Apple Airport Express dropping off the network
by Volker Weber
What do you think Apple does with error reports in their forum? Admit that they have a problem? Forget it. They just delete the post. It now has happened a number of times, so I am posting my issues now here at vowe's magic flying circus to give Google an opportunity to catch it.
What's the deal? I think that the Apple Airport Express (AAX) is broken by design. It desperately needs a better way to communicate its current state. My AAX drops off the network while still displaying a green LED that says: "I am fine." However, it isn't. You cannot connect to it anymore. Unplug, plug back in and it works again. Rinse, repeat every dozen of hours or so.
This is the setup: AAX, Firmware 6.1.1, operating in client mode in a WEP-encrypted network, network configuration by DCHP, AirTunes enabled. This is the log file, shortly after the AAX has been running for 30 minutes.
Jan 01 01:00:00 Severity: 5 Joined BSS 00:06:25:c1:34:67
Jan 01 01:00:01 Severity: 5 Initialized (firmware 6.1.1 Dec 17 2004 12:19:18).
Jan 01 01:00:11 Severity: 3 No address for NTP server time.euro.apple.com.
Jan 01 01:00:14 Severity: 5 Internet configuration leased (host 192.168.8.4/24 gateway 192.168.8.28 dns1 192.168.8.28).
May 22 11:07:20 Severity: 5 Clock synchronized to network time server time.euro.apple.com (adjusted +1116752819 seconds)
May 22 11:28:10 Severity: 5 Deauthenticated with station 00:06:25:c1:34:67 (received invalid class-3 frame).
May 22 11:28:10 Severity: 5 Disconnected from network.
May 22 11:28:13 Severity: 5 Joined BSS 00:06:25:c1:34:67
May 22 11:28:21 Severity: 5 Internet configuration leased (host 192.168.8.4/24 gateway 192.168.8.28 dns1 192.168.58.58).
May 22 11:57:14 Severity: 5 Connection accepted from 192.168.8.101:50501.
May 22 11:57:14 Severity: 5 Connection accepted from 192.168.8.101:50502.
It looks like it does indeed disconnect from the network and then tries to reconnect. If it fails to do so, it will still display a green light. Not good.
Comments
This is the setup: AAX, Firmware 6.1.1, operating in client mode in a WEP-encrypted network,
I have been running my AX at home for almost one year now. (thanks again for helping solving the IP issue at the time)
At the early stages, the "line dropping" problem was plaguing also me (particularly noticeable with Airtunes) untill I found that fixed transmission mode on one channel, rather than automatic, fixed that issue.
Now it works round the clock eversince, without dropping connection.
I am not sure if your setup is the same but perhaps this hint may help you.
Our current theory is that the AAX drops the network because of DHCP issues. I have disabled DHCP in this profile now and will see whether that resolves the issue.
I had lots of problems with my AirPort setup: Originally an old ELSA base station together with one Airport, two Airport Extreme and one Airport Express connected. Both the AirPort Express and one the AP Extreme-equipped Macs dropped off, and could only reconnect non-deterministicly from time to time ... Interestingly, Tiger seems to have improved this to a large degree - I haven't had any issue for about four weeks now.
(I forgot to mention that I swapped the ELSA for a "normal" AirPort base station in the hope that having an all-Apple setup would improvde things. It didn't.)
I've not noticed any problems with my AAX, also on firmware 6.1.1. and 128 bit WEP with DHCP (from another device) allocating its network address.
Did you see this today - it may help?
Case closed.
I notice the last post was back in 2005 and it was Case closed. Could anyone tell me how they solved the problem. I too have the exact same problem, and I am using WDS, so I have a fixed channel and no WEP. I have tried DHCP and Static, Firmware 6.2 and 6.3 and still no luck. I agree with Volker, there does seem to be some fundamental flaw, so I phoned Apple Support and they said "it should not be dropping like that".
Did you click on "closed"?
We have the same problem here with a network of five airport base stations at firmware 5.6
fixed IPs, WEP, each on a different channel. With anything from 1 to 15 day periods, a station stops accepting connections. Power-cycling brings it back. All five exhibit the same behaviour. I cannot get NTP to work at all, to internal or external time server.
I got the same problem with AE, firmware v6.3, set in client mode to a D-Link DI-624 router (latter does not support WDS, hence AE in client mode), WPA2 security, except it does persist with static IP address set up on the AE
My home networking policy already includes giving static IP addresses to any permanently connected network device, namely because DHCP service implementation too often reveals flaky on all routers I tried from different vendors (LinkSys, D-Link & Netgear devices) sometimes giving out the same address to different clients, sometimes denying service altogether!)
I am disconcerted to see this is actually the recommendation the Case "closed" link above provides, since it does not work for me.
The AE stays actively connected for a few minutes, then drops out (ping's to the AE static address fail; the AE admin utility fails listing the device and rescans do not help; iTunes does not see the AE anymore...) ... but the green light stays on, as if everything was well! Silly!
Only AE power-cycling restores the connection, and that fix usually does not last more than 5 mn...
Anyone with the same issue? I was about to try setting DHCP client on the AE and reserve an address for it on the D-Link router, but after reading this discussion, that seems a move opposite to the solution :-(
I bought 3 of these AE devices to distribute around the house and none of them will stay connected (of course I am trying them individually before connecting them all.) I do not really want to use WDS on another channel as I got enough pain finding a clear one for my base, in a crowded neighborhood. It looks like they are all going back to the store unless I find a solution real quick (hint hint to Apple... ;-)
Thanks for any advice (or sympathetic message ;-)
-- Olivier.
Hi,
I have been having the same problem as you describe, however it is almost 3 years after your original post. Similar to another poster, I have 3 of these, where one is the main one, the other two are for speakers. I have rotated these, and yes all three exhibit the same problem.
Looking at the SNMP logs, I see the same error as you had "received invalid class-3 frame", hence finding your site on Google.
One difference between your set-up and mine is that I use "Connection Sharing: Off (Bridged Mode)", since I have another cable router that does the DHCP, and I have the same IP pool in both wired and wireless networks.
In my case, it is usually every day or so that I have to unplug the apple router. I have though about putting it on a timer even!
Tonight, I will try the suggestion of fixing the Channel, rather than using Automatic -- we'll see if that changes anything.
One person at a Mac store suggested that all 3 boxes could not possibly be broken, hence there may be something in my particular network (though I've tried so many permutations!). Perhaps it is with interference with the 5 other neighbour networks, he said.
Anyone tried putting tin-foil around their Airport to reduce the incoming signal strength?
Well, any further thoughts would be appreciated.
regards,
Lukas
Hey I have a PC laptop with winxp sp3 and bought 3 airport express because I love the audio capacities (and thanks to winamp not stuck with itunes :)) anyway the setup has been a real nightmare so far with exact same symptoms as described even though I have 7.3.2 firmware
DHCP is lost constantly and I thought my adsl routeur was responsible... but after my isp gave a brand new router i happened to notice that the airport is not handling DHCP correctly since when I connect over WIFI to my adsl router itself it works like a charm....
IF I connect to the airport.. I have various symptoms
- Loss of DHCP carrier with auto configured ip address after one hour
- Periodically My VDSL router hangs, i lose dsl and I have to reboot the router to have airport "functionning" again.....this happens almost once or twice an hour
- Loss of visibility of my airport express stations (i have 3)at various times during the day...
It is sad to notice over the various forums I browsed that being ALLMAC does NOT bring any improvement
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7804710#7804710
Anyway I will try some of the previous solutions posted here on my own airport and keep ostingg
case closed what?
after 3 (THREE) years the problem was not solved! Thats ridiculous!
sorry for my english but I'm tired!
I'm using an AEBS(N) with an AEX(N) -with latest firmware- extending the N(b+g) network, the WIFI is unstable, for what I can see it stay up for 1 hour maximum, using the Mac is hardly noticeable (maybe because during the drop i'm not surfing) but now I have some external devices using WiFi (for example NabazTag, and remote surveillance robots) and they begin to flash at any hour because of the WiFi drop (and i need to power off and on all the devices, very funny).
I can confirm the AEBS drop the entire network also without computers connected (because I see the device's log and they flashes, and maybe I'm watching the TV..)
so isnt a problem of sites, or whatever...
Tryied DHCP on modem (note the ADSL is always alive), DHCP on AEBS, tryied all the channels, tryied static IP ... no way.
Apple, usual standard behavior, ignore the word "know issue".
Nothing sayd, nothing wrong, cool eh....
The (non-permanent) solution for me was to disable wireless security. Originally I setup my network with WEP and had lots of problems with dropped connections. I switch to WPA and had the same issues--a green status light but the printer attached to the AX wasn't visible to the network. Disabling wireless security on the wireless network resolved this... but I am not willing to run my network unsecured.
I know this is an old comment, but thought I'd share since it's near the top of the google results.
I just wanted to weigh in to say that I have been having the same problem. I have been through Linksys, Belkin and D-Link routers. I am now using the AE because I have Macs and PCs that need to share the printer. I appreciate the ideas and am trying a couple out now. For the record you can disable security and hide the SSID of the router. It requires new wireless users to manually input the name of your network and makes it effectively invisible to anyone who does not know it is there.
Open the airport utility and select the "wireless" tab. Click on "wireless options" and check the box beside "create a closed network".
I do not use this configuration with the AE but have used it successfully with other routers. It has solved multi-platform problems related to negotiating wireless security.
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