Stuck at "reading base station configuration"

hi
i just had a problem with configuring my new airport express base station. my ibook would see it, but would spin indefinitely at "reading base station configuration". i didn't find a clear answer here, but figured it out after some experimenting, and thought i would post my results to pay back the numerous times that this forum has saved my hide...
before getting the "reading base station configuration" message i would get a message saying i needed to switch networks to continue, which i finally realized meant that my airport card was working on connecting to another network.
i went to system preferences/ network / locations, created a new location, went to "configure", then under "airport' i clicked on the thing that says "by default join preferred networks". under that was a huge list of all the networks i had ever been on. i used the minus sign to wipe them all out, and voila, next attempt to connect was successful....
jeff

Try configuring the Airport via an ethernet cable. Plug cable into WAN port on Airport and then into your computer. See if that works. You should be able to configure it this way.
I think the last Airport and software updates are buggy myself.

Similar Messages

Airport Utility won't read base station configuration

Hi
This is very frustrating. I've just bought a new iMac and found out my previously working Airport Express that I use as an AirTunes hub can't be seen in iTunes.
No problem, after trying everything I decided to reset it's factory defaults and then use Airport Utility 5.2.1 to set it up again from scratch. The utility sees my Airport Express hub and when I go to configure it it just stops on 'Reading base station configuration...' and doesn't move any further.
Has anyone any idea why the utility is playing silly sods?
Gaz

I am having the same problem (sort of). I have two AX set up as WDS. I can see both units in Airport Admin Utility but cannot read configuration on either of them. It accepts their passwords but then returns the message "unknown error connecting to Airport Express" after a minute or so of the spinning rainbow.
My main AX seems to be working fine. I can connect to the internet and my home network from either my iMac or MacBook Pro but my range is fairly limited which leads me to believe that there is a configuration issue with the 2nd AX as a WDS client but I can't check it. I have tried soft, hard and Factory reset all of which seemed to be successful but the problem still persists.

AEBS stopped working/ airport utility can't read base station configuration

AEBS was working fine including the 7.1 update except printer wasn't working. As I attempted to trouble shoot network, AEBS stopped working. I tried accessing it through airport utility but it couldn't find the base station. I have now done a hard reset four times and though airport utility will recognize the base station it gets hung up trying to read the base station configuration. So I can't troubleshoot the AEBS from airport utiltity and the yellow light keeps flashing. What do I do now?

AEBS was working fine including the 7.1 update except
printer wasn't working. As I attempted to trouble
shoot network, AEBS stopped working. I tried
accessing it through airport utility but it couldn't
find the base station. I have now done a hard reset
four times and though airport utility will recognize
the base station it gets hung up trying to read the
base station configuration. So I can't troubleshoot
the AEBS from airport utiltity and the yellow light
keeps flashing. What do I do now?
I had the same problem and a hard reset (6 seconds on the reset button) was recommended by Apple Tech support and that did it for me. The AE was back being seen and allowing me to reconfigure it from scratch.

Can't read the base station configuration

I just set up my AirPort Express using the Airport Utility, connected to Comcast high-speed Internet service. for some strange reason, the base station still has the "amber light blinking," while I seem to have no trouble with Internet connection (I'm on right now). but when I opened the utility again to set up Airtunes, I get the message, "reading base station configuration" then it fails. clearly, the base station is plugged in, connected to the Ethernet, and the signal's working... so what is going on? can somebody help?

Perhaps you configured your Airport Express into "bridge mode" by disabling its ability to distribute IP addresses. That would explain most of the symptoms you describe.
I suggest:
1. do a hard reset of the Airport Express by following the instructions found at:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044
2. with the Airport Express cabled to the cable modem, pull power to both devices. Wait at least five minutes - longer if you are patient. Then plug power into the modem and wait a minute. Then plug the Airport Express into power and wait for it to restart. Unless your Airport Express gets a solid green status light at this point, you really cannot proceed further - so try this step over again but waiting longer than you did previously before plugging the cable modem back into power.

Can't read airport express base station configuration wirelessly

The setup:
2TB time capsule that takes the ethernet feed from the cable modem for internet access.
Airport express 802.11g plugged into speakers for Airtunes. No ethernet connection, just a wireless network.
The problem:
I can only read the airport express base station configuration when the mac is plugged into the time capsule by ethernet cable. This does not happen with the other mac I have on the network. It can connect to both the time capsule and the airport express without any problems. So unless I'm plugged in, iTunes and airtunes doesn't connect to the base station, and neither can Airfoil 3.5 or Airport Utility. Airport Utility does see the airport express. It just doesn't read the configuration wirelessly.
I think this had something to do with elgato eyetv not liking airfoil, but I can't say for sure.
Any thoughts?

When I switch it on all three lights flash, but then after a while the middle one stays on and nothing happens.
You posted in the AirPort Express area, but it sounds like you have an AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS)--correct?
If so, let's start by performing a complete power recycling of your network components to make sure that the BT Voyager router "recognizes" the AEBS.
Modem/Router Power Recycling - Quick
- Power-off the BT Voyager modem, AEBS, & computer(s); Wait at least 5 minutes.
- Power-on the BT Voyager modem; Wait at least 5 minutes.
- Power-on the AEBS; Wait at least 5 minutes.
- Power-on the computer(s)
If this fails to get the modem to "recognize" the Internet router, then try the "Full" version.
Modem/Router Power ReCycling - Full
- Power-off the BT Voyager modem, AEBS, & computer(s). (Wait at least 30 minutes. If possible, leave the modem off overnight.)
- Power-on the BT Voyager modem; Wait at least 30 minutes.
- Power-on the AEBS; Wait at least 5 minutes.
- Power-on the computer(s)

Can no longer read the base station configuration

I am seting up a Airport Extreme N. I was able to read the configuration file twice with no problem. Now AirPort Utility "sees" the base station and tells me the Name, IP, Version, and AirPort ID but when I select the continue button AirPort Unitlity just sits and spins.
1) I am using the latest AirPort Utility (2007-1)
2) I have tried the 1 second reset
3) I have tried the 6 second reset
4) I have tried the reset while powering up
I see a few other threads like this but no conclusive answers.
Thanks,
Jim
Mac mini Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Found the problem (well a work-around).
If the base station restarts while my LaCie USB 1TB drive is plugged in and turned on then AirPort Utility hangs reading the configuration. If I wait until the base station is up and running to plug the USB drive in all is fine. Also AirPort Utility will crash while hung reading the configuration and I unplug the USB drive.
To be sure I tested 3 times. Totally repeatable. Total time...4.5 hours

Airport Base Station configuration with Windows?

Hi folks -
I know this is probably an idiotic question, so I apologize.
My cable modem is in the attic of my house, along with my Netgear router, connected to a Windows XP machine. My iMac is in the living room and connects wirelessly to that router, along with my Tivo and wireless printer.
I want to use an Airport Extreme, rather than the Netgear router, but can I configure the Airport from the PC, or does it only allow setup from a Mac? I have no cable modem connection near the iMac, so that isn't really an option.
Thanks for input.
--Dan

Dan,
You could use:
http://wsidecar.apple.com/cgi-bin/nph-reg3rdpty1.pl/product=07310&cat=1&platform =osx&method=sa/AirPortSetup.exe
which is found on the page:
http://www.apple.com/support/airport/
I use it from my dark side pc (Dell with XP) sometimes.
Gino

Time Machine: Unable to backup after changing my base station configuration

Greetings folks.... I just did a little switching around of APs, and now my Time Capsule is the only AP I have that my mac laptops connect to. Things seemed to work find before I left for the weekend, but upon my return, attempts to run back up do not work. I get the following in the system.log.
Mar 9 20:38:33 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[404]: Backup requested by user
Mar 9 20:38:33 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[404]: Starting standard backup
Mar 9 20:38:34 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/NetAuthAgent.app/Contents/Resources/NetAuthSysAgen t[405]: Warning: accessing obsolete X509Anchors.
Mar 9 20:38:34 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[404]: Error: FSMatchAliasBulk returned -6602 while resolving alias to backup target
Mar 9 20:38:34 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[404]: Backup failed with error: 19
ideas?

I've run into the same problem - however, I don't see the messages you've indicated in the system logs. The only way I've found to fix is to do as you and re-specify where TM is to backup.

My Lion Server gets stuck on 'Reading Settings when configuring Network Users and Groups

On 10.7.1 and it gets stuck on this setting: Any thoughts?

Hi,
>>On the Server 2012 R2 - I can add the User but the field to put in the Password and Confirm Password are greyed out.
This functionality is being removed because the password was stored insecurely.
Regarding this point, the following article and blog can be referred to for more information.
MS14-025: Vulnerability in Group Policy Preferences could allow elevation of privilege: May 13, 2014
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2962486
Group Policy Preferences Password Behaviour Change – MS14-025
http://www.grouppolicy.biz/2014/05/group-policy-preferences-password-behaviour-change-ms14-025/
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Best regards,
Frank Shen

Unable to set up base station as wireless client

I have a network with one Airport Extreme (UFO-shape) and three Airport Express base stations. Now I had to do a hard reset of all the base stations, and want to use Airport utility to set up the network again.
I have no problems setting up the Airport extreme as the main base station, and the first Airport express as a remote base station (extending the network). I want to set up the other two Airport Express stations as wireless clients (I only use them for iTunes via Airtunes).
My problem is that when I reach the point where I can choose between setting them up to either extend the network or as a wireless client, I am not able to proceed if I choose the latter (nothing happens when I press "continue"). I can only go through the setup process if I choose the Airport Express to be an extension of the network (a remote base station).
For one of the Airport express, I then later manually changed the setup from "be a part of a WDS network" to "connect to a wireless network". But when I try this for the last Airport Express, I am no longer able to contact the base station if I try to do the same. I have chosen channel 11 for the network, and I think in some way or another, after I manually change the settings for the last Airport express, it switches to another channel. After this I can no longer read the base station configuration or connect to it via airtunes.
When I do a hard reset again, and go through the process once more, everything is OK as long as I keep it as a remote base station. But I really would like it to be connected as a wireless client
Any ideas?

The basic wiring setup would include connecting an Ethernet cable from one of the available LAN <-> Ethernet ports to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule.
You can run an Ethernet cable up to 100 meters or 300+ feet so the trick will be locate the Time Capsule in the middle of the area where you need more wireless signal coverage.
To have the Time Capsule "extend" the wireless from the gateway, you would need to configure it to create a new wireless network using the same wireless network name, same wireless security setting and same password as the gateway's wireless network.
The final configuration step would be to make sure that the Time Capsule is setup to operate in Bridge Mode, so that it will function as a client for the gateway router.
The specifics of how to do this will depend on the version of AirPort Utility that you are using on your Mac. Post back if you need more details on this.

Airport Base Station - setting up base station to already existing network

Hello,
I just replaced a network switch on the network. Since I did that I am unable to get Internet connection from our main base station in the server room that distributes the IP addresses. I did a reset to the base station and tried to get it to show on the already existing network, but I'm having some issues getting the base station configured with the other base stations on the network. How do I get this main base station to show up on our network?
Right now our other base stations are not getting valid IP addresses. The base station that is setup to distribute IP addresses is getting valid addresses from our provider. If someone could give me any suggestions I would appreciate it.
We are running Apple 10.2.4 on our network.

OK - starts to make sense now. If you did a factory reset of the base station then more than likely the airport network name for it is the Apple default name, and you probably lost the WDS in Wireless Mode.
Do you know the old network name and the network password? Do you know how the other 4 or 5 base stations were configured - ie as a WDS network and whether as relay or remote base stations. You should not need to change anything on these base stations if you know how your AEB (main) was setup in the first place.
One step back from this, you need to confirm that the DSL modem is connecting to your ISP. Connect the ethernet cable from the DSL modem to your Mac and confirm that you can log onto your ISP or internet. If it works then lets go onto the AEB you reset.
Apple publish setup manuals for their AirPort Base Stations - they can be downloaded at: http://support.apple.com/manuals/#airport
1. Reset your AEB to its factory default again.
2. Turn-off the AEB and connect one of its ethernet ports to your Mac by ethernet cable, and connect the DSL modem to the WAN port on the AEB by ethernet cable.
3. Power up your Mac, the DSL modem and the AEB and wait for all to complete their startup sequence. Then open AirPort Utility - you should see your AEB under a generic network name. Click on the AEB.
4. Use the auto setup procedure by clicking 'Continue'. Follow the onscreen instructions for setting up a new network. When asked, use the 'original network name' for your school network. When asked for a network password, use the 'original network password' for your school network (what sort of network security were you using - WPA2 Personal - use whatever you had previously.
5. At some stage you will also be asked to give the AEB a name and admin password - use whatever they were previously.
6. When the setup procedure is complete and the AEB finishes restarting, the AEB will reappear in AirPort Utility. Click on the AEB and click 'Manual Setup'. You may be asked for the admin password to get into the configuration profile.
7. Click on the 'Wireless' tab and set the 'Wireless Mode:' to 'Participate in a WDS network' if not already set to this. While in this pane, look at 'Channel:' - do you remember what this was set to previously (if not, you may need to connect one of the other AEBs by ethernet cable to a Mac and use AirPort Utility to check the Channel setting.
8. Now, click on the 'Internet' icon at the top of AirPort Utility. Check that 'Connection Sharing:' is set to 'Off (Bridge Mode)' - if not, change it.
9. Now, click 'Update' and wait for the AEB to restart.
10. Now, disconnect the ethernet cable from the Mac to the AEB ethernet port.
11. Open Airport Utility, and hopefully, you can now see the AEB and the other 4 or 5 base stations.
Let us know what happens.

Can't set up Airport base stations with new MacBook Pro

i have a brand new, late-2013 15" MacBook Pro running Mavericks. my attempts, using this machine, to set up my sixth-generation, 802.11ac Airport Extreme and my brand-new, whatever-generation 802.11n Airport Express purchased yesterday at an Apple Store (that means it's the current generation, with the power cord) - these attempts all fail with Airport Utility saying it's joining the base station for about a minute and a half, after which it stops trying and says, "An unexpected error occurred. Please try again."
i can set up both of those base stations effortlessly with my iPhone.
furthermore, i seem to be able to use this MacBook Pro to set up my fifth-generation, 802.11n Airport Extreme just fine - even when it's all the way across the house and my attempts to set up the sixth-generation one, which is a foot away from my MBP, are failing.
why can i set these devices up with my iPhone and not with the newest, best, fastest, fanciest, most powerful laptop Apple makes?
thank you.

mmm...okay. thank you, Bob.
for now, i've got the base stations configured via my iPhone, and once configured, my MBP can see and use them just fine. it just irks the **** out of me that my brand-new top-of-the-line MacBook Pro can't handle this simple task, and should have to use a wired connection to set up my base stations (how archaic!). it may be the only device i have with me one day when i want to set up an Airport base station (okay, that's unlikely, but it's the principle of the thing, dammit).
are we sure this is a matter of bugs in Mavericks, and not a hardware problem with my MBP or something?
many thanks.

Having trouble with Airport Base Station

Hello,
I am having a problem with getting a base station configured correctly. I am new with working on Apple networks. Currently, there is a communication problem between one of the base stations and the network. I cannot get an Internet connection. One question that I have is if I reset the base station, does it automaticallly go to a default IP address? I keep seeing a 10.0.1.1 address, but I believe that this address is assigned to another base station that is on another floor of the building.
I have gone into the airport setup manager and have tried to set up the base station from there without having success. Do you have any suggestions on how I can set up this base station to get Internet connection?
I see another base station listed on the server that I did not see before, but I'm not sure if this is the correct base station since it has a different IP address. I'd appreciate any help you could provide on this issue.
Thanks

One question that I have is if I reset the base station, does it automaticallly go to a default IP address? I keep seeing a 10.0.1.1 address, but I believe that this address is assigned to another base station that is on another floor of the building.
Yes, if you perform a reset on the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS), it will default to 10.0.1.1.
I have gone into the airport setup manager and have tried to set up the base station from there without having success. Do you have any suggestions on how I can set up this base station to get Internet connection?
Try connecting directly, using an Ethernet cable, to the AEBS you want to setup.
I see another base station listed on the server that I did not see before, but I'm not sure if this is the correct base station since it has a different IP address. I'd appreciate any help you could provide on this issue.
To set up multiple base stations, you will want to use the AirPort Management Utility, which is part of AirPort Management Tools. But, more importantly, what is the desired network that you are trying to achieve? You can connect additional AEBSs to extend the range of a wireless network, either wirelessly or via Ethernet. When done wirelessly, this is known as Wireless Distribution System (WDS); as wired, it called Roaming.
It sounds like your building has a wired network and that your are using AEBSs at multiple locations throughout the building, but all connected to the building's Ethernet network...correct? This would be a roaming configuration. If this is true, then:
- Each AEBS would have it's LAN port connected to the building's Ethernet ports on the same subnet.
- Each AEBS would have a unique Base Station Name.
- All AEBSs would have the same Network Name and Password.
- Each of the AEBSs would be set up as bridges

Airport Extreme Base Station Error 6742 - Configuration Cannot be Read

I have read the existing posts on this topic, but none of the solutions have worked. I have a Windows XP computer and a brand new Airport Extreme Base Station. When I took the base station out of the box, it would not broadcast a signal, even after configuration. I also noticed that the radio frequency was constantly defaulting to "b", which obviously doesn't make sense with an "n" router. So I checked on this site, and it appeared that I needed a firmware and Airport Utlity upgrade. I did both, and now the configuration is inaccessible. Whenever I try to configure the AEBS, the Airport Utility gives me the following error: "An Error Occurred While Trying to Access the Base Station. Make Sure Your Network Connection Is Valid and Try Again." I know my network connection is valid - I have it connected via ethernet cable and obviously the Airport Utility is detecting the base station in the first place.
Any ideas? Thanks!

If you just bought it I would recommend calling Apple, they can help you set it up.
Also you should consider getting a high speed Internet connection. They are very inexpensive these days and would make your Internet experience much more enjoyable. Where you live I would think you have a choice of DSL (available from most telephone companies) or Cable, which would be the quickest but also more money too.
Regards,
Roger

Configure TC and Airport Extreme Base Stations with different channels

I had to do some serious workarounds to use the Airport Extreme Base Stations as an access point with the same wireless network name primarily due to channel overlap. I thought I would post my results here since I didnt' find a good article online.
Also, I found the Snow Leopard verison (5.4.2) of the Airport Setup Utility far superior to Lion's Airport Utility (6.x) in terms of advanced setup.
Setup is a 3 flloor house where the 3 wired network locations have wireless overlap. The problem was that the access points would not hand off the wireless signal because the channels for each airport/TC were automatically set to the same channel. In non-apple setups, this is how you force a wireless client to switch access points (since the wireless software on your client/mac/windows can detect which access point is stronger and moves to the alternate channel.
Using apple's "Extend this wireless network" option removes any ability to manually configure wireless channels. I am writing this from memory, so feel free to ask questions and I will track this topic:
Procedure
Setup time capsule as your base station. Do all the setup for your wireless and guest networks. Manually configure the network and change the wireless channel to a specific channel for a/b/g networks (e.g., 3) and n networks (e.g, 167).
Plug your first airport extreme/access point into your wired network. Do not plug it into the "internet" ethernet plug, use one of the 3 ethernet switch locations
Use the airport utility to first configure it to "extend" your wired network.
Then, go in and reconfigure it manually in the airport utility. Choose the option to setup a "new network" and name the network the same as the TC wireless network name, security, etc.
Change the channel from "auto" to a different channel than the TC (e.g., 6 and 137).
Now go to the top tab and click on the "internet" icon
Go to the DHCP tab and change it to "bridge mode." This will tell the AE to not give out IP addresses (the TC will do this for you). If you get an error that the IP ranges conflict, you have not done this
Note that if you have a guest network setup, you will need to set this up on the AE as well.
Now test your airport setup. Take your client (macbook, iOS device) and connect to your network. Move to a spot near the TC and pull up a web page. Keep an eye on the signal strength and beginv moving toward the AE. Refresh the page as you move around. You should at some point see the signal strength increase. Refresh your page again. You should be now connected to to the AE. I have found that Macbooks do a better job than iOS devices because you get an extra signal bar to measure strength, and they have larger antennas which allows you to better measure problems with handoff
Another test you can do is to start backing up on your TC and then test the move. The handoff will truly show you that the TC is handling the process but the AE is relaying to the TC for backup.
If you need to setup another AE, simply follow setups 3-10.
I hope this helps others. I've done this setup 100 times on Linksys devices and although they are cumbersome, they at least allow me to do this setup much more quickly and easily than the apple products.

I had to do some serious workarounds to use the Airport Extreme Base Stations as an access point with the same wireless network name primarily due to channel overlap. I thought I would post my results here since I didnt' find a good article online.
Also, I found the Snow Leopard verison (5.4.2) of the Airport Setup Utility far superior to Lion's Airport Utility (6.x) in terms of advanced setup.
Setup is a 3 flloor house where the 3 wired network locations have wireless overlap. The problem was that the access points would not hand off the wireless signal because the channels for each airport/TC were automatically set to the same channel. In non-apple setups, this is how you force a wireless client to switch access points (since the wireless software on your client/mac/windows can detect which access point is stronger and moves to the alternate channel.
Using apple's "Extend this wireless network" option removes any ability to manually configure wireless channels. I am writing this from memory, so feel free to ask questions and I will track this topic:
Procedure
Setup time capsule as your base station. Do all the setup for your wireless and guest networks. Manually configure the network and change the wireless channel to a specific channel for a/b/g networks (e.g., 3) and n networks (e.g, 167).
Plug your first airport extreme/access point into your wired network. Do not plug it into the "internet" ethernet plug, use one of the 3 ethernet switch locations
Use the airport utility to first configure it to "extend" your wired network.
Then, go in and reconfigure it manually in the airport utility. Choose the option to setup a "new network" and name the network the same as the TC wireless network name, security, etc.
Change the channel from "auto" to a different channel than the TC (e.g., 6 and 137).
Now go to the top tab and click on the "internet" icon
Go to the DHCP tab and change it to "bridge mode." This will tell the AE to not give out IP addresses (the TC will do this for you). If you get an error that the IP ranges conflict, you have not done this
Note that if you have a guest network setup, you will need to set this up on the AE as well.
Now test your airport setup. Take your client (macbook, iOS device) and connect to your network. Move to a spot near the TC and pull up a web page. Keep an eye on the signal strength and beginv moving toward the AE. Refresh the page as you move around. You should at some point see the signal strength increase. Refresh your page again. You should be now connected to to the AE. I have found that Macbooks do a better job than iOS devices because you get an extra signal bar to measure strength, and they have larger antennas which allows you to better measure problems with handoff
Another test you can do is to start backing up on your TC and then test the move. The handoff will truly show you that the TC is handling the process but the AE is relaying to the TC for backup.
If you need to setup another AE, simply follow setups 3-10.
I hope this helps others. I've done this setup 100 times on Linksys devices and although they are cumbersome, they at least allow me to do this setup much more quickly and easily than the apple products.

Stuck at "reading base station configuration"

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