Connecting Airport Express A1084

[gtr]

Yosemite 10.10.1, iMac Late 2009

This particular Airport Express unit is a little wall wart with an
ethernet, usb and stereo head-phone plug. It seems they've used this
monniker for dramatically different units.

Under Yosemite when I relay music to this unit the audio cuts out for a
few seconds or minutes every few minutes. Sometimes it doesn't come
back online at all and I have to go to iTunes (12.0.1.26) and turn the
relay off and then back on again (under the AirPlay icon) and it's
delighted to begin anew.

Trying to remedy this, I go to AirPort Utility and click on the unit's
icon. The display states "ip address 0.0.0.0" and "This version of
Airport Utility doesn't support this base station". I'm unsure why
it's called a "base station" but that's just another confusing name.

How do I go about making contact with this unit so I can change it's
configuration? I have found a v5.6.1 but it has a .pkg installation,
and I'm afraid it's going to screw things up relative to all other
AirPort operations. I've found a version of it but it has the
slash/circle indicator on the icon, indicating it can't be run under
this version of the OS.

Help!

[David Empson]

gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:

> Yosemite 10.10.1, iMac Late 2009
>
> This particular Airport Express unit is a little wall wart with an
> ethernet, usb and stereo head-phone plug. It seems they've used this
> monniker for dramatically different units.
>
> Under Yosemite when I relay music to this unit the audio cuts out for a
> few seconds or minutes every few minutes. Sometimes it doesn't come
> back online at all and I have to go to iTunes (12.0.1.26) and turn the
> relay off and then back on again (under the AirPlay icon) and it's
> delighted to begin anew.
>
> Trying to remedy this, I go to AirPort Utility and click on the unit's
> icon. The display states "ip address 0.0.0.0" and "This version of
> Airport Utility doesn't support this base station". I'm unsure why
> it's called a "base station" but that's just another confusing name.

The Airport Express is in fact a Wi-Fi base station, so that is a
reasonable description. Its Wi-Fi can operate in several modes,
including being switched off, a client-only connection to an existing
Wi-Fi network, simple bridging between Ethernet and Wi-Fi, or acting as
a NAT router.

It also has the ability to output audio (via AirPlay) and connect to a
USB printer.

> How do I go about making contact with this unit so I can change it's
> configuration? I have found a v5.6.1 but it has a .pkg installation,
> and I'm afraid it's going to screw things up relative to all other
> AirPort operations. I've found a version of it but it has the
> slash/circle indicator on the icon, indicating it can't be run under
> this version of the OS.

That particular Airport Express is the original model, which has
802.11b/g Wi-Fi support, but not 802.11n.

The current version of Airport Utility (6.x) which was supplied with
recent OS X versions only supports newer Airport base station models
(all of the supported models are new enough to support 802.11n Wi-Fi).

If your Mac is running OS X 10.8.5 (Mountain Lion) or earlier, you can
still run Airport Utility 5.6.1, which supports older Airport base
stations. Unfortunately that version got broken by OS X 10.9
(Mavericks), and Apple didn't bother releasing an update, so officially
you cannot configure older 802.11b/g base stations using OS X 10.9 or
later.

A third party developer came up with a workaround to run Airport Utility
5.6.1 in OS X 10.9 and later, by bundling the application together with
a compatible older version of a library.

http://coreyjmahler.com/2013/10/24/airport-utility-5-6-1-on-os-x-10-9-mavericks/

I've used this occasionally to run the older Airport Utility (which also
has access to several configuration options not supported by version
6.x).

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz

[Jolly Roger]

On 2015-01-01, gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:
> Yosemite 10.10.1, iMac Late 2009
>
> This particular Airport Express unit is a little wall wart with an
> ethernet, usb and stereo head-phone plug. It seems they've used this
> monniker for dramatically different units.

You're confusing "Airport Express", the wall wart for "Airport Extreme",
the full-fledged router.

> Under Yosemite when I relay music to this unit the audio cuts out for a
> few seconds or minutes every few minutes. Sometimes it doesn't come
> back online at all and I have to go to iTunes (12.0.1.26) and turn the
> relay off and then back on again (under the AirPlay icon) and it's
> delighted to begin anew.

Sounds like your Airport Express may be a little too far away from your
wireless router, or there is something between the two that causes
occasional interference with the signal, such as a microwave oven,
wireless phones, and so on.

> Trying to remedy this, I go to AirPort Utility and click on the unit's
> icon. The display states "ip address 0.0.0.0" and "This version of
> Airport Utility doesn't support this base station". I'm unsure why
> it's called a "base station" but that's just another confusing name.

As others have said, the Airport Express is multi-functional and can be
configured to be a base station if needed (handy for travel).

> How do I go about making contact with this unit so I can change it's
> configuration? I have found a v5.6.1 but it has a .pkg installation,
> and I'm afraid it's going to screw things up relative to all other
> AirPort operations. I've found a version of it but it has the
> slash/circle indicator on the icon, indicating it can't be run under
> this version of the OS.

The latest version of Airport Utility works fine with all three of my
various vintage Airport Expresses. Are you using the latest?

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[gtr]

On 2015-01-01 04:23:57 +0000, Jolly Roger said:

> On 2015-01-01, gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:
>> Under Yosemite when I relay music to this unit the audio cuts out for a
>> few seconds or minutes every few minutes. Sometimes it doesn't come
>> back online at all and I have to go to iTunes (12.0.1.26) and turn the
>> relay off and then back on again (under the AirPlay icon) and it's
>> delighted to begin anew.
>
> Sounds like your Airport Express may be a little too far away from your
> wireless router, or there is something between the two that causes
> occasional interference with the signal, such as a microwave oven,
> wireless phones, and so on.

It worked for 3 years at this distance without a hiccup, till Yosemite.

>> Trying to remedy this, I go to AirPort Utility and click on the unit's
>> icon. The display states "ip address 0.0.0.0" and "This version of
>> Airport Utility doesn't support this base station". I'm unsure why
>> it's called a "base station" but that's just another confusing name.
>
> As others have said, the Airport Express is multi-functional and can be
> configured to be a base station if needed (handy for travel).

I'm not sure how that would work, but it's intriguing.

>> How do I go about making contact with this unit so I can change it's
>> configuration? I have found a v5.6.1 but it has a .pkg installation,
>> and I'm afraid it's going to screw things up relative to all other
>> AirPort operations. I've found a version of it but it has the
>> slash/circle indicator on the icon, indicating it can't be run under
>> this version of the OS.
>
> The latest version of Airport Utility works fine with all three of my
> various vintage Airport Expresses. Are you using the latest?

I am. Today I got an A1264 and it works without a problem, but tells
me the A1084 isn't supported. I moved the A1084 elsewhere and it
continually loses contact. It's now in the bottom of the closet as I
await another used A1264. Things now work great. Thanks for the input.

[Jolly Roger]

On 2015-01-01, gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:
> On 2015-01-01 04:23:57 +0000, Jolly Roger said:
>
>> On 2015-01-01, gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:
>>> Under Yosemite when I relay music to this unit the audio cuts out for a
>>> few seconds or minutes every few minutes. Sometimes it doesn't come
>>> back online at all and I have to go to iTunes (12.0.1.26) and turn the
>>> relay off and then back on again (under the AirPlay icon) and it's
>>> delighted to begin anew.
>>
>> Sounds like your Airport Express may be a little too far away from your
>> wireless router, or there is something between the two that causes
>> occasional interference with the signal, such as a microwave oven,
>> wireless phones, and so on.
>
> It worked for 3 years at this distance without a hiccup, till Yosemite.

It's certainly possible that iTunes itself is the cause of the
malfunction. I haven't streamed much of anything to my Airport Expresses
here after upgrading to Yosemite.

>>> Trying to remedy this, I go to AirPort Utility and click on the unit's
>>> icon. The display states "ip address 0.0.0.0" and "This version of
>>> Airport Utility doesn't support this base station". I'm unsure why
>>> it's called a "base station" but that's just another confusing name.
>>
>> As others have said, the Airport Express is multi-functional and can be
>> configured to be a base station if needed (handy for travel).
>
> I'm not sure how that would work, but it's intriguing.

It works though Airport Utility, where you configure the device as a
router. Then you connect an Ethernet cable between the Express and an
Ethernet port in your hotel or wherever, and the Express acts as a
portable wireless router. Very handy for people who are travelling or on
the go. You can also configure it as a little repeater or range extender
for an existing wireless network. For instance if you have a device that
does not support WiFi and instead requires Ethernet, you can configure
an Express to extend your existing WiFi network and plug the device into
the Ethernet port of the Express so rather than running a super-long
Ethernet cable across the house, you just put the Express and the device
next to each other wherever you want in the house. Expresses are quite
handy. : )

>>> How do I go about making contact with this unit so I can change it's
>>> configuration? I have found a v5.6.1 but it has a .pkg installation,
>>> and I'm afraid it's going to screw things up relative to all other
>>> AirPort operations. I've found a version of it but it has the
>>> slash/circle indicator on the icon, indicating it can't be run under
>>> this version of the OS.
>>
>> The latest version of Airport Utility works fine with all three of my
>> various vintage Airport Expresses. Are you using the latest?
>
> I am. Today I got an A1264 and it works without a problem, but tells
> me the A1084 isn't supported. I moved the A1084 elsewhere and it
> continually loses contact. It's now in the bottom of the closet as I
> await another used A1264. Things now work great. Thanks for the input.

I guess it's too old. I haven't bothered to look at the model numbers on
mine. I know one is much older than the other two. Maybe it would behave
the same way.

[Christian]

gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:

> This particular Airport Express unit is a little wall wart with an
> ethernet, usb and stereo head-phone plug. It seems they've used this
> monniker for dramatically different units.

Airport Express is used for Airport base stations which can do Airplay.
There are so far only 3 versions:

Airport Express: Model A1084 / A1088, sold June 2004 to March 2008

Airport Express 802.11n (1st Generation): Model A1264, sold March 2008
to June 2012

Airport Express 802.11n (2nd Generation): Model A1392, sold since June
2012

The first two are the "wall-plugged" stylem, while the newest comes with
a cable to connect to the mains outlet.

Information about all equipment Apple ever made can be found in the
application "MacTracker, available for free from www.mactracker.ca


===

David Empson <dem...@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

> It also has the ability to output audio (via AirPlay) and connect to a
> USB printer.

None of the Airport Express ever had a USB port. You may be referring to
"Airport Extreme".


===

gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:

> How do I go about making contact with this unit so I can change it's
> configuration? I have found a v5.6.1 but it has a .pkg installation,
> and I'm afraid it's going to screw things up relative to all other
> AirPort operations.

You should have the Airport Utility application in your Utilities
folder. Try this first. If this does not work, download an earlier
version (I used to have one of the UFO-shaped Airport Extreme which did
not work with the newer Airport Utility but required 5.33 or so).

These versions can co-exist on the same computer. For security, just
rename the one you already have to something else (maybe "Airport
Utility New") before installing the older one.

Then open it and just select this specific station. You don't break
anythin on the others (if you have others), unless you try to change
them with the old program.

The Airport Utility does nothing with your network - it is just a
program to change settings on your equipment.

If you do not have the possibility to run the old version os Yosemite
(which you use), you can use a windows computer to run an older version
of the Airport Utility for Windows.

Christian
--
Christian F. Buser, Hohle Gasse 6, CH-5507 Mellingen (Switzerland)
Hilfe fuer Strassenkinder in Ghana: http://www.chance-for-children.org

[Michelle Steiner]

In article <1lxl3jv.1l05jf91rruyqqN%christi...@ghanart.org>,

Christian <christi...@ghanart.org> wrote:

> > It also has the ability to output audio (via AirPlay) and connect to a
> > USB printer.
>
> None of the Airport Express ever had a USB port. You may be referring to
> "Airport Extreme".

The MacTracker app you referenced says that all generations of the
AirPort Express have one USB port.

Further, Apple says "Print wirelessly from any room.
On the back of AirPort Express is a USB port that零 made for your
printer. Just plug it in and instantly it零 like having a printer in
every room. And since AirPort Express works with Mac and PC, everyone
in the house can take advantage of one centrally available printer."
<http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC414LL/A/airport-express>

[Neill Massello]

Christian <christi...@ghanart.org> wrote:

> Information about all equipment Apple ever made can be found in the
> application "MacTracker, available for free from www.mactracker.ca
>
>
> ===
> David Empson <dem...@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:
>
> > It also has the ability to output audio (via AirPlay) and connect to a
> > USB printer.
>
> None of the Airport Express ever had a USB port. You may be referring to
> "Airport Extreme".

You should have consulted Mactracker before posting that.

[gtr]

On 2015-01-01 15:45:08 +0000, Jolly Roger said:

>> It worked for 3 years at this distance without a hiccup, till Yosemite.
>
> It's certainly possible that iTunes itself is the cause of the
> malfunction. I haven't streamed much of anything to my Airport Expresses
> here after upgrading to Yosemite.

Which models of Airport Express are those?

iTunes might well be the culprit. My fall-back position until I
replaced the Airport Express was to go to the Apple TV (in the same
room as the AE, and set it to play music "shared" from my music library
on the iMac. That never produced problems.

>>>> Trying to remedy this, I go to AirPort Utility and click on the unit's
>>>> icon. The display states "ip address 0.0.0.0" and "This version of
>>>> Airport Utility doesn't support this base station". I'm unsure why
>>>> it's called a "base station" but that's just another confusing name.
>>>
>>> As others have said, the Airport Express is multi-functional and can be
>>> configured to be a base station if needed (handy for travel).
>>
>> I'm not sure how that would work, but it's intriguing.
>
> It works though Airport Utility, where you configure the device as a
> router. Then you connect an Ethernet cable between the Express and an
> Ethernet port in your hotel or wherever, and the Express acts as a
> portable wireless router. Very handy for people who are travelling or on
> the go. You can also configure it as a little repeater or range extender
> for an existing wireless network. For instance if you have a device that
> does not support WiFi and instead requires Ethernet, you can configure
> an Express to extend your existing WiFi network and plug the device into
> the Ethernet port of the Express so rather than running a super-long
> Ethernet cable across the house, you just put the Express and the device
> next to each other wherever you want in the house. Expresses are quite
> handy. : )

Clipped for possible travel consideration.

Regarding the "extender" configuration. I thought when configured it
WAS an extender, in that I can always connect an ethernet device
withouth any additional configuration options. I just configured the
newly-received A1264, configured it with minimal information and it
worked immediately. Does this mean that in order to make use of the
ethernet port (which I was going to attempt today with DirecTV), needs
additional twiddling first?

>> Today I got an A1264 and it works without a problem, but tells
>> me the A1084 isn't supported. I moved the A1084 elsewhere and it
>> continually loses contact. It's now in the bottom of the closet as I
>> await another used A1264. Things now work great. Thanks for the input.
>
> I guess it's too old. I haven't bothered to look at the model numbers on
> mine. I know one is much older than the other two. Maybe it would behave
> the same way.

I think there are only two models of these wall warts. If you open
Airport Utility, I think you'll find two of them giving you feed back
when you click their icons, while one will say that the current version
of Airport Utility does not support it.

[gtr]

I have two Airport Express units (A1084, A1264). Both have USB ports.
Neither are "extreme".

[David Empson]

gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:

> On 2015-01-01 15:45:08 +0000, Jolly Roger said:
>

> > gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:
> >
> >> Today I got an A1264 and it works without a problem, but tells
> >> me the A1084 isn't supported. I moved the A1084 elsewhere and it
> >> continually loses contact. It's now in the bottom of the closet as I
> >> await another used A1264. Things now work great. Thanks for the input.
> >
> > I guess it's too old. I haven't bothered to look at the model numbers on
> > mine. I know one is much older than the other two. Maybe it would behave
> > the same way.
>
> I think there are only two models of these wall warts.

There are. The model number is the only visible difference, but they
have an obvious feature difference: A1084 is 802.11b/g (2.4 GHz only),
while A1264 adds 802.11n (2.4 GHz) and also supports 802.11a/n (5 GHz).

A1084 (original) is not supported by Airport Utility 6. You need Airport
Utility 5.x to configure it.

A1264 (802.11n) is suported by Airport Utility 6.

There is also a more recent Airport Express with two Ethernet ports,
which is the same shape as an Apple TV. This one supports simultaneous
dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz at the same time).

I own all three, but my A1084 has been lent to a friend as it was
surplus to my requirements.

> If you open Airport Utility, I think you'll find two of them giving you
> feed back when you click their icons, while one will say that the current
> version of Airport Utility does not support it.

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz

[Jolly Roger]

On 2015-01-01, gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:
>

> Regarding the "extender" configuration. I thought when configured it
> WAS an extender, in that I can always connect an ethernet device
> withouth any additional configuration options.

"Extend *wireless* network" means that the *WiFi* network will be
extended. You are correct that in either mode, the Ethernet port is
functional.

[gtr]

On 2015-01-01 23:43:14 +0000, Jolly Roger said:

> On 2015-01-01, gtr <x...@yyy.zzz> wrote:
>>
>> Regarding the "extender" configuration. I thought when configured it
>> WAS an extender, in that I can always connect an ethernet device
>> withouth any additional configuration options.
>
> "Extend *wireless* network" means that the *WiFi* network will be
> extended. You are correct that in either mode, the Ethernet port is
> functional.

I understand. Finally!

So now I've connected my A1084 Express in another room, sitting right
next to the *wireless* extender; my A1301 Extreme. I had hoped it
would make the A1084 more consistently operative if they were sitting
next to each other. There has been no notable change in the respect
that the A1084 cuts out for a moment or, more frequently, until I
explicitly re-establish the connection. If I come back to iTunes I see
it's got a yellow AirPlay icon and indicates lack of connection with a
yellow yield sign with an exclamation point.

So, assuming the A1084 *can* function correctly, is it logically
accessing wifi via the A1301 Extreme next to which it sits? Or is it
attempting to get it's signal from elsewhere? Part of this question
may have to do with the layout provided in Airport Utility, over which
I apparently have no control as it seems to re-position the mapping
depending on which room I have moved one of these gizmos.

Here's the map:

http://grab.by/DsZi

Stanley is the new and fully operational A1264, "Living Room" is the
erratic A1084; it has no orange function indicator but it never does,
even when it is working okay.

[Jolly Roger]

I'm not sure I understand why you have things configured such that
AExtreme_Cousin and LivingRoom are connecting to Stanley, rather than
having all three of them connecting directly to AExtreme. Is Stanley
configured the same way as LivingRoom in Airport Utility? Is Stanley
physically closer to AExtreme than AExtreme_cousin?

[gtr]

On 2015-01-02 15:56:20 +0000, Jolly Roger said:

>> So, assuming the A1084 *can* function correctly, is it logically
>> accessing wifi via the A1301 Extreme next to which it sits? Or is it
>> attempting to get it's signal from elsewhere? Part of this question
>> may have to do with the layout provided in Airport Utility, over which
>> I apparently have no control as it seems to re-position the mapping
>> depending on which room I have moved one of these gizmos.
>>
>> Here's the map:
>>
>> http://grab.by/DsZi
>>
>> Stanley is the new and fully operational A1264, "Living Room" is the
>> erratic A1084; it has no orange function indicator but it never does,
>> even when it is working okay.
>
> I'm not sure I understand why you have things configured such that
> AExtreme_Cousin and LivingRoom are connecting to Stanley, rather than
> having all three of them connecting directly to AExtreme.

As I say above, I didn't direct the chaining in any manner at all (to
my knowledge) other than the assumption that AExtreme as the unit wired
directly to my cable modem would be first.

> Is Stanley configured the same way as LivingRoom in Airport Utility? Is Stanley
> physically closer to AExtreme than AExtreme_cousin?

Stanley was configured as was "Living Room", though years apart: In a
default configuration. Both, on advice from Apple, were configured
sitting next to my computer to ensure easy connectivity, and later
toted off to other parts of the house.

When that image was uploaded the Cousin may have been marginally closer
to Stanley but was sitting next to Living Room. If I bring the Cousin
back in the office the map relationship shuffle. I just wonder if any
of the apparent mapping actually indicates it's activities.