Airport Express seems to lose connection after a while

My main wifi connection is through an Airport Extreme. The modem is connected to it. I also have in another room an airport express that I use as a bridge for my connection and also to use AirTunes.
Since a few weeks, the Airport Express seems to lose it's connexion after some use. It's always good in the morning, and after few hours, I realize I am no longer connected to the network. The airport light is always green, I see it in my disk utility, but I don't seem to be able to go online anymore. My solution at this point is to select my neighbor's network for few seconds, when I go back on my network, it works fine for an hour or so and I have to redo the process again.
The issue seems to be only with the Airport Express because when I'm in the other end of my house close to my Airport Extreme, I never have that problem.
Any idea what could be wrong with my Airport Express? Could it be a hardware problem? I just bought it 2 months ago. Should I go to exchange it?
Thanks for any help.

My AirPort connection worked fine when I first set it up a couple of days ago; then it stopped working yesterday: it just gives me the blinking amber light.
Strangely, though, when I use Network Diagnostics in Safari, I get green lights against Airport, Airport Settings, Network Settings, and ISP, but red lights against Internet and Server.
How can ISP be working but not Internet and Server? Also, if I pull out the the cable going into the AirPort and plug it directly into the LAN port on the MacBook, it connects to the internet fine.
Any comments/help appreciated.

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MBP C2D + Airport Express + WPA frequently loses connection. but WEP OK

many people seem to have wireless connectivity problems with their MBP
-- here is the problem I see with my 2wk old MBP and my wireless setup at home (Airport Express) and at work (Linksys, model# unknown):
1) MBP C2D + Linksys + WEP = no problems
2) MBP C2D + Airport Express + WEP = no problems
3) MBP C2D + Airport Express + WPA = frequent dropped connection, and poor range
for reference, my previous laptop:
4) Pismo + Airport Express + WEP = no problems
5) Pismo + Linksys + WEP = no problems
with WPA (whether WPA or WPA2) and the MBP, I turn on Airport, signal looks strong, but then suddenly disappears. I have to toggle Airport off and on and then (sometimes) I'll successfully re-establish connection - only to possibly lose it again at some random point in time. Or it may work fine for an hour or more - it's hit or miss. no such problem or inconsistency with WEP enabled instead.
both laptops are running OS X 10.4.8. Of course only 802.11b on the Pismo, but results don't change on the MBP whether b, mixed b/g or only g.
The Airport Express is set up as a closed network, it's running firmware v6.3 (though I also reinstalled v6.1 but no change). I've tried many of the various other ideas for fixes - deleted Airport related keychains, etc played with various other Airport config settings - but all evidence points only to WPA as being the differentiating cause.
does this match anyone else's experience?
and more importantly, is there some fix?
thanks in advance for your feedback or suggestions
MacBook Pro 15.4" 2.33GHz C2D Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hi!
Used to have same problems. But not anymore.
Here's what I did. I have a DLINK 624 router. not the same model but this could help you, I guess
1) Disable Super G mode into router.
2) Choose a 62 character key with a $ in front of it. (go https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm) and use wpa2.
3) Uncheck the Robutesse Interference (sorry, i am french) in the airport menu.
4) Change the advanced performance settings from auto to 11 (Tx rate) into router.
5) Whent into keychains and only kept the one for the active wi-fi. Since I tried almost verything, there where a lot!
Since I did that, no more lost connection for a day now!
Now I am not saying that this is the ultimate fix....but It worked for me.
BTW, did not do the SMC and EFI upgrade, still a little scared after what I read in the forums...I bought my mac book pro last week...how come it did not came with all the upgrade done??!! bizarre.
Good luck!

Time Capsule & Airport Express Extended Network loses connection!

OK, so I am an Apple virgin of 2 months experience, after many many years with Windows based PCs, so please be patient and gentle with me. Sorry about the long explanation.....
My set-up comprises of a Time Capsule, which is connected to the Internet via a NetGear ASDL modem. Both pieces of equipment are situated in my wife's office on the first floor of our house. My office is on the ground floor, where I have a 27" iMac and an Airport Express which is connected to a printer via the USB port. The Airport Express is sited about 10 feet from the iMac.
All software and firmware are lastest versions - TC v7.5, AX v7.4.2 & Airport Utility v5.5.
For the past 2 months, I have only been using the AX to print wirelessly and the set-up has worked faultlessly.
Earlier this week, I decided change the configuration to extend the network to allow me to use my laptop & iPhone in areas of the ground floor where I had no signal. I followed the online instructions and first changed the TC to check the box to 'allow this network to be extended', after updating the configuration successfully I moved to the AX. Here I changed the wireless mode to 'Extend a wireless network', selected the network name and checked the 'Allow wireless clients' box. This also updated successfully.
Everything ran correctly and the range of the network was greatly increased.......great, job done...not!
After about 3 hours the iMac lost the connection and the TC disappeared from the Airport Utility pane and refused to reappear. I checked but also couldn't connect or see any network on the laptop or iPhone, so have dismissed a fault with the iMac. I finally got things back up after doing a power reset of the TC, but after a few hours same problem occurred, and occurred and occurred. By clicking the Airport Utility icon on the top right of the screen and following the prompts from 'no Internet connection', I can at least get things up and working without a power reset of the TC, but the connection still drops after 2-5 hours each time.
My first call to Apple Support led to a full reset and re-config of both the TC and AX, setting the extended network up as I had done originally. The only difference was an iMac reset (alt/cmd P&R on power up) and changing the 2.4Ghz channel from 1 to 11. This had no affect and the connection drop-out problem continued.
My second call to Apple Support led to me being passed to a Level 2 Techie, who first suggested that I tried disabling the Guest Network - tried it, and it made no difference. I was then told to try a WDS network, which whilst not losing connection, is slower and has less range than the original extended network and frankly sounds a cop-out.
Has anyone had a similar problem, anyone solved the problems, can anyone offer any help or advice please.. I'd appreciate any input....thanks.

Similar problem here. Cable Modem (Moto SB6120)->AEBS (802.11n dual-band)>AX (802.11n) for wireless connection to MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.2. AEBS configured as dual-band: 801.11a/n at 5GHZ and 801.11b/g/n at 2.4 GHZ. AX configured to wirelessly extend the AEBS 5GHz 802.11a/n network. I am able to run on the extended 5GHz network (via AX) for varying lengths of time, until the internet connection dies. When this occurs, I am able to switch over to the 2.4GHz network to get back online. Solution up until now has been to unplug the AX, then plug it back in. After the AX restarts, I am able to hop back onto its 5GHz signal and get to the internet. However, the internet connection on this band will drop again after some time.
I was on the phone with Apple Support twice in the past week to get this resolved, but no joy. Senior Advisor seemed to think that my AX was working properly, and that that the problem could be with my AEBS -- perhaps the 5GHz antenna might be bad in my AEBS? Seems odd to me, since both my AEBS and AX are less than 2 months old...
I just read the post from LocoDoc and decided to see if I could replicate the problem. Sure enough, when I am connected to the internet via my AX extended 5GHz network signal and a Time Machine backup starts, the internet connection quits. Only recourse is to restart the AX. Note that I do not experience this problem with Time Machine while connected wirelessly straight to the AEBS 5GHz signal. Only when I am connected to the "extended" signal via the AX.

Airport Express (latest version) not connectable after waking Macbook

Hey Guys, my Airport Express (latest version) is not connectable via airplay, when I want to connect after I shut down my Mac for a while. Since now I always solved the problem with a reboot of the airport. Is there another opportunity to avoid this problem?

Try the following, in order, until (hopefully) resolved:
1a. Delete Preferred Network(s)
System Preferences > Network > Wi-Fi > Advanced > Wi-Fi tab
Under "Preferred Networks," delete the network(s) you regularly use from the list.
1b. Delete AirPort Keychain Entries
Launch the "Keychain Access" application located in Applications/Utilties.
In the windows on the left side: Select login for Keychains and "All Items" for Category.
Click on the "Kind" filter at the top, and look for any "AirPort network password" entries...and delete them.
1c. Add Preferred Network(s)
System Preferences > Network > Wi-Fi > Advanced > Wi-Fi tab
Add the preferred network(s) using the "+" button.
Restart or log out then back in.
2. Move System Configuration Files
(Note: You will have to reestablish your network connections settings.)
Go to /Library/Preferences
Move the SystemConfiguration folder to the desktop.
Restart your Mac. (Note: OS X will rebuild the files that are now sitting on your desktop. If this doesn't resolve the issue, you can move the folder back to it's original location.)

Envy 100 410a seems to lose connection after a few minutes.

When I first turn on the Envy, each of my devices (Mac Book Air, iPad, and iPhone) talk to it just fine. But after a few minutes, each of these devices no longer can see the wireless printer. So, I just turn the printer off and back on and then it works for a few moments until it loses contact again.
Our Windows 7 machine (which talks through the router to the printer) seems to be working just fine.
This was working swell until we installed the new router.
Help!

What brand/model router?
Say thanks by clicking "Kudos" "thumbs up" in the post that helped you.
I am employed by HP

After updating Time Capsule to 7.7.2, Airport Expresses can no longer connect

After I update the Time Capsule firmware to 7.7.2, my three Airport Expresses can no longer connect to the Time Capsule (their orange lights blink and they appear inaccessible in the Airport Utility). When I downgrade, they are able to connect fine.
They are connecting to the Time Capsule over my 5GhZ wireless network.
Any help?

Hi yonajon!
I have some resources for you that may help you resolve this issue. First, here is an article about addressing the blinking amber light:
Wi-Fi base station: Understanding and resolving a blinking amber status light
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1589
If you are still having issues, you may need to reconfigure your extended wireless network:
Wi-Fi base stations: Setting up and configuring an extended wireless network (802.11n)
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4259
Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.
-Braden

Airport Express seems to prevent iPads from connected to AppleTV via AirPlay

I posted this in the AppleTV forum before narrowing the problem down to my Airport Expresses. (iPad won't connect to AppleTV)
Here are highlights:
Airport Extreme extended by two Airport Expresses both connected via Ethernet
Two ATV3, one wireless, the other Ethernet. AirServer running on 2008 Mac Pro
iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S can easily stream video via Airplay to any ATV
iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina don't see ATVs in AirPlay menu but do see AXP.
If AXPs are unplugged from power, AXP still shows up in AirPlay menu until iPad is either restarted or the wi-fi turned off then on.
Once the AXP "disconnects" from AirPlay menu (when AXP is powered down) all ATVs in the house show up in AirPlay menu.
Any ideas?
Took the iPad to Genius bar and it worked fine. When at office, I see all ATVs. At home, no ATVs when AXP are live. Been dealing with this for two months!
Thanks.

... It is very possible that you may have some form of Wi-Fi interference that has been introduced recently in the immediate area that is preventing your AX from getting a good clean signal from the AEBS.
I suggest you perform a simple site survey, using utilities like MacStumbler, iStumbler, or AirRadar to determine potential areas of interference, and then, try to either eliminate or significantly reduce them where possible.

Airport Express stole my PC connection from the Extreme

(I posted this in the Airport Extreme (802.11n) forum, with no replies, so I will see if I get any luck with it in here).
I recently got the new Airport Express with 802.11n, and have just got it all up and running. My setup is as follows:
Modem is wired to the Airport Extreme.
Airport Extreme is wired to one PC (running Vista).
Airport Extreme is in a WDS network connecting to an Airport Express wirelessly.
Airport Extreme SHOULD be connecting wireless to my Macbook, another PC (running Vista), and a laptop (running Vista).
Airport Express is solely for connecting an Xbox 360 to the ethernet port (for the time being).
What it looks like in the Airport Utility however is that the Airport Express is claiming the wireless clients (as they appear in the wireless clients list, whereas they don't appear in the same list on the Airport Extreme anymore). So what this seems to be doing to my network is letting all the wireless devices (minus the Airport Express which is the only wireless client listed on the Airport Extreme) connect to the Airport Express, thus creating a dual wireless network, which in turn slows my connection to the internet significantly.
All items on the network are set up with DHCP, coz quite frankly, setting up static IP's scares me, haha.
What I would like to do is get the Airport Extreme to pick up all the wireless devices, and the Airport Express to only act as a hub to plug my 360 into.
Appreciate the impending help!
PS. I should also mention that the Express is set up as a Remote, not a Relay... and yet, that's what it's behaving like.
PPS. For what its worth, I had all my computers turned off, unplugged the Airport Express and Extreme. Turned on ONLY the Extreme, then all of the computers, and it wouldnt even pick up the network from the Extreme where previously (pre-Express) it was fine. As soon as I plugged the Express back in, bam, the computers can connect to the network again... but still through the Express!

Alright, I have solved the problem. So stupid, but I'll let people here know in the event they have the same issue.
On the Airport Express under the WDS tab, there is a tick box that's for "Allow wireless clients" which had to be unticked.... I'm guessing I was too tired last night to make logic of that, like I was thinking that it needed to be ticked in order for the Express to communicate with the Extreme. Apparently not.

Airport Express 1084: iTunes stops connecting

Hi Apple Community,
Thanks in advance for any help/assistance anyone can provide. My issue:
I own a really old Airport Express (model 1084). For years, I've only used it to stream music from iTunes on my iMac to speaker in my kitchen. I've never really had an issue with it.
After upgrading to Yosemite (10.1.1) I now have an issue. When I start to stream music to my kitchen speaker via the Airport Express connected to it, it initially works just fine. Then, after roughly a minute, it stops streaming. The status light on the Airport Express remains green. When I go back to my iMac, I see that only my "computer" speaker is checked. When I select "Kitchen Radio" (the name I gave my Airport Express) under the multiple speakers menu, iTunes attempts to re-connect to it, but it never can. Finally it give me an error message:
"An error occurred while connecting to the AirPlay device “Kitchen Radio”. An unknown error occurred (-65568)."
At that point, the only way I can get iTunes to re-connect to my Airport Express is to do a hard reset of the Airport Express (sticking a paperclip into the side of it, then plugging it in and waiting for the status light to flash), then set it up all over again. If I do that, it will connect to iTunes and begin to stream music again. But, after a minute, the music stops and the entire cycle repeats itself.
Any ideas on what I can try to do to rectify this issue?
A few notes:
Since my Airport Express is pretty old and I am running Yosemite, I cannot use the latest Airport Utility (6.3.4) to configure it. I have to use a workaround "launcher". I don't think Apple would like me posting what that is, but I believe it's a common one. In short, the workaround allows me to run Airport Utility 5.6.1 and, after I connect my Airport Express to my iMac via an ethernet cable, I can configure and set it up.
I don't use my Airport Express for anything other than streaming music from iTunes.
The wifi network in my house uses WPA/WPA2 Personal security.
The kitchen speaker I'm connecting to is a basic Tivoli radio (that I've used with my Airport Express for years without issue).
Any other info I can provide anyone, please let me know -- happy to do so!

Had the same problem myself, not with BT specifically, but think the same principal applies...
You currently have 2 wireless networks. One for BT and one for Airport, and the mac can only be connected to one wireless network at a time. The way I got things working was to:
Disconnect the mac from whatever wireless network it's connected to
Switch off the router
Connect the router to the airport express using an ethernet cable (should have got one with the router)
Switch the router back on.
The broadband signal is now being broadcast by the airport express, so if you connect to the airport network you can recieve the broadband signal and transmit to the express on the same network.
You can also set your network setting to connect to the airport network automatically. Think it's somewhere in system preferences / network. Can't remember exactly where and i'm not on a mac at the moment

Does an Airport Express require a wired connection to boost a Wi-Fi signal if I already have a wired Airport Time Capsule on the Network?

I want to boost the Wi-Fi signal around my house. I have a 3TB Airport Time Capsule connected to my Virgin Media modem via a WLAN connection but wonder if an Airport Express device can be used at a remote location purely wirelessly - apart from a power connection obviously?

Does AirPort Express require a wired connection.......if I already have a wired AirPort Time Capsule on the Network?
No, but you will have much better network performance if you do wire the AirPort Express.
The reason for this is that when you try to extend a network using wireless, you will typically lose about a half of the potential speed capability on the network.
There is no network speed loss when you wire the Express.
Here is what Apple's support document says about this:
In the case of a wirelessly extended network, throughput may be reduced to less than 60 percent of that of a single device. The general rule is to keep the Wi-Fi network as simple as possible. You can accomplish this by using the minimum number of Wi-Fi base stations required to service the physical network area and by using Ethernet wherever possible.
Extending the range of your Wi-Fi network by connecting Wi-Fi base stations together using Ethernet is always the best option, and will provide the best throughput

Epson 3800 and Airport Express...drops connection with communication error

My problem is: my airport express worked fine for over a year as a wireless printer usb hook-up...but now it always says communication error after it starts to send data. I am using a epson 3800 with the newest driver (for leopard) and I have tested to see that the printer works by hooking it directly to the computer with a USB cable. I have also reset the airport express and reconfigured it. I have also switched out the airport express with another one in my house to test to see if it works. The airport express seems fine and will play iTunes remotely....but just will not print. I have also uninstalled the printer and re-installed it. I am at a loss to even what steps to try next, I upgraded to leopard and was not able to print much till the epson leopard drivers came out a few weeks ago...so I don't even know if its a leopard problem or epson...help

I had the same problem after I upgraded to Leopard and installed the newest R1800 driver from Epson and I got the same response from Epson. The Gutenprint driver does work but it does not handle color management properly and as you have discovered, not all of the print options are properly supported.
You can solve the problem by reverting to the older V3.0aAs driver available at Epson's website. When I did this I believe I used the epson installer to uninstall the v6.12 driver. Then I restarted and installed V3.0aAs and restarted once again. The old printer driver was automatically selected when I installed the printer.
Note. Before you do this, upgrade to 10.5.2 and see if that resolves the problem. The installation notes state that this upgrade resolves the issues printing to "some" printers but it does not say which. If this works, please post your findings and the rest of us R1800 owners can re-install the new driver.

Airport Express – Does it wear out after a few years?

Does an Airport Express wireless modem wear out after a few years?
Recently I've come home a number of times to find no wireless on my iMac, iPhone and iPad even though the airport unit is displaying a green light. Also, sometimes when I've left the iMac in sleep mode recently, I've returned and gotten either no signal or a prompt for my password, which is saved on the iMac.
Generally, rebooting the Airport unit and/or the devices fixes the problem – until it happens the next time.
I bought my Airport Express in late 2005. My mother, who bought her Airport express six-to-12 months earlier, is having the same problems.
Has anybody else encountered this issue?

I think some of the older original models did fail sooner. But that was a short lived period. Solid state electronics don't "wear out" - that's what makes them so reliable and great compared to tubes.
I thought mine was bad but I did what is called a hard restart of the unit. This fixed it. Caution though: don't do these hard restarts all the time. They will damage the unit if used too often.
See owners manual for how to do a hard restart. It's a bit tricky and involved holding in the reset while plugging it in. Read directions first. Also,try the soft restart options first before you use this nuclear option. But the hard restart seems to fix things for good once done.

Does airport express need to be connected to Internet to use purely for AirPlay ?

Does airport express need to be connected to Internet to use purely for AirPlay ? Or can I just attach to my stereo and have my Mac connect directly to it in the absence of a wireless network? Tks

HKCV wrote:
can I just attach to my stereo and have my Mac connect directly to it in the absence of a wireless network?
you will have to configure the express to create a wireless network but you do not need a connection to the internet.

HT1515 My internet 3rd party access point in in the basement and the speakers I want to stream music to wirelessly are upstairs. Does Airport Express need to be connected to my 3rd party router via ethernet cable or will it stream music wirelessly?

My internet 3rd party access point in in the basement and the speakers I want to stream music to wirelessly are upstairs. Does Airport Express need to be connected to my 3rd party router via ethernet cable or will it stream music wirelessly?

Wirelessly
Just select the option to make your AirPort Express join an existing network in the setup process

Since updating to Yosemite my airport express (used for airplay) connects for a short period then drops, the error message "An error occurred while connecting to the AirPlay device "Kitchen". The host cannot be reached." Has anyone else had this?

Since updating to Yosemite my airport express (used for airplay) connects for a short period then drops, the error message "An error occurred while connecting to the AirPlay device “Kitchen”. The host cannot be reached." Has anyone else had this problem

I'm having the same issue. Haven't found a workaround. I use a main TimeCapsule as my main router, also have another TimeCapsule that extends the network, three Airport Express and an AppleTV. For whatever reason, the two AirportExpress that I have in a different rooms cut out. I only have 600 square foot apartment so it's not that big, the signal should be strong enough. Airport Utilitiy reports the signal strength to be strong on all devices.
I'm using all new equipment, a new MacPro for my music, new TimeCapsules, new Airport Express, new everything with the latest Yosemite software. Very frustrating. My Airplay used to work very nice and now I'm constantly having issues and restarting my network. I did a fresh install of all my software on my MacPro when I got it in January so it's not as if it's an old machine with old software, everything is new within the last 6 months.
The only workaround I found so far is to unplug the devices and to plug them back in. Since upgrading to Yosemite, I'm restarting my Airport Express at least twice a week. Very annoying.

Airport Express seems to lose connection after a while

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