Airport extreme (round model) has reduced range.

The was my original post back in March of 2007
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=906041&tstart=0
but it says:
This topic has been archived - replies are not allowed.
So I'm starting up a new thread ...
Since then I've had a internal hard drive crash and had to replace the drive, and re install all my programs and OS, I still have this problem. Other laptops before (and after) the crash also find the reduced range problem.
During the re- installing of the newest mac OS update (10.4.10) I didn't see anywhere that the airport extreme base station was updated. I see that there are some security updates available, but don't know if the auto update feature checks for airport stuff .... Does it? And how can I check my system (airport) to see if it does indeed have all the latest fixes installed?
I'm guessing this is now an airport problem, not a computer/OS problem because of the fresh install. Agreed?

There have been quite a few reports that raising the Base Station – with some saying up to the ceiling – can make a substantial difference. It might spoil your decor, but you might give it a try. Are you using MacStumbler or similar so that you don't have to rely on the menu 'bars' which aren't always helpful?
You can alternate between v5.5.1 and v5.7 for signs of improvement – reports indicate that the change can improve matters, but unfortunately in either direction, so it's just trial and error.. For simplicity keep the .dmg for both and then it's just a double-click and a few moments. While you are using v5.5.1 you will get the invitation to upgrade to v5.7, which you obviously ignore.
A hard reset every so often is certainly a good idea. I'm sure that by now you have a good record of your settings.
Also, every so often use the AirPort menu to turn AirPort off, wait a minute, and turn back on.
Also, every so often, in System Preferences > Network > "By default, join:" > "Preferred networks" delete your network, click on "Apply Now" (essential), re-create the network and again click on "Apply Now".
[Message edited (couple of things added) by: Andreas]

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I have a time capsule and airport express one floor lower, the signal keeps dropping. Would an airport extreme give me a longer range for wifi?

I have several computers. My equipment is upstairs in a house, apple time capsule and downstairs airport express. Lately the downstairs computer keeps disconnecting from the internet. Would replacing the airport express with and airport extreme give me a greater range for my wifi connections?

Yes. Question is... would the difference be enough.
The extreme has a bigger & more powerful antena array. But if that alone still doesn't suffice, you also have the option to use the express to EXTEND from the Extreme.

I have a 2008 airport extreme, will I get greater range with the new version?

I have a 2008 airport extreme, will I get greater range with the new version of the airport extreme?

I have had both models, and frankly notice little if any difference in range, likely because the broadcast power of wireless routers is set by law, and just about every router is running at 100%.
The dual band feature of the newer model will allow devices that are in close proximity to connect using the 5 GHz band, which runs 2-3 times faster than the 2.4 GHz band.
If you need greater range, you will likely do better by adding something like an AirPort Express to "extend" the wireless signal for greater reach.....rather than simply replacing one AirPort Extreme with another.
Another option....if you opt for the new AirPort Extreme....would be to use it as your "main" base station and use the older Extreme to "extend" the wireless signal.

Have airport extreme, square model, have a external harddrive to use as back up(formated for mac)hooked it up to the usb port in back. can't find it on my computer. what am i doing wrong

have the airport extreme, square model. have a external harddrive formated for mac hooked up to the usb port in back.
i can't find the harddrive on the computer for back up in timemachine. what am i doing wrong?

First, if you are not aware, you need to know that Apple does not officially support Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme.
That may be part of the problem here, so if you want to continue to try this, you need to understand that there are no guarantees of success.
Some users do seem to be able to make this work, but most have some problems and some....like me....have nothing but problems when they try this.
If you want to continue to try this, the first thing to verify is that the drive is formatted specifically in Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Have you verified that the drive is formatted correctly by connecting it directly to your Mac and using Disk Utility to check?
Some drives that are advertised as being "compatible for Mac" are not formatted correctly in Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Time Machine has no chance of success unless the drive is first formatted correctly.
I would also ask that you consider leaving the drive connected to your Mac for Time Machine backups. That will be supported, and is a far more reliable way to keep backups if your data is important to you.
Next, we need to know what operating system you are running on your Mac. If you do not know, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen and then click About This Mac. Post back with the OS X Version number that you see there.

HT4145 How can I use an Airport Extreme to act as a Range Extender for an Alcatel One Touch Y800Z WiFi modem/router? I get a message saying it cannot be extended. Thank you. Arup

How can I use an Airport Extreme to act as a Range Extender for an Alcatel One Touch Y800Z WiFi modem/router? As we live in a rural area and our landline broadband speeds are awful, I have moved on to a 3G provider in the UK (EE/Orange) and set up the wireless modem which is working very well with an iMac. I have an Airport Extreme base station which was previously connected with an Ethernet cable to the landline router, and two Airport Express stations as Range Extenders. I would now like to use the Airport Extreme and the two Express stations to extend the range of the Alcatel WiFi device. I have tried automatic and manual set up with the Airport Utility but at the crucial step for selecting a network to extend, although the WiFi device is recognised, I get a message saying it cannot be extended.
Thank you for any help you can provide.
Arup

This is a problem with a lot of cheap end wifi hotspot like devices.. sometimes you can just swap the sim out to a real 3G wireless router.. that is a better approach IMHO than wireless repeater ever will be.
In the meantime..
Have a go with the suggestion.. place the express as wireless bridge. With a computer connected to the wifi from alcatel unit.. (I am amazed Alcatel still are in domestic market.. I thought they sold out). Set the express to join the wifi.. you do this in the airport utility.. old one is easy.. but in v6 you have to trust to luck so to speak and hope the auto setup works.. tell us if you have trouble.
With the Express bridging.. you can then plug it by ethernet into the TC.. which will be in router bridge..
ie
You can then run the connection from wireless or ethernet on the TC.. and it will relay back to the alcatel for internet.. all a bit dodgy but who knows.. it may give you what you need.
Wireless repeater is never particularly reliable in my experience. I would avoid it if possible.

I just purchased an airport extreme router to increase the range of my wifi. I have an imac with 10.5.8. I get a flashing yellow light on the base unit and it tells me I need airport utility to install yhe ubnit. Where do I get this and how do I do it?

I just purchased an airport extreme router to increase the range of my wifi. I have an imac with 10.5.8. I get a flashing yellow light on the base unit and it tells me I need airport utility to install yhe ubnit. Where do I get this and how do I do it?

sylviafromhanover wrote:
So I assume that the original modem stays installed with the coaxial cable and the Exrtreme is in addition to that.
Yes, that is correct.
Did you have the instructions that came with your Airport Extreme? Are you sure you have it setup properly? Here is the setup guide:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/airportextreme_802.11n_userguide.pdf
Ensure you have everything setup properly. Once you do this and if you are still having trouble, follow Star's instructions.

Need to open NAT for Xbox 360 using AirPort Extreme 2012 Model

Alright this is driving me crazy haha.
Here is the equipment im working with.
Xbox 360
Motoroloa SB6141 Modem from time warner cable
Airport extreme 2012 model
Early 2011 Macbook pro
if its been released i have the update for it. haha
So i have not had this issue before i got the SB6141 on Saturday.
I have read things about it and none of it is clicking. trying to get more personalized help here.
Any Help is appreciated.
Thank you in advance!

So i have not had this issue before i got the SB6141 on Saturday.
That.....is the problem.
Right now, you are getting Double NAT because the modem is providing NAT firewall and the AirPort is providing NAT firewall. That equals Double NAT also known as Strict NAT.
Contact Time Warner support to get the default IP address for the modem so that you can get into the settings and turn off the firewall in the modem. It needs to be set to pure bridge mode. A decent phone tech will know how to do this.
If you have other modem options, you won't have this problem with a Netgear CMD31T....also on the list of TWC recommended modems.

Airport Card no longer has acceptable range

Ever since the early days of OS 10.4, my airport card range became incapable of connecting more than about 6 feet whereas previously it was able to make a reliable connection 40 feet away through several interior walls. My router is a D-Link DI-624. The problem also exists with another router at a different location, thus I have concluded that it is my wireless card that is the problem and not the router.
Does this sound like a hardware problem or a software problem?
Is there a diagnostic procedure that I could use to determine the cause of the problem and how to fix it?
G4 1.25 PowerBook running OS 10.5.5,
Wireless Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x4E),
Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (4.170.25.8)

The only real way to test is to swap out the card with a known good one. If everything is fine with the known good card then you know that the original card isn't working well.
I would speculate that it is more likely to be an antenna problem rather than a card problem. Either the antenna connection to the card has come loose or the antenna wire through the hinges has become damaged.

Airport Extreme 2009 Model - Firmware 7.4.2 Not Upgradeable

I am very disappointed that this model- A1143 - earlier 2009 model is not upgradeable to the latest firmware - 7.5.1
The behavior of this Apple Router is random dropped WiFi DHCP TCP/IP connections. I am currently overseas setting up a complete Apple architecture for my fiancee's network in the Caribbean and cannot easily provide tech support. This is not what I expect from a PREMIUM manufacture like Apple. The 7.5.1 update, according to the release notes, will correct the PPPoE issues.
The bottom line is that I will have a very critical eye on purchasing any non laptop/computer products from this manufacture.

Sorry, but as far as I know, the A1143 version of the AirPort Extreme cannot be upgraded to have the same functionality that the latest model has with a simple firmware update ... even if one was available. That is because there was more than just a firmware change to this model. Improvements would require hardware changes as well.

Airport Extreme 802.11ac manual DHCP range

I have one of the new Airport Extreme 802.11ac units, and am running airport utility 6.3 on my server.
I am trying to setup my network but I would like my own DHCP range instead of 10.0 or 192.168 - I would like to add 10.20, This way it wont conflict with my other network for work which has 10.0 and my IP TV Network which is 192.168. I would like to add a manual address for my home netwok so I can add a vpn to avoaid the conflits.
Is there anyway of adding my own DCHP range in the new extreme?
Thanks
Greg

It isn't possible to change the first two octet values other than what apple has already allowed.. ie 10.0, 172.16 or 192.168
That is how Apple build their stuff.
I have no idea if this would work.. but someone else suggested the idea.. export the configuration of the AE .. you will find that is available via the top menu.. then open the xml file that is produced and do a search and replace for 10.0 to 10.20 or whatever you want.. save the file.. and import it back to AE.. it is crude windows sort of operation but it worked to change dhcp messages for the poster.

Extending network with Airport Express and Airport Extreme (latest models) causes chaos on network

Today I upgraded from my several year old Airport Extreme (3rd gen) and 2nd gen Airport Express to a new (what you'd buy on the shelf today) Airport Extreme and Airport Express. All airports are updated with the latest firmware and I'm using windows 7 for configuration.
The intention is to use the Airport Extreme as the main router, also serving wifi. And extend the network using the express. As such, the following has been done:
The Airport Extreme is configured for automatic channel, and automatic radio mode. I tried to select 802.11n 5 ghz and 802.11 n 2.4 ghz only, but it won't take the changes. Additionally, it wont' accept me using only channel 6. Not sure why, but I digress. The airport extreme is not set to broadcast a separate name for the 5ghz network.
The Airport Express is configured to use bridge mode, use an existing wireless network and is connected to my network on it's WAN port (the circle icon on the back) with ethernet. The password and wireless name used in configuration is the same as created initially on the Airport Extreme.
Initially I did the configuration of both airports on my computer, connected by ethernet to ensure stable connectivity while I inputted settings. During this, they appeared to accept the changes fine. However, when I moved the airport express to it's destination (other side of my house), the entire network went crazy.
Internet became slow, and often wouldn't load pages. This was on wired and wireless connections. When I attempted to administer the Airport in the Utility, they would not load, an error would occur. Also, at one point the Airport Extreme had renamed it self with a (2) at the end. Which was super odd. So far, the only solution has been to unplug the Airport Express and attempt to devise a solution.
Anyone have any ideas? Of course, I will continue to tinker with this, but it seems realllly strange. The previous setup was also extended (granted, using wireless only, not ethernet > wireless) and worked fine, granted it was a smidge slow, but it worked.

I wanted to add this.. I followed the guide here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260 to extend using ethernet, and the above is the result.
I just tried re configuring in OS X Mavericks and got the same, odd, result.

Airport Extreme (2005 model) compatible with PCs?

Hello, been a while since Ive been on the boards maybe you can help.
Have an airport extreme base station from 2005. Mac powerPC G5 tower and Macbook are both connecting fine. However, HP pc and dell laptop recieve 'limited or no connectivity', even though both PC models can see
the airport device. They show 'excellent' signal strengh, yet cannot access
the web via the airport extreme. Not sure how they can see the airport if
they are not compatible, perhaps my setting are not in order. Any info
appreciated, thank you!

The 2005 AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) creates a standard 802.11b/g wireless network. Therefore any device capable of connecting to a standard 802.11b/g wireless network can connect to the network provided by the AEBS.

Airport Extreme -- latest model ?

What is the difference between Airport Extreme Model MD031HN/A and MD031LL/A ?
Which is the latest version ? Will MD031HN/A have all the features of LL/A ?

The country they were originally sold in. As the first five characters and the last one are the same, they are the same model.
(72455)

Installing Airport Utility 5.6.1 in order to configure older Airport Extreme/g model doesn't work as it won't install with OS 10.8.5 Mountain Lion. Solution?

I need to configure Airport Extreme Base Station 802.11b/g but Airport Utility 6.3.1 will not work.
I found this page: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5022
it recommends installing Airport Utility 5.6 which downloads as 5.6.1
but it will not install on Mountain Lion OS 10.8.5
so what to do?

AirPort Utility 5.6.1 is for Snow Leopard. Use 5.6 for Lion or Mountain Lion.
You can use the following workaround to install AirPort Utility 5.6 on a Lion or Mountain Lion Mac:
Be sure to read the caveats at the end.
Lion / Mountain Lion's package installer will refuse to install superseded versions of AirPort Utility. Instead you will need to use a package extractor such as Pacifist or unpkg. Pacifist is shareware, unpkg is free.
Download Pacifist here: http://www.charlessoft.com/
Download unpkg here: http://www.timdoug.com/unpkg/
Download AirPort Utility 5.6 here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482
When the AirPort Utility .dmg file finishes downloading, open it to expand and reveal the AirPortUtility56.pkg package installer file.
Directions for Pacifist (I do not have screenshots for unpkg but the idea is similar):
Open Pacifist and from its File menu, navigate to the package and open it.
Click the "reveal triangles" until you see AirPort Utility 5.6.app:
Select it and then click Install from Pacifist's toolbar. It will then be installed in your Utilities folder, and you can quit Pacifist.
The most recent version of AirPort Utility included with Mountain Lion should be used to configure 802.11n - capable AirPort Base Stations. Make no attempt to delete it. It and the older version (which will bear the unique name "AirPort Utility 5.6") can peacefully coexist. Use the older version only as necessary for older AirPort Base Stations that cannot be administered any other way.
If you happen to have an archived copy of the AU 5.6 app somewhere, such as a Time Machine backup or equivalent, you can simply restore it or drag the app to your Mountain Lion system's Utilities folder instead of resorting to the above procedure. It will run without complaint. It is only the package installer that is the problem.
Keep in mind that Apple's decision to abandon support for the original AirPort Express and AEBS was for reasons known only to them. Remember that you are using obsolete equipment, should some future OS X feature not work for you.

Currently using AirPort Extreme but it has issues

I use an iMac running Lion. About 3-4 days ago the AirPort Extreme was blinking yellow .. I looked at cable modem and it was fine .. so I went to Utilities, clicked the AirPort icon and it said I needed an update. Everything worked well but then I got the yellow light again .. after clicking into AirPort icon and finding nothing amiss I looked at the AirPort 'box' itself and the light was back to green. Is this a signal that the AirPort Extreme is dying? Do I get another Extreme or go for the Express? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Everything worked well but then I got the yellow light again .. after clicking into AirPort icon and finding nothing amiss I looked at the AirPort 'box' itself and the light was back to green. Is this a signal that the AirPort Extreme is dying?
If the status light is staying a steady green, then it would be operating normally. If it continues to randomly flash yellow, with no errors being reported, then you may want to look at the base station logs to see what it "sees" are the issues that are causing it.
To get to these logs: AirPort Utility > Select the AirPort > Manual Setup > Advanced > Logging & Statistics tab > Logging and Statistics > Logs tab

Airport extreme (round model) has reduced range.

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