Our Airport Extreme Base Station connectivity issues are over. Life can begin again.
This, friends, is a new day. Thanks to one lost, but helpful, Apple support site, the issues I had with connecting to my Airport Base Station’s wifi signal and USB hard drive have been solved.
The trick, like anything else, is knowing where to look.
If you’re having issues like I was (Mac wouldn’t connect to base station’s wifi signal, air disk support was totally lost, etc.), first open up your Airport Utility app. I’m using version 5.1 after finding 5.2 to be too problematic (many others found this too – browse the support discussions at Apple.com sometime). Double-click on your base station (above), which will bring up the more detailed manual window.
Then, select the Base Station menu at the top, and click on “Upload firmware…”
You’ll see the options above, thanks to a drop-down menu. I selected firmware version 7.3.1, which was the previous firmware download. In essence, you’re overwriting the firmware – version 7.3.2 – already on your base station with the previous version. Out with the new, in with the old.
After you select your version and hit “Okay,” Airport Utility will download the firmware and automatically replace the 7.3.2 firmware.
I reset my base station a few times, with Airport Utility, just to make sure everything was a-okay. But when Airport Utility recognized the fresh old firmwared-version of my base station, I saw that it worked:
Hoo-ha. Version 7.3.1. We’re now running on the old software in both Airport Utility and on the base station itself. And see that little button with the 7.3.2 update on it. Don’t dare touch it. We know better now.
Hey, if Apple can’t came out with great new stuff, we’ll just use the old stuff that works, right?
But now came the test. Would my iBook find the base station’s Airport signal? Could I connect to the USB drive and actually save some files and open my iPhoto library?
You bet. Everything now works as normal. I can connect to wifi, and my USB drive’s wackiness comes to an end.
So lesson learned: wait longer than normal on things like firmware updates. And when you can’t find a solution, revert back to the old way of doing things. This is a problem, though, when security issues are addressed in new software updates. If you revert to the old version, do you risk leaving yourself open to attack?
Shame on Apple for not fixing the Airport Extreme Base Station firmware and Utility. We just have to do it ourselves in a roundabout way.
August 19, 2008 at 8:22 am |
This has been very much on my mind for months. I have a “UFO” Airport Extreme 802.11g which needs to be power cycled, from every day to once a week. If I roll back the firmware it works flawlessly, at the cost of key features (WPA, NAT-PMP, Back To My Mac…)
I’m just about to pack it in and buy a (gasp!) third-party router. I had thought I’d just upgrade to Apple’s 802.11n router, but it sounds like a frying pan/fire situation…
August 19, 2008 at 11:33 am |
Dave, thank you – I will try it after work tonight. I can’t even get my Macbook now to even FIND the base station unless I hard wire it, so I will do that so that I can click on it to allow manual setup.
Thank you in advance for the work you did on this – and to the unnamed Apple tech! I’ll let you know what happens!
August 19, 2008 at 6:24 pm |
Steve: isn’t that weird? I love my Airport Base Station mainly because of the USB air disk capabilities and printer sharing, so if you’re into that kind of thing I’m not sure who else provides it. But unless Apple fixes this firmware, I won’t recommend it.
Cheri: good luck! Please let me know how it works out, or if you need help.
August 19, 2008 at 11:55 pm |
Well, I am online as you see – but I still can’t get my Macbook to find the base station. I have one cable plugged in from the base station to my internet cable modem. Then I took a 2nd cord and attached that between the 2nd port on the back of the base station and my Macbook. The light is flashing yellow on the base station, but it’s allowing me to be hard wired to be online. So the connection is working but since there’s no wireless, even wired I can’t find the base station.
Which sucks b/c last week I could. And last week I could use my Airport Express. It’s like there was a virus in this base station and each day one more thing wouldn’t work till it got to the point I have been the last week – no wireless period.
So blinking yellow, I’m online hard wired, but all I get is “rescan” when I open Airport Utility. What I think I may do is dump Airport Utility out of the Macbook and reload it off the disc that came with the base station. My Macbook (bought it right about 1 year ago) came with Airport Utility preloaded, so I am wondering if there is some sort of conflict.
I have to be halfway to the Apple store in Phoenix on Saturday so I may just make an appt and have them do that there so I don’t screw this up any worse than it already is!
So great that you found this fix! After being a PC user for 25 years, I’ve been loving my Mac. Just don’t love the wireless equipment!
Thanks for all the help – I’m sure you will help so many people with your fix!!
August 20, 2008 at 6:33 am |
I had to uninstall Airport Utility and install the one on my original disc too. I think version 5.1 is the one to run, not the updated 5.2 – that gives people problems, from what I’ve read. Have you tried just unplugging your base station for about 10 seconds, then plugging it back in? That usually resets everything well enough for me.
August 20, 2008 at 7:18 pm |
[...] Station: something’s rotten in the state of Cupertino [Update: I think I found a fix - see here.]Just when I thought I found a solution to my Airport Extreme Base Station issue, the problem crops [...]
August 22, 2008 at 1:26 am |
I have unplugged it and the Express so many times that the cords are worn out (j/k). I have even tried plugging in to another power strip. I left both unplugged for DAYS then retried when you saw my above post. They are both now in boxes in the corner of my room and I am still hard wired. Made the appt with local Apple store to see how many of them will have to look at this on Saturday, LOL…..
August 22, 2008 at 5:21 am |
Make sure to give them the what-for while you’re there. Maybe even give you a new one. Good luck!
September 5, 2008 at 6:19 am |
I think my Airport Utility application is corrupted.
The check for updates link leads always to a communication error with the update server and an invitation to check my network settings and try again which I have done many times.
I would like to ask davelawrence8 how he did his uninstall and reinstall , is it just a matter of throwing an icon in the trash and replacing it, or something more subtle?
September 5, 2008 at 6:23 am |
Good question, Tom. Uninstalling the Airport Utility is as easy as a toss in the trash, but I use an app called AppDelete, which works to remove the application AND the pref files and all the other stuff that’s on your hard drive – that’s what I recommend. To reinstall, I used the version on the disc that came with my base station.