Airport suddenly needs to be rebooted every day

[Jack B. Pollack]

I have a client with an AirPort Extreme. He has been using it for several
years without a problem. Suddenly EVERY day (definitely when he wakes up in
the morning and sometimes at other points in the day - as far as I can tell
when the computer is idle) the status light blinks yellow.

When this happens he looses the wireless connection. If I plug an ethernet
cable into the AirPort it shows up under the AirPort Admin Utility, but is
unable to read the configuration to determine what the AP is unhappy about.
A simple power cycle fixes the problem.

I first thought it might be a problem with the AP so I replaced it with a
new one (having the latest firmware).
Same problem.

I have since replaced all ethernet cables and the Time Warner Road Runner
cable modem. Same problem.

I even tried a LinkSys router in front of the AP and put the AP in bridge
mode, but no joy.

A few other points:

If I sleep the MacBook I CAN NOT get the problem to happen (I am only
waiting max 10 min)

We "coincidently" replaced his 3 year old MacBook with a new one (with OS
10.61) a few days before this problem started. I cant see how this could be
the problem as it happens when the computer is sleeping and the fix is to
reboot the AP not the computer, but the timing is awfully suspicious.

I dont know what else to try. Any ideas?

Thanks

[Christoph Gartmann]

In article <5Yydnb2JStwK4mTX...@earthlink.com>, "Jack B. Pollack" <N...@NE.nothing> writes:
[...]

>A few other points:
>
>If I sleep the MacBook I CAN NOT get the problem to happen (I am only
>waiting max 10 min)
>
>We "coincidently" replaced his 3 year old MacBook with a new one (with OS
>10.61) a few days before this problem started. I cant see how this could be
>the problem as it happens when the computer is sleeping and the fix is to
>reboot the AP not the computer, but the timing is awfully suspicious.
>
>I dont know what else to try. Any ideas?

I would assume that the new 10.61 MacBook sends some garbage data to the
AP when it goes idle, causing the AP to hang. To verify this assumption, switch
the MacBook off in the evening and see, whether the AP hangs the next morning.
According to my assumption it should not. In case it does hang the next
morning, I would assume some WLAN garbage from the neighbourhood. This would be
difficult to verify and track.

In addition there is an update for Snow Leopard to 10.6.2. You could give it a
try and see whether it will help.

Regards,
Christoph Gartmann

--
Max-Planck-Institut fuer Phone : +49-761-5108-464 Fax: -80464
Immunbiologie
Postfach 1169 Internet: gartmann@immunbio dot mpg dot de
D-79011 Freiburg, Germany
http://www.immunbio.mpg.de/home/menue.html

[Mac Dude]

In article <hdc1b1$fg0$1...@news.belwue.de>,
gart...@nonsense.immunbio.mpg.de (Christoph Gartmann) wrote:

Something is inconsistent here: the OP says at first he CAN NOT make the problem
happen when he sleeps the MB, and later that it "happens when the computer is
sleeping."

???

M.D.

[Christoph Gartmann]

In article <do-10F382.22...@202-177-16-121.kddi.net.hk>, Mac Dude <d...@not.use> writes:

>Something is inconsistent here: the OP says at first he CAN NOT make the problem
>happen when he sleeps the MB, and later that it "happens when the computer is
>sleeping."
>
>???

The OP says it definitely happens when the computer was asleep over night.
But he could not make it happen putting the computer to sleep for only ten
minutes. So there are two different things: in the first scenario the computer
goes to sleep automatically, in the second one this is done by the user. And
of course there is the difference in the time (ten minutes versus one night).

There is still one question: what is the status of the AP in the morning before
the computer is up?

[Jack B. Pollack]

I'll have him check the status before the computer wakes.

"Christoph Gartmann" <gart...@nonsense.immunbio.mpg.de> wrote in message
news:hde40j$afq$1...@news.belwue.de...

[us...@domain.invalid]

It seems to me that the computer is not the cause, as the problem happens when the computer is
asleep. Could it be that a neighbour has started to use the same wireless frequency and is hijacking
it (sees it on the network and tries to interrogate it)?
Try changing the channel.

Colin

[Jack B. Pollack]

Thanks. This was one of my thoughts also.

<us...@domain.invalid> wrote in message
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