Airport Extreme Died

[convergent]

I have an Airport Extreme that was my main router that died last night. It was during a nasty electrical storm that it stopped working, but was surprised because its on a surge protector that is attached to a UPS... and the network cables go out through the cable modem... and in through a switch. So I'm guessing the storm was just a coincidence... but the house had several short power blips during the time. When I went to investigate why the network was out, the Airport Extreme and its power brick were both very hot. Resetting power and I get no lights coming on. This is I think two generations old ... not sure which generation exactly it is.

So my question is... is it worth brining it into the Apple Genius Bar to have them see if its the power supply that's bad or the unit? Or is it most likely fried?

 

[Gav2k]

Do you have a multimeter? 9/10 you'll find it's the power brick that gets fried. Also surge protection does not always work when there's lots of spikes and dips in the line in a short period of time. You may find your surge protector needs replacing as they do not have an infinite life.

 

[Altemose]

So my question is... is it worth brining it into the Apple Genius Bar to have them see if its the power supply that's bad or the unit? Or is it most likely fried?

Do you have AppleCare on any Mac, iPad, or Apple TV? If so then the AirPort is covered if it was purchased up to two years prior to the device with the AppleCare agreement.

 

[convergent]

Do you have AppleCare on any Mac, iPad, or Apple TV? If so then the AirPort is covered if it was purchased up to two years prior to the device with the AppleCare agreement.

I didn't know that, but I'm guessing I don't... the only Mac I have that has AppleCare is the one we just bought for my daughter this week... and this is a several generation old Airport. But that is good to know for the future.

 

[phrehdd]

Might be a nice time to explore other options if you decide to purchase another router. There are models that are similar price and exceed the AE's abilities and range.

 

[alphaod]

AppleCare support for such an old product is really hit or miss. If you're looking for a replacement, just about everything in the market exceeds the Airport Extreme in value and performance. Feature-wise, for what the Apple product sells for you can get so much now.

Maybe the only thing Apple has going is the slick design and easy setup on macOS and iOS. From a firm believer in Apple routers, I have switch everything to Asus routers now.

 

[Altemose]

I didn't know that, but I'm guessing I don't... the only Mac I have that has AppleCare is the one we just bought for my daughter this week... and this is a several generation old Airport. But that is good to know for the future.

It is a neat thing to know, as you could theoretically get up to five years of warranty support from Apple if you bought an AirPort and within the next two years bought a Mac, iPad, or Apple TV with an AppleCare plan.

AppleCare support for such an old product is really hit or miss. If you're looking for a replacement, just about everything in the market exceeds the Airport Extreme in value and performance. Feature-wise, for what the Apple product sells for you can get so much now.

Maybe the only thing Apple has going is the slick design and easy setup on macOS and iOS. From a firm believer in Apple routers, I have switch everything to Asus routers now.

I have had great luck with AppleCare covering AirPorts even in their fourth year under that "up to two years prior" rule. Apple does stock some of their older generation routers as warranty replacement units, but they generally are not in store. The last time I had to get a 5th generation Extreme replaced they had to special order in the new unit from Apple.

Apple has never prided itself on being the fastest or most feature-full when it comes to networking. The AirPort line is for simplicity, reliability, and overall "hands-off" networking. While I personally prefer the configurability of other routers, I run an AirPort at home and in a couple of residential and small business environments where they do exactly what they need to do. After all, unless you are transmitting massive files to a relatively decent spec'd NAS, the average home user is never even going to see the extra performance gains of the latest ASUS or Netgear router over the AirPort. For what the AirPort is marketed to do, it does extremely well which is why they sell...

 

[phrehdd]

It is a neat thing to know, as you could theoretically get up to five years of warranty support from Apple if you bought an AirPort and within the next two years bought a Mac, iPad, or Apple TV with an AppleCare plan.



I have had great luck with AppleCare covering AirPorts even in their fourth year under that "up to two years prior" rule. Apple does stock some of their older generation routers as warranty replacement units, but they generally are not in store. The last time I had to get a 5th generation Extreme replaced they had to special order in the new unit from Apple.

Apple has never prided itself on being the fastest or most feature-full when it comes to networking. The AirPort line is for simplicity, reliability, and overall "hands-off" networking. While I personally prefer the configurability of other routers, I run an AirPort at home and in a couple of residential and small business environments where they do exactly what they need to do. After all, unless you are transmitting massive files to a relatively decent spec'd NAS, the average home user is never even going to see the extra performance gains of the latest ASUS or Netgear router over the AirPort. For what the AirPort is marketed to do, it does extremely well which is why they sell...

I suppose we'll disagree slightly on the value of another make. I consider price, features and range important. As example, Netgear r7000 range (distance) in nearly all cases is better than the Airport Extreme, as are the additional features including their "Genie" app. Simultaneous 2.4 and 5 shows Netgear to be hands down a better product. I am not advocating for Netgear as Asus and a couple of other makers also beat out the AE including items related to security, port forwarding and the like. While AE might seem like plug and play, it also has stripped down features. In short, it is over priced for what it offers.

 

[Altemose]

I am not advocating for Netgear as Asus and a couple of other makers also beat out the AE including items related to security, port forwarding and the like. While AE might seem like plug and play, it also has stripped down features. In short, it is over priced for what it offers.

ASUS and Apple are both fantastic when it comes to security. Netgear gets to be a little lack luster as the routers begin to age. That may of changed nowadays with their newer routers, but historically the Netgears were quickly deprecated long before ASUS or Apple would drop their model of the same vintage. Just at the end of May, Apple released firmware 7.6.7 for the wireless N AirPorts, which date back to 2007!

Perhaps I am not being fair, as I do not have much experience with the newer Netgears. I do run ASUS and Apple and they both rock! A friend of the family asked for recommendations for a router for their ~4000 sq. ft. house a while ago, and I proudly recommended the ASUS RT-AC68U. That was probably a year and a half ago and it has ran great with a few issues here and there, but it covers the entire house without much of a problem. I think in a stock typical configuration, Apple and ASUS are neck and neck for security. When you begin to implement more advanced options, then ASUS is the only way to go. When I do recommend the AirPort Extreme, I always recommend that they purchase it refurbished from Apple. For $129, it is a very decent piece of equipment and has a warranty that is tough to beat!

 

[phrehdd]

ASUS and Apple are both fantastic when it comes to security. Netgear gets to be a little lack luster as the routers begin to age. That may of changed nowadays with their newer routers, but historically the Netgears were quickly deprecated long before ASUS or Apple would drop their model of the same vintage. Just at the end of May, Apple released firmware 7.6.7 for the wireless N AirPorts, which date back to 2007!

Perhaps I am not being fair, as I do not have much experience with the newer Netgears. I do run ASUS and Apple and they both rock! A friend of the family asked for recommendations for a router for their ~4000 sq. ft. house a while ago, and I proudly recommended the ASUS RT-AC68U. That was probably a year and a half ago and it has ran great with a few issues here and there, but it covers the entire house without much of a problem. I think in a stock typical configuration, Apple and ASUS are neck and neck for security. When you begin to implement more advanced options, then ASUS is the only way to go. When I do recommend the AirPort Extreme, I always recommend that they purchase it refurbished from Apple. For $129, it is a very decent piece of equipment and has a warranty that is tough to beat!

You have indeed a good buy in that Asus and Netgear these days offers good counterparts that are robust. When it comes to a very mixed environment of i-devices, computers, media systems etc., AE falls short compared to other makes for similar price.

 

[Altemose]

When it comes to a very mixed environment of i-devices, computers, media systems etc., AE falls short compared to other makes for similar price.

When you look at the benchmarks, the difference is night and day! Though most users will never see the true difference in benchmark performance, Apple should really spruce the Extreme up to be much more competitive. Even if they kept the same features and just did a performance upgrade, many users would be happy!

 

[convergent]

I started buying Airports because I have a box full of dead Linksys routers over the years. Over the years I remember spending way more time fussing with problems with Linksys and other brands flaking out after a short time of good use. Up until this lightening storm death of the AE, my personal time spent diagnosing network problems had been greatly diminished. That could just be coincidence, but my time is worth more than the price differences or feature differences.

As for Applecare, I have a Thunderbolt Display that I bought along with a Macbook Air years ago. With only a few months left on AppleCare, the LCD panel died and AC replaced it... $900 part they said. I thought that was pretty cool that the AC cost me nothing extra over just the Air alone. Seems like a strange pricing model... but worked out for me.

Does the "up to 2 years after" apply to other peripherals or just Airports?

 

[Altemose]

Does the "up to 2 years after" apply to other peripherals or just Airports?

I found this while reading up on AppleCare!

 

[crzdcolombian]

Link sys AC1750 and AC1900 have utter crap range. Not even 30 feet away and the 5ghz band doesn't work on either. I had to return both that I bought for my wifes parents.

I have a 6th generation and works great never restarted it in 3+ years of service. Get 1 used.

The two link sys I purchased and the netgear really had crap range on me. My AE 6th Generation gives me 50mb/s no matter where I am in the house. The other one. Goes from 50 and 30 feet away its at 2mb/s