Widespread issue - unable to connect to Airport Extremes?

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Level 1

45 points

Widespread issue - unable to connect to Airport Extremes?

Is anyone aware of the following issue I have seen affecting multiple Airport Extremes in the past week or two?

I've had an Airport Extreme (the "tower" model) for almost a year. Suddenly starting from about 10 days ago all my devices (2 MacBooks, 1 iMac, 2 iPhones, 3 iPads, 2 Android tables, 1 August Connect, 1 health scale, 1 SmartHome controller) have been mostly unable to connect to neither the 2.4GHz nor the 5GHz bands. The symptom is usually with the password not being recognized, occasionally with network timeouts. Rebooting the Airport sometimes results in 2-3 clients being able to connect, but no more connections after that. Furthermore, if a (lucky) connected client disconnects and then tries to reconnect, they are unsuccessful.

I still had the older, perfectly working Airport Extreme (the flat model) from before upgrading to the new one. If I replace the newer with the older, that too is affected by the same exact symptom.

At the Apple Store they gave me a replacement tower model. That 3rd one is not working either.

On the way out from my office to the Apple Store a co-worked stopped me after being the Airport in my hand. Turns out he he having the same *exact* issue with his tower model at his home, which coincidentally started for him too about 10 days ago.

I ruled out interference as a root cause because: (1) if on the Airport Extremes I remove WPA authentication and leave the 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs open with no password, clients are able to connect without issues, and (2) if I configure internet sharing from either a Macbook or an iMac which are 3 feet below the Airport Extreme (using the same SSIDs and WPA passwords as are on the Airport), there are zero issues with the other clients connecting. I tried using channels in internet sharing in both the 2.4GHz band and the 5GHz band. If interference was an issue, I would not be able to connect on the open access points on the Airports, nor to the duplicate SSIDs on the Macs.

In addition, what are the chances both my co-worker and I had the same interference occurring in two houses 20 miles from each other...?

I am done troubleshooting this, and have purchased a new D-Link router which will arrive in a couple of days. This is an open forum to see if anyone else is having similar issues with the Airport Extremes that would have started about 10 days ago.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on May 22, 2015 6:32 PM

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Answer 1

newstang

Level 1

4 points

May 24, 2015 5:51 AM in response to ik8sqi2

Same Issue, the wifi signal connects, but does not work.

I have to disconnect the power and reboot because it asks for a password and says its incorrect.

I ave to do this 4-5 times a day.

Apple: get this fixed !

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Answer 2

ik8sqi2 Author

Level 1

45 points

May 25, 2015 5:11 AM in response to ik8sqi2

ik8sqi2 wrote:

............

I am done troubleshooting this, and have purchased a new D-Link router which will arrive in a couple of days. This is an open forum to see if anyone else is having similar issues with the Airport Extremes that would have started about 10 days ago.

I've been using the new D-Link AC3200 for almost 24 hours now without any issues whatsoever. I have 14 wireless devices connected right now, with about 5 on the 2.4GHz and the rest on the 5GHz band, all connecting immediately to WiFi without delays.

These issues were with 100% certainty Apple-Extreme-related, there is no way interference was an issue since the connection issues only occur with the 3 Airport Extremes. No issues with the D-Link nor when using an iMac or a Macbook to share their internet connection over WiFi on either band.

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Answer 3

dtjarlz

Level 1

0 points

Jun 4, 2015 10:52 PM in response to ik8sqi2

I seem to be having the same problem...

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Answer 4

veehbJ

Level 1

55 points

Jun 5, 2015 9:59 AM in response to dtjarlz

I have a similar issue. Last night I was seeing slow Internet speeds on my DSL modem, so I turned off WiFI and plugged the modem directly into first my iMac 27" 5K computer and then into my MBP 15" laptop. Saw same slow speed using an Ethernet cable as with WiFI. So, I unplugged the Ethernet cable and turned back on the WiFi on the two computers. Now my iMac will not see my HP 8600 printer. The printer says it is connected to the network The Airport Extreme lists it as a connected device, but my iMac does not see it.

This is frustrating. Do I need to remove the HP 8600 from the Airport Extreme and then re-attach it?

Any suggestions?

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Answer 5

Jun 10, 2015 6:24 AM in response to ik8sqi2

Yes, I am also having this issue. I have a fat Airport Extreme Basestation model in a small office, lots of devices connected. One day about 10 days ago, I left and came back and I could no longer connect to the internet. The same thing happened to someone else in the office, we both use older MBP's (2010 and 2009) - both running Yosemite (with SSDs and increased RAM). EVERYONE else at the office could connect no matter what device (Macs, PCs, phones, printers). And us 2 with he older MBPs could only connect to the AirPort Basestation, but get NO internet connection.

Then slowly the whole thing went screwy. It began to only send out the Guest signal, and more and more people could not connect. We reset the whole thing, it went back to everyone ELSE connecting, but I continue to not be able to connect with my older MBP.

As I fiddled, I changed the the Network Settings in the AirPort from "OFF (Bridge Mode)" to "DHCP and NAT" - and BEHOLD I could connect again. But I get a Red Bubble #1 Error Message on the Airport Utility that I have a "double NAT" and need to change it back to "OFF (Bridge Mode)". But it doesn't seem to affect my connectivity to the internet. Should I be worried?

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Answer 6

Jun 12, 2015 2:45 AM in response to jonathanelam

I also have the same problem. I just upgraded about a week ago to a refurbished Airport Extreme tower model from the previous flat (5th gen?) and see issues with bridge mode enabled. The first thing I did was update the firmware so now I'm wondering if there is a bug in the firmware.

If I were to enable NAT, it would cause issues with gaming and other connections as I'd have double nat as well.

I've noticed that I lose connectivity to devices using 802.11g first. Eventually, I am unable to login with airport utility and then it will finally stop working all together until a reboot. It also loses it's IPv6 address and sometimes turns file sharing back on.

The old airport extreme was rock solid the entire time and I just wanted 802.11ac to go with my newer apple devices. It's really frustrating as my nest and laptop are often unable to connect to the internet.

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Answer 7

Jun 15, 2015 9:51 AM in response to jonathanelam

To update everyone: After I made the switch from "OFF (Bridge Mode)" to DHCP and NAT" and got an error message not he AirPort Utility window, however being able to access the internet, apparently that made everyone else's connections go haywire during the rest of that day. Its all a mess! Then, after the weekend, I came to the office, and low and behold my MBP connected with no problem to the main signal of the AirPort BaseStation, and I have been connected to the internet no problem all day. This is quite odd, intermittent and confusing.

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