Airport Express and Time Capsule will drop internet connection frequently

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Level 1

5 points

Airport Express and Time Capsule will drop internet connection frequently

Since 10 days Ive been having a lot of trouble with my network setup.

The problem is this:

1. Cable modem connects (all 4 lights green); airport express setup is PPPoE (Aex light is always green), but internet on my ipad/iphone stops abruptly while all lights everywhere are green. During this time i can ping all of these (AEx, 8.8.8.8 - google dns, www.google.com, and other sites) but cant open them. Turning off modem and AEx for some time and turning back on in order starts the internet again only to stop again in sometimes 30 mins sometimes 12 hours.

This is my setup.

1. CISCO DPQ Cable modem - No DHCP/wireless capability so only bridge mode. ISP has mac address linked and i have all 3 MACs (windows7 laptop, Airport express, Time capsule) updated with the ISP so that the modem can provide internet to all 3 devices.

2. I have an Airport Express (802.11n 2nd gen) and a time capsule (802.11ac). Both have latest firmware 7.6.4 and 7.7.3 respectively.I usually use one of the two routers as main router and the other in extend mode for getting wifi access in my whole house. The problems of internet dropping occur irrespective of which of the two is main router.

To diagnose the problem, i have switched off the other router and only the main router (assume Airport express - AEx) is connected to the modem.

Settings Summary - Security is WPA2 personal and i have also tried setting channels manually. 5GHz channel has a different name. Wireless mode is create a network mode. DNS servers on IPv4 are google servers. IPv6 mode is link-local only. All devices are assigned IPs properly (i have reserved IPs for my devices to reduce the problem of DHCP lease - if it is a problem). For NAT, Default host is not set and NAT port mapping is not enabled.

These are the possible faults that I see.

1. Faulty modem. I doubt it but ISP will replace it within few days.

2. Both my Aex and Time capsule are faulty.

3. Settings are wrong (maybe ipv6 settings, i dont know)

4. Lan cable between modem and main router is faulty.

5. ISP has a backend problem.

PLEASE HELP.

Airport express-OTHER

Posted on Oct 11, 2015 7:01 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 11, 2015 7:37 AM in response to misnomer01

TThe quickest method is to call your ISP or apple support for this but we can try to help.

Usually, if you can ping it is cause by a DNS problem.

Meaning unable to translate yahoo.com or similar to the numeric IP address.

Download an app such as NS lookup, you can delete it later. But any similar app will do fine. Do this on iPhone or iPad..

NSLookup by Dayana Networks Ltd.

https://appsto.re/us/xvsoz.i

THen lookupup google.com yahoo.com and see what the results are.

IF it works the issue lies elsewhere, if not the issue is DNS and we need to troubleshoot from there.

IF it does work...

This might best be solved by process of elimination.

DO you have any type of device such as a computer you can connect to the system by an actual Ethernet cable.

IF so first see then (when the issue is occurring) if you can connect to the Internet by plugging the computer directly into your ISP's modem. If this works then it eliminates issues with the cable modem.

next test is plugging into the airport and try the same thing To eliminate the issue of airport devices.

ISsue could also be a number of other things

can you post a screenshot of the settings on your iPad or iPhone. The screen that show IP address info.

SEttings/wifi/ then tap the i with a circle around it to get there

post back on your results and let us know and we can further troubleshoot

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Answer 2

misnomer01 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 11, 2015 5:51 PM in response to shogun88888888

Thanks shogun for your quick response.

The internet has not dropped since I posted this so I cant check NSLookup as yet, I have it downloaded and will test it once the internet goes down next.

But I have clearly tested the fact that when my modem lights are green any ping from my windows or ipad hits multiple websites but they dont open (looks like dns issue but i use google dns in my airport setup).

When the internet failed, I connected the modem directly to my computer and used PPPoE ('connect to a network' dialog) but it failed. On reboot of modem though, the internet started working immediately. This does not put the modem or ISP in the clear though. But given all the testing I have done, I am leaning towards the idea that as long as the 4 lights on my modem are green the internet should ideally be fine. Anyway im going to get the modem changed in a cpl of days so Ill have more data.

Heres the screenshot of my Ipad wifi connection settings. (ip address of any device is never lost during internet drop).

Thanks again for your help..

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Answer 3

Oct 12, 2015 6:22 AM in response to misnomer01

Its almost a bummer it hasn't went down to troubleshoot. I was wondering what DNS your modem was providing to your iPad.

Looking back at your originally posted settings in under the/ip subnet mask should not be 255.255.255.255 the last three digits are most likely a single 0

but this is determined by your ISP. Is the public IP address starting with the 219. assigned automatically or did you enter that IP address manually?

Next I see 10.11.1.1 as the router address Which should be the private network internally but noticed on your iPad your private network starts with a 192.

Also on the iPad the router and DNS are pointed to 192.168.1.1 which should be your Apple router. As the Apple router lists 10.11.1.1 this should not work at all.

Can you change that 10.11.1.1 to 192.168.1.1

What does the DHCP tab look like on the apple router.

IM assuming you have the DHCP tab set to assign in the 192. Range

We probably want the 219. address to be assigned to the main Apple router (probably the time capsule) for its public facing address which looks fine except for the subnet mask under Internet address, double check your ISP settings even though this is PPPOE. That 255.255.255.255 could be right but I doubt it.

I would manually assign 192.168.1.1 with subnet mask 255.255.255.255 to the router address on this main internal side on the time capsule.

On the airport express (in bridge mode) for Internet connection set internal IP address as 192.168.1.2 with subnet mask 255.255.255.0 and below that router address of 192.168.1.1 to point to the time capsule. Since the airport express is a secondary router automatic dhcp should work but a manually configured static is preferred but you could just leave it set for dhcp and it should work.

back to the time capsule set dhcp settings set it for dhcp and NAT in the 192.168 range, which by the appearance of your IP address on the iPad looks like you already have.

There should really be no need for for your ISP to know the MAC address of your internal devices with this method.

as a guess I believe what might be happening is initially your ISP is routing Internet traffic directly by using the MAC address of each device and it works. But when the device such as your iPad gets a real IP address it is unable to connect as its looking for 192.169.1.1 but it's only finding 10.11.1.1

Hope this made sense

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Answer 4

misnomer01 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 12, 2015 7:13 AM in response to shogun88888888

Thanks for the quick reply shogun.

Below I will give you snapshots of all my settings. I understand what you meant about the subnet being different. But my internet has been working nonstop for 12 hrs now which is a record for past 10 days. My setup is this [modem -----> lan cable-----> airport express-------> wireless extend mode-----> time capsule]

Public IP starts with 203. DHCP range on airport express (main router) is 192.168.

I have no clue where the 10.11.1.1 is coming from. When earlier my DHCP range was 10.0; then also the router Ip was 10.11.1.1.

I understand ur point about setting main router to static IP but how do I then input my login and password? only way i see is PPPoE.

Airport express Network settings (main router) - Internet is working

Time Capsule (wireless extend mode) - internet is working

My IPad IP is 192.168.1.4 subnet 255.255.255.0; router and DNS of 192.168.1.1 (main router)

Minor update: The green light of Internet on Airport utility on Ipad turned amber for a minute and webpages wouldnt load. During this i managed to ping 10.11.1.1. Here are the results (last one). The internet came back on after that and light is again green (on airport utility on Ipad, the devices are always green)

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Answer 5

misnomer01 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 12, 2015 7:29 AM in response to misnomer01

Also, the subnet mask assigned to main router is automatic. (the field in PPPoE mode is non-editable)

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Answer 6

Oct 12, 2015 5:28 PM in response to misnomer01

This is a tough one.

The IP address of the airport is the address assigned to the airport by PPPOE

The router address is the address that is assigned is the main network address being shared and translated by DHCP and NAT but I am not sure if it is the internal address assigned on the ISP's router or your if its assigned to your airport. It could be either.

One alternate thing to try would be to try the 10.0 range

ISP's that use PPPOE use some very odd settings sometimes. I used to work for one and guess what, I used to be the guy you called to get your connection up and running.

I am seeing their idea to you online a bit better now, but i can't quite grasp what they are doing.

Theres no wireless on their modem but it seems they want you to connect each device to their modem directly.

Is this a DSL connection.

PPPOE is so outdated for modern customer internet now but I suppose they have their reason. Probably cost.

I have two last theories as I don't know how your ISP has configured their setup and can only guess.

One: Call them and ask them how to configure your airport. If they are worth anything they should already have a written script in front of them.

Two: "If" this is DSL, all green on the ISP's router does not necessarily mean a good connection. Your data is tunneling in the PPPOE stream and can easily get messed up by interference from simple things such as power lines, a lawn mower, whatever. Also, check other things in the house if it is DSL. Does the issue happen if certain appliances are on, phones are used, or anything else electronic. I even once helped a guy where his DSL line went to a crawl when his air conditioning kicked on. However, if this is not DSL, ignore number TWO.

Since this is currently working now, it seems the configuration is correct. Odd but correct. I am quite stumped but something external could be the culprit. Call your ISP the moment it goes down, some will be able to do a packet trace to your router and be able to troubleshoot as well.

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Answer 7

misnomer01 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 12, 2015 5:51 PM in response to shogun88888888

MY connection is cable, not DSL. Also, calling my ISP is not an option, im in India, I doubt they have the level of knowledge that we desire. I surely will try to figure out how their infrastructure is set up (PPPoE or other options if available) when the technician comes to visit, technicians aren't available on phone.

currently I have set my channels manually looking at least used channels with an app.

ALso while pinging 10.11.1.1 and using a packet analyser software; I am quite certain the MAC address associated with that ip is the Ethernet port of main airport express router. So it seems like the modem and Internet IN of main router is on one subnet and it provides Internet to devices on the 255.255.255.0 subnet. what does enabling not mapping protocol do? Is there a firewall somewhere which is causing dropped connections?

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Answer 8

misnomer01 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 12, 2015 7:49 PM in response to misnomer01

It happened again. 30 mins back I removed the ipv6 dns from my main apple express router to see if its the culprit. Internet worked fine till it stopped working. Airport utility showed 2 errors saying that ethernet had been unplugged (i have never seen this particular error before). there was no one in the mdem and router room, so I dont know what the case is.

Anyway, I checked the lan cable but still no good. Please note that I could NOT ping 10.11.1.1 or google.com but the local network devices were still accessible (subnet 255.255.255.0). Modem lights were all green, but airport express light was amber because of the error. NSlookup gave no output at all for google.com.

I connected the modem directly to my laptop but it would not connect while dialing pppoe saying 'connecting through wan miniport' and ending in error. A restart of the modem got the internet working. Modem now connected back to airport express is now again working.

Questions?

Did the apple devices screw with the modem? or is the modem at fault?

If the frequency of disconnection increases, I will put the Ipv6 dns back into aexp and see what it does.

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Answer 9

Oct 13, 2015 6:28 AM in response to misnomer01

I am really at a loss.

I seriously doubt any of the Apple equipment is a fault here.

I have experienced an instance where ip v6 caused issues with connectivity and disabling it helped. But I don't recall the circumstance.

SOmething to consider

im down to thinking its your ISP's router or just their connection in general.

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Answer 10

misnomer01 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 13, 2015 6:50 AM in response to shogun88888888

IM going to do an extensive check to find out if the modem or ISp is at fault. I'll plug modem directly to Laptop for 2 days and see if issues arise. Any good logging tool to help me monitor this?

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Answer 11

misnomer01 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 13, 2015 11:12 PM in response to misnomer01

Pretty sure now that the airports or their settings are NOT at fault.

Issue happened when modem was directly connected to my laptop. Some sites could be pinged some sites could not.

Even sites which could be pinged could not open. Looked like possible dns issue, so tweaked DNS settings but to no avail.

Problem narrows down to either faulty ethernet cable (i used 2 cables so doubt that is the problem) or faulty modem, cable or backend server.

Thanks guys.

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Answer 12

Oct 14, 2015 5:54 AM in response to misnomer01

Glad you were able to narrow it down.

One issue, which you can't do anything about is the actual cables running to your residence.

i Had an issue with a previous cable install where the signal to noise ratio was inconsistent due to failing equipment owned by my ISP which was resolved by them actually rerunning new cables to my residence.

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Answer 13

misnomer01 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 14, 2015 6:36 AM in response to shogun88888888

TThanks. Going to get them to check the whole line till my residence and my modem.

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