Two Airport Extremes no longer working in tandem to extend network

Trouble has cropped up with my home network, I think dating back to the installation of Leopard (though I'm not sure about that). I have been using two Airport Extreme (both 802.11n) to extend my wireless network throughout the house. For some reason, the two no longer seem to be communicating with each other. I have done factory resets on both, gone through the streamlined setup routine outlined in the Knowledge Base article on configuring Airport Extreme networks, and no dice. The remote station, once set up to extend the base network, no longer appears as a separate station in Airport Utility, and its indicator light is a steady amber. I seem to recall this was the case when it was working, too.
Any thoughts?

Here is some more info. I had a look at the posts on this issue from Nov. 19th, where Jane describes setting up the two base stations in a particular sequence using the assisted (not manual) setup process. My problem is that none of the relevant options ... allowing the network to be extended, designating the second base station as a remote station, etc ... come up in the assisted menus. I can only get to those options via the manual setup.
I would also note that I called Apple about this problem. After being informed, to my extreme frustration, that Apple does not support manually setup WDS configurations over the phone, the Apple rep told me (in a decidedly dismissive tone) that I should be using the assisted setup process. So Apple has confirmed that this is the way to go ... but Airport Utility doesn't seem to work that way.
Help? Anyone?

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Airport Extreme no longer working with DSL

I have a Westell B90 DSL modem connected via ethernet to my Airport Extreme (using DHCP) and the two have happily co-existed for four years. About two days ago, it stopped working. It seems the AE can't get an IP address from the modem. The modem still assigns an IP address and works when connected directly to my Macbook Pro (that's how I am connected now). I also have an Airport Express that I use for music and signal relay. I tried to use it as the base station - that also failed to get an IP address. Help!
thanks

Thanks. I was suspicious of Verizon, but I spent an hour on the phone with them yesterday and they swore it was not their fault. Anyway...
The modem is not acting as a router as far as I know. It is a fairly simple box with just a power plug, phone line jack, usb jack (unused) and the ethernet that connects to the AE. The AE is currently set to distribute IP addresses using DHCP and NAT. We have four laptops in the family and I need them all to work. We live out in the country, so there is no need to be secure.
Thanks again.

AirPort Extreme no longer works

Hi Folks,
I previously posted that my Extreme had issues finding the PPPoE server after unplugging it (I had to connect it through my Linksys WRT54G.... well, I think the AirPort is now out of commission. This will be my second Airport Extreme in 2 weeks with problems. It seems that the internet port is out, as every-time I plug in a ethernet cable it says that the cable is disconnected. I have tried 5 different cables ( all work fine with the Linksys box- so it is not a dead cable) and several resets to factory settings. Any suggestions?

I'm not using an Airport. The firewall on the network is running DD-WRT and no settings have changed since it was working with ML Server. I did test the problem with an Airport Express, though, and was able to reproduce it with that equipment as well.
My server does not have a public address. VPN traffic is forwarded from the firewall. I do see activity when the connection attempt begins, but it never succeeds.
Oct 23 00:31:47 servername racoon[14219]: accepted connection on vpn control socket.
Oct 23 00:32:02 servername racoon[14219]: Connecting.
Oct 23 00:32:02 servername racoon[14219]: IPSec Phase 1 started (Initiated by peer).
Oct 23 00:32:02 servername racoon[14219]: IKE Packet: receive success. (Responder, Main-Mode message 1).
Oct 23 00:32:02 servername racoon[14219]: >>>>> phase change status = Phase 1 started by us
Oct 23 00:32:02 servername racoon[14219]: IKE Packet: transmit success. (Responder, Main-Mode message 2).
Oct 23 00:32:03 servername racoon[14219]: IKE Packet: receive success. (Responder, Main-Mode message 3).
Oct 23 00:32:03 servername racoon[14219]: IKE Packet: transmit success. (Responder, Main-Mode message 4).
Oct 23 00:32:03 servername racoon[14219]: Connecting.
Oct 23 00:32:06 servername racoon[14219]: IKE Packet: transmit success. (Phase 1 Retransmit).
Oct 23 00:32:24 --- last message repeated 3 times ---
Oct 23 00:32:24 servername com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[4494] (com.apple.KerberosHelper.LKDCHelper[47084]): Exited with code: 1
Oct 23 00:32:41 servername racoon[14219]: IKE Packet: transmit success. (Phase 1 Retransmit).
Yep, that's all of it. No real indication of failure even.

Can you have two airport extreme connected in the same network?

You can have two airport extreme connected at the same time in a network?
like if you have a modem, you can connect two airport extreme in that modem?

You can have two airport extreme connected at the same time in a network?
Yes
like if you have a modem, you can connect two airport extreme in that modem?
Airport Extreme
You should plan to connect one AirPort Extreme to the modem and the second AirPort Extreme to the first. The first Extreme will connect to the modem using an Ethernet cable. The second Extreme can connect to the first also using an Ethernet cable, or it can connect using wireless only.

I just installed Airport Extreme. It works as a wireless network on my Macbook. It won't connect with my Windows Visa PC. Message reads: "settings saved on this computer for the network don't match requirements of the network.

I just installed Airport Extreme. It works as a wireless network on my Macbook. It won't connect with my Windows Visa PC. Message reads: "settings saved on this computer for the network don't match requirements of the network." I seem to need to enter a security key/passphrase to connect to the PC. Where do I find them?
Thanks for your help.

I assume that you have Wireless Security enabled on your AirPort's wireless network. The issue maybe that the PC is unable to use the WPA password itself and will require using the Equivalent Network Password instead.
To get this password, you will use the AirPort Utility from the MacBook:
Start the AirPort Utility > Select the AirPort base station > Manual Setup
Now, before doing anything else, go up to the utility's menu bar at the top of the screen, and then, choose "Base Station," and then, Equivalent Network Password from the drop-down menu. You will see two items: 1) WPA Password, which should look familiar to you, and 2) WPA Pre-Shared Key. It should be a long hexidecimal set of numbers and letters. Jot down this second item.
You will want to use the value you just jotted down when entering the password from the Windows Visa PC.

Solution for Poor signal in a wireless WDS network with two Airport Extreme

I have just bought my second Airport Extreme to create a wireless network with the best possible signal. I have one Airport Extreme in my office and the second one (supposedly the remote base) in the living room, two brick walls and 7 meters away. I have follow Apple instructions for the setup, main base "Create a Wifi Network" and Extend network option selected. The remote "join an existent network" and Allow wifi clients selected. According to Apple this is a WDS network between two Airport Extreme.
The network is working and the signal from my iMac is very good in my Office. In the living room the signal with my PC laptop is also very good.
Problem is that my iPod Touch OS 3.0 (I use it as a remote control in my living room with a twonky media server) gets now a very weak wifi signal in my living room, in many cases I lose the wifi sgnal although I sit two meters away from the remote Airport Extreme in the Living Room. If I go to my office with the iPod, then I get a good signal.
I think that only the first Airport Extreme in my Office (Main Base) is emitting a wifi signal and the second Airport Extreme (remote) is only receiving the wifi signal not making a repetition of the wifi signal. (Sorry for my explanation, I am not technical on this.)
I thought that, in a WDS configuration, the remote Airport Extreme WAS suppose to also replicate the wifi signal in my living room.
I have also tried a WDS manual setup with the two airport with the same results.
Is there a solution for this?. Do I have to connect the two Airport Extreme with a wire ethernet in order to be able to have a wifi signal strong enough in my living room for my iPod Touch?.
Thank you for your time.

Thank you Bob for your time.
I understand from your words that with a DHCP reservation I can force de Airport Extreme Main Base to assign an specific IP to a particular client in the network. Is that correct?. If that is the case, I will reserve the 10.0.1.3 to the Twonky Media Server (I need this to be fixed to this IP) and I will change the configuration of the remote Airport Extreme to DHCP automatic.
I will give it a try in a few days. I have spent so many hours with this set up that I am a bit terrified to start again today, to tired from work.
Just one last question. Setting up the remote Airport was very difficult with the Airport Utility. I had to reset and start many times as I always got two errors in the set up:
1.- Internet not connected.
After a minute or so, most of the time the problem was corrected automatically as the remote found the main base that is connected to the internet. I got a confirmation message for this.
2.- Second problem was that Airport Utility said that it could no connect the remote to the specified network. Sometimes (not always) the remote light turn green both in the Airport Extreme and in the Airport Utility, BUT I never got confirmation of a successful installation. Nevertheless, the connection was established because the wifi network exist.
Do I have to "disable the WAN port" during the installation of the remote Airport to avoid the problems?.
Best Regards,
Fernando

HT1218 My airport utility no longer works, but I have just changed my router. Is there something I need to do ? The orange light shows up on my airport, rather than the green one it should have. Please help !!!

My airport utility no longer works, but I have just changed my router. Is there something I need to do ? The orange light shows up on my airport, rather than the green one it should have. Please help !!!

**** little info about your equipment.
If you just replaced the router with an Airport Extreme or Express:
disconnect the modem from power, disconnect the new router from power, connect the modem to power and wait till it os fully started up, then connect the new router to power. After a while the amber light will turn to flashing, then after a while it will turn to green. Then with AirportUtility (in Aplications/Utilities) it should be configured with the password.

Two Airport Extreme (6th gen): Two seperate networks or one router one bridge?

Greetings All,
I have fiber optic service and the modem that came from the ISP is wirelessly capable of old version of 802.11n and short range as well, it has four lan ports as well. So I bought two Airport Extreme (AE 802.11ac) and its working ok but I'm trying to understand the difference between the two scenarios in terms of efficiency and speed;
1. Fiber optic cable connected to modem. AE1 connected to modem Ethernet port 1
via physical Ethernet cable. AE2 connected to modem Ethernet port 2 via
powerline. DHCP disabled on AE 1 and AE2 and carried out by the modem. Wireless
on modem is of course disabled. SSID the same on both AE1and AE2 but 2.4 and 5
GHz channels are unique for each AE.
2. Fiber optic cable connected to modem. AE1 connected to modem Ethernet port 1 via
physical Ethernet cable. AE2 connected to AE1 Ethernet port 2 via powerline.
DHCP disabled on modem and AE 2 and carried out by AE1. Wireless on modem is of
course disabled. SSID the same on both AE1a nd AE2 but 2.4 and 5 GHz channels
are unique for each AE.
Any thoughts? Am I better off essentially creating two separate wireless networks or just one with one AE as a router and another as a bridge?

Your questions are really about a matter of preference. Both 1) and 2) are correct implementations.
In 1) above, the "modem" (which is actually a modem/router) is providing the routing services for the network.
In 2), the "modem" is acting as just that, a simple modem with AE1 acting as a router and AE2 acting as a "bridge" to AE1.
If you asked the support folks for your modem/router which setup was best, they would say 1). However, if you asked the support folks at Apple which setup to use, they would say 2).
AE1 and AE2 are creating separate wireless networks, but if you use the same wireless network name, or SSID, and password for both networks, everything will act like one "big" network. Technically, this is called a "Roaming Network".

Airport Extreme just stopped working

I have a airport extreme and and Airport Express. They have both been working on the same router for about a year or two. Now all of a sudden the Airport Extreme line doesnt work. I try to reconfigure and get the following message"Airport Utlity unable to find Airport wireless device after restarting." and goes on to say You may need to select your network from the WIFI menu and try again. Don't understand what this means? I have tried reseting the extreme hard and soft still will not find the airport connection or even the ethernet connection. Can these Extremes burn out ? Thank you for the help

It's not the power adapter. If it were, you would have no power at all going to the AirPort Extreme and you indicate that the port lights are functioning.
Power down the AirPort Extreme for 5-10 minutes and then restart the device. If you still see the same symptoms, I'm afraid that there has been an internal electrical component failure in the AirPort Extreme and it will need to be serviced or replaced.

I have two airport extremes, one acting as amodem and the other operating in bridge mode. The extremes are connected using ethernet, but remain connected even when I disconnect the Cat5a cable. How do I know if they are operating wired or wirelessly

I have two airport extremes, one acting as a modem and the other operating in bridge mode. The extremes are connected using ethernet, but remain connected even when I disconnect the Cat5a cable (I did this to check that the 100 feet of Cat 5a cable connecting them was working). How do I find out if they are operating wired or wirelessly? I want to know as I assume I will get much better speeds if they are wired.

Hi Bob, many thanks for the prompt response. I think I did what you suggested, but you're the expert so I have sent over a few screenshots. The extreme in question is High Birches Home Office (the rest of the network has been in place and working well for some time). My new home office is going to be in the garden, circa 100 feet from the main house. I have installed armoured Cat5e cable down to the shed that is going to be adjacent to the home office once built and situated the High Birches Home Office Airport Extreme there temporarily. Everything works well, so I was surprised when I unplugged the ethernet, that it still worked. I also tested the ethernet cable by switching off my laptop's wifi and unplugging the cable from the airport extreme and directly into the laptop and that worked ok.
If the screenshots below (I did every Airport utility tab for the High Birches Home Office) don't tell you anything more, then the set-by-step instructions would greatly appreciated so I can ensure I completed the steps correctly.
Many
Thanks, Greg.

Bridge Mode or DHCP for two Airport Extreme via ethernet?

I have Two airport extreme setup in a six floor brownstone home in New York City. My verizon internet router is set up on the top floor with an airport extreme, my basement has the second airport extreme connected via ethernet wired from the top floor. I use DHCP from verizon internet. Do I set up my two airport extreme Bridge mode or DHCP?
Im having issues with my iphone not connecting through my basement airport extreme. Airport extreme status looks fine, green light and in working order.
Please help.

Do I set up my two airport extreme Bridge mode or DHCP?
Bridge Mode. But, you don't have to worry about this, since the configuration wizard will do this for you automatically.
Im having issues with my iphone not connecting through my basement airport extreme.
Suggest that you work your way through the iOS troubleshooting guide linked just below.
If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch won’t connect to a Wi-Fi network - Apple Support
For further assistance with iPhone issues, please post in the iPhone support forum linked just below.
Using iPhone

Extending a wireless networking with two AirPort Extremes...

Hi All,
So I have two AirPort Extremes (both are 4th generation) and I have been using one as a network extender with my DSL and all was working perfectly. I was getting about 5MB downstream with my DSL, with my iMac hardwired to my extended AirPort. Yesterday, I switched my service provider to Comcast and, of course, I rebooted all of my devices.
Now, when I use the hardwired iMac connection with my extended AirPort, I get very low throughput - like 2 MB downstream. If I wirelessly connect to the AirPort that is wired to the Comcast modem, I get crazy high speeds - like 60MB downstream. (I'm using http://speedtest.net/ to judge these speeds...)
What the heck is going on???
Here's some more info:
Both Extremes are on the latest firmware, 7.6
The extended Extreme is showing that the upstream Extreme is wirelessly connected, with a Signal of -62, Noise of -68, rate of 144, Type Wireless (of course).
I've tried allowing wireless clients on the extended Extreme and not, both ways have the same behavior.
Lastly, and I don't think it matters, but my iMac has the latest version of Lion installed, 10.7.2.
Anyone have any suggestions???
- Thanx!
- Jon

Hi Again,
I'm pretty sure that this issue is going to be pushed farther and farther down in the discussion board.
I would really like to get it solved. Would any AirPort gurus out there like to make 10 bucks? I'm happy to PayPal you if you solve my issue... If not, I remember that there was a website where you could submit an issue and make an offer of payment for solving it. Anyone know what that is?
- Jon

How do I set up a wireless network with an AirPort Extreme base station and two airport extreme but between apple devices either by ethernet

How do I set up a wireless network with an AirPort Extreme base station and two airport extreme but between apple devices either by ethernet

This Apple support document provides good general information on configuring different types of neworks using multiple AirPort routers.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145
In particular, you would want to focus on the information regarding a "Roaming Network"

Can i have two internet connections connected to two airport extremes separately without disturbing the home sharing option.

can i have two internet connections connected to two airport extremes separately without disturbing the home sharing option. i want to have both the airport extremes to use a single imac for streaming music or video to my apple tv's at different places where one apple tv is in the range of one airport extreme.it's not a problem if both airport extremes have different wifi id's with separate internet.The imac which i use for streaming the music and videos is only in the range of only one airport extreme.is it possible if i can stream music or videos to my apple tv which is not in the range of same airport extreme which i use for imac but in the range of other airport extreme.
Finally what i need is i want to use two internet networks as my highest possible internet bandwidth is about 1mbps.and i know that i cant mix both the networks and make it as 2mbps.

Yes, that is possible. Please check out the following Apple Support article for details on how.

Airport Extreme no longer recognizes my Express when I try to password protect the network

When I try to protect my network with a password, my airport extreme no longer recognizes my airport express. How can I fix this so I can connect my network and still use my network for airtunes??

I think the initial problem is that your iPhone was connected to an open network that wasn't yours.
Go to Settings > WiFi and "Forget" the network created by that AirPort Extreme, it's older than dirt. Forget your neighbor's network also.
Perform the equivalent actions with your Mac: System Preferences > Network > Wi-Fi > Advanced... Delete every network that appears, including your own.
Then, connect to your own network on all your devices, after which you ought to be able to use any of them and configure your Extreme without any difficulty. You may need to start over with a "hard reset" on both the main AirPort Extreme and the one extending its network.
Does this have anything to do with the fact that 'Back to My Mac' is probably enabled?
Not exactly, but using iCloud Keychain will populate all your devices with the names of preferred networks that any of them connect to, no matter where they are. I don't know why Apple considers that a beneficial feature.

Two Airport Extremes no longer working in tandem to extend network

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