AirPort Extreme repeatedly drops Internet connection and needs boot to restore

Did you connect your computer directly to your modem and let things run that way a day or two as a test.....to make first make sure that the modem is functioning correctly?

If not, and you decide to try this, and you find that the connection still drops......then you have a bad modem, or the wiring coming into your house may need to be checked by a technician. If the modem is 4-5 years old, it would be a good idea to replace it.

if the Ethernet cable is a few years old, now might be a good to replace the cable as well.

Depending on the type of modem that you have, you may be able to connect to one of the LAN <--> Ethernet ports on the AirPort....in case the WAN port is having intermittent problems or has worn connectors in the Ethernet jack. (16 tiny copper contacts must all line up exactly for a good connection). An estimated 90% of connection problems are here.

A few minutes of testing by the ISP......checking remotely.....is not going to to do it......just as Apple might check the AirPort Extreme remotely for a few minutes when it is working correctly and pronounce that the AirPort is working perfectly.

You still need to connect your computer directly to the modem for at least a day.....two would be better....and keep an eye on the connection. If all is well after your check , post back and we'll take a look at the AirPort Extreme.

If you want to start troubleshooting the AirPort Extreme immediately, take it to an Apple Store.....assuming that you have one near you.....to let them take a look and check things out. The AIrPorts almost always perform perfectly when you do this.....the Ethernet cable at the store may make a better connection than your current cable, fore example.....but there is always the slight chance that the AirPort might be acting up at the exact time that the Apple Store runs the check.

If you are convinced that the AirPort is acting up, and you have already reset the AirPort back to factory defaults and set it up again and it still is misbehaving, then you could try a new AirPort Extreme. Apple allows you 14 days to return the product, so if the new AirPort acts up as well, you can return it for credit or a refund, and continue to try to figure out what is really causing the issue.

I once went through an episode like this and the problem turned out to be an intermittent connection the wiring coming from the outside of the house to the co-ax connector on the wall. Up until that time, I had blamed the modem and and router......yet both of them worked perfectly on independent tests. Only when a technician from the cable company came out to inspect the wiring from the utility pole into the house was the real problem solved.

I'm not saying that this is your issue, but in order to troubleshoot correctly, you have to explore every possible item.