Airport extreme base station cannot get a workable IP address

I see this is not a new issue, but I haven't been able to find a solution from any of the discussion or FAQ's that works. My internet provider is Comcast. All of a sudden my airport base station could not secure a workable IP address. Resetting, powering off, etc., did not fix the problem. I thought it might be with my base station, the saucer type, so I bought a new one. Same problem. If I bypass the router and plug directly into the computer there is no problem the computer connecting directly from the modem works fine. Does anyone have a solution to this? Thank you for your help.

I am having a similar problem. I just purchased a Time Capsule with airport/router built-in. I setup it up 2 days ago and it was a breeze. My iMac, Macbook Pro, and 2 iPhones connect to it wirelessly via DHCP with no problems. Suddenly this morning my Macbook Pro and 1 iPhone cannot get an IP address, other than the dreaded 'Self-assigned' 169... address. I can get an IP with my Macbook Pro connected via Ethernet with no issues. I did not change ANY settings. How is this possible? Also, I have a guest network setup on the second band and all of my devices can connect to that with no trouble, even the said Macbook Pro and iPhone. iMac has been connecting all along to everything. I've tried the following on the Macbook:
- Removed Airport, rebooted, re-added Airport, rebooted
- Forced a manual IP address (yes outside the range of DHCP reserved addresses)
- Removed power / rebooted Time Capsule
Nothing works. I know my wireless card is fine because I can get an IP from the guest network. What gives?

Similar Messages

Airport Extreme Base station cannot connect to Westell C90-36R516-01 DSL modem

Hi,
I just purchased a new Airport Extreme Base station for my 15" Macbook Pro. I set everything up this morning per the docs (all cables are connected properly) but the Airport Extreme is flashing an amber LED, which means it cannot establish communication to the network/Internet.
I'm using an old Westell C90-36R516-01 DSL modem that has been working fine up until now. I've tried switching out the Ethernet cables and different powering on/off combos but nothing appears to work. When I connect the Ethernet cable directly into my laptop, I have to power down the DSL modem, power it back on, and then do several refreshes before I finally get an Internet connection.
I read a previous post about unplugging the modem overnight and then plugging it in the next morning to wipe out the MAC address setting. I will be trying that tonight, but I was wondering if there was anything else I could try in the meantime? Or, is it simply a matter of having to get a newer modem from Verizon because this one is 7-8 years old?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi Max,
Let's start from the beginning,
The ethernet from the modem should be wired to the Wan port of the Airport...
On page 28 of the users manual it says if the light flashes amber you should unplug the power of the modem, wait a few seconds and power up the modem.
I presume you installed the Airport utility from the disk that came with the Airport?
For more information about the reason the light flashes
Open AirPort Utility, select your base station, and then choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu. ClickBase Station Status to display information about the flashing light
Here is a link to the Manual CLICK HERE
I was hoping to find out more about the Airport utility to see what's it's capable of doing...

Airport Extreme Base Station cannot see with Macs

Out of the blue my Macs are experiencing a problem seeing the base station network. I can see it with my iPhone. I have a PowerMac G5 duel core 2 Ghz and cannot see the base station or it is sporadic. System says that the airpot card is recognized on my G5. Other Macs on network experiencing the same issue. Tried turning everything off and restarting. This only works part of the time.
I am on Cox cable service using the modem then the airport. Any suggestions? Thanks for any help in advance.

Hi Max,
Let's start from the beginning,
The ethernet from the modem should be wired to the Wan port of the Airport...
On page 28 of the users manual it says if the light flashes amber you should unplug the power of the modem, wait a few seconds and power up the modem.
I presume you installed the Airport utility from the disk that came with the Airport?
For more information about the reason the light flashes
Open AirPort Utility, select your base station, and then choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu. ClickBase Station Status to display information about the flashing light
Here is a link to the Manual CLICK HERE
I was hoping to find out more about the Airport utility to see what's it's capable of doing...

How can I extend a wireless network with my AirPort Extreme Base Station?

Today I purchased a brand new, dual-band base station to replace my Belkin N router, as I have had a handful of firewall, coverage, and other networking problems in my house lately. First off, I really like this router and it was very easy to setup. My MacBook Pro could use both bands and established a 300 Mbit/s link very quickly. After tweaking various settings to my liking, I was also able to maximize the connections on many of my non-Apple machines and devices. I noticed that the range of its network was better than my Belkin's, but unfortunately, it failed to completely saturate the area sufficiently. Since the Belkin still works well enough, I was hoping I could bridge them together one way or the other.
The Belkin router does not support any bridge mode that I know of, but the AirPort Extreme should be able to join a wireless network and then extend that over WiFi and Ethernet, correct? I would like to place them at opposite ends of my home so I can get strong WiFi signals everywhere inside. However, when I try to get the base station to connect to my preexisting WiFi connection, it tells me that I can't extend the network and fails to join.
So is this possible? And if it is, how would I go about setting it up? I know it would probably be easier if I had a simple range booster such as an AirPort Express, but I didn't buy one while I was at Fry's since I hoped I could make use of the older Belkin. This is its product page, if needed. Thanks for any suggestions.
-MacUser

The Belkin router does not support any bridge mode that I know of, but the AirPort Extreme should be able to join a wireless network and then extend that over WiFi and Ethernet, correct?
Sorry, but no. The AirPort Extreme Base Station cannot "join" a network like the AirPort Express or Time Capsule, but you wouldn't want to do this anyway because in this configuration these devices will only perform as wireless clients ... not routers.
Instead, the AirPort Extreme can either be extended or can extend another 802.11g or 802.11n AirPort ... or a very very few non-AirPort devices.
One option for your Belkin would be to connect it to the AirPort Extreme by Ethernet but this may not meet your requirements or be a desirable situation. Otherwise, you would need to get another AirPort to extend your current one.

Cannot Connect Airport Express to Airport Extreme Base Station

I have just purchased a new Airport Extreme Base station and have it configured and running properly.
I would like to use my Airport Express to play Air Tunes and have tried to join my Airport Express's network. I have not managed to get this to work.
I have tried to configure the Airport Express manually and in Assist Me mode but every time it reboots to reconfigure the unit, it continues to flash amber. I have done numerous hard resets and followed the methods discussed in other posts but cannot get the unit to connect.
I am running the latest firmware on both units.
Has anyone solved this problem? If so, please help!

Shallers...you are not alone.
I spend several hours this past weekend trying to get a brand new Express to work with a brand new Extreme station using all Apple computers.
Still no luck, after a gazillion permutations.
I really like the Extreme, it works very well, even with non-Apple devices.
The Express is going back....gawd awful thing from the Darkness.

HT1218 After a recent iTunes update attempt iTunes no longer functions and the airport extreme base station is not accessable on our computer. We still have wifi but cannot access the base station software.

After a recent iTunes update attempt iTunes no longer functions and the airport extreme base station is not accessable on our computer. We still have wifi but cannot access the base station software.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the response. I tried that approach this evening and it didn't work for me. (Technically it worked for me, when I was hardwired into my base station, but would not work for me wirelessly, which is my main issue.)
Again, using the approach you recommended works only if I have my ethernet cable attached to the LAN port so my computer is communicating directly to the base station through the hard wire. I am able to scan for my base station and make setting adjustments normally this way too.
As soon as I disconnect from the LAN port and try to go wireless is where I run into problems. The Base Station's wireless network I created is available to choose in the top right corner of the monitor with all of the other available wireless devices/networks -- but the network I created does not have access to the internet. I am also unable to configure my Base Station wirelessly. When my Airport Utility tries to scan for the Base Station and Network, it cannot find any Apple Wireless Device. It's like the Wireless Network in my base station is not sending out a signal.
Is there a way to resolve this issue?

How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

Once you have the drive connected to your Mac, click System Preferences (gear icon) on the dock
Click Time Machine
Click Options
Be default, the hard drive will be Excluded from backups. Click the drive to highlight it, then click the "-" (minus) button at the bottom of the list to remove the drive from Excluded items.
The drive will be backed up on the next Time Machine pass
Everything above assumes that the hard drive has been formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as Time Machine will only backup drives in that format.

Can't get PC laptop to connect to Airport Extreme base station. Help!

I've spent a lot of quality time on the phone with support staff at Apple, Earthlink, and Netgear. Now I turn to you fine folks.
I have an Airport Extreme base station. My G4 is connected to the base station via ethernet, and that works fine. My problem is with the wireless networking with our Dell laptop running Windows XP SP2. Wireless card is a Netgear WG511 with updated firmware. I've configured the network on the PC end using the Netgear Smart Wizard, rather than Windows (I don't know if that makes any difference).
Smart Wizard says the PC is connected to the network, and says that signal strength is excellent. However, there is no connection. I've tried pinging, but get no reply.
The status bar in the Smart Wizard window switches every 2 seconds from "Connected" with excellent signal to "Searching" with virtually no signal. The log shows that it's constantly connecting to and disconnecting from the network.
I've gone over IP and MAC addresses and whatever other settings I could check with all of the respective phone support people. I'm using WPA/WPA2 Personal security, and have double-checked the 13-digit password on both ends. I'm connecting using PPPoE, per Earthlink's settings.
This is maddening! Any suggestions? I'd really appreciate it.
G4 Mac OS X (10.4.10)

See if iFelix's suggestions work for you.
http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/1000.html
Remember all the smart wizard stuff is strickley for PC Hadrware and Software and does you no good at all with a Mac.
Don

How to get this Airport Extreme base station to produce a wireless network?

I had this Airport Extreme base station working fine at the house that I moved from a couple of days ago.
After my house move, however, it seems that the AE base station isn't producing a wireless network. My wireless laptop isn't detecting a wireless network. Also, the left hand side light on the AE base station is not lit.
The AE base station was softly cushioned during house the move.
Regarding configuration:
My non-wireless iMac (running 10.3.9) connects to the AE base station via an ethernet cable.
Before my house-move, I regularly connected wirelessly via the AE base station from a couple of wireless-equipped laptop computers.
I was using AE software version 5.6. (In desperation, I have just updated to version 5.7 - but that hasn't improved or changed situation.)
At the new house, I found that I had to reset the AE base station back to factory settings before I could successfully connect to the internet through the AE base station from the (non-wireless) iMac.
Since resetting the AE base station at the new house, I can also print via a USB printer that's plugged into the AE base station.
I just cannot pick up any sign of a wireless network from the AE base station.
G4 Powerbook Mac OS X (10.3.9) Problem started while I had Airport Extreme software v5.6. No improvement/change after v5.7 update.

Sorry for my delay in closing this issue.
I got the wireless network running again - though I'm not sure which of a "litany" of separate actions (which I gleaned from dialogs in several similar postings for similar issues to mine) was the solution. I suspect it was one of the following two actions, which have stuck in memory:
1) I relocated a nearby cordless phone cradle/charger/base-station from alongside the Airport Extreme base station to about seven feet (two meters) away. However, the cordless phone is about eight years old, and I believe its radio frequency is far out of the range that I have read (in similar postings) can interfere with the Airport Extreme base station.
2) I re-set the Airport Extreme base station, (a) by depressing the tiny reset button at the rear of the base station for more than 5 seconds (until the led started blinking), (b) from Utilities/AirPort Admin Utility/Configure/Restart. However, I had reset the Airport Extreme base station those ways previously without that restoring the wireless network. Also, I didn't record the sequence of the multiple resets and the configurations at the times of the resets.

I have a airport extreme base station and i reset it and now the wifi connection is open to everyone... so how do i get a password back on it so everyone cant use it

i have a airport extreme base station and i reset it and now the wifi connection is open to everyone... so how do i get a password back on it so everyone cant use it

Read the user guide:
http://support.apple.com/manuals/#airport

Cannot access certain web sites through Airport Extreme Base Station

I use the old (round) Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS). Approximately three weeks ago I could no longer connect to americanexpress.com or to Godaddy or their mail servers. About a week ago the Godaddy sites started working again, but the American Express sites are still not working.
My current setup:
- AEBS connected to Time Warner New York cable modem
- Three Airport Express units - two connected to speakers, and one set up with WDS to provide Ethernet access to computer (PowerMac G5), which is in a separate room from cable modem
- I also have an Airport card in my G5 to connect directly to the wireless network (but that doesn't solve any of my problems)
I have tried resetting all the units, and have also tried running the network with all the Airport Express units turned off, none of which as allowed me to access American Express.
I have the exact same problems with my work-issued Windows 2000 laptop when logged in to the wireless network.
When I plug a computer directly in to the cable modem, I have no problem accessing any of the sites, which leads me to believe that the solution somehow lies with the AEBS - I just can't figure out what it is.
Any help/suggestions are much appreciated.
PowerMac G5, 23" Cinema Display, Airport Extreme Base Station (802.11b/g) Mac OS X (10.4.9)

If you're having trouble with throughput performance or just connecting to some websites, try changing the MTU value, on your Mac, to 1492. (The default value is 1500.) To do so, you can use a utility, like Cocktail or via OS X's Terminal.
MTU will vary with connection type. Cable and non-PPPoE, can use up to 1500, whereas PPPoE connections (WinPoet, RASPPPOE, Enternet, etc.) can only use up to 1492. For secure VPN connections (i.e., IPSec) use a MTU value less than 1500.
The best value for MTU is that value just before the packets get fragmented. To test, use the Ping utility.
OS X: ping -D -s 1472 www.dslreports.com
WinXP: ping -f -l 1472 www.dslreports.com
Reduce 1472 by 10 until you no longer get the “packet needs to be fragmented” error message. Then increase by 1 until you are 1 less from getting the same error message. Add 28 more to this (since your ping packet size, not including IP/ICMP header is 28 bytes). This will be your MaxMTU. (Note: If you can ping thru at 1472, stop, you’re done! Add 28 and your MaxMTU is 1500.)

Should I get a Airport Extreme Base Station?

My linksys is giving me problems. But with the compatibility problems I've been reading about with the AEBS, should I get it? I currently have a 2 macbooks, one with tiger, one with leopard, a windows xp pc, and 1 macbook pro running leopard. This christmas I'll be adding another Macbook and an iMac running leopard. Thanks.

Hello Pozzi. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
But with the compatibility problems I've been reading about with the AEBS, should I get it?
I'm not quite sure which "compatibility problems" you are referring to. None of your Macs or the PC, running WinXP, should have any problems connecting with the 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn). For maximum security, using WPA2, just be sure that your PC's version of XP is at least at SP2 or greater and that it has WPA2-compliant wireless capability.

Cannot see Airport Extreme Base Station--Watch for 2.4Ghz traffic!

(Issue is addressed in the body of this post)
Great when working on 802.11n at 5Ghz, BUT...
If you have to be compatible with 802b/g you are forced to transmit at 2.4Ghz. Traffic at this frequency can be so bad that it made my station invisible (even with "Interface Robustness" activated). The "automatic channel selector" is supposed to choose a clutter free channel for clear communications, but it does not work well. I had to reprogram the station (through ethernet) to manually change the channel to a more stable one. In my case, channel 8 did the job.
After this, the Airport base worked perfectly!
I live in a condo area where I get 8 strong wireless networks, all at the same time. Add microwave ovens, TV's and cordless phones and you get a jammed 2.4Ghz highway. Make sure to select a channel that provides seagway to the "carpooling lane".

Bob - Thanks so much for your quick reply. I followed your suggestions and, to go into perhaps unnecessary detail, I'll write what I did. I completely disconnected the Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS) from my computer. I disabled Windows Firewall, uninstalled my anti-virus program, and uninstalled Airport Utility and Bonjour, recycled by cable modem (took out the battery and unplugged it for about 20 seconds), then restarted my computer. After the computer booted up, I verified that windows firewall was disabled, reinstalled Airport Utility and Bonjour, then reconnected the cable connecting the AEBS to the computer (to one of the three ethernet ports, and I tried each of them in case one was faulty) but not to the cable modem as my firewall was disabled and had no anti-virus software. I also reconnected the AEBS power chord. I opened the newly reinstalled Airport Utility software and it did not find the base station. Only when I used "configure other" was I able to access the AEBS. I recycled the modem again, but that did not help. I turned on the firewall, installed anti-virus software, connected the AEBS to the modem, the light turned green, and I was able to access the internet on the primary computer and the wireless network gave me internet access on my laptops. But I was still not able to have my main computer, the one directly connected to the AEBS able to see it, and configure it, without utilizing "configure other."
Also, any idea why one of my laptops can only access the "guest" network? When it attempts to connect to the primary network it will stay on "acquiring network address" for what seems a few minutes, then switch to the "guest" network and connect immediately.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have just purchased and installed a new Airport extreme base station but now the Airport Utility cannot see my old Airport Express. Are their compatibility issues and do I need to purchase a new Express?

I have just purchased and installed a new Airport extreme base station but now the Airport Utility cannot see my old Airport Express. Are their compatibility issues and do I need to purchase a new Express?

When you can, take a look at the old AirPort Express and locate the model number in the faint print on the side of the device.
If you see A1084 or A1088, this is an older Express version that is no longer supported by the current version of AirPort Utility that you are using with the new AirPort Extreme.
If that is the case, your Express is at least 6 years old...probably older...so it is about time to treat yourself to a new version with much faster speeds and more features.

Mac book cannot find airport extreme base station

Hi
Basicly, the airport utility cannot "discover" the base station. Ever so occasionally it finds it but when i click on continue it says "there was an error connecting to the network"
I have tried restarting the airport extreme several times.
Please help!!
Tom

Have you tried doing a hard reset of the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS)?
Have you tried temporarily connecting to the AEBS via Ethernet to configure the AEBS?

Airport extreme base station cannot get a workable IP address

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