AEBS keeps dropping Internet connection

[Donald Hall]

After working just fine for months, my Airport Extreme Base Station has
started to lose its Internet connection several times a day. (I have a
DSL connection.) The WAN address reverts to 169.x.x.x, and the only way
to get reconnected is to restart the base station. Sometimes I cannot
even read the configuration file so I can get a Restart button and I
have to unplug the power cord. I have seen several similar problems
mentioned in the Apple Discussion Forums but no solutions. I wonder if
anyone has one. It is very annoying to have to continually trek down to
the base station and restart it every time I want to use my iBook on a
different floor.

My set up is DSL modem - AEBS (DHCP, NAT) - Desktop G4 (by wire) + iBook
(by Airport). AEBS firmware is 5.0.4. I haven't upgraded the firmware,
because I haven't yet installed OS 10.2.6 on my machine, and in any case
there have been complaints of exactly the problem I am having AFTER an
upgrade in the Apple Forums.

Removing the base station and connecting the DSL modem directly to
either computer makes the problem go away, so I am pretty sure it is the
base station, not my ISP or modem that is the culprit. Could it be a
hardware problem? The wireless function continues to work well, even
when the internet connection is lost - I can still use the LAN to share
files and print.

Powering down, using the reset button, and changing the circuit it is
plugged into (in case there is something causing a power fluctuation
which is causing the problem) have had no effect. I also tried setting
the G4 processor to never sleep and setting my email program to check
the mail every 5 minutes, but i still have to restart with about the
same frequency.

Thanks,

Don

--
Donald S. Hall, Ph.D.
Apps & More Software Design, Inc.
[url]www.appsandmore.com[/url]
don at appsandmore dot com
"Schedule your AppleScripts with Script Timer"

[Vincent Vega]

In article <spamback-B2DA46.23154706092003@news.telus.net>,
Donald Hall <spamback@127.0.0.1> wrote:

> It is very annoying to have to continually trek down to
> the base station and restart it every time I want to use my iBook on a
> different floor.

Use the software. I have the same problem too but rarely need to restart
the Basestation manually.

[Bruce Johnson]

Donald Hall <spamback@127.0.0.1> wrote:

> After working just fine for months, my Airport Extreme Base Station has
> started to lose its Internet connection several times a day. (I have a
> DSL connection.) The WAN address reverts to 169.x.x.x, and the only way
> to get reconnected is to restart the base station. Sometimes I cannot
> even read the configuration file so I can get a Restart button and I
> have to unplug the power cord. I have seen several similar problems
> mentioned in the Apple Discussion Forums but no solutions. I wonder if
> anyone has one. It is very annoying to have to continually trek down to
> the base station and restart it every time I want to use my iBook on a
> different floor.

I've also been monitoring the forums, hoping someone would find an
answer. The fact that the AEBS worked perfectly for several months
for many of us and then started acting quirky strongly suggests some
role played by software or firmware updates, though you stated you
haven't updated fully. I can add a few more characteristics from
my own eperiences. I have the same intermittent inability to read
the configuration file. Several times a day I cannot access the
outside from my wireless TiBook (hooked up to a cable modem). About
half the time I can simply turn Airport off on the TiBook and then
back on again, immediately regaining access. Sometimes I cannot
connect and then with no other actions on my part I can connect
flawlessly a little while later. Distance from the base station is
not the issue. Sometimes I cannot even get out on my Mac plugged
directly into the AEBS. Unplugging and replugging the power cord
on the latter works frequently but not always. Even worse, I can
be in the middle of a session, editing or something on a remote
UNIX machine or else using a web browser, and the connection drops.
Oddly enough, I have found that this doesn't seem to happen when I
am connecting through the X11 client over several hours, but that
probably needs a lot more verification. Argh. This reminds me of
a car I once had that developed intermittent fuel injection problems
which resisted tracking. I eventually got rid of that one, but am
still holding out hope for some clever person to show me I can
keep the Airport station.

Bruce

[Donald Hall]

In article <bjjg63$rkn$1@joe.rice.edu>,
Bruce Johnson <johnson@python.rice.edu> wrote:

> Donald Hall <spamback@127.0.0.1> wrote:

> > After working just fine for months, my Airport Extreme Base Station has
> > started to lose its Internet connection several times a day. (I have a
> > DSL connection.) The WAN address reverts to 169.x.x.x, and the only way
> > to get reconnected is to restart the base station. Sometimes I cannot
> > even read the configuration file so I can get a Restart button and I
> > have to unplug the power cord. I have seen several similar problems
> > mentioned in the Apple Discussion Forums but no solutions. I wonder if
> > anyone has one. It is very annoying to have to continually trek down to
> > the base station and restart it every time I want to use my iBook on a
> > different floor.

>
> I've also been monitoring the forums, hoping someone would find an
> answer. The fact that the AEBS worked perfectly for several months
> for many of us and then started acting quirky strongly suggests some
> role played by software or firmware updates, though you stated you
> haven't updated fully. I can add a few more characteristics from
> my own eperiences. I have the same intermittent inability to read
> the configuration file. Several times a day I cannot access the
> outside from my wireless TiBook (hooked up to a cable modem). About
> half the time I can simply turn Airport off on the TiBook and then
> back on again, immediately regaining access. Sometimes I cannot
> connect and then with no other actions on my part I can connect
> flawlessly a little while later. Distance from the base station is
> not the issue. Sometimes I cannot even get out on my Mac plugged
> directly into the AEBS. Unplugging and replugging the power cord
> on the latter works frequently but not always. Even worse, I can
> be in the middle of a session, editing or something on a remote
> UNIX machine or else using a web browser, and the connection drops.
> Oddly enough, I have found that this doesn't seem to happen when I
> am connecting through the X11 client over several hours, but that
> probably needs a lot more verification. Argh. This reminds me of
> a car I once had that developed intermittent fuel injection problems
> which resisted tracking. I eventually got rid of that one, but am
> still holding out hope for some clever person to show me I can
> keep the Airport station.
>
> Bruce

Thanks for the reply, Bruce. It's in an odd way reassuring to know I'm
not alone. I am also frequently (more frequently lately it seems) unable
to read the configuration file, which means I can't simply click on the
Restart button. I have to power down and back up again. Even then I
don't always get an IP address. In that case, I can usually read the
configuration file, so I can get to the Restart button. I wonder if it
isn't some kind of an intermittent hardware component failure related to
the WAN port. I have seen complaints for various versions of the
firmware.

Regards,

Don

--
Donald S. Hall, Ph.D.
Apps & More Software Design, Inc.
[url]www.appsandmore.com[/url]
don at appsandmore dot com
"Schedule your AppleScripts with Script Timer"