Airport express network keeps cutting out

joyanne

I have hooked up my airport express and have a new network set up but the signal keeps cutting out after I have been online awhile. This happens particularly after I have been inactive for a few minutes or have put the computer to sleep. Can anyone explain what is happening and how I might get a regular steady signal?

thanks
Joyanne

rgray

This sounds like an interference issue. Get a utility like the AirTrafficControl widget to see other networks around you. Select a channel that is as far as possible away from the others. Other sources of interference are 2.4mhz telephone systems, microwaves and so on.

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Z06jerry

You could also try turning on "Interference Robustness" located under the wireless tab in "Wireless Options"

BTW, I am a bit confused about your statement of losing the wireless while your computer is asleep??

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joyanne

I can't find the wireless option tab. I was looking under systems pref both under the apple and in Safari. I am on tiger so if you could be more explicit I would appreciate the help.

The connection drops sometimes after I have been in sleep mode and go to open it again. The neighbour kitty corner tous just got an apple laptop and I am wondering if her signal may be interfering with ours.

Could anyone tell me how to secure oor network? Apparently it is an open one. It set up automatically when I plugged into the modem so I didn't need to do anything and I don't know where to find the place to secure it or how to do it.

Thanks,
Joyanne

rgray

Open Airport Utility in your Utilities folder in the Applications folder. When it opens click the Manual Setup button.
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Then you will see the Wireless tab.
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Select WPA2 under "Wireless Security" and give yourself a 'magic word'.... You can adjust the channel here too, but you need to find out what channels are being around you - see post above re: AirTrafficControl.

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HowEver

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/...etup_Guide.pdf

Follow this guide very closely.

You're going to use Airport Utility to give your network a name and password, and then create a "Closed Network" (see the picture above where Z06jerry does *not* have this box checked? it should be) so your neighbours won't even see your wireless network.

With a name and password, WPA2 security, and a closed network, you can restrict access further--to only specified computers. You click the "Access" tab and specify the MAC address of your wireless cards (inside your computer) and any other device you hook up to the network.

After that only someone with all this information, and a computer that you have allowed, will get on your network.

Oh, and about the network cutting out: are you sure there are no microwaves or cordless phones near the router? You haven't said.

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joyanne

thank for the instructions.
I think I have it set up now. I went to the Air Traffic Control link but got scared off by the warning about losing data after installing so I didn't install it. Dp you know why that warning is there? Does it automatically find a clear signal? Do you have it installed?

thanks
Joyanne

joyanne

Thanks HowEver,

No there are no cordless phones or microwaves in the same room as the airport express although we have cordless phones in the house. I will use your info to set up a closed network as that is exactly what we need here because there are only 2 of us on the express.

Thanks
Joyanne

HowEver

Rather than using a dashboard widget, you could try a simple small app like iStumbler:

iStumbler 98

It's unlikely that neighbours' networks will interfere much with yours, although for people in apartments and townhouses where the other network (or microwave or cordless phone, etc.) could just be on the other side of a wall, this is indeed possible. Sometimes moving your router (and following the security recommendations above) is all it takes.

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joyanne

However,

After I set the option to closed network, I lost the connection all together and so I reset the airport and got a connection that was called Apple Network with a buch of numbers. How do I change the name of the network and set it up so that it is accessed only by us? I am afraid that if I change anything, I will lose the connection again.

thanks
Joyanne