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Why would ONLY my guest wireless network be working?

Beginning suddenly, my main home wifi stopped working. The devices connect easily to the wireless network and show high signal quality, but there is no connectivity to the internet. Everything works fine while wired, and I can access my LOCAL network correctly (Apple TV, Remote, File Sharing, Screen Sharing, etc), but my main network will not allow me to access the internet.


The Airport Utility does not show any problems (Double NAT, etc).


Throughout all this, the Guest Network works as expected as does my wired network.


Using WiFi explorer and inSSIDer, I am showing some other neighbor networks at high signal strength, but not sure if that is THE cause of the issue.


I have several variations on Airport Express, Time Capsule, and Airport Extreme, and this problem is the same across all of them, so I don't believe it's hardware dependent.


Any troubleshooting steps or remedies would be appreciated.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Nov 30, 2015 10:09 AM

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5 replies

Dec 3, 2015 11:18 AM in response to Bob Timmons

I did all the powering up and down as you suggested. Even removed all the other access points, etc from the entire network. Currently only the one Time Capsule is functioning as the DHCP/NAT router and wifi.


Guest network enabled, and main network enabled. Everything works great on guest network, but main network cuts in and out.


If I replace the time capsule with my Airport Express OR my Airport Extreme, the behavior is the same.


The wired network is working perfectly and very fast.


I am having trouble making any sense out of this...

-If the problem were the cable modem (Arris SB6121) why would the wired internet be working

-If the problem were a wifi module, why would multiple devices show the same problem?

-If the problem were some kind of spectral overload from a microwave, neighbor, etc, why would the guest network function while the "normal" wifi does not.. I should add that even the 5GHz networks, when enabled, do not work properly.


Thanks for the help.


-C

Dec 3, 2015 11:55 AM in response to xopheres

Power off the modem by pulling the power cord from the back of the device or pulling the power supply from the wall AC jack.

Disconnect the co-ax cable and Ethernet cable from the modem

Leave the modem powered off for at least 30 minutes. Longer will not hurt at all.


During the time that the modem is powered off, perform a Factory Default Reset on the Time Capsule as follows:

Power off the TC

Wait 10-15 seconds

Hold in the reset button on the back of the TC first, and keep holding for an additional 7 to 8 seconds while you simultaneously plug the power back into the TC

Release the reset button and allow a full minute for the TC to restart

Power off the TC


After the modem has been powered off at least 30 minutes, connect the co-ax cable to the modem and Ethernet cable from the modem to the WAN "O" port on the TC

Power up the modem and let it run by itself for 10-15 minutes

Then, power up the TC and set it up again.


You can use the same network names and passwords as before or if you can, it would be better to set new network names and new passwords.


Check the network with only the TC connected to modem and leave off any other access points for now.


What happens?

Dec 3, 2015 1:13 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks, Bob....Since I have had zero luck resolving this so far, I will happily try anything, including changing the color of my cat6 cables or standing on my head, but can you tell me what you think is the cause here? I'm not seeing how any of this could help, especially since there are no issues with my wired ethernet. As for the factory reset, one of the Airport Express units I tried was directly out of the box and it also did not work. I guess what I am saying is thanks for the suggestions, but I really don't see where we are headed here.

Dec 3, 2015 1:35 PM in response to xopheres

The TC is not performing correctly at this time. Chances are, it will not heal itself, so we are trying to give it a fresh start by clearing out the old, and possibly corrupted network settings and then set it up again to see if it will function correctly after being reconfigured.


If you don't want to reset the TC back to default settings and then try to set it up again, then we'll have to declare the TC defective at this time.....so it cannot be used as your main router or as a wireless device on your network. It might be able to be used as a wired hard drive.


If you decide that it might make sense to clear out all the old and possibly corrupted wireless network settings on the TC to give it fresh start and then set it up again to see if that will solve the problem.......then that is where we are heading.


If it were me and I was having the same problem with a TC, I would reset it back to factory defaults and then set it up again to see if that might solve the problem. If the reset solves the problem, then I'm back in business. If it doesn't, at least I know that I tried everything.


But, its your decision.

Why would ONLY my guest wireless network be working?

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