Apple Releases AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.8.1

[Le Big Mac]

Is your Airport Express the first gen 802.11n model (shaped like a MBP power brick)? I have one of these and it downloads an update for it but then says "The selected firmware file is not compatible with this AirPort base station.".

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You can put in a larger HDD into a Time Capsule yourself. I did put a 3 TB one into my (originally) 1 TB 'tower' model (using iFixit instructions). And TCs can backup multiple Macs just fine already.

1) I think the first gen didn't have n wireless, so maybe not included? Mine died a few years ago, but the update worked even for my first gen TC, which I believe does not have n capabilities.

2) Yeah, I've been running Time Machine for multiple macs onto an external HD connected to my (1st gen) TC by USB for years. Occasional hiccups but ones that seem to happen because of TM, not the hardware setup (the occasional create a new backup issue).

 

[xinam]

Update for 6th gens 3 weeks ago and now this update for the older ones - Apple is really spoiling us!!

 

[imola.zhp]

I sure hope these devices get the upcoming HomeKit functions announced at WWDC. It would be very weird if they didn't. Our house has a Time Capsule and an Express and another home has an Extreme and Express. I don't see any reason to update anytime soon.

 

[scottlitch]

I’ve long thought Apple could have used HomePod, Apple TV, iMac as ways to extend an airport based (mesh) network.

I agree. Why don't they build mesh networking right into the devices that use the Wi-Fi? I realize it will cost more to have the antennas included in the devices, but over time I'm sure the costs will come down because of the volume and the technology aging.

 

[manu chao]

1) I think the first gen didn't have n wireless, so maybe not included? Mine died a few years ago, but the update worked even for my first gen TC, which I believe does not have n capabilities.

There are three different Airport Express models. The first one came out in 2004 and only had 802.11b/g. Then the second named 'Airport Express 802.11n (1st gen)' in 2008 and the last one 'Airport Express 802.11n (2nd gen)' in 2012. I have the second one.

 

[xinam]

I kinda regret giving away my old AirPort Express a couple of years ago. My network outgrew it but it seems to have got more useful as time went on! D’oh!

 

[shiekh]

I am very appreciative to Apple for continuing to support my hardware investment. I especially like the 5th generation as there is no fan to wear out as this seems to be an issue with the 6th generation.

 

[Juicy Box]

I’m confused as to why you’re saying terrestrial ISPs will be the ones having to evolve to offer comparable rates. Their prices aren’t great either, but they’re certainly a far better deal than wireless ISPs. The wireless ISPs are the ones who need to change and drop prices. The terrestrial ISPs are downright benevolent compared to the wireless players.

I also don’t know why you think carriers will drop 5g pricing rather than pocketing any theoretical infrastructure savings versus LTE, which is a supposition that for now I’ll take at face value. They didn’t drop prices from 3g to LTE, quite the opposite actually.

You are confusing 5G fixed wireless access to 5G, LTE, and 3G mobile. I would agree with you if you are talking about 5G mobile, but 5G fixed wireless access is very different.

5G fixed wireless access is already a thing in select areas around the US and is expanding. Verizon stated that they are planning on competing with the big ISPs like Comcast, and provide a second option of broadband internet to many people around the US.that have been at the mercy of one ISP.

Now, things could always change, but Verizon's 5G At Home fixed wireless access service is very competitively priced @ $70 a month for Gigabit service (guaranteed @300Mbps) and only $50 a month for Verizon Wireless customers.

Here is an article from a few months ago about it.

 

[vipergts2207]

You are confusing 5G fixed wireless access to 5G, LTE, and 3G mobile. I would agree with you if you are talking about 5G mobile, but 5G fixed wireless access is very different.

5G fixed wireless access is already a thing in select areas around the US and is expanding. Verizon stated that they are planning on competing with the big ISPs like Comcast, and provide a second option of broadband internet to many people around the US.that have been at the mercy of one ISP.

Now, things could always change, but Verizon's 5G At Home fixed wireless access service is very competitively priced @ $70 a month for Gigabit service (guaranteed @300Mbps) and only $50 a month for Verizon Wireless customers.

Here is an article from a few months ago about it.

That could be, but the person I was responding to seemed to very much be referring to mobile ISPs/service, not fixed 5G.

The obvious piece that's missing is of course internet access. iPhones connect to the internet directly via LTE and can even get other devices online like Macs and iPads.

…

Mesh networks are experiencing a bit of a moment now but I don't think that will last as 5G is deployed and people start relying on their future iPhone's 5G connection when data prices drop to the price of traditional home internet prices.

​

 

[Juicy Box]

That could be, but the person I was responding to seemed to very much be referring to mobile ISPs/service, not fixed 5G.

Good point, I didn't follow all the posts.

When @ipedro was discussing deploying 5G and comparing it to fiber, I just assumed it was referencing fixed wireless access and not 5G mobile.

I personally think that 5G mobile, especially on cell phones is way over hyped, and will not have that much of an impact any time soon.

I was referring to the post you quoted here:

But when internet service providers are offering 5G data at comparable rates to terrestrial based internet because it’s cheaper to deploy 5G than it is to spend billions installing optical fibre under city streets, then today’s terrestrial ISPs will have to evolve to offer comparable rates.

 

[loby]

Update for 6th gens 3 weeks ago and now this update for the older ones - Apple is really spoiling us!!

More so probably honoring their commitment to their superior products. It seems apple is really working on security and to approve their customer service and image lately which is a plus!

All of this talk about Mesh systems, but with all of these updates, if you have a few Airports (and/or Time Capsules), you can get the same results as a Mesh system. I have an AirPort Extreme with two Time Capsules hooked up as an "extended network" and all functioning as one network.

Works great, no issues. I Hope Apple eventually comes up with new routers. I have used theirs for over 10-15 years after suffering with third party stuff....I have had "NO" issues with Apple networking. Set it up and forget about it...like it.

Yes, maybe third party has now better...but...Apple Airports are wonderful!

 

[bubsdaddy]

There are three different Airport Express models. The first one came out in 2004 and only had 802.11b/g. Then the second named 'Airport Express 802.11n (1st gen)' in 2008 and the last one 'Airport Express 802.11n (2nd gen)' in 2012. I have the second one.

I have the 2008 and 2012 AEs and they all received the update.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I still think Apple could come out with new ones; they could come up with their own mesh router system. It’s not like no one would buy it.

I agree, but the question for Apple is if enough people would buy them to justify the R&D/manufacturing cost.

 

[dfs]

The trouble with iPedro's brand of thinking is that it seems to be a rather sophisticated reiteration of the Walled Garden philosophy, and the problem is that for the Walled Garden to work this to work everything inside the garden has to be equally appetizing to the customer. The weakness of this argument is that everything inside the garden relies on Siri and, let's face it, Siri bites the biggie. Apple must know this, for years Apple has been facing a mounting tsunami of criticism from even its most loyal supporters because of Siri's many deficiencies, yet so far at least Apple hasn't done a blessed thing to address it. Result: in this crucial area the competition is stomping the living hell out of Apple. Siri's egregious badness threatens to pull down the whole edifice.

It is worth noting that people who created Eero, one of the first and most successful mesh systems, and arguably the best one on the market, seems to be largely composed of ex-Apple employees. At a guess, these are members of a former Apple team who quit in disgust or were even shown the door when Apple decided not to go the mesh route. All of Eero's spectacular success could have been Apple's at a time when Apple is facing mounting criticism for seeming to have run out of creative steam.

If Apple executives can't spot this weakness in their Walled Garden philosophy, I bet there are plenty of AAPL shareholders who would be happy to explain it to them.

 

[Solomani]

They are really nice pieces of equipment, and pretty simple to work with. It's too bad Apple decided to drop them, some of the features like Back to your Mac were just stellar (and that's being dropped too, sigh). At least they will keep up with the security updates, maybe one day they will find a reason to make them again.

There's always hope that Apple will bring back discontinued products from the dead. There is precedent: 1) iPod Touch (this was panned as "dead" a couple years ago), this year it's back again. 2) iPad Mini, this was supposed to be an abandoned product, well it has returned from the dead. 3) The Apple Cinema Display. This was "officially" discontinued a few years ago when everyone said Apple will no longer make their own separate Apple-labeled displays…. ahem but in actuality it is being revived as an improved-renamed product, the 6K Apple Pro HDR Display.

I'm hoping that Apple does bring back their stellar line of Airports…. I don't care if they give it a different name. And hopefully they will adopt modern technologies like Mesh, etc.

 

[mudflap]

I’ve long thought Apple could have used HomePod, Apple TV, iMac as ways to extend an airport based (mesh) network.

I've wondered about that too. I think it's a great idea.

 

[Solomani]

I've wondered about that too. I think it's a great idea.

I've been curious as to why a Macintosh (like my maxed out $2500 quad-core iMac with 4K display) still cannot function as a Home Kit "hub."

A HomePod or even an AppleTV can serve as true Home Kit hubs, they can be programmed to remotely control HomeKit appliances and devices all over your house, even when you are on vacation. But a $5000 Macintosh or a $2500 iMac still cannot. Why Apple why?

 

[DakotaGuy]

I am very appreciative to Apple for continuing to support my hardware investment. I especially like the 5th generation as there is no fan to wear out as this seems to be an issue with the 6th generation.

Well one reason they added a fan is because they moved to an internal power supply, but a fan on any device that runs 24/7/365 isn't really a good idea for long term reliability. When my AP Extreme ac started to fail I moved to an AmpliFi system. It doesn't have a fan and the power adapter is external and very small.

 

[HowardM.]

This update is absolutely essential. My network was frozen until I made this update. I had difficulty connecting to various devices for a few weeks. As soon as I made the update, these problems went away. Apple should notify people to install this update.

 

[Elwe]

I still think Apple could come out with new ones; they could come up with their own mesh router system. It’s not like no one would buy it.

Maybe, but what is the compelling product or business reason? Take eero for example. It’s one of the best home mesh systems out there. Can Apple do significantly better from a product perspective? I don’t think so. And from the business side—eero just had to sell itself to Amazon for “only” $97mil. I’m positive they had much greater goals years ago. Google can and does frequently spend foolishly, so maybe they are not the greatest example to use—but look at how much they paid for Motorola and Nest.

Selling commodity end-used hardware is a cutthroat. Apple seems to have decided that is so for network backup devices and monitors, too.

 

[MacLeodC2D]

It's a shame that they discontinued AirPort routers, as they as others have said functioned well, were simple to set-up and manage were configurable in many different ways and could be managed in server systems giving info back to server manager Admin. Also the fact the Express routers had optical out and could double as i've done quite a good headphone Amp, were also a bonus. Add in the USB support for printers and external HDD's for back and storage on the Extreme units, it's a real shame. Thats why you should go get as many as you can, I've two Extreme units 2nd and 4th Gen plus 3 Express units 2nd revision N units the better ones you just plugged into the wall. I'd like to say that pulling the routers could be lke they have done for the New Mac Pro a decision thats been put in place because their working on something else, like integrating the routers into the Home Pod, like another of the Forum Post's have said. They might introduce a Home Pod Mini, and together with perhaps storage create a mesh network that again works as routers?

Thought? anyone.

 

[Solomani]

This update is absolutely essential. My network was frozen until I made this update. I had difficulty connecting to various devices for a few weeks. As soon as I made the update, these problems went away. Apple should notify people to install this update.

The update(s) is automatically recognized by the Airport Utility software. You just have to launch it from time to time to know that there is a (pending) update available. Airport Utility app is not normally "updated" through the Mac Software Update (or MAS) control panel.

 

[iMarle64]

I was surprised to see the update for my 2 2nd Gen Airport Extreme units.Glad Apple still takes care of their older devices...

 

[Westside guy]

I’m holding on to my Airport Extreme (latest gen) until eero comes out with their new HomeKit enabled router - Apple made this announcement at WWDC.

I'm holding on to our Extreme as well, although for us it's because I don't really see anything significantly better out there. The wi-fi tech is still pretty much the same, and we get good coverage of our home with it... and Expresses cover the AirPlay part of the equation for us.

Really, unless the Extreme dies - we're good for a while.

 

[Filmgrip]

Anyone else having weird sound issues on the Airport Express with the 7.8 and 7.8.1 updates? Super bassy, muddled? 7.6.9 was great but I want Airplay 2.