Airport and Internet Connection Problems

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Level 1

19 points

Airport and Internet Connection Problems

Something has changed with my wifi network and I didn't do it!

The system is a Zyxel 1000 ADSL Modem feeding a series of three Airport Time Capsules. One Time Capsule connects to the Modem via a network cable and the other two TC are wireless extensions of the one connected to the modem.

Broadband is flaky here at best, we're in rural Ireland. And we often have to reset the modem to get reconnected, this I would normally do on my MacBook Pro (Retina2012) via Safari into the modem's own setup application.

Recently the Internet has been dropping out, but only on my MacBook. My iPhone and iPad seem to be able to stay connected, but something is happening because the TCs are flashing orange LEDs. Airport Utility is reporting no internet connected. The annoying bit is my laptop now refuse to log in to the modems setup program via Safari, it simply comes up as a "not connected to the internet" page. The wifi indicator in the toolbar is cycling as if trying to connect. What bothers me is in the past, if the internet went down, we remained connected to wifi, but now it seems the MacBook won't stay connected to the TC if the internet is "down", which, as I explained, only seems to be "down" for the MacBooks.

Its such a difficult thing to explain. And yes, resetting the modem by hand solves the problem. But I just would really like to understand why when the internet appears to go down, which it doesn't really, why does my MacBook disconnect from the TCs?

AirPort Time Capsule 802.11ac, iOS 11.4.1

Posted on Aug 31, 2018 2:51 AM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

158,208 points

Sep 1, 2018 9:09 AM in response to Bikerbandit

If you temporarily power-down both extending TCs leaving only the AC TC connected to the modem, are you still having issues with Internet connectivity? If not, then LaPastenague may be spot on as to why.

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

158,208 points

Aug 31, 2018 12:36 PM in response to Bikerbandit

Its a Zyxel D1000 Eircom supplied Modem.

Thanks for the clarification. Ok, so the Zyxel D1000 is not just a simple modem, but a combination modem and wireless router ... or gateway device. A bit confusing as the term "modem" is used differently around the world.

Since you have one of your TCs connected directly to it by Ethernet, is this gateway or the TC configured as a bridge? This would be important as if both are configured as routers, your network would have what is known as a "double NAT" condition, which would not be efficient.

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Answer 3

Sep 1, 2018 12:36 AM in response to Bikerbandit

Your N wireless Time Capsules.. are end of life.. the youngest of them is Gen4 .. sales finished in 2013. But you could have purchased it in 2011. Are they are earlier models?? Gen3 or earlier it is miracle they work at all.

Old wireless routers do lose out in reliability. And 5+ years.. is well and truly beyond the expect life of domestic routers.

I think you simply need new equipment.

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Answer 4

Bikerbandit Author

Level 1

19 points

Sep 2, 2018 9:55 AM in response to Tesserax

That's the last and most annoying part, with the Retina MacBook being my only laptops, I have no Ethernet in which to test!

I shall resort to replacing the modem!

One thing I did do was use the built in diagnostics on the modem. I have no idea what an ATM Loopback is, or if that would cause the issues I'm experiencing, but it has failed!

Thanks for the DDX assistance. I'll be back if that doesn't do the trick.

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Answer 5

Tesserax

Level 10

158,208 points

Sep 2, 2018 10:02 AM in response to Bikerbandit

That's the last and most annoying part, with the Retina MacBook being my only laptops, I have no Ethernet in which to test!

I understand being annoyed, but you should consider getting a Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adapter for your notebook for reasons exactly like this, or where an Ethernet connection is the only one available to you.

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Answer 6

Tesserax

Level 10

158,208 points

Aug 31, 2018 8:58 AM in response to Bikerbandit

Which exact model is your Zyxel modem? There are a number of 1000-series devices provided by Zyxel. Regardless, how old is this device? Based on your tagline, all of your TCs are 802.11ac models ... correct?

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Answer 7

Bikerbandit Author

Level 1

19 points

Aug 31, 2018 9:36 AM in response to Tesserax

Its a Zyxel D1000 Eircom supplied Modem. It's getting on a bit, but still seems to be fully functional in that apart from this recent issue it's running the same as it ever did. It had a firmware update a few months ago but this didn't coincide with the problems that I am having now, there was a good six months between the update and these latest issues.

Only the TC wired to the Modem is an AC model, the other two are both the older N models. But my 2012 MacBook is only N anyway.

Airport Utility shows green all the way most of the time.

One thing I noticed earlier today was that the AC TC was green whilst one of the older N models was flashing orange. Again, I power cycled the modem and all was right again. The modem never shows anything but green lights. It even flashes as if moving data about (which may be iCloud stuff to and from iPhone etc.) but my MacBook and Airport Utility shows internet disconnected.

I'm normally pretty good at these things, but this one has me stumped.

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Answer 8

Bikerbandit Author

Level 1

19 points

Aug 31, 2018 11:06 PM in response to Tesserax

The modem is acting as a modem only with wireless switched off. The TC is not showing any double NAT faults.

The only WiFi is being distributed by the three TCs and there are no other networks in the range of my devices for a considerable distance.

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Answer 9

Bikerbandit Author

Level 1

19 points

Sep 4, 2018 5:22 AM in response to Tesserax

Well this is a state of affairs!

Having decided to replace all my TCs with brand new, I just learned apple have discontinued all airport and TC devices!

I’m screwed. Time to consider the options I think.

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Answer 10

Bikerbandit Author

Level 1

19 points

Sep 2, 2018 12:13 AM in response to Tesserax

I powered down all but the AC TC and the same issue existed. Oddly everything showed green, the Modem and the TC yet the connection issue still exists with the difference that nothing connected, MacBook, iPhone Apple TVs etc. Even more oddly the modem was showing throughput so it was doing something.

I am beginning to thing the modem or line has an intermittent fault, but I am still confused as to why I cannot log in to the modem when there is no internet connection, this is probably the single most annoying part as I could always do this in the past, now I cannot do this even if I enable wifi on, and connect to, the modem's own wifi network (yes, I should have tried this in the first instance)!

I realise the N TCs are old, but I hate ditching technology for the sake of it when they show no signs of degradation. But I know you are right, and in time I will begin to replace the older TCs with new TCs and Airports, especially as their lives are only going to get harder soon. But I know now they are not contributing to my current problem.

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Answer 11

Tesserax

Level 10

158,208 points

Sep 2, 2018 9:41 AM in response to Bikerbandit

I powered down all but the AC TC and the same issue existed.

... and this would indicate to me that the issue may be with the modem/gateway.

I am beginning to thing the modem or line has an intermittent fault, but I am still confused as to why I cannot log in to the modem when there is no internet connection, this is probably the single most annoying part as I could always do this in the past, now I cannot do this even if I enable wifi on, and connect to, the modem's own wifi network (yes, I should have tried this in the first instance)!

If you are not able to log into the modem, even with an Ethernet connection directly between your computer and the modem, would again, indicate an issue with this modem.

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Airport and Internet Connection Problems

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