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Airport Extreme & Motorola Surfboard SB6121

I can only get a flashing red light on Surfboard when connecting to Extreme, and internet connection occasionally drops, but I get a flashing blue light on Surfboard when connecting directly to iMac with ethernet cable. Any thoughts?

Airport Extreme-OTHER

Posted on Feb 13, 2016 10:33 AM

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Posted on Feb 13, 2016 5:35 PM

It is a known issue that the Motorola/Arris SB61NN series of modems are incompatible with the AirPort base stations. We get numerous posts here on this subject and the most common complaint is loss of Internet connectivity. Neither device, in itself is bad, they just don't "play" well together.

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Feb 13, 2016 5:35 PM in response to jtb3

It is a known issue that the Motorola/Arris SB61NN series of modems are incompatible with the AirPort base stations. We get numerous posts here on this subject and the most common complaint is loss of Internet connectivity. Neither device, in itself is bad, they just don't "play" well together.

Feb 13, 2016 5:50 PM in response to jtb3

I can only get a flashing red light on Surfboard when connecting to Extreme, and internet connection occasionally drops, but I get a flashing blue light on Surfboard when connecting directly to iMac with ethernet cable. Any thoughts?

A thought would be that the modem has associated itself with your iMac.....so it will basically ignore the AirPort Extreme.


The modem needs to be reset so that it can recognize the iMac. To do that, you would need to......


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

Remove the co-ac and Ethernet cable from the modem

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


Power off the AirPort Extreme as well


After the modem power down period......

Connect the co-ax connector to the modem

Connect the Ethernet cable from the modem to the WAN "O" port

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


Then, power up the AirPort Extreme and let it run a few minutes


Check the connections.


We've given you the best opportunity for things to work.....but as Tesserax correctly points out.....the SB modems and AirPorts just don't seem to get along very well together. I have experienced the same issues myself as well in the past, and the only solution for reliable performance was to replace the modem. An alternate solution would be to keep the modem and replace the router.

Feb 13, 2016 5:40 PM in response to Tesserax

Tesserax:

Thank you for your reply. I run a home wireless network supporting an iMAC and MacBookAir running OS X Yosemite, iPAD1 & 2, iPhone 6 & 5S. What plays well together? Should I replace the modem? If so, what would you suggest? My ISP is Cox. Should I replace the Airport Extreme? If so, to what? alternatively, should I just reboot my modem and router daily?

John Bowers (jtb3)

Feb 29, 2016 12:02 PM in response to jtb3

I own my own modem. The problem persists, but less frequently since I followed Bob's suggestions. Cox will not comment on compatibility with Airport Extreme but suggest the following modems in general:


Cisco DPC3000, DPC3003, DPC3010

DLink DCM301

Hitron-Zyxel CDA30360

Arris / Motorola SB6120, SB6121, SB6121, SB1414, SB6180, Sb6182, SB6190, CMD31T, CM400, CM500, CM600

Netgear 5341, 5341J


Any suggestions as to which would would play nice with my Airport Extreme?

Thank you in advance-

John Bowers

Feb 29, 2016 3:02 PM in response to jtb3

If it comes to replacing the modem or the router what hardware would you suggest?

Sorry, I'm not a Cox user, so I would not be able to offer any advice based on experience.


You might want to start a new thread with "Cox" in the title to attract views from Cox users. As it stands, I doubt that many users will ever see the info that you posted about Cox buried deep in this thread.

Feb 29, 2016 3:23 PM in response to jtb3

Cisco DPC3000, DPC3003, DPC3010

DLink DCM301

Hitron-Zyxel CDA30360

Arris / Motorola SB6120, SB6121, SB6121, SB1414, SB6180, Sb6182, SB6190, CMD31T, CM400, CM500, CM600

Netgear 5341, 5341J


Any suggestions as to which would would play nice with my Airport Extreme?

I had been with Cox in the past and always had good luck with the Cisco models. In the list above, I would suggest the DPC3010. Cisco has a slightly older model, the DPC3008, that I would recommend as well (slightly over the 3010) as it has a bit better data transfer rate over its WAN/LAN interface ... but either should work fine. Avoid the Arris / Motorola SB61NN series if you stick with Apple routers.

Mar 2, 2016 8:26 PM in response to jtb3

I just got my Airport Time Capsule today. I had so many issues. I did everything exactly as the instructions, online instructions, video tutorials said. I reset my modem 4 times. I still got a blinking amber light every time, and I too have a Motorola Surfboard.


I finally turned off the MAC, unplugged the Time Capsule, unplugged the modem and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I plugged the modem back in, plugged in the Time Capsule and turned on the MAC. It worked!!


I remember this from having issues with my Surfboard before. You have to turn everything off in reverse order, then turn it back on in the order that everything goes to the MAC: modem--> Airport --> MAC. Works every time. Now I just have to remember that 🙂

Airport Extreme & Motorola Surfboard SB6121

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