arris ab6183 and airport extreme

Unfortunately, the Arris SB modems.....while good products....and the Apple AirPorts....while good products.....do not seem to get along well together at all. The SB6183 is a new model, so we don't have a long track record on that one, but you can get an idea of issues with the popular SB6141 here.

https://discussions.apple.com/search?q=sb6141

Do you want to try to go ahead and set up the SB6183 anyway?

I have the modem connected to comcast successfully and can surf the internet via my mac.

I understand. The issue is communications between the modem and AirPort Extreme. They don't seem to get along very well together.

Do you want to try to go ahead and set up the SB6183 and AirPort Extreme anyway? There are no guarantees, but we will try if you want.

The following steps will give you the best chance to get things working. Please follow them very closely.

Power off the modem by pulling the power cord from the back of the device

Disconnect the co-ax cable and Ethernet cable

Leave the modem powered off for at least 30 minutes.....60 would be better

During the time that the modem is powered off, power up the AirPort router if it is not already on

Hold in the reset button on the back of the AirPort for 5 to 6 seconds and then release

Allow a full minute for the AirPort to restart to a slow, blinking amber light status

Power off the AirPort by pulling the power cord from the back of the device

After the modem has been powered off for at least 30 minutes....recommend 60 if you can.....

Connect the co-ax cable to the modem

Connect the Ethernet cable to the modem

Power up the modem and let it run for at least 10 minutes by itself

Connect the Ethernet cable from the modem to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort router

Power up the AirPort router and let it run for 2-3 minutes

Set up the AirPort again

Please report on your results

The "trick" was the extended power down for the modem. The SB modems usually take a good 15-20 minutes to fully reset.....that is why I recommended at least 30. If the modem does not completely reset....then you won't get a good Internet connection....even if everything else is OK on the AirPort router.

The real test will be to see if the AirPort will maintain its Internet connection over time. If you find that you have to power off and restart the AirPort to get the Internet back up.....that is an indication that the modem and AirPort are not communicating together correctly.....which is unfortunately a common issue with the SB modems and AirPort routers.

Hopefully, you will be one of the lucky ones.

Bob, I followed your instructions with the appropriate time intervals and had success. Then I had to set up the airport/time capsule again. Thanks for helping when Time Warner couldn't.

I went through the same installation frustrations today with an Arris (Motorola) SB6183. Tried to set up new internet service with Comcast (Xfinity) using the Arris modem and an Airport Time Capsule, 2nd Generation. First tried the 30 minute reset of the modem and then reconnected to the Airport Time Capsule. Still no internet. Here is the step that fixed it for me: While still connected to the modem I did a factory reset of the Airport Time Capsule. When the Time Capsule came back up I set it up wirelessly from my MacBook Pro using Airport Utility. After I went through the initial setup and gave the Time Capsule a name and the wireless network a name and password the light turned green and the internet connection came up green as well. Working fine now.

This totally worked for me Bob, thank you for posting the solution. It worries me a little bit that I may have to do this again if there are any connectivity issues, but I'm gonna commit to the router and see how it goes!