. I would suggest that you contact TW again as confirm with them that the modem is not in bridge mode. If it is, then you have the choice to leave it that way, and then, reconfigure the Extreme as a router. That is reset it so that it is providing the required NAT & DHCP services.

Reply

Answer 9

Apr 6, 2015 1:13 PM in response to illanabehrend

I confirmed with TW that the modem is not in bridge mode and the wifi capabilities are in fact turned off and I would like to have my AE work with the modem as it is now? I would really appreciate it if you could give me the steps to take to get it to work. When I tried putting it in bridge mode through my desktop, my desktop connected but I could not pick up the wifi signal from my macbook air. Please advise. Thank you.

Reply

Answer 10

Tesserax

Level 10

148,273 points

Apr 6, 2015 2:57 PM in response to illanabehrend

Ok, thanks for the update. I provided you the instructions to reconfigure your Express as a bridge.

However, this time I would suggest that you start by first performing a "factory default" reset on the Express. After this type of reset, the Express will perform as a router and broadcast an unsecured Wi-Fi network with a network name of something like: Apple Network NNNNNN. You should now be able to use either your desktop or laptop to connect to the Express and reconfigure it as a bridge per those instructions.

Reply

Answer 11

Apr 6, 2015 5:43 PM in response to Tesserax

I followed you instructions above, did a hard factory reset and then set up using bridge mode and I couldn't get any wifi connection at all. I needed to reset the AE network to DHCP and NAT, and then I did get wifi but still with the same disconnecting issues.

Reply

Answer 12

Tesserax

Level 10

148,273 points

Apr 7, 2015 9:28 AM in response to illanabehrend

So, after reconfiguring the Extreme as a bridge, neither of your Macs could "see" the "Apple Network NNNNN" wireless network?

Sorry, but at this point, I'm not sure what else to offer. It may be possible that your Extreme base station may be defective (possibly damaged during the power outage).

Reply

Answer 13

Jun 28, 2016 11:49 AM in response to illanabehrend

I have similar problem. My wifi was working fine until one day I had to do a hard reset and it's been funky ever since. My problem is that the moment I log off or turn off my iMac my wifi network is logged off. In order to establish connection I have to unplug and replug the power cord to the airport express every single time and it re-establish the connection. Is there a way to keep the network signal on every time where my computer recognize and automatically just connect to the internet by itself? Any help is much appreciated!

Reply