Cannot connect to airport extreme when selecting disk for Time Machine

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Level 1

4 points

Cannot connect to airport extreme when selecting disk for Time Machine

I am switching to a different hard drive for Time Machine. The old one went bad (or maybe not, given that I still have a problem), and I reformatted one for Mac that appears fine. When I go into Time Machine preferences to select the new disk, it is there, but the connection cannot be made because of a problem connecting with my Airport Extreme, which is what the hard drive is plugged into.

Here is the message: There was a problem connecting to the server "Rebecca's AirPort Extreme". The server may not exist or it is unavailable at this time. Check the server name or IP address, check your network connection, and then try again.

The server is fine for all other purposes. What is there to check?

Airport Extreme-OTHER, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Mar 27, 2016 4:18 PM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

158,718 points

Mar 27, 2016 5:47 PM in response to RebeccaCAFM

What exact model of the AirPort Extreme do you have? Apple only supports Time Machine backups to an external hard drive attached to an 802.11ac model.

If this is what you have, the issue may be the base station name, no offense intended. Try removing the spaces, so that it reads like: Rebecca'sAirPortExtreme

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Answer 2

RebeccaCAFM Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 27, 2016 7:09 PM in response to Tesserax

The model is A1521 with a copyright of 2013. That is probably when I bought it.

I cannot find out a lot because I have to rely on paper documents -- Get Info through Finder just goes on endlessly.

It should do a, b, g, n and ac standards according to the paper documentation.

Not sure where I would change the base station name -- not possible in Finder.

I feel I am heading toward a reset, and that is scary for me.

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Answer 3

RebeccaCAFM Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 27, 2016 8:30 PM in response to Tesserax

I lost internet when I edited the name in Airport Utility. But back when I did a restart. Thinking I should update software and firmware next.

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Answer 4

Tesserax

Level 10

158,718 points

Mar 28, 2016 8:33 AM in response to RebeccaCAFM

The model is A1521 with a copyright of 2013. That is probably when I bought it.

Ok, no problem. Apple supports Time Machine with this model. I just wanted to be sure.

Not sure where I would change the base station name -- not possible in Finder.

To administer the base station you would use the AirPort Utility; it cannot be done with Finder. The utility is located in the /Applications/Utilities folder on your Mac.

I feel I am heading toward a reset, and that is scary for me.

A reset should not be required just to rename the base station. For future reference, there are three types of resets as described in the following Apple Support article: Soft, Hard, or Factory Default

Here's how to change your base station's name, using the AirPort Utility:

Run the AirPort Utility.
Select your Extreme, and then, select Edit.
On the Base Station tab, you will find a field, called: Base Station Name. This is where you would change it.
Once changed, click on Update and allow the base station to restart.
In the image below, you can see I used a very simple one for mine: AEBSac

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Answer 5

Tesserax

Level 10

158,718 points

Mar 28, 2016 8:39 AM in response to RebeccaCAFM

At present the latest firmware version for the 802.11ac Extreme is: 7.7.3. There is no "software" for the base station itself. The only software, that is used to administer it, is the AirPort Utility. The latest version of that is: 6.3.6

Again, for future reference, by default the AirPort Utility will inform you when there is an available firmware update for your base station. It will appear as a small red circle with a number in it (next to the Extreme image) on the utility's main page which shows you a graphic of your overall network.

For more information on base station firmware & updating, please check out the following Apple Support article.

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