Apple Releases Firmware Update 7.7.9 and 7.6.9 for AirPort Base Stations [Updated]

[Cappy]

I had really high hopes that Apple would release the HopePod as a Router/Music device similar to what you described above. Unfortunately i think they would have touted this as a major feature during the keynote.

This kind of product wouldn't make any sense as most people don't have a router in the location where they would want a product such as this.

 

[manu chao]

There haven't been any major advances in WiFi performance since then, though. There is literally no reason to release a new router right now.

If a new WiFi standard comes along and Apple doesn't release a new router afterwards, THEN we can be sure that development is dead. But for now the current routers are still state of the art.

That applies to single-router systems but not to applications where multiple routers/WiFi access points are necessary to cover a given area. Here mesh networks are a major advance in regard to (automatic) setup and coverage.
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A link to the download would have been appreciated but ....................................

If you are referring to the Airport updates, they can only be applied through the Airport Utility and are downloaded by said app.

 

[centauratlas]

You mean Powerbook G5?

And the Mini which is an "important" product for Apple that is over 3 years old, and that model a step backward for more than 5. ;-)
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I've got a suspicion that the claim of Apple sending the AirPort engineers to "other product teams, including one currently working on Apple TV." which was about 7 months prior to the Home Pod being announced at WWDC.

Think about the similar technologies that they can offer with products like the Home Pod.

From Apple's page about the Home Pod:

Seven tweeters. Amazing sound from every angle.
"HomePod has a unique array of seven beamforming tweeters that precisely focus the sound, from very narrow beams all the way to true, consistent 360º audio. By aiming those beams throughout the room, the tweeters create an immersive sense of space — no matter where HomePod is placed or where you’re sitting."

Although we haven't seen a consumer-ready unit, I wouldn't be surprised if there were ra few RJ-45 jacks on it somewhere. This would allow them to make it perform double-duty as a router. It already has WiFi capabilities, obviously. And with them promoting the idea of having multiple Home Pods to get better music sound throughout the house, that could also become Apple's implementation method of a "Wireless Mesh" offering.

I hope I'm right. I love not having to reboot my AirPort Extreme router, or having to explain to someone else to power cycle the router in order to make it come back online like I had to with previous routers.

I hope you are right too. A bundle like that would help them sell even more....buy one, get the extra features thrown in. Kind of like, "buy a phone, get an iPod and computer thrown in."

 

[Le Big Mac]

Who uses these anymore? They are very, very outdated. The standards haven't changed much but the antenna technology in new routers is so much more advanced. I replaced my Airport and using the same standard 802.11ac I've seen a 50% increase in speed with nothing more than the new router.
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Accept the big change on the newest routers is the antenna tech. Everything being the same the newest routers are much faster in the real world due to this.

I'm having a hard time imagining Apple being willing to adopt some of that antenna tech - just doesn't look very apple.

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I’m definitely looking at Uniquiti for my next setup. But thats still pushing double the cost of Apple routers.. and no Time Machine.

Can't you put your Time Capsule on the network (or ApExtreme + HD) and use Time Machine to back up to that? (And of course there's the NAS approach).

 

[MartinAllen@com]

Updated to new firmware in Airport Base Station. Airport Utility no long shows network. Can't find Airport Base Station. Network printer no longer works. Has anyone else encountered this? Is there a way to revert?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm having a hard time imagining Apple being willing to adopt some of that antenna tech - just doesn't look very apple.

You could say the same thing -- and people did -- about the iPhone X's ears when the first unconfirmed pictures were released. But then we learned it was the real deal. Apple will design to the best that tech will allow but sometimes current tech works great but nothing you can do about it's looks.

But unfortunately I don't think we'll get the opportunity. It's quite clear with the vast array of mesh WiFi systems out there that Apple doesn't want to compete in this area anymore. It's not because Apple couldn't design a box that wouldn't look at least as good as any of the other mesh systems out there. It's just that Apple feels there are easier spaces to make a buck.
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Updated to new firmware in Airport Base Station. Airport Utility no long shows network. Can't find Airport Base Station. Network printer no longer works. Has anyone else encountered this? Is there a way to revert?

Did you try the usual -- reboot the Mac, power down the base station, unplug the cables from the base station, leave off for a minute then power, plug back up, power on?

Also try a soft reset. Worst case you'll have to do a hard/factory reset and start from scratch. PITA.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201945

 

[jazz1]

I dont understand all those whining about discontinuation. Airport extreme got all you need. 802.11ac, 1.3 Gbp with simultaneous dual-band. Its not like something new will emerge next year,and tbh i dont see any new WIFI tech in next 5 years

Maybe this is Apple's way of saying, "Don't Mesh with me!"

 

[green94]

This kind of product wouldn't make any sense as most people don't have a router in the location where they would want a product such as this.

Of course it would - in a mesh network type setting (similar to Google/Eero/etc) you would be able to place the device in a kitchen, bedroom, basement, etc... and extend your network in any place you choose. Makes sense to me anyways, lol.

 

[RMo]

Interestingly, there was an update for my very old Airport Express (the one that plugs directly into the wall and has S/PDIF port).
And of course, and update for the new TimeCapsule.

It does say the updates to all the way back to the 802.11n products, which were first introduced around 2007. I was also shocked, figuring Apple would have only cared about the latest model or or two.

A quick note: Apple just provided an update to a product released in 2008 (Airport Express N - nearly 10 years old).

You can actually go farther back than that. They released an update for a product released in 2007, the 802.11n AirPort Extreme. (This was the first model they made in the square form factor after moving away from the UFO-looking ones.) They've gone back and done similar things before for widespread security problems, like the iOS 6 update for the SSL vulnerability, but I'm still (pleasantly) surprised.

 

[Bob Zimmerman]

I'm having a hard time imagining Apple being willing to adopt some of that antenna tech - just doesn't look very apple.

Aerohive makes some capable access points with very Apple-like design:

The status light is normally just white. No blinking. If it detects a problem, it goes either solid orange or slowly blinking orange. It's more angular than I would expect something from Apple to be, but is very close in terms of operation and internals. The antennas are very good.

 

[TechThink]

Welcomed update, but man I wish they’d continue router development.

Agreed! I recently moved and needed something new. I tried out a new, premium Asus router and had nothing but trouble getting any of my HomeKit stuff to work. Even after trying manual configurations, open-source firmware, etc., it would fail to maintain connectivity daily. Even though they're older now, I ended up buying a new set of AirPort Extreme routers. I knew they would work...and of course, they did, without any issues.

I want to know I'll be able to buy something from Apple in the future. Or, find an alternative router that actually consistently works with HomeKit devices. So far, not even Eero seems to have a perfect track record in that regard.

 

[Menel]

There haven't been any major advances in WiFi performance since then, though. There is literally no reason to release a new router right now.

If a new WiFi standard comes along and Apple doesn't release a new router afterwards, THEN we can be sure that development is dead. But for now the current routers are still state of the art.

This firmware update shows that Apple is still supporting the products, and they are still for sale without stock problems.

Wave2 MUMIMO

 

[kagharaht]

The fix for KRACK is only needed if using the Base Station as a wireless bridge (i.e. as a wireless client) anyway. If you're not using it as a wireless client then there's no rush at all for a fix.

Installing updates for your Macs, iOS devices etc. are far more urgent as they are used as Wi-Fi clients if you use Wi-Fi.

I'm with you on this one. With all the bugs lately, the last thing I want is an update to brick my Airport AC.

 

[Weaselboy]

Wave2 MUMIMO

There are currently no Apple products made that support MU-MINO. I think there are some Android devices that do though. Even then, at this point MU-MIMO seems to be a good idea in theory, but in practice so far it has been a bit of a mess. Smallnetbuilder even quit testing it in new routers because it just does not work (yet). Pretty good article here.

 

[DogHouseDub]

Aerohive makes some capable access points with very Apple-like design:.

When was the last time Apple released an asymmetrically shaped product?

 

[s15119]

Glad to have the update- my Mac Air alerted me it was available and update was fast and flawless. Also quite impressed and pleased with the level of discussion on this thread. These are the types and level of discussion I miss from the old MacRumors. Cheers.

 

[Mark Booth]

I purchased an ASUS RT-AC1900P at Best Buy today. The user interface is more complex than AirPort but it has many features that Apple never dreamed of putting in its WiFi routers. And the signal strength/range is definitely better than AirPort too. In testing (I read multiple reviews) the ASUS RT-AC1900P easily bests the AirPort 802.11ac.

My Ring doorbell is finally working like it should. VERY fast with notifications now. Like, instantaneous.

Screw Apple. I'm going to take a sledgehammer to the AirPort Extreme later this week. Then I'll recycle it.

Mark

 

[shinji]

I had no problems updating my Airport Extreme through the iOS Airport Utility app. Took a little while but eventually rebooted, and that was that.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

I had no problems updating my Airport Extreme through the iOS Airport Utility app. Took a little while but eventually rebooted, and that was that.

How long did it take yours? I’m in the process of updating mine now. Been rebooting for about 10 minutes. Orange light on the front. Tempted to restart but don’t want to monkey with anything if it is still loading the firmware.

 

[shinji]

How long did it take yours? I’m in the process of updating mine now. Been rebooting for about 10 minutes. Orange light on the front. Tempted to restart but don’t want to monkey with anything if it is still loading the firmware.

Not that long, maybe 5-6 mins.

Did you do it through the iOS Airport Utility app or the Mac app? Someone earlier in the thread said the Mac app tries to repeatedly download the update.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Not that long, maybe 5-6 mins.

Did you do it through the iOS Airport Utility app or the Mac app? Someone earlier in the thread said the Mac app tries to repeatedly download the update.

I used the iOS app. Eventually gave up and power cycled it. Came right back up.

 

[TTTedP]

I have two AExtremes hardwire to a FiOS supplied router for years now and was working fine. The FiOS router died over Thanksgiving and gave me a perfect opportunity to try a new set up. I did a swap of the FiOS router with a Ubiquiti Edge Router X and the existing AExtremes. I also bought a Google WiFi 3 pack to compare to.

Long story short, the Ubiquiti Edge router is the real deal (and only $50) but it's not for the every man. Google Wifi worked surprisingly well. Easy set up. Nice simple iOS app. Pushed updates. Very user friendly. I think that is the one I would recommend for the common man if you're doing a rip and replace of Apple stuff. I just can't get past the feeling that because it's Google, something sneaky is going on.

 

[John.B]

I'm having a hard time imagining Apple being willing to adopt some of that antenna tech - just doesn't look very apple.

Antennas are the reason for the "tall" TimeCapsules.

 

[macsba]

I have two AExtremes hardwire to a FiOS supplied router for years now and was working fine. The FiOS router died over Thanksgiving and gave me a perfect opportunity to try a new set up. I did a swap of the FiOS router with a Ubiquiti Edge Router X and the existing AExtremes. I also bought a Google WiFi 3 pack to compare to.

Long story short, the Ubiquiti Edge router is the real deal (and only $50) but it's not for the every man. Google Wifi worked surprisingly well. Easy set up. Nice simple iOS app. Pushed updates. Very user friendly. I think that is the one I would recommend for the common man if you're doing a rip and replace of Apple stuff. I just can't get past the feeling that because it's Google, something sneaky is going on.

Yeah, all your traffic being routed through the google servers.

 

[getrealbro]

Has anyone updated an 802.11n AirPort Extreme/Express to v7.6.9 and confirmed that it still supports SNMP after the update?

FWIW I use SNMP to monitor the internet traffic on our Airport Extreme in real time with NetUse Traffic Monitor.

Thanks in Advance - GetRealBro

Edit: For the idly curious… I just updated the firmware on an Airport Express from 7.6.8 to 7.6.9 and SNMP still works.