Noob Needing Help With Airport Extreme Connections.

[hpowders]

I purchased an Airport Extreme today at the Apple Store. I looked at quite a few tutorials, but couldn't find the answer to the following:

Before I connect my high speed cable modem's ethernet cable to the Airport Extreme, should I power down my iMac first or doesn't it matter?

 

[Mike4AU]

If you have not already downloaded the Airport Utility, do so before setting up your APE (while you are connected to the net).

Plug in everything while your computer is on. After the lights flash in the sequence mentioned in the setup guide, open the Airport Utility and proceed. It should be a piece of cake. If the APE does not connect, take the power off the APE and the cable modem. Then reboot the cable modem first, then the APE. That should take care of things. That is what I had to do with my APE.

Hope this helps.

 

[hpowders]

Thanks, Mike. I have Airport Utility pre-installed on my iMac.

 

[twerppoet]

You should not need to reboot the iMac. However you might need to go into System Preferences, Network and change from Ethernet to Wi-Fi (or Airport if you are still running Leopard). Otherwise the iMac will vainly continue to look for internet on the now disconnected ethernet port.

You may (or may not) be able to use the Airport Utility without doing this, but you won't be able to actually access the internet until you do. Once the network is set up go to the wireless signal icon at the top right of the screen and right click to see your options for connecting to your newly created network.

 

[hpowders]

You should not need to reboot the iMac. However you might need to go into System Preferences, Network and change from Ethernet to Wi-Fi (or Airport if you are still running Leopard). Otherwise the iMac will vainly continue to look for internet on the now disconnected ethernet port.

You may (or may not) be able to use the Airport Utility without doing this, but you won't be able to actually access the internet until you do. Once the network is set up go to the wireless signal icon at the top right of the screen and right click to see your options for connecting to your newly created network.

I set up the Airport Extreme in Airport Utilities and got the steady green light but as you say-no internet. I went to system preferences but didn't see any way to change from ethernet to Wi-Fi or airport.

 

[Mike4AU]

Power down your cable modem and the APE. Then power up the cable modem first, then the APE. I had to do that the all was well.

 

[hpowders]

Power down your cable modem and the APE. Then power up the cable modem first, then the APE. I had to do that the all was well.

I tried this twice, but still no internet. I have a genius appointment at an Apple store Sunday morning. I'm thinking my internet provider, Brighthouse Networks may have some kind of override which they can unlock so I may have to pay them a monthly fee.

 

[twerppoet]

I set up the Airport Extreme in Airport Utilities and got the steady green light but as you say-no internet. I went to system preferences but didn't see any way to change from ethernet to Wi-Fi or airport.

To be clear. You opened System Preferences on the iMac, went to the Network preferences and did not get something similar to this?

It might be a bit different. This is Lion, but I don't think it's terribly different than Leopard or Snow Leopard was.

 

[hpowders]

I set up the Airport Extreme in Airport Utilities and got the steady green light but as you say-no internet. I went to system preferences but didn't see any way to change from ethernet to Wi-Fi or airport.

To be clear. You opened System Preferences on the iMac, went to the Network preferences and did not get something similar to this?

It might be a bit different. This is Lion, but I don't think it's terribly different than Leopard or Snow Leopard was.

I have something like that but it's called "Airport" instead of "Wi-Fi". Instead of "automatic" for location it says "Ethernet Cable", but "automatic" is an option. There is no network name listed. It says "no network selected". I did select a Wi-Fi name when I set up the Airport Extreme in Airport Utilities. If I click on "create network", it says "enter the name of the computer to computer network you want to create."

 

[hpowders]

Update: I spoke with Apple technical support. They told me my high speed modem needed to be reset. Fine. I called Brighthouse and they reset my modem. Nothing. All connections were fine. No error messages from Airport Utilities. Bright green light steady and strong. Then the Brighthouse tech asked me about my ethernet connection-from the Airport extreme to the modem-and that was the source of my problem-I had one end of the ethernet cable still connected to the back of the computer. As soon as I unplugged it from the iMac and inserted it into the modem, I got good strong internet.

So, the installation of the Airport Extreme really is a piece of cake-just make sure your ethernet cable is plugged into the modem as well as into the Airport Extreme.

I'm happy now.

 

[Mike4AU]

That is great. Sure makes one feel great after resolving a mysterious problem.

 

[hpowders]

That is great. Sure makes one feel great after resolving a mysterious problem.

Thanks! It was such an obvious thing-yet the Apple tech didn't think to ask me-it could have been one of those Dateline investigations-just put an ethernet connection in the wrong place and see if anyone discovers the problem.

 

[hpowders]

One thing I've been noticing since the Airport Extreme connection-my iMac is running noticeably faster. That could just be a coincidence since this is a holiday weekend, fewer people are around to share the high speed cable connection. We'll see what happens on Tuesday after the mob is back!

 

[twerppoet]

That is great. Sure makes one feel great after resolving a mysterious problem.

It was such an obvious thing-yet the Apple tech didn't think to ask me-it could have been one of those Dateline investigations-just put an ethernet connection in the wrong place and see if anyone discovers the problem.

Didn't think to ask it myself. The better you know something the hard it can be to remember that others may not. Glad you got it straightened out.

 

[hpowders]

That is great. Sure makes one feel great after resolving a mysterious problem.

It was such an obvious thing-yet the Apple tech didn't think to ask me-it could have been one of those Dateline investigations-just put an ethernet connection in the wrong place and see if anyone discovers the problem.

Didn't think to ask it myself. The better you know something the hard it can be to remember that others may not. Glad you got it straightened out.

Thanks! Almost as bad as forgetting the wall AC unit was unplugged and calling the service guy to come over to fix it.