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Major Airport Express Issues

mattthemutt

mattthemutt

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 13, 2004
176
0
Ontario, Canada
I've had an Airport Express for a few years now. I have several computers that connect to it, specifically an iMac G4, a MacBook C2D, and a Dell Inspiron (C2D) laptop. The airport is connected to a DSL PPPoE service, and the problem is that the service often cuts out; the router disconnects from the PPPoE service, and slows down often. The signal strength doesn't drop, but the internet cuts out.

Apparently there's nothing wrong with the line into the house, and the modem, leaving only the airport to blame. We called the ISP, and they say that there are "known issues" with having Intel Core-based computers on the network with the PPPoE service, because they use different security or something. Personally, I think that's a load of you-know-what, but my father believes otherwise, and he's going on a witch-hunt.

What should I do?
 
Do you have a 2.4 Ghz cordless phone? Your internet will definitely cut out if you use it at the same time you're on the internet. I finally got rid of mine and all is well.

If you don't, but your neighbors do, you might still have problems.
 
Ugg said:
Do you have a 2.4 Ghz cordless phone? Your internet will definitely cut out if you use it at the same time you're on the internet. I finally got rid of mine and all is well.

If you don't, but your neighbors do, you might still have problems.
Click to expand...

I disconnected the phones, changed the Airport broadcast channel, and still no dice.

Any suggestions? I'm beginning to suspect that the Airport base station is cooked or something.
 
mkrishnan said:
You said that you had the AirEx for several years? There was actually an article in MacBidouille just recently claiming that early Airport Expresses (circa 2004) have a very high failure rate. Hmm....

http://www.macbidouille.com/news/2007-10-19/#15163

The core architecture on PPPoE is nonsense when you have a router, as it is the router that navigates PPPoE and not the Mac.
Click to expand...

Other than looking for a receipt, is there any way I can tell in which week it was produced?

(Thanks for your help by the way, I much appreciate it).
 
mattthemutt said:
Other than looking for a receipt, is there any way I can tell in which week it was produced?

(Thanks for your help by the way, I much appreciate it).
Click to expand...

The high failure problem is with the units suddenly dying completely - not gradually getting probs like you've described.
 
From what I have seen, routers that are 2-3 years old tend to start dying slowly. This goes for any make or model. Some last longer, some die sooner (and quicker). It could be that your AE is on its way down. It still may be serviceable for a couple years yet, however, at least as a wireless BS to another router.
 
flopticalcube said:
From what I have seen, routers that are 2-3 years old tend to start dying slowly. This goes for any make or model. Some last longer, some die sooner (and quicker). It could be that your AE is on its way down. It still may be serviceable for a couple years yet, however, at least as a wireless BS to another router.
Click to expand...

I hate it when the solution is "buy another one". How unfortunate.

If it were functioning as a wireless base station to another router, I assume you mean that the WAN port would be connected to a wired router?
 
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