Airport Extreme Refuses Wireless Password

[akivett]

Hello, I have a Aiport Extreme with 802.11ac that I got last summer. It has worked great up until about a month ago. All of the sudden it has started not allowing clients to connect to it. You can select it from the WiFi menu on a Mac or an iOS device, it will ask for a password, but when I type the correct password it will reject it. What is really strange is that this seems to only happen in the evening and usually goes away the next day. I have an 802.11g router from AT&T which will continue working when the Aiport is experiencing this issue. Here is what I know and have tried to resolve the problem:

• Restored the Aiport Extreme to factory conditions. I have even downgraded the firmware and then upgraded it again.
• I have tried changing channels. I have used a WiFi scanner and the 5GHz band is pretty clear. The 2.4GHz band is congested.
• I have tried using separate 2.4 and 5GHz netowrk names.
• I have a lot of wireless devices, including some WeMo switches and a Sonos system.
• I have disconnected every wireless piece of kit here (including the AT&T router), then tried connecting with a single iPhone.
• I have tried using it with password protection disabled.

I am completely stumped. The only explanation I can find is interference from some outside source. I'm in an apartment building and perhaps someone is coming home from work and turning something on. But why would this affect the 2.4GHz band on the Airport and not the same band on the AT&T router? The Airport is extremely limited in its wireless settings. So I cant try disabling ac and trying it with n alone, not can I change from 80MHz to 40 or 20MHz bands. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[blueroom]

Is your AT&T router in Gateway mode? If not it's adding to your 2.4GHz congestion problem.

Plus as you mentioned there can be lots of congestion at 2.4GHz band.

 

[akivett]

Is your AT&T router in Gateway mode? If not it's adding to your 2.4GHz congestion problem.

Plus as you mentioned there can be lots of congestion at 2.4GHz band.

Thanks for the reply Bill. I have tried disabling the WiFi on the AT&T router. This does not make the problem any better or worse. When the Airport goes down the AT&T box is the only working wireless I can access.

 

[blueroom]

Gateway mode more than disabling the WiFi, it basically turns your ISP router into a cable modem. You might also try moving it around the room or relocating it. If your problem persists it could be a bad radio or hardware problem with the APE.

Only way to confirm is a trip to Apple.

 

[akivett]

Gateway mode more than disabling the WiFi, it basically turns your ISP router into a cable modem. You might also try moving it around the room or relocating it. If your problem persists it could be a bad radio or hardware problem with the APE.

Only way to confirm is a trip to Apple.

Normally my devices connect on the 5ghz band, so I don't think the 2.4 congestion is not the issue. My AT&T wifi is part of the router which needs to be on for my internet to work. It has options to completely disable the radio, which is what I referenced earlier. The airport is set to bridge mode and the AT&T router is distributing IPs via DHCP.

I'm afraid taking it to Apple is my only option.

 

[blueroom]

Normally my devices connect on the 5ghz band, so I don't think the 2.4 congestion is not the issue. My AT&T wifi is part of the router which needs to be on for my internet to work. It has options to completely disable the radio, which is what I referenced earlier. The airport is set to bridge mode and the AT&T router is distributing IPs via DHCP.

I'm afraid taking it to Apple is my only option.

That's the worst way to set up an AEBS. Your AT&T if setup in gateway mode (what model is it?) will function as a modem. AT&T should provide you with instructions else go to dslreports and I'm sure other folks have done it. Then restore your AEBS to factory and allow it to set itself up not in bridge mode.
LAN port 1 on your AT&T router will connect through Ethernet cable to the WAN port on the AEBS. Nothing else should be plugged into the AT&T routers spare LAN ports.
There's no reason that I can see why your AT&T needs WiFi to function.

 

[Altemose]

Hello, I have a Aiport Extreme with 802.11ac that I got last summer. It has worked great up until about a month ago. All of the sudden it has started not allowing clients to connect to it. You can select it from the WiFi menu on a Mac or an iOS device, it will ask for a password, but when I type the correct password it will reject it. What is really strange is that this seems to only happen in the evening and usually goes away the next day. I have an 802.11g router from AT&T which will continue working when the Aiport is experiencing this issue. Here is what I know and have tried to resolve the problem:

• Restored the Aiport Extreme to factory conditions. I have even downgraded the firmware and then upgraded it again.
• I have tried changing channels. I have used a WiFi scanner and the 5GHz band is pretty clear. The 2.4GHz band is congested.
• I have tried using separate 2.4 and 5GHz netowrk names.
• I have a lot of wireless devices, including some WeMo switches and a Sonos system.
• I have disconnected every wireless piece of kit here (including the AT&T router), then tried connecting with a single iPhone.
• I have tried using it with password protection disabled.

I am completely stumped. The only explanation I can find is interference from some outside source. I'm in an apartment building and perhaps someone is coming home from work and turning something on. But why would this affect the 2.4GHz band on the Airport and not the same band on the AT&T router? The Airport is extremely limited in its wireless settings. So I cant try disabling ac and trying it with n alone, not can I change from 80MHz to 40 or 20MHz bands. Does anyone have any ideas?

Easy way to test if it is hardware is to wipe it with the paperclip trick and then setup as DHCP and NAT. Then take it with you to a place without Wi-Fi and run it by itself. If it works then, you have a congestion issue. If not take it to Apple. Since it is random it is either interference or hardware failure.

 

[IGregory]

I'm having a similar problem with my Apple TV 3rd Gen. I replaced my Cisco LinkSYS wireless router (N) with an Apple Airport Time Capsule 802.11 ac. I can't logon with my Apple TV to the network. The password is rejected.

 

[christopheaus]

Normally my devices connect on the 5ghz band, so I don't think the 2.4 congestion is not the issue. My AT&T wifi is part of the router which needs to be on for my internet to work. It has options to completely disable the radio, which is what I referenced earlier. The airport is set to bridge mode and the AT&T router is distributing IPs via DHCP.

I'm afraid taking it to Apple is my only option.

Did you ever manage to resolve this? I have the same problem but can't fix it

 

[qcmacmini]

I'm on my 4th router for this problem. Can I ask what devices you have connected? We suspect our 2012 Macbook Air is the culprit, but I think it could be the router design itself. Maybe firmware?

The short term solution is to pull the power cord out, and re-connect after a minute or so. It will work again.

You'll also notice that it gets warm when it rejects wifi connections.

 

[christopheaus]

I'm on my 4th router for this problem. Can I ask what devices you have connected? We suspect our 2012 Macbook Air is the culprit, but I think it could be the router design itself. Maybe firmware?

The short term solution is to pull the power cord out, and re-connect after a minute or so. It will work again.

You'll also notice that it gets warm when it rejects wifi connections.

I agree with you about the router getting hot - it is unbelievable. Sometimes a little fan even comes on!

The only devices connected to this are an Apple TV, 2x iPhone 6, 1x iPhone 6S.

Given that the Apple TV is not generally switched on and then the iPhones only connect when we walk into the room (or fail to connect as the case may be!) I don't think it's the devices.

This is our upstairs router - the main one I use is downstairs and it works a charm (it's a TP-Link) I think I am just going to bin the Airport and get something cheap.

 

[qcmacmini]

Let's see if the latest firmware release helps.

 

[jazer]

I've the same problem here... anybody fixed it?

 

[qcmacmini]

I agree with you about the router getting hot - it is unbelievable. Sometimes a little fan even comes on!

The only devices connected to this are an Apple TV, 2x iPhone 6, 1x iPhone 6S.

Given that the Apple TV is not generally switched on and then the iPhones only connect when we walk into the room (or fail to connect as the case may be!) I don't think it's the devices.

This is our upstairs router - the main one I use is downstairs and it works a charm (it's a TP-Link) I think I am just going to bin the Airport and get something cheap.

I don't think it's the devices either, we sold the Macbook that we suspected was the cause, and the router still plays up just a lot less these days.

It makes sense that Apple gave up on producing wifi routers recently

 

[Mahadragon]

Hello, I have a Aiport Extreme with 802.11ac that I got last summer. It has worked great up until about a month ago. All of the sudden it has started not allowing clients to connect to it. You can select it from the WiFi menu on a Mac or an iOS device, it will ask for a password, but when I type the correct password it will reject it. What is really strange is that this seems to only happen in the evening and usually goes away the next day. I have an 802.11g router from AT&T which will continue working when the Aiport is experiencing this issue. Here is what I know and have tried to resolve the problem:

• Restored the Aiport Extreme to factory conditions. I have even downgraded the firmware and then upgraded it again.
• I have tried changing channels. I have used a WiFi scanner and the 5GHz band is pretty clear. The 2.4GHz band is congested.
• I have tried using separate 2.4 and 5GHz netowrk names.
• I have a lot of wireless devices, including some WeMo switches and a Sonos system.
• I have disconnected every wireless piece of kit here (including the AT&T router), then tried connecting with a single iPhone.
• I have tried using it with password protection disabled.

I am completely stumped. The only explanation I can find is interference from some outside source. I'm in an apartment building and perhaps someone is coming home from work and turning something on. But why would this affect the 2.4GHz band on the Airport and not the same band on the AT&T router? The Airport is extremely limited in its wireless settings. So I cant try disabling ac and trying it with n alone, not can I change from 80MHz to 40 or 20MHz bands. Does anyone have any ideas?

I realize these posts are 2014 but I wanted to say something even though it’s 2023 because it might help someone.

Recently I’ve also had issue with my Apple AirPort Extreme not taking password. Originally it was an issue with the modem. Unfortunately, the firmware version of my AirPort Extreme doesn’t allow a hard factory reset but it does allow a soft reset.

After finally fixing my modem issue and getting internet signal it was a matter of fixing the AirPort Extreme. I tried resetting everything including the modem with zero success.

I did search on Google and found someone with some advices. Unplug everything for a good 10 mins modem and AirPort Express. After about 5 mins do the soft reset on the AirPort Express and turn it off. Before all of this though, I dropped the AirPort Express about 5’ onto the side with all the ports. Someone had mentioned this worked and I figured I had nothing to lose since I was ready to chuck this thing anyways.

Wait another 5 mins, plug the Ethernet cable from AirPort Express into modem. Turn modem on and let it set for 5 mins. Then turn AirPort Extreme on and let it go for few minutes. Then see if everything works.

Weird, initially nothing worked. I had given up. On a whim, I decided to try my iPad. It worked! I checked to see if it was in fact connected to my home wifi since I couldn’t believe my eyes and it was! Then I tried my iPhone and did a speed test. It was dead on 150mbp down and 5mbps up. Then I tried my tv but it did not work. Weird. I waited another minute and suddenly YouTube roared to life! I tried my 27” iMac. It still did not work. I kept inputting the password over and over and over because it kept asking for it but it just would not work. Finally, after about 5 mins, success! Omg what the hell??!? One of the strangest tech experiences of my life but with a happy ending.