I just bought an AirPort Extreme Base Station...


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So earlier today I bought an AirPort Extreme Base Station. I was very close to buying one about a year and a half ago, but went with a D-Link DIR-655 instead. And while that router worked fine, I installed a new firmware version a few weeks back, and since then, was experiencing random (but short) signal drops, and a few other minor issues.

Anyway, installing the Base Station wasn't as seamless as Apple would have wished, as it ran into some problems with the AT&T U-verse modem we were provided with. (It seems by default, the Base Station wants to manage all the IP addresses of the computer. Instead, I had to run an AT&T U-verse script that gave the Base Station its own IP address, as the cable modem does all the management. I know, I'm still confused myself.)

Anyway, to make a long story short, after a good amount of (automated) configuring, it all "just works" now. Got the USB printer up and running (on Mac OS X,) enabled Bonjour for various services (such as the aforementioned USB printing) and got the dual-band networking configured.

But there are some things that still aren't working. For example, I can't get "Back to My Mac" working. I'm logged into MobileMe on both my iMac and Base Station, but I keep getting hit with a NAT error. You'd think it would work on the Base Station, but it doesn't. Anyone know how to get it working?

One other thing. I was using Opera 10 on Mac OS X, when I noticed that some sites were loading very, very slowly. I tried Safari 4, and the same sites load instantly. On my old router, both Opera and Safari loaded pages at about the same time. Anyone know why suddenly third-party browsers would be working so slowly? Is there something on the Base Station I'm not familiar with?

And yes, I know this is a Mac forum, but anyone know how to get Windows to detect the USB printer? It's plugged in, Bonjour is enabled on the network and it can be found instantly on Mac OS X. Do I need to use the Bonjour printer software on Windows? (I probably do...) Edit: Yup, all I had to do was run that forgotten Bonjour Printer Setup application for Windows, and my USB printer on the Base Station showed up instantly. Maybe it does just work after all...

Sorry for such a long topic here, I'm just still a little unfamiliar with this whole thing. The AirPort Utility is surprisingly complex for being Apple software.

Edited by Quillz
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I had problem with my Time Capsule... (Returning it back to FutureShop this weekend)

I don't think they selected a good OEM maker to produce them :(

As for the Airport program, well, it's actually a nice software, I found it very well made?

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I had problem with my Time Capsule... (Returning it back to FutureShop this weekend)

I don't think they selected a good OEM maker to produce them :(

As for the Airport program, well, it's actually a nice software, I found it very well made?

Yup, I specifically avoided the Time Capsule because I heard there were a lot of complaints about the "server-grade" HDD. (Not to mention that you can just plug a USB hub into the Base Station and easily share a printer, HDD, etc.)

Also, I completely agree that the AirPort Utility is great. I much prefer an actual application to a web page, since it's very easy to run from any computer. I also like that the Base Station can be very quickly and easily upgraded. (Just after setting it up for the first time, I was told there was a firmware update. It was just like Software Update: click, let it install and it restarted. Done.) All I was saying was that it's surprisingly complex, though. I found that it has a LOT of options and features that I'll never need or have to touch, and thus I was a bit surprised at just how much you can actually do with it. Usually Apple software tends to be more minimalistic than that.

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I've had nothing but love for my Time Capsule.

The biggest problem with either of them i have run into others having is with cable modems,

A Lot of users don't understand that you need to unplug the power on the cable modem for 1 min then connect the network cable from the modem to the Time Capsule/Airport Extreme,

then plugin the power to the cable modem, give it a couple minutes to fully boot up, then finally plugin power to the Capsule/Airport.

The reason for this is that most cable modems LOCK themselves to the first network device they connect to, and if another device say an Airport is then swapped in the Modem doesn't want to work without its previous Locked device.

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I've had nothing but love for my Time Capsule.

The biggest problem with either of them i have run into others having is with cable modems,

A Lot of users don't understand that you need to unplug the power on the cable modem for 1 min then connect the network cable from the modem to the Time Capsule/Airport Extreme,

then plugin the power to the cable modem, give it a couple minutes to fully boot up, then finally plugin power to the Capsule/Airport.

The reason for this is that most cable modems LOCK themselves to the first network device they connect to, and if another device say an Airport is then swapped in the Modem doesn't want to work without its previous Locked device.

I forgot, that happened to me, too. After configuring the Base Station the way I wanted it, it was "recommended" (actually required) that I unplug the cable modem for a few seconds. I did this, and my entire AT&T system froze (TV, etc.) After plugging it back in, it took a LONG time to fully reboot, probably close to 2-3 minutes. And then after that, everything worked fine. And everything is continuing to work fine, barring a few minor issues.

I found this issue regarding "Back to My Mac." But there's one problem...

post-119000-1252135466_thumb.png

As you can see, there's nothing in the "Internet" tab relating to NAT-PMP or UPnP. Is it because of the "Bridged" settings? (That doesn't seem to be the default behavior of the Base Station, but that's how my cable modem ultimately set it up.)

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Ok, now i see your TV/internet/phone? all through one modem?

Yes, U-verse is a bundled service. You get what's called a wireless gateway, which is a large modem that handles Internet (although I've turned off Wi-Fi), TV and phone.

Thus, it's the modem that is assigned an IP address by the ISP, and then it handles the rest through DHCP. I think that's why the Base Station didn't configure automatically the first time through, and why I can't get NAP to work.

I think now that NAP/UPnP options would appear in that list at the bottom, but I'm not sure what I would want to do there. It seems the Base Station had to be configured with sharing turned off, although maybe it's just a simple toggle after all...

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I can't get "Back to My Mac" working. I'm logged into MobileMe on both my iMac and Base Station, but I keep getting hit with a NAT error. You'd think it would work on the Base Station, but it doesn't. Anyone know how to get it working?

You need to have NAT-PMP enabled in order for back to my mac to work.

20090905-gfemf1ixingdp5sqs76q77h7ej.jpg

If your cable modem is actually some sort of horrible modem+base station+router all in one so it's possible that you're either double-NATing. Solve this by setting the airport to bridge mode.

20090905-jyycs4jdm4b1s7phsmmyqf87y3.jpg

You'll then need to enable NAT-PMP or UPnP (as appropriate) on your AT&T modem/router/base-station device.

One other thing. I was using Opera 10 on Mac OS X, when I noticed that some sites were loading very, very slowly. I tried Safari 4, and the same sites load instantly. On my old router, both Opera and Safari loaded pages at about the same time. Anyone know why suddenly third-party browsers would be working so slowly? Is there something on the Base Station I'm not familiar with?

There should be no difference, Airpot doesn't do any sort of proxying or QoS that would impact your browser. Maybe it's an opera/mac os x issue?.

Now, to go find the pair of missing airport expresses that Airport Utility has given up on.

I can't get "Back to My Mac" working. I'm logged into MobileMe on both my iMac and Base Station, but I keep getting hit with a NAT error. You'd think it would work on the Base Station, but it doesn't. Anyone know how to get it working?

You need to have NAT-PMP enabled in order for back to my mac to work.

20090905-gfemf1ixingdp5sqs76q77h7ej.jpg

If your cable modem is actually some sort of horrible modem+base station+router all in one so it's possible that you're either double-NATing. Solve this by setting the airport to bridge mode.

20090905-jyycs4jdm4b1s7phsmmyqf87y3.jpg

You'll then need to enable NAT-PMP or UPnP (as appropriate) on your AT&T modem/router/base-station device.

One other thing. I was using Opera 10 on Mac OS X, when I noticed that some sites were loading very, very slowly. I tried Safari 4, and the same sites load instantly. On my old router, both Opera and Safari loaded pages at about the same time. Anyone know why suddenly third-party browsers would be working so slowly? Is there something on the Base Station I'm not familiar with?

There should be no difference, Airpot doesn't do any sort of proxying or QoS that would impact your browser. Maybe it's an opera/mac os x issue?.

Now, to go find the pair of missing airport expresses that Airport Utility has given up on.

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Yup, I figured I'd have to find a way to enable NAT-PMP on the AT&T gateway. I haven't yet, since their firmware is a little hard to navigate, but I'm sure I'll find it eventually.

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