Time Capsule setup—valid IP address?

I am replacing my Airport Extreme base station with a Time Capsule. I have a cable modem that is connecting to the TC. I can run through setting up the wireless network (selecting "Create a wireless network") then my internet provider (Comcast) tells me to use Dynamic IP and DHCP. The TC resets, then the amber light blinks & it tells me:


Here's the mystery: It connects me to the Internet just fine—that's how I'm able to reach this forum, for instance. But it doesn't set up a wireless network—neither my Airport Express, iPhone nor laptop can see it, although the TC does "see" the network I've set up & named.

I've upgraded to 10.5.6, this TC is connected to an Intel-based MacPro.

What am I doing wrong?

disconnect power from the cable modem, wait a minute or two, then connect it back up. once it completes its POST, the TC will be able to read the IP and DNS settings from the modem.

same thing happened when i installed my TC... my desktop was connected by ethernet and accessed the internet just fine, while my macbook couldnt connect wirelessly and the amber light kept flashing and would kick the same error.

what happens is the router works fine and you can access the modem directly thru the switch... but without the modem's IP and DNS settings, the DHCP isnt able to allocate any IP's for wireless devices to use, rendering the wireless access point dead.

Thanks, oakie. BUT…

I've tried that, several different ways—reconnecting, resetting up a new network, resetting both to factory settings—and here's what happens every time:

EITHER the TimeCapsule blinks amber and reports the error message about not having internet connection but actually DOES connect on this computer…

OR

the Time Capsule light blinks green & says it's connected and can see the AirportExpress & the laptop and all appears good BUT does NOT connect to the Internet.

So I'm stymied. If I reset everything, I can get connectivity on the main computer. Or, I can get a network that reports it's working, but doesn't actually get me to the Internet.

Any ideas?

one more item: AirPort Utility sees the Express, but if I select it, it asks if it's OK to switch networks. Apparently, the Express thinks it's setting up its own network. Could that have something to do with it?

this worked for me

thanks!

Is it just me or does anyone else still have this issue? This "fix" did not resolve it for me. I still am working exactly the same as post (3) above. The network is visible, internet works fine on all computers I have tried, but I still get the error message

Your Apple wireless device does not have a valid IP address. Make sure your Apple wireless device is connected to your broadband modem or local network, verify your settings, and try again. If you still can't connect, contact your Internet service provider.

My ISP is clueless and keeps trying to sell me a Netgear router. I have had (3) previous wireless routers and none have come even close to my Airport Extreme. I love it and it appears to work great, but that error message and continuous blinking amber light is a little annoying.

Any help out there?????

Who is your ISP? Are they DSL? Cable? Name please.

Some ISP's use the MAC Address of the computer when you first set it up and for a router to work you have to clone the MAC Address in the router, but I am pretty sure the TC does not allow MAC Cloning.

Well, it's rather interesting. We just moved to the country and they have "water tower internet" out here which is basically a mini-tower set up on all of the local water towers. I then have a mini-dish on my roof pointed toward the water tower. It is thru Fox Valley Internet based out of Elgin Illinois. I don't know if I am allowed to post links here, but a quick google search will pop them up so you can see what I am talking about.

The odd thing about the connection is that there is not a modem. There is an ethernet cable running from the dish into the house where it gets plugged into an extremely short "extension" cable which gets plugged into an outlet. I assume this is how the dish gets power. There is no modem and they tell me it is considered an "always on internet connection".

It works great, but I still get the blinking amber light. I took a stab in the dark and tried to unplug everything for about (3) minutes and then only plugged in the ethernet cable; waited about (2) minutes and then plugged in the AE.

No change. Any suggestions?

I have never used or even seen a setup like that Water Tower net but there must be an IP address from the thing. How do you have the AE setup? I would think you should set it for DHCP so it can pick up the IP Address from the dish. I am hoping someone more familiar with this type of internet sees this post and knows a bit more about Water Tower Internet!

I have an older AE here. With Airport Utility check to see if Internet is set for Connect Using: Ethernet and Configure IVP4: Using DHCP.

This is from their page. That MAC based authentication might cause an issue with the AE.

Wireless access features:
No cable or telephone line subscription required
Short-range radio link avoids the high latency and reliability problems associated with satellite Internet access
Redundant wireless network completely owned and operated by Fox Valley Internet
Support for any number of computers on your network
Fully automated, plug-and-play MAC based authentication (no troublesome PPPoE or other authentication software required!) 5
30-day satisfaction guarantee

Well, I got messing around with some settings and spent the last 2 hours (or so it seemed) resetting to factory settings (twice) and setting everything up again.

The first time, the AE suggested I use Bridge as the connection type - so I did and could not get any internet connection at all - but I got a green light!! *&%$$*@

At any rate, the second time I started over, I selected DHCP and it gave me a message that this setting would cause the light on the AE to blink amber. It asked me if I wanted to ignore this error and I said yes.

Things are back to the way they were (working) and now I have a green light which is what I wanted in the first place.

However, I still feel that there is something wrong. The ability to obtain the green light only by ignoring errors does not sound like the right thing to do. I guess I got what I wanted, but it still bugs me...

I would just ignore the AE's message. I have gotten messages like that setting up some Netgear routers. The router does not always know what is right! It works and that is the important thing.

Omg

oakie said:

disconnect power from the cable modem, wait a minute or two, then connect it back up. once it completes its POST, the TC will be able to read the IP and DNS settings from the modem.

same thing happened when i installed my TC... my desktop was connected by ethernet and accessed the internet just fine, while my macbook couldnt connect wirelessly and the amber light kept flashing and would kick the same error.

what happens is the router works fine and you can access the modem directly thru the switch... but without the modem's IP and DNS settings, the DHCP isnt able to allocate any IP's for wireless devices to use, rendering the wireless access point dead.

Click to expand...

I joined this forum just to say THANK YOU because i was having so much trouble with this problem. spent like 5 hours switching around with my airport extreme and stuff. and i went on here and your solution about unplugging the cable from the modem and waiting... it was EXACTLY what i did and it worked. much much much appreciated for putting this here. lol ill stick around and see what this forum has to offer, but thanks again God bless

SCDI said:

one more item: AirPort Utility sees the Express, but if I select it, it asks if it's OK to switch networks. Apparently, the Express thinks it's setting up its own network. Could that have something to do with it?

Click to expand...

Make sure the " join a wireless network " is selected and it has the same network name and channel as you did not state how you had the Express set up.

IP Address Time Capsule has given itself invalid

I’ve been trying to set up a ITB second generation Time Capsule I’ve got from a friend to replace a 500GB TC I’ve had since 2008, which works fine as a WiFi router for my iMac and Macbook but has broken down as a backup HD. The new TC has WiFi connection to my Macs, but can’t connect to the internet because, Airport Utility says, its IP Address (given to itself in automatic setup) is wrong

To solve the problem I’ve gone to Airport Utility>Manual Setup>Internet>TCP/IP, and changed from Using DHCP to Manually. But once there, I don’t know what IP Address to put in.

I see that Dysfunction has put up a screen shot of the figures for IP Address, Subnet Mask and Router Address that he has on the Internet Connection page - which are quite different from the figures in the same slots for the TC I’ve just set up. Should I use the figures Dysfunction has?

I’ve compared the data on this page with what’s on the same page when I have my older TC connected, and the figures for IP Address, Subnet Mask and Router Address that the new TC has given itself in the course of automatic set-up are each very different from what they are in the case of the older TC. Should I note down these figures from the older TC and put them in as settings for the new one? If yes, could this mean that if for some reason I have to use the old TC again as a router, it won’t work? And if not, and I shouldn’t use Dysfunction’s figures either, where do I find the right figures to put in as settings for my new TC?

Will be really very grateful for help.