Airport Express fails to connect

Question

Ok. i know there are like a million of these posts regarding the same topic. however, i cannot find an answer as i have searched pretty much each and every post. here is my problem.
I have 2 airport expresses. Both are older versions. One connects with no issues at all. the other i have tried to configure several times, but when it "restarts" to apply my config settings. the airport utility fails to recognize it. It does see my first one, but not the second. I have even tried to copy the config from the known working one to the one that is giving me grief. That did not work either. It makes no sense to me, because clearly it sees my wireless network if i can use the utility to configure it (after defaults are applied and restart given). Or is that the issue? i am not connecting to it via my wireless. but rather to the default wireless of the AX. And there something with the actual wireless within the airport itself? Please any help would be greatly appreciated......it is driving me mad. If i have been vague in my explanation, please let me know and i can supply more details.

Answer 1

It's always possible that you may have defective AirPort Express (AX) that will not hold its configuration settings.
Try a Factory Default Reset first as follows:
Power down the AX and leave it off at least 5-10 minutes
Hold in the reset button and keep holding it in while you plug the AX back in to power
Keep holding the reset button until you have seen the amber light blink quickly for 4-5 seconds, then release
Wait 40-45 seconds for the AX to restart and you see the amber light blinking slowly
Temporarily, connect an ethernet cable from your computer to the AX
Open AirPort Utility - click Manual Setup
Click the Base Station tab below the row of icons to name your device, assign a device password and adjust Time Zone settings
Click the Wireless tab
Wireless Mode = Join a wireless network
Wireless Network Name = Same name as your wireless network that you have been using
Wireless Security = Same setting as your other AX
Wireless Password = Same password as your wireless network
Confirm Password
Click Update. As soon as you see the message that the settings have been stored, close AirPort Utility and disconnect the temporary ethernet cable
Wait 40-45 seconds to see if you get the green light
If you try this a few times and the AX will not join the network correctly, you likely have an defective AX that will need to be replaced.