Apple Releases AirPort and Time Capsule Firmware Update: Adds Remote File Access to Older Models

[Alhambra2606]

Got this all set up now so will hopefully work when I'm away from home tomorrow.

One issue I may have is we have 2 mobile me accounts in our house and it seems you can only register one account to the Time Capsule meaning only one of us can use this feature. Shame.

 

[autrefois]

Kudos to Apple for releasing remote file access for "older" models. They could have just made people buy the new AirPorts or Time Capsules to take advantage of the feature (some old iPod updates come to mind), but instead they are letting anyone with 802.11n-capable AirPorts benefit from this.

 

[hppy29]

I have a Time Capsule which creates a wireless network in my home and 3 Airport Expresses to stream music over AirTunes. I applied the 7.4.1 update to the Time Capsule with no issues. However, applying the update to the AirPort Express units causes the status light to blink amber (after startup is finished) and the AirPort Utility cannot find them on my network. I have been through the process of resetting the Airport Express and re-configuring it from scratch 5 times now. Each time I get the same result that the AirPort Express is unrecognised after the settings are made.

The Time Capsule is creating a closed 802.11n (5GHz only) wireless network using WPA2 Personal Encription and no Access Controls. I did not change any settings on the Time Capsule or the Airport Express on the first time of applying the firmware update.

Just a note of caution - this update is fine for my Time Capsule, but has broken the Airport Express.
I have reverted the Expresses to 7.3.2 where all is well again.

I had the same issue, but it hasnt broken it.

My Set Up

DSL Modem - connected with ethernet to AEBS (New 09) With Dual Band

In the Study Old TC with new 7.4.1

In Bedrooms Express


I set up the new AEBS as a new Network on Dual Band
In the wireless section goto wireless options tick 5ghz

I then connected TC via wifi to the network at XX(5ghz)

The A Express need to be done by ethernet for some reason they dont update correctly, I just went into each one and changed manually just changed to Join XX(5ghz) and entered passwords

I also found that if you connect either AEBS or TC to a modem via ethernet that I had to refresh the DHCP (under network setings on Macs) on devices connected.

It does work, and it works well just a bit messy until you get your head around it

I had an old Netgear with AE plugeed into to give me a dual network, although somewhat messy, this setup for me has increased thruput to my wireless devices

 

[RPlakas]

After I applied this update to my Airport Extreme I can no longer connect to it to manage it. Although I do see it and it is functional. I tried connecting to it both with my imac and macbook wired and wirelessly but get an error reading configuration -5.

I did power cycle it a few times as well. Dont feel like resetting because then I have to redo my WDS with my airport express.

 

[hppy29]

After I applied this update to my Airport Extreme I can no longer connect to it to manage it. Although I do see it and it is functional. I tried connecting to it both with my imac and macbook wired and wirelessly but get an error reading configuration -5.

I did power cycle it a few times as well. Dont feel like resetting because then I have to redo my WDS with my airport express.

At a guess your old set up was connected to either a G/B or N (upto 130)

You have to plug an ethernet into each Airport express and just get it to choose the the new Network with (5ghz) next to it, all the other settings remain the same

 

[samh004]

Finally managed to install this on my parents Hong Kong-based Airport Extreme (fast ethernet), only to find out the reason my mums MacBook hasn't been updating to time machine, the disk is damaged.

So sat here in Australia I still can't see my files as I'm not even sure the disk is intact. Over the next few days I'll have to get someone to repair the drive, because I really want to use this new feature.

 

[petitpiton]

I had the same issue, but it hasnt broken it.

My Set Up

DSL Modem - connected with ethernet to AEBS (New 09) With Dual Band

In the Study Old TC with new 7.4.1

In Bedrooms Express


I set up the new AEBS as a new Network on Dual Band
In the wireless section goto wireless options tick 5ghz

I then connected TC via wifi to the network at XX(5ghz)

The A Express need to be done by ethernet for some reason they dont update correctly, I just went into each one and changed manually just changed to Join XX(5ghz) and entered passwords

I also found that if you connect either AEBS or TC to a modem via ethernet that I had to refresh the DHCP (under network setings on Macs) on devices connected.

It does work, and it works well just a bit messy until you get your head around it

I had an old Netgear with AE pugeed into to give me a dual network, although somewhat messy, this setup for me has increased thruput to my wireless devices

Thanks for the info, this sounds promising

My setup sounds similar to your old setup - I have a Netgear wireless router connected to the ADSL line and hosting an 802.11g network for my older devices and iPhone. The Time Capsule is connected to the Netgear via ethernet in Bridge mode and hosts the 802.11n network. I also connect my PMG5 to the Time Capsule via ethernet over a 200Mbps Homeplug (devolo dLan 200AV).

I have just ordered a new Time Capsule, so I can turn the Netgear wireless AP off and manage all wireless settings in the dual band TC I'll try configuring the Airport Expresses via ethernet when commissioning the new TC.

Thanks again for posting!

 

[guzhogi]

I just installed this on my previous gen AEBS, and all I can say is wow! I'm downloading the latest Snow Leopard seed (I'd tell you guys about it, but I'd be violating my NDA). Before the update, I was getting about 300 KB/s on the download. Now I'm getting 1.5 MB/s. Not sure if it's the firmware or just restarting the base station, but that's quite a difference!

 

[karisworks]

Problem with firmware update

I get this error when my Time Capsule tries to back up - after I just updated the firmware. I reset the TC and tried again. Tried rebooting - everything... Nothing works. Any ideas?

 

[hppy29]

Thanks for the info, this sounds promising

My setup sounds similar to your old setup - I have a Netgear wireless router connected to the ADSL line and hosting an 802.11g network for my older devices and iPhone. The Time Capsule is connected to the Netgear via ethernet in Bridge mode and hosts the 802.11n network. I also connect my PMG5 to the Time Capsule via ethernet over a 200Mbps Homeplug (devolo dLan 200AV).

I have just ordered a new Time Capsule, so I can turn the Netgear wireless AP off and manage all wireless settings in the dual band TC I'll try configuring the Airport Expresses via ethernet when commissioning the new TC.

Thanks again for posting!

Dont forget if you are using your current modem to do DHCP then bridge your device with an ethernet and I have just set my AEBS to share a single IP.

I connected an AEBS to my router and then my TC next to my main desk top. My Desktop is connected via ethernet to TC as its faster than wireless.

But the important thing is:

If your old equipemt doesnt show up in the Utility, chances are its set to a different SSID or frequency.. use ethernet to update it with the new SSID from the drop down menu.

If your device has a yellow dot, well think how the signal gets from A-B by clicking the yellow Dot on the Device on the utility it will tell you what is wrong and suggest how to fix it.

Someone said in an earlier post that Apple need to do a better manual -so true. But with wifi networks people do what ever to get the best results so it would be impossible to have it all in a few pages

I would love to know how apple trial these things....

 

[hppy29]

I get this error when my Time Capsule tries to back up - after I just updated the firmware. I reset the TC and tried again. Tried rebooting - everything... Nothing works. Any ideas?

Do you go into the settings in TM and select what drive to use for backups??

Just messed around with mine... to fix this

Open up TM

Options

Select disk

May ask for a password if you have put a password on the TC

 

[hppy29]

I just installed this on my previous gen AEBS, and all I can say is wow! I'm downloading the latest Snow Leopard seed (I'd tell you guys about it, but I'd be violating my NDA). Before the update, I was getting about 300 KB/s on the download. Now I'm getting 1.5 MB/s. Not sure if it's the firmware or just restarting the base station, but that's quite a difference!

I have noticed that the thruput and just the device in general is more stable....

 

[gt1948]

this is old news

This came several days ago…were you all asleep?

 

[hppy29]

Fyi

Something for you to try after you have got your networks up and running....

For those who had plugged either a switch or access point into an old modem to make a dual network will know that you couldnt cross network.

For example, my wifi printer was on b/g

My desktop and all my mbp's were on N (5ghz) so if I wanted to print something I had to swap my network over...

Remote on my Iphone would not control Apple TV or Itunes that were connected to the 5(ghz) network.....

Well thanks to the new TC & AEBS I can now control and print from both networks without having to swap and change......

 

[hppy29]

This came several days ago…were you all asleep?

That was the utility update this is the FW for old TC & AEBS to allow Mobile me blah di blah....

So whos asleep???

 

[Le Big Mac]

How come Apple can add new feature and functionality to Time Capsule and Airport Express without charging and then turn round and state under Californian Law they are obliged to charge for iPod touch updates?

1) I think it's a matter of degree--they update the system software with new features (even with point updates) without charging

2) It's a feature available only with hte purchase of mobile me, so they're getting you for it there. Without mobile me there is no *new* functionality (as people have pointed out, you could do this before through WAN access).

 

[forthehandyman]

i haven't had the chance to log onto a different network to test the feature, so i'm just placing my faith in apple that it works as advertised.

i've notice people posting and wondering why their finder doesn't look any different after updating the firmware and setting things up.

if you go into finder preferences and click on the "Sidebar" tab, you should see that "Back to My Mac" is included in the "Shared" section of the finder sidebar. By deselecting "Back to My Mac", the Time Capsule/Airport icon disappears from the sidebar in finder and conversely reappears by selecting it.

I'm assuming that regardless of whether you're at home or away and using a different network, your finder sidebar will look the SAME regardless. What I mean is, i don't think that after setting up the feature, that you'll have a new drive icon show up in finder. you'll just see your time capsule/airport icon like usual, which you can then click on like you normally would while at home.

i'll be testing this out tomorrow morning though!

I've done all of this, checked all the settings, and everything is setup the way it's supposed to be. However, when I get on another network nothing shows up under Back to My Mac. My MobileMe account info is in my AEBS, the check box next to Back to My Mac is checked, and file sharing is set up on my AirDisk. Like I said before, I have my AEBS set up in bridge mode, but it is in the DMZ on the other router so their isn't a port issue that I'm aware of.

I don't know if having the AEBS in bridge mode is causing issues, but it shouldn't be. My only other thought is that I have my AirDisk set up using accounts to share the drives.

Is there anyone at all that can access their AEBS through Back to My Mac when they are on a different network??? If you can, what is your setup? So far I haven't seen anyone at all post that they can access their AEBS or TC with Back to My Mac when they are on a different network...

JEFF

 

[Le Big Mac]

Are you saying the Airport Extreme can't do DynDNS?
I have my old Netgear router set up so it conects to dyndns.org and updates it's IP and forwards some ports (webserver, screen sharing) to my Mac Mini. I have my Mac Mini registered under DynDNS (it's free) and I can just type in my registered domain and it will forward to my Mac Mini at home.

I'm confused. Won't DynDNS point towards your entire home network? (I'm assuming you're sharing an IP internally). The issue is port forwarding--you want incoming traffic to the drive to go to the TC/AE rather than your mini.

 

[petitpiton]

Something for you to try after you have got your networks up and running....

For those who had plugged either a switch or access point into an old modem to make a dual network will know that you couldnt cross network.

For example, my wifi printer was on b/g

My desktop and all my mbp's were on N (5ghz) so if I wanted to print something I had to swap my network over...

Remote on my Iphone would not control Apple TV or Itunes that were connected to the 5(ghz) network.....

Well thanks to the new TC & AEBS I can now control and print from both networks without having to swap and change......

Sorry, have to disagree there. I have no issues seeing my devices across the "g" and "n" networks with my previous gen TC (hosting "n" network) plugged into the netgear router (hosting "g") network.

I think your issue may have been that you set your AE to share a single IP, effectively introducing a gateway in your network. My setup with the TC in bridge mode allows the Netgear router to handle all DHCP requests and so every client can find every other client.

Still, it doesn't matter now you have the dual band AP

 

[MacHiavelli]

Have been using a TC for a year as a mini server to store files that are shared by 3 macs and 3 pcs.

Just installed the TC firmware updated.

I can drag and drop files from the PC or Mac desktops to the TC hard drive without any problems.

But if I have messages in OSX Mail or XP Outlook, I cannot drag and drop direct from the programs on to the TC hard drive. (I could do this before the firmware update.) I can drag the emails to the desktops and then from the desktops to the TC hard drive, but I cannot go direct from the programs to the TC hard drive.

Any ideas?

I went through 11 different firmware re-installations and reboots.

Finally got it to connect 'as normal' by sequencing 7.3, then 7.3.1, then 7.3.2 - no probs at all.

Tried installing 7.4.1 again and the problem immediately came back once more.

So I had to go back to installing 7.3, then 7.3.1, then 7.3.2 in sequence to get things working normally.

Problems with networking using TC as a shared drive are definitely tied to 7.4.1

 

[Apple Corps]

This changes my iLife forever!

I feel hole again!!!!

Perhaps you might feel WHOLE again

 

[cameronjpu]

So if I have a remote disc setup and MobileMe accounts on both computers, what about offline access? Can I configure it so that the shared drive is accessible to computer A when the computer is A is not online? That's an important feature, and if it works, I'll buy one.

 

[leonmckee]

The exact same "n" Airport Express issue occurred in our network going to 7.4.1 (74100.25). However, our various "n" based laptops and desktops would not stay connected either! We tried the same troubleshooting techniques plus everything else our 30 years of Apple product usage could muster and no go! Reverted to 7.3.2 and the problem was "immediately" resolved with NO changes to the settings on any system!

Leon McKee

I have a Time Capsule which creates a wireless network in my home and 3 Airport Expresses to stream music over AirTunes. I applied the 7.4.1 update to the Time Capsule with no issues. However, applying the update to the AirPort Express units causes the status light to blink amber (after startup is finished) and the AirPort Utility cannot find them on my network. I have been through the process of resetting the Airport Express and re-configuring it from scratch 5 times now. Each time I get the same result that the AirPort Express is unrecognised after the settings are made.

The Time Capsule is creating a closed 802.11n (5GHz only) wireless network using WPA2 Personal Encription and no Access Controls. I did not change any settings on the Time Capsule or the Airport Express on the first time of applying the firmware update.

Just a note of caution - this update is fine for my Time Capsule, but has broken the Airport Express.
I have reverted the Expresses to 7.3.2 where all is well again.

 

[stagi]

Nice, I can't wait to get one of these, the remote file access will come in very handy

 

[lamina]

I'm really glad Apple is supporting older models.

However I think that if MobileFail was doing better, they wouldn't do it. I say this is more to support MobileMe than anything.