Connection issues plague Apple AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 90
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iReality85 View Post


    ... uuuuh except he wasn't commenting on the MacBook Pro vs. other brand notebooks, he was talking about the AirPort Extreme vs. other brand routers. Different products, different uses, different functions. Think before you post, really.



    And he's making a valid association.
    SAT QotD: Apple's routers are to cheap routers what Mac notebooks are to ... ?
    All CE are going to have problems. This router issue seems more widespread than most Apple HW issues, but it doesn't change the fact that they offer plenty of options the cheap routers don't just like Apple's notebooks do over cheap notebooks.
  • Reply 22 of 90
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lloeki View Post


    I don't know any other SOHO router that gives you IPv6 set up so easily, if at all.



    it used to be well priced if you wanted an 802.1n router with an integrated print server. I don't print anymore so I haven't priced those in a long time. I don't know of many routers with USB for data and dual-bands in that price range. Will check later...
  • Reply 23 of 90
    I have not had any issues with my APE base station.



    I do GBs of transfers over my 5Ghz APE all the time.

    including 3 laptops backing up via timamachine to a MacMini (afp)



    The only thing I have as non-default is the channels, I always fix my channels from Automatic.

    And I use wideband



    I have noticed in the past if I kept it as Automatic it would drop occasionally.
  • Reply 24 of 90
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    And he's making a valid association.
    Apple's routers are to cheap routers what Mac notebooks are to cheap notebooks
    All CE are going to have problems. This router issue seems more widespread than most Apple HW issues, but it doesn't change the fact that they offer plenty of options the cheap routers don't just like Apple's notebooks do over cheap notebooks.



    An association, yes, but also irrelevant and off-topic. Your indented remark makes little sense too, as what defines "cheap?" Not working as intended? Based on this article and people's frustrations, you could include the Airport Extreme in the "cheap" category then.
  • Reply 25 of 90
    Disclaimer: yes, I realize there are some out there that do, at least for a while, possibly a long while. And yes, I've made this post before, so perhaps I'm "over evangelizing" things a bit...so be it.



    I don't know what it is about the Time Capsule product, but it just doesn't work (at least not as a reliable backup appliance). I think some of it is thermal-issue related, especially when the units die. There's too much heat and not enough airflow or places to get rid of it. Of the two I administer, both started working better when I turned a fan on them.



    Perhaps the AirPort is better. I've never tried one, and the lack of web-based administration turns me away from them. I've been much happier running DD-WRT on a supported router, although this is more technical than the average user might like.



    Both Time Capsules are in a corporate environment. One later died, but its twin survives to this day, backing up about six computers.



    What's perhaps more telling than that, however, is what happened when I wanted to use Time Machine at home. I had no intention of buying a Time Capsule after seeing their absymal reliability demonstrated at work. Instead, I set up a FreeNAS made from an old HP Vectra Pentium Pro after putzing with the same at work to see if it would work better.



    Despite being both older and equipped with less processor power than the Time Capsule has, the Vectra-turned-FreeNAS soundly beats the Time Capsule in every way. I've not had the first failure, and the data transfer speed is better. So far I've got four Macintosh systems backing up to the FreeNAS. Despite its advanced age, the old Vectra just sits and does its job.



    (FreeNAS has had the ability to emulate a Time Capsule for a few months now. Mac OS X doesn't know the difference.)



    It did take some hardware fiddling around to arrive at a working platform, and some of that is discussed here: http://greyghost.mooo.com/timecapsule-vs-freenas/ . You can also look at the pricing table toward the end.



    It also backs up my PCs with rsync jobs. There is one SATA drive for PC backups and another for Macintosh stuff. (It's probably the only Pentium Pro system in the world to have a SATA controller and a pair of Samsung Ecogreen SATA drives.)



    An added bonus is the ability to use rsync to clone both the PC and Macintosh backup disks to a third disk that can be taken offsite. Time Capsule is allegedly also capable of this, but I've never tried it.



    Finally, should a power outage take place, the FreeNAS can communicate with an attached UPS and shut itself down in an orderly way. Although it's equipped with a soft power switch, the Vectra does remember if it was on or off when it lost power--and it comes back up after the power is restored. Time Capsule just goes down with a "thud" when the power goes out, and even if you hook it up to a UPS, I doubt it can communicate with one over USB to realize the battery is getting low.
  • Reply 26 of 90
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hillstones View Post


    I can't believe people waste money on Apple's wireless base station hardware. The same can be done with third party solutions for far less money. Time Capsule is an overpriced joke. I would much rather backup over FireWire than wireless or Ethernet.



    You may not be the intended target for the product. The AEBS is easier to setup.



    I've used Linksys productions (G and N) before - it wasn't hard. But the AEBS is much easier for the average person. I prefer less time spent on setting up and more on the fun stuff. I have more $ than time.
  • Reply 27 of 90
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hillstones View Post


    I can't believe people waste money on Apple's wireless base station hardware. The same can be done with third party solutions for far less money. Time Capsule is an overpriced joke. I would much rather backup over FireWire than wireless or Ethernet.



    sure - firewire is great for backups, but for backing up several laptops used by people that would never remember to plug in on a regular basis - time capsule is pretty sweet. it's a great 'no-brainer' solution for casual backups and fits nicely into a more rigorous strategy. considering how many people give you that 'deer in the headline' stare when asked about their backup plan, its a step in the right direction.



    i personally haven't had any of the issues mentioned here, maybe i'm just lucky.
  • Reply 28 of 90
    I have no problems to report with my dual band airport extreme ...



    Works like a charm...



    Apple TV / 2 Macbooks / 1 mac mini / windows laptop all talking without issues...
  • Reply 29 of 90
    jon tjon t Posts: 131member
    No problems with mine from day one… totally reliable hardware that you set up and forget.



    I'm sure a lot of these "issues" are people playing with settings that they simply don't understand.



    And the next step is for them to blame the hardware...
  • Reply 30 of 90
    ilogicilogic Posts: 298member
    Mine also works very good (AEBS.11), when it's working, it's one piece of crap if you're having issues with it though. You may need to reset the settings multiple times to get all your settings lined up.



    The only issue I can't resolve for whatever reason is with my attached hard drive. My hard disk remains ON but not available to the AEBS, the AEBS doesn't seem to keep some kind of disk activity alive after awhile. I have to restart my drive to get it to discover it, it's annoying.
  • Reply 31 of 90
    News to me. I have a 3 point distributed net with these suckers, with no problems... I often wonder how they determine headlines of the 'plagued' sort, without any apparent sizing of the problem, AFAIK...
  • Reply 32 of 90
    ...of AppleInsider's sensationalist journalism. Seriously, plagued?
  • Reply 33 of 90
    I just think its hilarious that this story comes out not 12 hours after I just bought my first Airport Base Station to replace my dying 5-year-old Linksys router =). Figures, right?
  • Reply 34 of 90
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chashulme View Post


    News to me. I have a 3 point distributed net with these suckers, with no problems... I often wonder how they determine headlines of the 'plagued' sort, without any apparent sizing of the problem, AFAIK...



    if you go to any apple forum and post 30 fake posts about issues with any type of apple hardware (keyboard, mouse, etc), it may show up in appleinsider...
  • Reply 35 of 90
    ltmpltmp Posts: 204member
    probably not related, but I've been having the same problems all day today. Restarting my 2 year old 1 TB Time Capsule stopped the signal dropping every five minutes, but the strength is still bad.
  • Reply 36 of 90
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hillstones View Post


    I can't believe people waste money on Apple's wireless base station hardware. The same can be done with third party solutions for far less money. Time Capsule is an overpriced joke. I would much rather backup over FireWire than wireless or Ethernet.



    Apple's base stations are the most solid routers on the market (at least, they were a year ago). I tried, and gave up on, 4 different brand routers (all significantly cheaper than the Apple base station) including linksys and belkin before settling for the more expensive solution. None of the other routers could sustain a constantly open AIM connection, and many required a couple hours or so of fiddling every week or two to make sure things kept working properly. I've set my Apple base station up once... and haven't touched it since (not to mention that the setup process is so incredibly easy). The extra price you pay saves you time, headaches, and hassles. Trust me, I've tried the competition, and I'm far from a novice.
  • Reply 37 of 90
    revsrevs Posts: 93member
    I have this problem with my Airport Express... it sucks but i'll get along with the 2.4GHz for now. hopefully there is a fix soon
  • Reply 38 of 90
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    No issues here at all - plugged it in, it just worked, has done for several years. Reliable, functional and looks nice on the side. Plagued indeed?! If you mean "sporadic issues" or "some users have reported an issue" then why not say that?
  • Reply 39 of 90
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    Ouch, especially for time capsule users trying to backup or worse yet restore their systems wirelessly. Seems like these AirPorts keep having problems, I remember my extreame kept disconnecting after a firmware update. That was for a whole month before apple "fixed it" and another fix to remove the problem completely.
  • Reply 40 of 90
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chashulme View Post


    News to me. I have a 3 point distributed net with these suckers, with no problems... I often wonder how they determine headlines of the 'plagued' sort, without any apparent sizing of the problem, AFAIK...



    I have a two point, one with the new extreme, and one with an older extreme, has been working perfectly, then in the weekend I had non stop connection issues between the two, now working perfectly again.
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