Apple Releases Airport Extreme Update 2008-004

[anim8or]

This update killed my bluetooth...

Selecting bluetooth menu in both system profiler and system preferences crashed both programs.....

A reboot seems to have fixed this but WTF apple, for a minute there i was worried i was gonna have to lug my Mac Pro to a service centre!

Sort it out apple!

 

[Kerching]

I can't even download the update. I get this error from software update

"A networking error has occurred: Cannot open file (-3001). Make sure you can connect to the Internet, then try again."

It doesn't seem to be available on the main download page at Apple yet. This is happening on my iMac but worked fine on my Macbook pro

 

[brop52]

Fixed my non N showing up issue in network utility after 003. So far so good.

 

[Jeonat]

I missed 003 as it was pulled before I got round to checking for updates, so was a bit nervous about this one - especially because AirPort was working fine anyways, but it still seems to be working fine with my "g" router on an original MacBook.

j

 

[50548]

Apple has released Airport Extreme Update 2008-004 via Software Update.



The update appears to be Apple's replacement for the recently pulled Airport Extreme 2008-003 update.

Article Link: Apple Releases Airport Extreme Update 2008-004

Absolutely no problem, as usual...installed and working! GO APPLE!

 

[kaiwai]

...doesn't seem to have done anything. After I installed Update-003 I was getting 2 bars or less, and I thought it was my router. So, I went into the router several times, and changed wireless channels. That worked for a few minutes, but then it went back to two bars. I installed Airport Extreme Update 2008-004 and it seems to have solved my issues. Also, something worth mentioning is that I raised the transmit power on the router from 70 to 100 mW. The router is only about 45-50 feet away from where I use my laptop too...

Am I guessing right when I say that this update targets people with Broadcom chipsets? My brother has the MacBook from mid-2007 (2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo white), whereas mine is from late 2007 (2.2 GHz "Santa Rosa" White) and he's never had these problems. I believe those machines use the Atheros chipset.

(To double-check my assumption I just went to check my brother's System Profiler, but it doesn't seem to be labeled as to what chipset he's got. Then again, he's not fully updated (he's running on 10.5.2, and who knows what other stuff needs updating.).

With all that said, I seem to be running fine now, but if anything messes up I'll be sure to report back here to everyone.

I remember owning the MacBook with the Atheros wireless chipset - it was absolute perfection - why on earth did they settle for Broadcom? their shittiness is renowned in the PC world for their shoddy drivers and poor reliability.

 

[samh004]

Wirelessly posted (iPod touch: Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F137 Safari/525.20)

wait a minute.
didnt we just have an update for this like yesterday or sumtin?!? and will this fix the problems im having ever since i did that update!??!

I think  released Airport Extreme Update 2008-003 by accident. I think it was incomplete and they released Airport Extreme Update 2008-004 to compensate for it.

Apple no bakayarou-tachi!

EDIT: I was just reading about this same thing on TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) and someone points out that after installing Airport Extreme Update 2008-003, Network Utility did not display the model as "Wireless Network Adaptor 802.11 a/b/g/n". After installing this update it shows that once again. <3 Apple. They do mess up sometimes, but they realize their mistakes, and they fix it in a week or less, unlike "the other company".

They might fix their mistakes but sometimes it can be too late, eg. 10.2.6 & 10.2.8, those were bloody annoying.

I was just unshaped so might try downloading this update soon.

 

[nickXedge]

I have a lot of problems with my connection at school (I'm assuming because it is a large Wi-Fi network) so here's to hoping this update will fix it!

I installed it but haven't been able to see if has improved anything because I'm not at school at the moment. Otherwise, everything seems normal.

Both mine and my girlfriends MacBook have trouble connecting to the universities wifi. Hopefully this will fix it. I'll post tomorrow from school hopefully if all goes well.

 

[flyinmac]

I remember owning the MacBook with the Atheros wireless chipset - it was absolute perfection - why on earth did they settle for Broadcom? their shittiness is renowned in the PC world for their shoddy drivers and poor reliability.

Because Apple could get the parts cheaper. Remember, it's all about profit margins. They know you'll buy an Apple, so they know that they can cut a few corners and you'll still buy an Apple.

The problem, is that the lack of competition and the loyalty of the consumers to Apple's products. They know you'll buy it anyway, so they can pretty much do as they please.

What are you going to do... Buy a PC? Only if you care more about price and specs and components than you do about whether it's a PC or Apple.

Apple's got it pretty good.

 

[highjumppudding]

the finder seems snappier.

 

[als522877]

I was gonna get the 003 update but i looked here first and noticed the problems so i didn't. But, i got the 004 update and it seems my wireless has a better connection with my linksys N router... So far. I got classes tomorrow where there's a ton of wifi so I'll check it it's any better over there. I know i was having a hart time connection over there before so hopefully this fixes it. I'll let everyone know what the results are.

 

[flyinmac]

I was gonna get the 003 update but i looked here first and noticed the problems so i didn't. But, i got the 004 update and it seems my wireless has a better connection with my linksys N router... So far. I got classes tomorrow where there's a ton of wifi so I'll check it it's any better over there. I know i was having a hart time connection over there before so hopefully this fixes it. I'll let everyone know what the results are.

I installed the -04 version, and there's no change for me. Mac OS X still cannot see my neighbor's wireless network, but Windows can (on the same machine).

But, that's no surprise. Every machine I have that runs Windows (both XP and Vista) can see the wireless network. But, none of them can when running OS X (any version of OS X). So, something about OS X just decreases the wireless networking range.

Good thing I don't use my neighbor's wireless network. Well, I guess I do. But, only to test the signal strength of the wireless systems in my computers. I don't personally use wireless networking at all. I just use his network to make sure that the adapters in my computers work.

Got a new HP for my wife the other day. And, I knew the wireless in her machine was functional because I could see his network. It's a good way to make sure everything works without much effort.

My neighbor should really lock down his wireless. I'm guessing he has absolutely no security on it at all if the signal will reach all the way over here. He's at least a quarter-mile from me, and I get 2 bars of signal strength from his signal (as long as I'm using Windows). But, if I use OS X, the the computer (even the same computer) can't see his network at all.

 

[als522877]

I installed the -04 version, and there's no change for me. Mac OS X still cannot see my neighbor's wireless network, but Windows can (on the same machine).

But, that's no surprise. Every machine I have that runs Windows (both XP and Vista) can see the wireless network. But, none of them can when running OS X (any version of OS X). So, something about OS X just decreases the wireless networking range.

Good thing I don't use my neighbor's wireless network. Well, I guess I do. But, only to test the signal strength of the wireless systems in my computers. I don't personally use wireless networking at all. I just use his network to make sure that the adapters in my computers work.

Got a new HP for my wife the other day. And, I knew the wireless in her machine was functional because I could see his network. It's a good way to make sure everything works without much effort.

My neighbor should really lock down his wireless. I'm guessing he has absolutely no security on it at all if the signal will reach all the way over here. He's at least a quarter-mile from me, and I get 2 bars of signal strength from his signal (as long as I'm using Windows). But, if I use OS X, the the computer (even the same computer) can't see his network at all.

Yea I noticed that too. Windows is able to pickup signals better. I hope apple can figure out why and make it better.

 

[SimonTheSoundMa]

I still get 1.5-2MB/s transfer speed from my MacBook Pro to MacBook via my Netgear router under OS X, all in 'n' mode. If they are both booted into Windows I get 9-10MB/s.

 

[flyinmac]

Yea I noticed that too. Windows is able to pickup signals better. I hope apple can figure out why and make it better.

I've been noticing this since around 10.4.3 (may have been that way in earlier releases as well), so I'm not counting on Apple getting around to fixing it.

It was only once I got a computer that could run both Windows and OS X that I realized that it was a difference between OS X and Windows (as opposed to a difference in hardware designs).

My wife has always been able to see the neighbors network with her work laptop. So, I originally figured it was just better hardware in her laptop. But, once we got Windows and OS X on the same computers in the house, then I could see it was OS X that was somehow lacking in that area.

 

[flyinmac]

I still get 1.5-2MB/s transfer speed from my MacBook Pro to MacBook via my Netgear router under OS X, all in 'n' mode. If they are both booted into Windows I get 9-10MB/s.

Could just be an OS X thing.

I've always noticed that anything I do over the Internet is faster when I'm in Windows. File downloads, page loads, whatever.

I've never measured the speeds to compare. But, I can always feel the difference quite significantly.

Now, if you want to talk slow, try AT&T's "Edge" connection. We don't get 3G here. I find "Edge" so ridiculously slow that I usually just give up on opening a website. It would generally be faster to drive to a computer with Internet access than it is to wait for the page to load over AT&T's "Edge" network. I really hate it when something time's out, and I have to start over again.

 

[brop52]

My new alum MB gets better signal than my mid 2007 aluminum iMac.

 

[flyinmac]

My new alum MB gets better signal than my mid 2007 aluminum iMac.

Maybe they ran the leads right to the case Now, that should pull in a signal

 

[twoodcc]

looks like i better install this. but glad i didn't install 003 though

 

[RRutter]

I noticed this update, just haven't updated. Been to busy and haven't had the time to restart my computer. Is there much a difference?

 

[Soundwave420]

Sucks

this update is bad too. it took me over an hour to dl an episode of heroes from itunes store. i had to keep pausing and unpause every few seconds to get it to dl. everytime i try to watch a movie trailer from apple it only dls like a quarter of it. its screwed up my dling ability. DONT DL THIS UPDATE ITS BAD TOO.

 

[weckart]

I remember owning the MacBook with the Atheros wireless chipset - it was absolute perfection - why on earth did they settle for Broadcom? their shittiness is renowned in the PC world for their shoddy drivers and poor reliability.

I dunno. I have Atheros in my Macbook and Macbook Pro. They have trouble staying connected to the main router, so I have had to tack on my Airport Express just for them. I have a Broadcom in a hackintosh, and that is rock solid. Even the pulled update didn't bork it. I suppose it boils down to the individual hardware rather than the brand these days.

 

[lostfan916]

I can't even download the update. I get this error from software update

"A networking error has occurred: Cannot open file (-3001). Make sure you can connect to the Internet, then try again."

It doesn't seem to be available on the main download page at Apple yet. This is happening on my iMac but worked fine on my Macbook pro

Me too! So annoying, I've tried it on three different networks and says the same thing. I just downloaded the iPhoto update fine... lame.

 

[ShiggyMiyamoto]

I remember owning the MacBook with the Atheros wireless chipset - it was absolute perfection - why on earth did they settle for Broadcom? their shittiness is renowned in the PC world for their shoddy drivers and poor reliability.

I agree. I've been having the hardest time getting the update to work on my MacBook 3,1, aka the 2.2 GHz Santa Rosa model. My router has a Broadcom chipset, so you'd think that it'd work without a hitch, right? Wrong. I've had to change the wireless channels at least 10 times (exaggeration, but yeah). Finally I found channel 2 to be stable. Before that I'd constantly get two bars (bottom two) and the connection would be SUPER SLOW no matter what I did. I hope I'm not jinxing myself.

Even with all the configuration and futzting I've done, it could have been just a 2.4 GHz band high traffic area on certain channels, but I'm not complaining. It's finally working properly. My brother is blessed enough to have an older MacBook with the Atheros chipset, so he's not had a problem at all. This is his internet connection, but I'm staying with him, and I want to have a pleasant internet experience until I leave.

EDIT:I also forgot the mention that I've replaced the stock firmware on the router to the open source DD-WRT firmware. The stock firmware of any router (with the exception of Belkins, as I've come to find) are crappier than crap on a stick. As I'm sure many of you here know, Linksys' firmware is among the worst.

 

[Diode]

This might explain my issues on my school's wifi (Sometimes won't grab a ip after switching locations on the same network).

I've blamed the school but it could be the computers fault.