Can't get AirPort Express Setup Assistant to Work

I'm having trouble just setting up AirPort Express. (All I want to do is play iTunes from a stereo system in another room.) I purchased an "AirMac Express base station" in Tokyo a few days ago, took it out of the box, and followed the instructions as far as connecting audio jacks and plugging the base station into an electric outlet. (My iMac is also a Japanese machine, and I'm using it in Tokyo.
The next step was supposed to be opening AirPort Setup Assistant and obeying it. But the SA wasn't in Apps>Utilities, where the instruction manual said it would be, so I used the CD that came with the base station to install SA.
I did manage to open it and get as far as the first step, but then I got this message:
"In order to use the AirPort Setup Assistant your AirPort card must be enabled and AirPort needs to be turned on and set to use DHCP. Click OK if you would like to change these settings, or Skip if you would like to configure AirPort Base Stations using ethernet."
(An AirPort card was factory-installed, and AirPort is turned on.) So I clicked on "OK." Then I get this message and SA vanishes:
There was an error communicating with your AirPort card. Please make sure it is installed properly and try the AirPort Setup Assistant again.
I have looked in support as best I can and also tried some googling, but I still have idea what to do. Can anyone help?
Many thanks!

I finally found the answer to my question in Joe Kissell's Taking Control of Upgrading to Leopard. For anyone who may need to know, the AirPort Setup Assistant is no longer used to set up base stations. That task has now been delegated to Airport Utility. Duh.
But why couldn't Apple manage to put this information in a place where people who bought a base station could find it??

Similar Messages

Just can't get Airport Express to configure: it worked at my mum's, but not at home!

Hello helpful people,
I am really hoping someone can think of what's going wrong with my set up. I keep getting an error message "an unexpected error occurred, please try again" when i try to do my configuration. I only want it to stream music from my ipad to my stereo. I would really prefer to do the set up only using an ipad, if at all possible.
I was given a shiny new Airport Express for Christmas. As i was staying at my mum's for two weeks, I plugged it into her stereo, and got it working. This was configured to join her existing wifi network, using only my iPad to set it up. The airport utility software was not used, as i didn't know it existed. All worked fine.
It looks as if my router is running WEP. So i gather i need airport utility to configure it. Airport utility says it can't detect a base station anywhere, even when inches away. There don't seem to be any options to get it to work differently.
I have reset and factory reset the device many times.
Some level of wireless access must be working on it, as it appears on my wireless list as a possible "set up airport express base station"
I go through the menus to set it up in the same way as at my mum's: selecting my existing wifi network to add it into, setting up a new base station password, and then watching and waiting.
Among the different resets and re-attempts i have done, it varies slightly in behaviour: the last time it failed it didn't get as far as asking for my wifi password.
After the error message i can't "try again" as suggested. It wipes out my wifi access, so i need to delete my existing wifi network (on the ipad) and re-add it to get an internet connection back again. I need to do a reset to get the "configure new base station" message back.
The differences between the two houses:
The stereo connection is different in the two houses: single 3.5mm jack into mum's; 3.5mm jack split into two needed for our stereo. I know it says you need to plug into the stereo first (and I have), but surely the device doesn't care which cable i use?
At my house, the wireless router and airport box are within 4m of each other. At my mother's it's more like 20m.
My wireless router is from O2 (now Sky), my mother's is plusnet.

It looks as if my router is running WEP.
Virtually no security at all there, as there are numerous free utilities available on the Internet that will crack a WEP network in seconds. You might as well run the network wide open, since WEP offers about the same level of protection.
You will not be able to configure the Express using an iPhone, iPad, or any version of AirPort Utility that is 6.x or higher with your router set to use WEP "security". They will not work with WEP, since it is so long out of date and non-secure.
An older version of AirPort Utility 5.x might allow you to configure the Express using WEP security, but with no protection anyway, this would be of little value.
See if your router can be configured to use WPA2 Personal security or WPA/WPA2 Personal security. If it can, then you will be able to use an iPhone, iPad, or any version of AirPort Utility to configure the Express in just a few minutes.
If your router cannot be configured to use stronger current WPA settings, now might be a very good time to ask your service provider for a new router.

New router now can't get airport express to work

Att installed a new wireless router.
Everything else seems to be fine but can't get airport Express to communicate with My MAC. Green light on airport device. Just downloaded OX on Mac recently.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Reset the Express to factory and start over.. this is always required when you make major network changes.

Can't get airport express to connect to internet after ISP changed my modem

Hi. My internet service provider installed fibre optic to my house, so they gave me a new modem. Have not been able to get airport express to connect to the internet ever since. Just get the flashing amber light. Other than paying $50 for phone support, I have no idea what to do. I just use the airport so I can play music from iTunes from my stereo using airplay. I use the airport utility on my laptop.

Does the new modem provide a Wi-Fi network? If it does, and your only goal with Express is for iTunes streaming, the Express would just need to be reconfigured to join the new modem's wireless network. Please check out the following Apple Support article for details.

Can't get Airport Express to work with Windows

I got a used Airport Express to use as a wireless print server. I got only the Airport Express; no manuals or CD's or anything. I have been reading through the manuals and everything online, but I can't get anything to work. It seems like I need to get the Airport Express Assistant, but I can't find it. I got the Airport Admin Utility, and that installed fine on Windows Vista. Then I installed what I thought was the Express Assistant, and it just seemed to change the Airport software in the start menu, but I still don't have the Assistant, only the Admin Utility. Anyway, I open the Admin Utility and it opens the Base Station Chooser. There is nothing there, so I rescan, and it seems to do nothing. It doesn't find anything anyway.
Where do I go from here? I am kind of stuck. I am trying this on a Windows Vista PC which is hardwired to a Linksys WRTSL54GS router. I have the airport express plugged in and the light is flashing Amber. I have a HP psc2410 plugged into the airport express that I would like to print wirelessly to.
Thanks for any help.

You don't necessarily need the AirPort Setup
Assistant, you should be able to set up the AirPort
Express Base Station (AX) with the AirPort Admin
Utility...as it is a much more powerful tool. You
need to make sure that you are using the version for Windows. At this
time, the AirPort software is only supported for
Windows 2000 or XP. A Vista-version has not been
released.
I suggest the following...
- First, perform a "factory default" reset on the AX to get
it back to it's original "out-of-the-box" state.
- Next, temporarily connect your computer directly,
using an Ethernet cable, to the Ethernet port on the
AX during the set up phase.
- Then set up the AX as a "wireless client."
I have this same problem. I have a Vista Windows notebook and I am trying to get airport working to play music wirelessly through my home stereo. The "base station chooser" software does nothing on my Vista notebook.
I used a friend's MacBook and was able to set up the airport as a client so I can see it listed in my Dlink router DHCP Client Table. The airport express box is plugged in, has a steady green light and everything looks good except there is no option to choose "computer" or "home stereo" speakers in my iTunes. i installed the airport express CD including the itunes it came with.
Any ideas how to get this working on vista? Previously i had the newer version of iTunes 7.1 installed and the airport express CD told me it couldn't complete the install because a newer version of iTunes was installed. I uninstalled the iTunes and reinstalled the CD including the iTunes version 4.
Help!
Sony Vaio Windows Vista

Can't Get Airport Express to Connect to my D-Link DIR-655?

Here's what I did - I should point out all I wanted to do was connect my PC based iTunes upstairs with my stereo system downstairs. First I tried to have the Airport Express join the d-link wireless network. It joined but playback was choppy and I could not get it to work. Next I tried my solution for the Xbox Live issues we've had, which is to go with a NetGear home wiring etherenet, and try to get it on that, but the network never saw the Airport Express. Last, I simply set up the Airport Express as a second wireless (but only "local") network in the house, and so far it works like a charm - no choppy plyback, and I use my iTouch with the Remote app to control iTunes from anywhere in the house. So perseverance won out. However, it really was a bummer that the other solutions did not work, and proved once again to me the "glitchiness" of Apple products.

I'm sorry you are having problems. When I cabled directly to the Express from my computer and ran the assistant it worked perfectly. After disconnecting the calbe, it connected wirelessly to my existing network. I am running an Aiport Extreme for my base station, I don't know if that makes a difference. When you run the assistant do you select "Join existing network"? There is a great post on here somewhere with other instructions on setting up the Express a different way. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Can't Get Airport Express To Work With ATT's Uverse

For years, AE worked just fine with my 2Wire portal streaming music to my stereo. Went to Uverse 2 months ago, and AE quit working. I am not using an Airport base station, just the Uverse modem and I need help getting it to work.
There is nothing in this forum when I search for uverse, so I post this in hope someone can help me.
I reset AE it and it finally appeared in Airport utility with a yellow light. I click configure and when I choose to join my current network, it sets up it's own Apple network, removing it from Airport utility and changing Airport status in Network to yellow.
No matter what I do or how I try, I just can't get AE to work with the stock 2Wire modem.
Has anyone been able to get AE to work with just the 2wire router & not have to buy an airport base station.
Any help is REALLY appreciated, as I wanna hear my Christmas music, and it's turning me into a Grinch!
Thanks!
Message was edited by: Chris Winkler1

+However, it asks for the security and all I see is WEP in the Home Network set up, I don't know if it's 40 or 128+
AT&T set this up, so only they can tell you for sure. My guess would be WEP 128 since this type of security is stronger than WEP 40.
+And it asks for a wireless password. I entered the one from the router & it did not work. Tried the Key and it did not work.+
This is the same wireless password that you would use if you were logging on to your wireless network with your computer. But, unless you first have the exact, correct security setting for your 2wire router, the password will not work.
+Has anyone out there successfully got their Airport Express to work with Uverse????+
I don't provide instructions to anyone on the forum unless I've first done it myself. I'm providing you with the same instructions that I used to help a neighbor with his 2wire Uverse setup last week. It works fine.
But, he called AT&T to ask them what security setting they used on his 2wire router. Otherwise, we would have had to try each possible setting to see if we could make it work.
AT&T also told him that his password should be 13 characters, all lower case letters with no spaces. That is what the neighbor said he used. I cannot confirm this as he did not share his password with me.
AT&T may have set up the password criteria differently on your router. You need to confirm with them on this.
+What password goes in the Base station tab, Key or Password?+
Any password you want. This is a separate password simply to be able to access the settings on the device in the future when you are using AirPort Utility. You could use your wireless network password if you want.
Please post back on your progress.

HELP! Can't Get Airport Express to work.

I used to have a full setup with Time Capsule wireless & Airport Express connected to my stereo. My Time Capsule died last year and I haven't used the Airport Express since. I wanted to set up a wireless network with it instead of having to keep my laptop on the ethernet. I reset the Airport to factory settings and set it up again but I can't get my MacBook to connect to the internet with it. I keep getting a conflicting network ID message. I've tried this before and couldn't get it to work so I just keep going back to ethernet.

And you have a DSL modem, correct?
Might you have the make and model number of this device handy?

Can't get Airport Express to restart after configuring

I can't believe how finicky the new Airport Express is (most recent.) I had successfully configured it to extend my Airport Extreme network wirelessly, but
because of lots of interference in my old house (wire lath in plaster walls,) I can't get it to extend my network very far wirelessly.
So I am now trying to extend it via ethernet. I plugged it into an ethernet cable which is plugged into one of the available ports on the Airport Extreme. Airport Utility recognized it, and I configured it to extend my regular network via ethernet cable. AU said I was successful and was restarting it. Unfortunately restart failed.
I reopened AU, but it couldn't see the Express. Unplugged the Express for 5 minutes and did a hard reset, holding it in for 10 sec after Express was plugged in.
Opened AU again. AU still can't see the Express.
Do I have to configure the Express to do what I want while it is plugged directly into my cable modem? I am reluctant to do this because it screws up my Airport Extreme connectivity evey time I do this.

Thanks for clarifying that for me.
In order to do what you want, you will need to know the name of the wireless network that the Extreme is producing, along with the password and exact type of wireless security that that the network using. I assume that you know the name of the wireless network and password.
If you need to find out exactly what type of security that the Extreme network is using, you will need to open AirPort Utility and click Manual Setup. Then click the Wireless tab below the row of icons to reveal the wireless settings page. Jot down the setting that you see for Wireless Security because you will need this to configure the AirPort Express.
Check to make sure that the Ethernet cable that will connect the Express to the Extreme is connected to one of the LAN <-> ports on the AirPort Extreme.
Keep your computer near the AirPort Extreme. Restart the AirPort Express (AX) that is plugged into the Ethernet cable and allow 40-45 seconds for it to restart.
Open AirPort Utility, select the AX, and click Manual Setup.
Click the Base Station tab to assign a name to the AX, device password and adjust Time Zone settings.
Click the Wireless tab and adjust your settings to look like this:
Wireless Mode = Create a wireless network
Wireless Network Name = Same name as the AirPort Extreme network
Enter a check mark next to Allow this network to be extended
Radio Mode = Automatic or 802.11n (802.11 b/g compatible) is a good choice
Channel = Automatic
Wireless Security = Exact same setting that the AirPort Extreme is using
Wireless Password = Same password as the AirPort Extreme network
Confirm Password
Click the Internet icon
Click the Internet Connection tab
Connect Using = Ethernet
Connection Sharing = Off (Bridge Mode)
Update to save settings. Close AirPort Utility as soon as you see the message that the settings have been stored. You should have a green light on the AX in 40-45 seconds
Very important.....Power cycle the entire network
Power everything down....all devices.....order is not important
Wait a few minutes
Start the modem first and let it run a minute or two
Start the next device connected to the modem the same way
Keep starting devices one at a time about a minute apart until everything is powered back up
You should be all set

Can't get Airport Express back onto my wireless network???

Just returned from a trip where I had successfully used my AE in temp accommodation. Now I can't get the thing to rejoin my home network. I've reset it time after time, I go through Airport Setup Asst and get to the bit where it says it's updating the AE, congratulates me on setting it up - but the thing never rejoins and all I get is the amber blinking light. Once this happens it disappears off the network until I again, reset to factory settings.
I have tried entering WEP equiv passwords as well as the ASCII but am not sure which one to use now - totally confused. I have another AE on the network which is working fine. I must be missing something unless the thing has gone u.s?
Any ideas would be gratefully received.
Cheers
Chris
iMacs, Intel 20 inch 2.0 with 1.5 gig ram Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hi Dan
I have posted a new topic on this because I feel strongly about it.
Here's a copy and paste of what I said:
"I have spent literally the equivalent of 3 full days, configuring, reconfiguring, re-installing, setting up, un-setting up, scouring the internet, phoning people, taking trips to the Apple Store to find a solution. All a total waste of time. Why? Because until there is an update to cure the problem, the Airport Extreme BS will not function properly when used in an environment other than a basic setup.
My network at home consists of 3 XP PC's, two Airport Expresses, and 5 Macs of various models. Until I removed an Express to use it on a trip, all of it worked well. When I came to return said Express into 'the fold' - that's when the trouble started. Mainly that, unless I had security switched to NONE, I couldn't connect the Expresses to the Base station, and my HP PSC2510 wireless printer would not connect either.
If you are anything like me, you will have been through every single combination of setups, restarts, reinstalls you name it. I got conflicting info about the level of security from the Admin utility - sometimes it would report WPA, others it would say WEP.
Cut a long story short, I finally returned the BASE Staion to the Apple Store and got a replacement. I had narrowed it down to that component only. Everything else on the network "seemed" to be fine.
I wondered whether it was a solitary, faulty AEBS, and by replacing that, it would eliminate the problem. In theory.
Brought home new AEBS but this unit also suffered collossally unreliable/unsuccessful connections from Printer, Expresses and one XP laptop.
I have been to the Moon and back with Hewlett Packard trying to work out what could have happened - overnight - to this normally fail-safe wireless printer. No clues, all seemed to be set up correctly. But it WOULD NOT JOIN THE NETWORK!!!.
So, as any mad (as in angry) scientist would do, I set up a "Control" experiment. Keeping everything as it was, all I changed was the AEBS. I swopped the AEBS for my older white AEBS (flying saucer). Guess what?
Within seconds, all connected. Including printer, Expresses, and XP PCs.
All working perfectly. Wrote down all the settings to check exactly the same as on the new (n) AEBS - identical. Swopped back - same problems. No way would it work.
I am no Network expert but have a feeling that it has a problem managing/distributing/assigning IP addresses. Dunno, just a hunch because the printer would connect fine when connected to AEBS by ethernet cable.
So I am now going to return the new AEBS to Apple and get a refund. I don't have time for this and I suggest not many people do.
So if you have a problem like I did, it might be an idea to try another router or eliminate it somehow and check your settings.
I hope this helps.
EDIT:
Looking again through a lot of posts on here - I would estimate that they are pretty much linked to the same problem - a few are reporting problems after connecting to different ISP then not being able to get it working again, some saying they can't get a single solitary PB to connect but al the others do. It all rings bells here! I am sure it's an IP problem (but what do I know) I would love someone to see into this. I doubt whether Apple will come up with something before Christmas - let's hope they prove me wrong eh?
Anyone know of a good, reliable wireless router that also allows external HD sharing?
Cheers!
Chris"

Can't get AirPort Express to join LINKSYS WRT54G wireless network

After several unsuccessful attempts to follow Tesserax's advice to get my AX to join my LINKSYS wireless network, I depressed the reset button, plugged the AX in, and waited for the flashing reset confirmation. Reconfiguring from scratch to join my WPA network, all seemed to go well. After selecting to Update, the following window pops up:
<The settings for this AirPort Express have been successfully updated. You can close this window or wait for this AirPort Express to restart.
Waiting for the AirPort Express to restart…>
After a couple of minutes the following window appears:
<AirPort Utility was unable to find your AirPort Wireless device after restarting.
The settings for this AirPort wireless device have been successfully updated, but there was a problem re-joining the wireless network or finding the AirPort wireless device. You may need to select your network from the Wi-Fi menu and try again.>
At this point, AirPort Utility will no longer recognize the AX, no matter how many times I rescan. The only way I can get it to be recognized is to once again do a hard factory reset. I then go through the whole set up process again, only to end up in the same dead end. I'm thinking that there has to be some sort of problem between the AX and the LINKSYS. Prior to the above activity, I was able to send iTunes to the AX just fine. I just wasn't able to surf the Internet at the same time.
Any ideas you might have will be appreciated.

Thomas - I have a very similar problem - I've got a Wi-Fi/ADSL2 router supplied by my telecom company AirTel (the router's called 'beetel', 802.11g model) and I'm having problems extending it with Airport Express - the Airport Utility doesn't seem to be able to detect the AE after restart. The only difference with your case seems that you have a Linksys piece.
Here's what I tried:
1. Had my Wi-Fi network up & running with the beetel router (network name: PASTA)
2. Booted Airport Express
3. Launched Airport Utility 5.5.3 from Windows 7, detected the Airport Express, chose Manual Setup and went for option "Extend my Wireless Network" and chose PASTA and specified its password
3. Airport Utility restarted the device after saving changes, and Aiport Express went invisible.
That sounds like the same problem you had.
Just to cross check, I tried connecting an Ethernet cable between AE and the beetel router and went for option "Create Wireless Network" and that was a breeze.
@Tesserax - can Airport Express smoothly extend only an Airport Extreme WiFi network? Is there anything I can do to extend my current Wi-Fi network from this router?
Thanks for your notes & time
Forrest

Can't get Airport Express A1088 to work with A1264

Hi,
My modem and office are at opposite ends of my home, so I've been using 2 x Airport Express base stations (both A1088) to connect to the internet. One is plugged into the modem via an Ethernet cable, the other is set up in a hallway to extend the range (I just lose the signal if I only use one AX). On Sunday, one A1088 "died" so I bought an A1264 to replace it. I've tried to set them up as a network (following WDS instructions on this site, etc), but no joy. Airport Utilities just won't "see" them. Any tips for set-up or ideas where I might be going wrong? Is there a step-by-step guide anyone can direct me to? Or would I be better off just buying a second A1264?
Thanks in advance for your help.

Consider it purged, John!
I got a survey which I filled in as constructively as possible (largely because I didn't want to get the second guy any grief because I feel he was as helpful as he was able to be.)
I finally sorted out the issue, with one final hiccup ("Join a network" was so branded on my brain from my attempts at THAT ACRONYM that I forgot I needed to use "Extend a network" instead – d'oh!)
Crazy as it sounds, I think one problem is with terminology. If I'd said "802.11n" and/or "802.11b/g" instead of A1264 and A1088, the Applecare guys may have got what I was on about a bit quicker, but surely the customer is going to go by the name on the label (ones that also seem to be used everywhere from this forum to eBay!), so surely it's up to Apple to make certain their staff are aware of model numbers, etc?
I agree with what you're saying about customer service. It's probably not an easy job - I don't think I was rude at any point (at least I hope not), though I may have sounded whiny and stressed, which would have been nothing personal, just frustration with the situation. But there are ways for helpline staff to say, "OK, let's go through this one step at a time…" without getting uppity!

I can not enter Airport express setup

I have an Airport Express with the latest firmware updated it yesterday.
Now suddenly after working perfectly from yesterday to today I lost the access to the internet.
I then proceed to do a HARD reset on it to reconfigure it. But I can't reach it.
I have tried several times with the Airport utility (updated this one too yersterday) and both with Iphone and Ipad. With the devices i get the error "An unexpected error happened, try again" this pops up after it detects this and tries to connect to the Airport via the option in the Wifi config in the Ipad that lets you configure a Airport station.
When I try witht he Airport utlility on my PC (XP sp3) I can see the airport after a scan. But I can't connect to it.I get a " Connecting to 'Apple network XXXXX' please wait" and then the connecting dialog dissapears and nothing happens.
I know what IP the Airport get so when I try to connect to it directly via the Airport utlity and using the "public" password I get the following error: "An error occurred while trying to access the Apple wireless device. make sure your network connections is valid and try again." and Error code -6753
This is getting frustrating now.. I have tried to do hard reset several times. I see the wifi network being created but I can't connect to it.
I've tried with the iphone and the ipad with the same errors..
Anyone have an Idea.. or shall I just pack it up and sent it to Apple for a replacement?
Regards
///Diquito

You need to install an older version of AirPort Utility on your Mac. Here is a suggestion:
http://www.macworld.com/article/1167965/mountain_lion_and_the_ancient_airport_ba se_station.html
iOS devices will not be able to configure your older AirPort Express.

Can't get Airport Express to connect to my network

I have a netgear wireless router, and the when I plug in the aiport express, it just blinks yellow. When I run the Airport express assistant, it gives me a warning that windows is not managing my wireless network. This is very frustrating!! What can I do?

I'm sorry you are having problems. When I cabled directly to the Express from my computer and ran the assistant it worked perfectly. After disconnecting the calbe, it connected wirelessly to my existing network. I am running an Aiport Extreme for my base station, I don't know if that makes a difference. When you run the assistant do you select "Join existing network"? There is a great post on here somewhere with other instructions on setting up the Express a different way. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Can't get airport express to print. Music transfers wirelessly but not the print. How do I fix this

I cant get the airport express to connect to computer for printing. It does connect for music but not printing. How do I correct this

Don't know, how did you hook it up (what kind of cable)? You can send audio through an HDMI connection provided a MacBook Pro is (I believe) from 2009 or newer.
Converting to VGA or DVI will not send audio - if you're using that kind of connection, you'll need to add an audio cable from the headphones port.
Also check the Sound Out setting in the Sounds panel of System Preferences.
Matt

Can't get AirPort Express Setup Assistant to Work

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