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Apple Dropping AirPort Utility From the App Store With iOS 27

I've got a ton of AirPorts in use at my house and plan to continue using them, I'll just have to keep managing them using an older Mac (which I also have a ton of in my house. 😛 ). Having the iOS app was handy for quick fixes though.
 
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BeatCrazy said:
Oh dang. I still have a couple of these active for the same reasons. AirPlay 2 via optical/analog is a great use case!

I suppose this give me even more motivate to ensure my Mac Pro 5,1 running Monterey remains running/healthy. I don't use it for much, and I had been considering putting it out to pasture.
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Same. Looking at cost of wiim mini now.
 
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Well this sucks. You have to wonder what Apple developers are actually paid to do all day when perfecting good products aren't being supported and existing products are full of bugs that haven't been fixed in years.
 
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Even if you don't have Airports, Airport utility is still useful because it's the only wifi scanner that works on iOS since Apple doesn't allow low level API access to the WiFi chipset. Does Apple plan to replace this capability in a different app, or are the days of scanning what channels are being used around you from an iPhone over?
 
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There was still one reason to use this app even without an Airport:

It’s the only app on iOS allowed to display MAC addresses of devices on the local network.

They removed that functionality years ago, so proper LAN scanning is not possible. You can see the IP and hostname but not MAC.

Which is especially dumb since there’s now been a local network scanning permission for a long time as well.

Hopefully 27 fixes this and lets LAN scanners see MACs again, with user granted permission.
 
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I mean, the app hasn't been updated in years. Can't believe it runs on modern hardware. The most recent AirPort Extreme came out in 2013 and they stopped selling them in 2018. You're talking about products that haven't been on the market for nearly a decade.
 
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I've placed a 7,68 TB (7 TB usable) Intel DC S4520 SSD inside and it works, but you need to stay on oldest firmware 7.7.3.
 
Dang my only router is a time capsule, it sucks to still have working devices that just lose support, as a developer I get it but as a consumer I hate it.
 
I guess this is a good time to sell my old Extreme?

I had switched to Linksys Velop and it looks like that was discontinued too. I’m assuming I’ll be fine for the next several years though.
 
Eric_WVGG said:
I’m still using an Apple HiFi with an Airport Express strapped on for Airplay audio

🥺
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I love this! The AE should hopefully keep working for years even without support... I have one still connected to an AVR in my home office. I use old ATV's to stream music in other rooms
 
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I’m still using my AirPort Extreme. Works fine, regardless of age, and I still have an old iPad Pro from 2017 that I’ll use AirPort Utility on, if needed.
Granted, yeah, I’ll probably finally bite the bullet next year and upgrade to another router.

If anyone has any recs they can throw my way, feel free.
 
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I think this one is understandable but melancholy, admittedly. The likelihood seems high (and evidenced here) that people who still want to depend on their AirPort devices will also have at least one device that can manage them.

I just realized an hour ago that iPadOS 27 won't support my first-gen 11-inch iPad Pro. A bit of a glimmer in light of this, actually.
 
At this point its like a Widows 3.1 machine running some archaic software, but still running it stable enough that there's no need to upgrade.
 
Bokito said:
The AirPorts still run fine and it’s one of the best things from the Apple ecosystem that got axed. They weren’t too expensive at the time.

Apple made a few mistakes over the years like the Time Capsule that corrupted a backup after 18 months and the iOS style Utility app on macOS that made it inferior to the old style app and removed some great features.

Router or Access Point setup from a lot of brands still tails Airport by 20 years, it’s a damn shame. Only Unifi stuff works as good and is manageable like Airport was. When Apple got back in the screen business I was hoping they would revive Airport too, but this seems like one last goodbye.
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When the government put a ban on router brands I was also hoping it would entice Apple to reenter the market.
 
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RIP great friend. Fortunately (for giggles) I bought for $25 a 2012 Mac Mini. Loaded Catalina, Windows10, and Linux Mint on it (yes you can triple boot). Its on a KVM. Mostly run Mint, but now will still have Airport when needed (which is not often). Whole house has been on Airports and Expresses for quite some time. Meets our simple needs.
 
davidg4781 said:
I guess this is a good time to sell my old Extreme?

I had switched to Linksys Velop and it looks like that was discontinued too. I’m assuming I’ll be fine for the next several years though.
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The last firmware update was 7 years ago and you thin you will be fine for the next several years?
 
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