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Airport Time Capsule Dropping Wifi/Internet with 7.7.3

I just started having a lot of issues with my internet connectivity. I have TWC with my own Motorola Modem connected to a TC running 7.7.3 firmware (about 14 months old or so). The internet keeps loosing connectivity. The lights on the modem are fine and the TC has a solid green. But, in Airport Utility the modem(internet) is yellow. My hard CAT5 connection to my computer has no internet. All devices like Apple TV4, iPhone and iPad are all wirelessly connected because I can connect to the computer for movies on my computer hard drive.......But no actual internet connection.


I have called 6 times in the past week and it was recommended that I replace the modem... Which i did. Alas, not more than 24 hours later the same issue again. TWC seems to think there is something wrong with he TC......Is this right, its connected to my devices but not the modem for internet? I read something about DNS servers and changing away from the TWC provided DSN servers. Extended period of no activity and the TC looses connection??


Anyone have any help here? Anything related to my new ATV4?


Thanks,

Airport Time Capsule-OTHER, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Dec 30, 2015 12:54 PM

Reply
6 replies

Jan 29, 2017 4:38 PM in response to Luv my Mac

Anyone Interested,


I have continued to have the issue of WiFi dropping from the Time Capsule for over a year. Daily events and I needed to reset the Time Capsule and other times the Arris Modem. Nothing seemed to work....1. Replaced the modem 2. Deleted network and reset-up numerous times. Finally, I decided to cut the TV and Phone cord from TWC just before the Christmas holiday. I removed ALL DVR hardware and the Phone hardware. My problem went away, and I have not dropped internet for weeks. There is the occasional slowness during the day, but my Time Capsule is not locking and loosing WiFi. Not sure what was going on, I suspect there was a problem with the phone modem installation. Because I owned my own Internet modem, TWC gave me a separate Phone modem. I think there was something wrong with this set-up and it created my problems.


Thank you for your help

Feb 14, 2016 12:10 PM in response to Luv my Mac

I have TWC with my own Motorola Modem

What modem did you have?? What did you replace with? Need actual model numbers.


The new TC does have loads of issues with some Motorola modems.. but it is not easily reproducible. The fact that it ran ok for 14months and suddenly started having issues is also common.. it seems they often fall over if not the first day then after a year or so.


I read something about DNS servers and changing away from the TWC provided DSN servers.

You can try using Google DNS servers in the TC and see if it changes anything.. or in the client and see if that fixes things.. Any sort of test is worth it.. even negative results are valid research.. they provide a key to what is NOT the problem.


Anything related to my new ATV4?

Again, this is simple trial and error.. Leave the ATV4 off for a test period. Easy peasy.


Reset the TC to factory and redo its setup.


I recommend the following.


Start from a factory reset. No files are lost on the hard disk doing this.

Factory reset universal

Power off the TC.. ie pull the power cord or power off at the wall.. wait 10sec.. hold in the reset button.. be gentle.. power on again still holding in reset.. and keep holding it in for another 10sec. You may need some help as it is hard to both hold in reset and apply power. It will show success by rapidly blinking the front led. Release the reset.. and wait a couple of min for the TC to reset and come back with factory settings. If the front LED doesn’t blink rapidly you missed it and simply try again. The reset is fairly fragile in these.. press it so you feel it just click and no more.. I have seen people bend the lever or even break it. I use a toothpick as tool.

N.B. None of your files on the hard disk of the TC are deleted.. this simply clears out the router settings of the TC.


Setup the TC again.


Then redo the setup from the computer with Mavericks--Yosemite--ElCapo. (MYELCAP)

1. Use very short names.. NOT APPLE RECOMMENDED names. No spaces and pure alphanumerics.

eg TCgen5 for basestation and TCwifi wireless name.



If the issue is wireless use TC24ghz and TC5ghz with fixed channels as this also seems to help stop the nonsense. But this can be tried in the second round. ie plan on a first and second round of changes to fix this.. hopefully.. I will point out other steps that can be round2.


2. Use all passwords that also comply with 1. but can be a bit longer. ie 8-20 characters mixed case and numbers.. no non-alphanumerics.


3. If the TC is main router you can skip this point. This is only an issue when the TC is bridged.

Ensure the TC always takes the same IP address.. you will need to do this on the main router using dhcp reservation.. or a bit more complex setup using static IP in the TC. But this is important.. having IP drift all over the place when MYELCAP cannot remember its own name for 5 min after a reboot makes for poor networking.


4. Check your share name on the computer is not changing.. make sure it also complies with the above.. short no spaces and pure alphanumeric.. but this change will mess up your TM backup.. so be prepared to do a new full backup. Sorry.. keep this one for second round if you want to avoid a new backup.


5. Mount the TC disk in the computer manually.


In Finder, Go, Connect to server from the top menu,

Type in SMB://192.168.0.254 (or whatever the TC ip is which you have now made static. As a router by default it is 10.0.1.1 and I encourage people to stick with that unless you know what you are doing).


You can use name.. SMB://TCgen5.local where you replace TCgen5 with your TC name.. local is the default domain of the TC and doesn't change.

However names are not so easy as IP address.. nor as reliable. At least not in Yosemite they aren't. The domain can also be an issue if you are not plugged or wireless directly to the TC.


6. Make sure IPv6 is set to link-local only in the computer. For example wireless open the network preferences, wireless and advanced / TCP/IP.. and fix the IPv6. to link-local only. Do the same for ethernet if you use it.







There is a lot more jiggery pokery you can try but the above is a good start.. if you find it still unreliable.. don't be surprised.



You might need to do some more work on the computer itself. eg Reset the NVRAM/PRAM/SMC.. has helped some people. Clean install of the OS is also helpful if you upgrade installed.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7306452?answerId=29202159022#29202159022&ac_cid=ha123456#29202159


Tell us how you go.

Dec 30, 2015 8:36 PM in response to Luv my Mac

There is no doubt that is the modem most problems come from.


Problem Connecting Airport Extreme to Motorola SB6141


Airport Extreme / Motorola Surfboard 6141 Disconnecting


We don't even know what the problem is exactly.. I am not in US to reproduce it.


But I see plenty of posts (I just dug up two long ones) where this modem has been a problem.


The solution is to get rid of one or the other.


ie Zoom cable modem is much better.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7360161


Or get any other router.. the problem is specific to the AE and TC AC models.


I do recommend a simple modem like TP-Link WR1043ND v2 (<$50US on amazon) and flash over to gargoyle firmware.


Then use your TC as WAP and TM backup target in bridge to the new router.

Feb 14, 2016 12:15 PM in response to Luv my Mac

Hi LaPastenague,


Took me awhile to get around to dong the fix you suggested. It was too intermittent, but this weekend it was happening very frequently. Like every 5 min it would disconnect. I went ahead and followed your advice to do a Factory Reset. So far, 24 hrs later it has remained up without going out. Even at night, when it seemed to be more prevalent, it stayed up and strong.


If it pops up again I will do another Factory reset then try different DNS servers. If that doesn't solve it, I see that you and actually many others suggest going to a Zoom modem.


Thank you for your help

Airport Time Capsule Dropping Wifi/Internet with 7.7.3

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