Airport Extreme possibly dead? What direction to go?

[soccerphysio]

Hey guys!
My Airport Extreme began to cut out 2 nights ago, and then last night stopped working (blinking Amber light, with error messages in Airport Utility stating "No internet connection," and "No DNS servers.") I contacted my ISP twice to check my internet connection with them, and all is fine on that end (I am currently hard wired on my laptop).

I purchased the AE in 2012, and not sure what direction to go. I'm not sure if it would be worth calling Apple Support to try to diagnose my problem, or just bite the bullet and update my router.

My questions...
1. Is it possible that my router has gone bad after almost 4 years, and would be worth just purchasing the latest version?
2. Since I'm not tech savvy at all, would it be best for me to simply order a router through my ISP and pay a monthly fee for it (so that in the future, if I had any problems I could just call them to fix it)?
3. I know this is kind of a dumb question since I am on a Mac forum, but is the AE truly the best way to go?

Sorry for the lengthy email, but I need to get this up and running ASAP because my kids school relies so heavily on accessing the internet for assignments!!!

I really appreciate any help you can provide!!!

 

[kentsb]

1. It is certainly possible it is going bad. Have you tried turning off your ISP modem and AE and restarting, first with the modem and then the AE?
2. Rental does not make sense to me as I have never had a router fail on me, insurance is not really worth it. In the long term buying would probably be cheaper.
3. AE in my opinion is the best way to go especially if money is not a primary consideration. You say you are not tech savvy so I find Apple product easier to work with.

Good luck

 

[RadDave]

1. It is certainly possible it is going bad. Have you tried turning off your ISP modem and AE and restarting, first with the modem and then the AE?
2. Rental does not make sense to me as I have never had a router fail on me, insurance is not really worth it. In the long term buying would probably be cheaper.
3. AE in my opinion is the best way to go especially if money is not a primary consideration. You say you are not tech savvy so I find Apple product easier to work with.

@ Soccerphysio - agree w/ all of the points above; power cycle the devices as suggested which may just work for you?

If you have all Apple equipment, their 'base stations' are designed to work well together, so I would also suggest another AirPort Extreme (APE) despite the premium cost. I have the previous model of the APE which has been working fine for 3 years w/ my iMac & MBPro (plus the nearly dozen other devices in the house that use Wi-Fi) - it was my 4th router (previous one a Cisco 802.11n) - when I switch from PCs to Apple computers in early 2013, I just could not get the Cisco to work consistently; bought the APE and was setup in minutes - if mine stop working, I would not hesitate of purchase a new one. Dave

 

[soccerphysio]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the feedback! I am going to call one of my more tech savvy buddies and see if he can help diagnose the problem and get it working. I did try all of the power cycling options, but to no avail. Last resort will be to just reset it to factory settings and try to start over.

Any other suggestions or advice is definitely still welcomed!!!!:Blushing:

 

[harryb2448]

Good luck with it. Completely opposite to kentsb's experience, three years is about all I get out of any router, but then again I live in a sub-tropical high thunderstorm area. Have used Apple, TP-LINK, Linsky's plus a couple of others all with that three year time limit.

 

[dtravis7]

I have had overall good luck with good routers. I have one Linksys WRT54GL that is at least 7+ years old and still works 24 a day. Also had good luck with a Dlink DIR655 which is still going strong after 5+ years. I have had one older Linksys Version 1 54g that finally died but it was over 10 years old. We do not have much Surge or Thunderstorm activity here.

I also had a really old White Spaceship looking Apple AE die after many years of use but that could have been a surge where it was plugged in.

 

[RadDave]

Lol, why is it called an Airport? That's a dumb name. XD

Hi Timothy - ignorance can be bliss!

For example, do you know that 'Wi-Fi' does not mean anything and certainly not 'wireless fidelity' (first quote below from Wiki); the term 'AirPort' for Apple products based on the 802.11 protocols first appeared in 1999 (second quote from another Wiki article); SO, at least AirPort has a definition, yes? - Dave

A common misconception is that the term Wi-Fi is short for "wireless fidelity." This is not the case. Wi-Fi is simply a trademarked term meaning IEEE 802.11x. The false notion that the brand name "Wi-Fi" is short for "wireless fidelity" has spread to such an extent that even industry leaders have included the phrase wireless fidelity in a press release. You'll also find references to Wi-Fi being short for wireless fidelity on a number of well-known and respected technology-focused publications and websites. The truth is, Wi-Fi isn't short for anything — and it never was.

AirPort is the name given to a series of products by Apple Inc. using the (Wi-Fi) protocols (802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n and 802.11ac). These products comprise a number of wireless routers and wireless cards. The AirPort Extreme name was originally intended to signify the addition of the 802.11g protocol to these products.

 

[dtravis7]

Well said Dave. Wireless signals go through the Air. It's like a Network Port that is wireless. Makes a lot more sense like Dave said than WiFi!

Turn up the Bass on my WiFi!

 

[harryb2448]

We got a beachball bouncing through and trolling! XD