"Saucer" AEBS keeps losing connection

[Eric S.]

I have used my saucer-shaped AEBS for years without a single issue but now in the last month it has started frequently dropping the connection. The network is still seen from may Macbooks, but I can't get to the internet. And Airport Utility will not see the AEBS or the Apple Extreme I use for Airtunes. Power cycling the AEBS brings everything back.

It seems to be random but frequent, like once an evening. The only thing different in the past month is that I got a (non-Apple) smartphone that is also on the network, along with my two Macbooks and Apple Extreme. Could that cause this problem somehow? Or can the AEBS just be failing as it ages?

I searched other threads on AEBS problems but didn't see anything that directly answered this issue.

 

[Makosuke]

Really hard to say since two things changed at once.

It's definite that certain things can cause (or increase the chance of) router crashes (which is what you're having happen, from the sound of it). Bittorrent--which results in many, many relatively low-speed simultaneous up and down connections--is a classic one, but really, depending on what the device is doing, anything could theoretically cause issues.

Alternately, a failing device can have exactly the same symptom--frequent crashes. Given the age, it wouldn't be at all odd were it to be failing.

The only real way to find out would be to turn off the new device and see if the crashes stop. If they happen daily, it wouldn't actually be that difficult to test.

That said, it doesn't really matter which is the cause; since the only likely solution in either case is buying a new router, the only difference would be whether you can in good conscience sell the old one to somebody.

The only things you might be able to try to fix the issue with the current Airport would be to update or reinstall the latest firmware, or completely reset and reconfigure it from scratch. On the off chance something has gotten screwed up in the flash memory of the thing, either might help.

I wouldn't get my hopes up, though--routers in my experience, particularly wireless ones, have a relatively limited lifespan, and yours is getting toward the end of its own.