AirPort Extreme repeatedly "fades out"
The never-ending battle continues! Has Apple's quality control slipped, or what? 
We've got a cable modem at home, plugged into the WAN port of a Broadband edition AirPort Extreme Base Station (the one without an optional antenna connection - thanks, Apple, bright thinking, why give that option only to the Dialup edition?) Three computers share the wireless network: my DVI TiBook, a 17" iMac, and an old Graphite DV iMac, all running AirPort 3.0.4.
However, ever since we got the base station, it's been testy as far as actually keeping its network up and running goes. It took forever for the network to actually be detected by any of our computers in order for us to upload the configuration settings, for a start.
It's been relatively stable under 3.0.4 + the associated firmware update, but just recently it's been acting up again. The way in which it does this leads me to suspect it's not an interference issue. Basically, it'll run fine for a few days, and then the signal strength will actually fade - you can see the meter dropping - and then die altogether, after which point it spikes on and off for what can be hours afterwards. The problem isn't always solved by turning the power to the Base Station off, and hard resets don't seem to eliminate the behavior either (done it a few times).
This affects ALL the computers on the network, not just my laptop. I can't think what it is, having moved all cordless phones etc. well away from the base station itself.
Dodgy hardware? I can get it replaced under warranty but as always, fearful that the next one will be the same.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance...
We've got a cable modem at home, plugged into the WAN port of a Broadband edition AirPort Extreme Base Station (the one without an optional antenna connection - thanks, Apple, bright thinking, why give that option only to the Dialup edition?) Three computers share the wireless network: my DVI TiBook, a 17" iMac, and an old Graphite DV iMac, all running AirPort 3.0.4.
However, ever since we got the base station, it's been testy as far as actually keeping its network up and running goes. It took forever for the network to actually be detected by any of our computers in order for us to upload the configuration settings, for a start.
It's been relatively stable under 3.0.4 + the associated firmware update, but just recently it's been acting up again. The way in which it does this leads me to suspect it's not an interference issue. Basically, it'll run fine for a few days, and then the signal strength will actually fade - you can see the meter dropping - and then die altogether, after which point it spikes on and off for what can be hours afterwards. The problem isn't always solved by turning the power to the Base Station off, and hard resets don't seem to eliminate the behavior either (done it a few times).
This affects ALL the computers on the network, not just my laptop. I can't think what it is, having moved all cordless phones etc. well away from the base station itself.
Dodgy hardware? I can get it replaced under warranty but as always, fearful that the next one will be the same.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance...
Comments
We've had quite a few Airport Extreme Base Stations now and all of them have been flakey to say the least.
With the last one we had we finally thought the problems had been licked only to find a couple of days later that we had the very same problem you're experiencing - a gradual deterioration of quality until eventually the thing dies altogether and a restart is required.
Fortunately for us the restarts are keeping things going but in an environment with 600+ users we can't risk rolling them out.
I'll be watching this thread with baited breath.
http://wireless-starter-kit.com/airportblog/
Extreme Now Official
Apple just briefed me on the formal ratification of the IEEE 802.11g specification this morning on which their AirPort Extreme system is based. As they expected, there were no substantial changes between January and the present, although some minor fixes are needed for full compliance. Apple said they will have an AirPort software update out before the end of the month that brings Extreme into full compatibility
Fingers crossed!
Originally posted by PaulP
No suggestions I'm afraid but just want to say you're not the only one!
We've had quite a few Airport Extreme Base Stations now and all of them have been flakey to say the least.
Thanks Paul. Good to know it's not just me who's been cursed with bad mojo. They do say misery loves company.
I have moved the Base Station into a really inconvenient new position (the middle of my desk) and naturally, as if to spite me from having a legitimate grievance after having arranged for a replacement, it has stopped misbehaving. For now. I am still suspicious. This has happened many times before.
Right now I'm wondering: if it IS interference, why does the entire network go down, and why does it do it all of a sudden, independent of what's going on (or not going on, more accurately) in its immediate surroundings? Sounds like the same thing's happened to you!
Because this is (a) inexplicable, and (b) defies the Base Station's entire reason for existing, I am going to class this as a very temporary solution... does this sound like total nonsense to anyone else?
This update is recommended for all customers with French AirPort Extreme Base Stations or if your AirPort Extreme Base Station stops responding after being on a busy Ethernet Network. This firmware update fixes an issue where an AirPort Extreme network appears to be unavailable as displayed by the AirPort Menu Extra or the Internet Connection application. This behavior may result from excessive 2.4 GHz radio interference which causes the wireless network to disappear. The update allows the base station to more gracefully recover when exposed to sources of interference.
Gonna try this out in the morning.