AE works in store, not at home!

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

emily47@yahoo.com - 23 Jul 2006 15:09 GMT

a couple of months ago I bought an Airport Express to connect
wirelessly to my internet connection.. I plugged it in and it worked
perfectly; didn't do any set up or anything! Then... it stopped working
and all I could get was the dreaded flashing amber light. I tried
following the various troubleshooting guides; re-set; power cycle;
upgrade the software; eliminate interference (unplugged the phone) but
nothing worked. My internet provider knows nothing about Macs and says
he hasn't made any changes to account for why I stopped being able to
connect (BTW, when I connect directly from my computer to the modem,
internet is perfect). There's only one place in my town that sells Macs
and they won't talk to me (they did offer to return the AE on the
assumption that it's defective)

I was able to get to the nearest Apple store about 2 hours away and
talk to a "genius". He rest; upgraded the software, powercycled and....
AE worked! He assured me that all I would have to do is go home, plug
everything in in the correct order (powercycle , then modem first,then
AE) and it would work; no set up required.

So I took it home, set it up per instructions and.... nothing but the
dreaded flashing light.

At least I know it's not a hardware issue, and it's not an ISP issue
(again, I connect perfectly. Does anyone have any ideas about what
setting I need to look at??? [and why it AE worked when I first got it,
but then stopped]

(btw, my internet is provided via radiowave; my modem connects to an
antenna on my roof)

thanks
EmilyS

Reply to this Message

Cathy Stevenson - 23 Jul 2006 18:50 GMT

> a couple of months ago I bought an Airport Express to connect
> wirelessly to my internet connection.. I plugged it in and it worked
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> (btw, my internet is provided via radiowave; my modem connects to an
> antenna on my roof)

Have you checked to see if your airport card is properly seated?

Cathy

Signature

"there's a dance or two in the old dame yet." - mehitabel

C.Stevenson, M.D.
cats1921@invalidsonic.net

Reply to this Message

Fred McKenzie - 23 Jul 2006 19:35 GMT

> I was able to get to the nearest Apple store about 2 hours away and
> talk to a "genius". He rest; upgraded the software, powercycled and....
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> So I took it home, set it up per instructions and.... nothing but the
> dreaded flashing light.

EmilyS-

I don't know the significance of the flashing light. If it is an
indication of a hardware problem, then that is where to look for an
answer.

Here is a far-fetched idea: Are you noticing any other "problems" with
appliances around the house? It is possible that your electrical power
has developed a loose connection in the neutral wire, somewhere between
the power company's transformer and your breaker box. As a result, some
household circuits may have higher voltage and others have lower voltage
than they should. Either extreme might upset the Airport Express.

Something changed when the problem first occurred. Were you using the
same radio modem before, or might that have been installed about the same
time the problem started? You checked for interference from your cordless
phone, but it is possible a nearby neighbor installed one when the problem
started.

Similarly, a neighbor's wireless installation on the same channel might
interfere. Look for a program called MacStumbler or iStumbler (iStumbler
works on Intel Macs). This type of program lets you see all the wireless
base stations in the area that are transmitting their identification. See
if one happens to be on the same channel as yours. If so, change yours to
the other end of the range of channels.

These ideas are based on the theory that the Airport Express is really
OK. You should find out more about the significance of that flashing
light.

Fred

Reply to this Message

Duncan Langford - 24 Jul 2006 12:27 GMT

> a couple of months ago I bought an Airport Express to connect
> wirelessly to my internet connection.. I plugged it in and it worked
> perfectly; didn't do any set up or anything! Then... it stopped working
> and all I could get was the dreaded flashing amber light.

It's not a lot of help to you, but I'm using an AE to feed iTunes to my
amp., and it's been flashing its orange light non-stop.

While working perfectly...

- duncan

PS Seriously - is the unit or your mac possibly shielded in some way?

Reply to this Message

anonymous - 26 Jul 2006 21:31 GMT

When you connect your computer directly to your modem, what are your
settings in the "Network" System Preference? Where it says "Configure
IPv4:" , is it set to "Manually", "Using DHCP' or another?

Is this the same setting when you connect using your AE Card?
Let's start from there.
-tom
(BTW, when I connect directly from my computer to the modem,

> internet is perfect). There's only one place in my town that sells Macs
> and they won't talk to me (they did offer to return the AE on the
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> thanks
> EmilyS

Reply to this Message

Mac Forum / General / Portable Macs / July 2006

AE works in store, not at home!