I am using an iMac G5 and and airport express.. all of a sudden, I lost the signal and the computer cannot see the base... I tried all the usual tricks and resets, but nothing still... I absolutely cannot see the base... any suggestions please?????
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airport express issues...please help
- Thread starter jbothos
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Do you think it's a problem with the Mac or the Express? What sort of security do you have on the Express? Do you have MAC filtering?
Is it possible to pick up other wireless networking signals from your Mac?
Can other computers still access your base station?
Is it possible to pick up other wireless networking signals from your Mac?
Can other computers still access your base station?
mad jew said:
Than you for your reply.
I think that it is a problem with the express.. I can pick up other network signals... last time I tried to activate interference robustness and when I applied that, I lost the connection to the base... I have WEP security (I do not know what is the MAC filtering).. I cannot get a green light on the base for some reason.. do you know how to reinstall the latest hardware update on the express or restore the default settings?
Hmm... Go to the Utilities folder within Applications and open AirPort Admin Utility. Assuming your base station shows up there, you can then press Configure and then press Default.
Otherwise, maybe try resetting it using the button on the bottom of the Express. It's a tiny little button (you may need a pin or a pencil to press it) with a restart arrow on it. From memory, if you unplug the Express, wait fifteen seconds and then plug it back into the power holding down the Reset button, your original settings should be restored and it should then just be a matter of reconfiguring it to connect to your network/printer/internet and whatever. This is called a hard reset. Have you already tried this?
When you reset it, assuming it wasn't a hard reset, did you wait fifteen or so seconds before plugging it back in? It needs this time to properly reset.
MAC filtering is when your Express only lets certain pre-specified computers onto your network. If you don't know about it then it's probably not enabled. Just to save confusion, MAC is a networking acronym and is unrelated to Macs apart from the fact each computer (and therefore Mac) has an individually assigned one.
As far as I know, Interference Robustness will both sap some bandwidth (not much, not really an issue) and diminish the broadcast range. It doesn't sound like the problem is related to a lack of range though.
Otherwise, maybe try resetting it using the button on the bottom of the Express. It's a tiny little button (you may need a pin or a pencil to press it) with a restart arrow on it. From memory, if you unplug the Express, wait fifteen seconds and then plug it back into the power holding down the Reset button, your original settings should be restored and it should then just be a matter of reconfiguring it to connect to your network/printer/internet and whatever. This is called a hard reset. Have you already tried this?
When you reset it, assuming it wasn't a hard reset, did you wait fifteen or so seconds before plugging it back in? It needs this time to properly reset.
MAC filtering is when your Express only lets certain pre-specified computers onto your network. If you don't know about it then it's probably not enabled. Just to save confusion, MAC is a networking acronym and is unrelated to Macs apart from the fact each computer (and therefore Mac) has an individually assigned one.
As far as I know, Interference Robustness will both sap some bandwidth (not much, not really an issue) and diminish the broadcast range. It doesn't sound like the problem is related to a lack of range though.
mad jew said:
Once again, thank you very much for the quick reply...
I did do a hard reset.. do not remember if I waited 15 seconds... when I tried to do a hard reset right now, the light will stay orange without the usual rapid blinking...
unfortunately, I cannot even see the base trhough the admin utility... very strange, although I had this happen many times in the past...
I think the solid orange means it's broadcasting but without any internet connection from memory. This is a good sign and a bad sign. A good sign because it's better than no light at all, but a bad sign because your computer still can't see it.
The password will most likely have been changed if you did a hard reset (although try the reset again if you think you may have not left it for 15 seconds plus) so is your Mac set to automatically join networks or only preferred networks? This can be checked in the System Preferences under Network.
Just out of interest, do you have a widget that detects wireless networks? If you do, check it to see if it is a problem with your Mac's settings or if it's still an Express problem.
Hopefully we can get this fixed soon.
The password will most likely have been changed if you did a hard reset (although try the reset again if you think you may have not left it for 15 seconds plus) so is your Mac set to automatically join networks or only preferred networks? This can be checked in the System Preferences under Network.
Just out of interest, do you have a widget that detects wireless networks? If you do, check it to see if it is a problem with your Mac's settings or if it's still an Express problem.
Hopefully we can get this fixed soon.
mad jew said:I think the solid orange means it's broadcasting but without any internet connection from memory. This is a good sign and a bad sign. A good sign because it's better than no light at all, but a bad sign because your computer still can't see it.
The password will most likely have been changed if you did a hard reset (although try the reset again if you think you may have not left it for 15 seconds plus) so is your Mac set to automatically join networks or only preferred networks? This can be checked in the System Preferences under Network.
Just out of interest, do you have a widget that detects wireless networks? If you do, check it to see if it is a problem with your Mac's settings or if it's still an Express problem.
Hopefully we can get this fixed soon.
I tried to do another hard reset again, but it does not do anything... all I see is a solid orange and not th usual rapid blinking... my airport widget detects all the other available signals in the area, so I am thinking it must be the airport itself...
when I am trying to set it up again after a hard reset, my computer cannot see the base at all..
thank you very much for your input..
Good, so we know it's a broadcast issue.
Connect the ethernet cable going from your Express to your modem/router/whatever into your Mac so that your Mac and Express are hardwired together. Now open up that same AirPort Admin Utility and navigate to your base station. It really should be there.
Tell me what you see in the AirPort tab.
Also, if this works, you could try opening the AirPort Setup Assistant (whilst still hardwired together) and reconfigure your network (put the internet details etc. back in).
Connect the ethernet cable going from your Express to your modem/router/whatever into your Mac so that your Mac and Express are hardwired together. Now open up that same AirPort Admin Utility and navigate to your base station. It really should be there.
Tell me what you see in the AirPort tab.
Also, if this works, you could try opening the AirPort Setup Assistant (whilst still hardwired together) and reconfigure your network (put the internet details etc. back in).
Have you tried a factory reset? Unplug the Airport Express and use a pen/pencil to hold the reset button down as you plug the Airport Express back in. Continue holding the reset button for four or five more seconds and then relese. This will restore the Airport Express to factory settings.
mad jew said:Good, so we know it's a broadcast issue.
Connect the ethernet cable going from your Express to your modem/router/whatever into your Mac so that your Mac and Express are hardwired together. Now open up that same AirPort Admin Utility and navigate to your base station. It really should be there.
Tell me what you see in the AirPort tab.
Also, if this works, you could try opening the AirPort Setup Assistant (whilst still hardwired together) and reconfigure your network (put the internet details etc. back in).
I just did a factory default reset and waited for 1 minnute before plugging it in... I also restarted the computer...I now get a blinking orange light, but could not set it up because I can still not see the base...
I tried what you just told me (connect the base directly to the Mac and opened admin utility, but the base is not there)...
it doesn't make any sense....
ElectricSheep said:
Yeah, that's what I was trying to explain. I thought it was called a hard reset though.
Oh, just quickly, is there a firewall turned on? If you have the Apple firewall turned on, do the following:
Apple said:
mad jew said:Yeah, that's what I was trying to explain. I thought it was called a hard reset though.
I did do a factorty default reset and teh base is now blinking orange again... but, unfortunately, I cannot see the base at all (even though the computer can see all the other networks)...
All right, well if the firewall thing doesn't work, check to see if your AirPort card is seated properly. If so, then have a quick look through Apple's AirPort troubleshooting page. I couldn't find anything there that's overly helpful though, and you'll have to wade through all the irrelevant information about other base stations too. Nevertheless, there could be a fix in there somewhere.
Write back with what you try.
Write back with what you try.
jbothos said:
If the firewall is on, it blocks certain ports sometimes. This manually opens them again.
mad jew said:
I am starting to think that there might be a hardware problem with the airport express... this is very frustrating because this is my second airport express that has the exact same problem... I will try to call Apple and see if I can get a replacement... thank you very much for all your help!!!!
mad jew said:Yeah, that's what I was trying to explain. I thought it was called a hard reset though.
Well, the Airport Express is a bit unique in that it has three different reset modes depending on how you use the reset button.
Pressing the reset button and holding it for 1 second while the Airport Express is plugged in initiates a soft reset. The front light will flash amber and during that time you will be able to log into the Airport Express in case you have forgotten your password.
Pressing and holding the reset button for 10 seconds (5 seconds with firmware version < 6.1.1) while the Airport Express is plugged in will cause a hard reset. The light on the front to flash green the Airport Express will load a default configuration. Your own profiles and settings are not erased in this case, and you can load them up once you get back into your Express. Bear in mind that the Airport Express will not be visible either in the Airport menu or the Airport Admin utility for 45 seconds to a minute.
Pressing the holding the reset button while the Airport Express is unplugged, and then continuing the hold the reset button as you plug the unit in will cause a factory reset. This will erase all settings and profiles from the Airport Express and effectively put in into the state that it was when you pulled it out of the box (save for any firmware you have applied). Once again, the Airport Express will not be visible for 45 seconds to a minute.
Thanks for the clarification ElectricSheep. I had no idea about the hard reset, I just thought there was the factory reset. Learn something every day on here.
jbothos, if there really is no way of accessing it then I think it's a job for Apple.
jbothos, if there really is no way of accessing it then I think it's a job for Apple.
mad jew said:What do you mean?
I knew I should have qualified that................
I had mine hooked up to a stereo and forgot to turn off the amplifier before I unplugged the unit and removed the cords. Went through two of them before I realized what an idiot I was.
yenko said:I knew I should have qualified that................
Yeah, it's a Sunday morning and my head hurts a little. We've gotta keep things very simple around here.
yenko said:I had mine hooked up to a stereo and forgot to turn off the amplifier before I unplugged the unit and removed the cords. Went through two of them before I realized what an idiot I was.
Hmm... But I've done the same with no problems.