Airport Express keeps dropping connection.

[alfredo]

It was good the first few days, but now it is dropping out and not reconnecting, even after I get it back to the steady green.

I'd like to wipe out everything and start all over again. How do I do that?

[moggie]

1. Have you tried switching to a different channel?

Disclaimer: although I have an Airport Express, I have the wireless turned off, and I can't remember what wireless adjustables it has. But many wireless droputs are caused by interference with nearby kit operating on the same or an adjacent channel, so wireless routers generally allow you to manually choose a channel (in this case, you'd use Airport Utility for that). See if a different channel proves more reliable. I've had to do this with my Time Capsule a couple of times, because of neighbours with wireless networks. I think the current Airport Express can run at 5 GHz (my old one predates that) as well as the usual 2.4 GHz, so you could try that too: you usually get less interference with 5 GHz.

[alfredo]

2. I just changed the settings, and now it won't appear. I will reset

it when i get back from my appointment.

It will usually work with Airtunes.


Could it be that I am about a mile from a Doppler Radar station?

[moggie]

3. Sorry, I don't know

I'm not really a radio person, so I don't know how likely doppler radar is to interfere with wifi.

[alfredo]

4. I changed to 5 gig and it wouldn't recognize the airport.

After I settle in from my day I will try changing channels.

[moggie]

5. Do you use 802.11n?

5 GHz operation is part of 802.11n. If you're not sure whether your Mac can use 802.11n, search the Apple store for "802.11n enabler" (and read the entire page!), which will tell you what you need to know. If you have a Mac which can't do 802.11n (such as a Mini, or a pre-Intel Mac), you're stuck with 2.4 GHz.

I used to use 5 GHz for my Macbook, but had to switch back to 2.4 when I got my Ipod Touch, which is 802.11b/g only.

On edit: iStumbler is a useful little application:

http://www.istumbler.net/

It'll tell you what wireless networks are around, on which channels. Currently, I'm seeing 26 different networks, which shows you how crowded the airwaves are in an urban area.

[alfredo]

6. I have the mini. I just got back from a nap where I used airtunes to

sing me to sleep. So airtunes works well.

[Pierre.Suave]

7. The mini does not have 802.11N capability

so the 5ghz option is useless as that is "N" only.

I would suggest following the suggestions above, find out what channels all your neighbors are on and pick one they are not using. Luckily, very few people change their router settings so it will not be hard to pick an unused one.

[alfredo]

8. Tomorrow I will play with it a bit more. It seems to default to channel 11

I changed it to two, so I will see what it does. When I have the Airtunes on, they bars go all the way to the top. Usually that means it's not working. If the top one or two are grayed out, it's working.

[alfredo]

9. I changed Channels and it works now. Thank you!!!!