Issue with new Airport Extreme Base Station 802.11ac

markw10

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Nov 25, 2010
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I just purchased an AEBS (new model with 802.11ac). I'm using it with Comcast internet service using a Motorola Surfboard SB6121.

I have a very odd and frustrating issue. The internet simply blips in and out. I have it set up with WiFi and have connected devices such as my iPhone, iPad, Mac Pro, and a Chromebook to it. I have the issue on all devices so I know it's not device specific.

The network itself never goes away. When I look at the WiFi area on my Mac even when the internet isn't working it shows it's connected to the WiFi network. Also, when the internet is not working the green light is on and staying lit (not blinking) on the AEBS so it appears the WiFi Network part of it works fine.

As mentioned it's the internet service itself that blips in and out. What I mean by this is it may come on for 40 secs, go off for 20 secs, back on again, and off, just like that. I have not timed it and that would be hard but it seems to be very regular, something like 40 on, 20 off, and it may not even vary at all. It's a very bizarre issue. I have also direct connected the modem via ethernet to my Mac Pro. I used it for several problems with no problem so I know it's not the modem.

The only thing I can think of is I received a defective AEBS. I purchased it through Amazon and I almost contacted them to do a replacement and send this one back. Yet I'm hoping it's something simple with the settings. Now I have already done a factory reset of the AEBS and that did not help. Yet I'm hoping it's simply a setting that I need to modify or wipe out. Any idea of what's causing this or is it simply a defective base station?

Thanks for your help.
 

Just_Me_D

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Have you tried rebooting both the Base Station and/or resetting the cable modem?
 

acerace113

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Oct 30, 2012
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Have you tried a new or different Ethernet cable? Have you tried different wifi channels? Have you tried both 2.4ghz and 5ghz with your devices?


Sent from my iPhone 5S or 5th gen iPod Touch using Tapatalk
 

Trees

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Dec 26, 2012
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It could be a problem with the SURFboard or upstream in Comcast network. Your situation sounds similar to what we were dealing with until recently.

Finally swapped out an older (less than two year old) cable modem with an Arris brand (Time Warner issued) that can function as a cable modem and WiFi router. I disabled the WiFi router part as our current generation AirPort Extreme handles the routing/local LAN duties.

Long story short, I think that the older cable modem was having issues staying connected with the Time Warner network - even though that modem was supposedly DOCSIS 3.0 capable.

The new cable modem/router can be managed via a browser and provides a way to configure the router just like with any other consumer grade router. There's a bonus feature in that you can see in detail connectivity status to the Time Warner network. Now if I get complaints that the "internet is down", all I have to do is check that page to see if we have a solid upstream connection to Time Warner.
 

KennyMcCormack

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I've had the same problem. The base station shows a steady green light. My devices detect WiFi but there is no internet connection. I open Airport Utility on my Mac and see that the dot next to the modem is amber. I click on it and the utility says the internet connection was dropped. I was able to solve the problem by turning off the power to both the cable box, modem and base station. After restarting, everything was fine.

I downloaded the airport utility app for my iphone. Sometimes tapping on the internet connection from the app is enough to wake it up.

I have the same Comcast configuration as you. Another possibility is that Comcast had a temporary internet outage.
 

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