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Bugger.

Oh well. I'll be interested to know what we were doing wrong.

Best of luck.

I don't know where my last rather jubilant post just went, but the good news is that both units started working!

I went back over your instructions and changed a few settings, then decided to swap over the units. After I entered all the information again they worked. No idea why - maybe I had settings wrong, maybe after all the work I confused one for the other, I've no idea.

Then after I got the successful verdict and tested it a few times, I went to protect the network by selecting WPA/WPA2 and adding passwords. Bummer. Now the #1 is flashing amber and green, as is the #2 unit, and iPhone connection is intermittent.

Still, we're 99% there thanks to you for your help and patience (I said it more eloquently in the lost post, but the meaning's the same). Take a well earned break!

classic....

they were clearly behaving like petulant children pushing you to (as all children can) just below your breaking point.

good to hear you are almost there.

funny you tried swapping units, was driving into work just before and thought to myself...

"i wonder what would happen if Kevin swapped the Airports over now that no 1 is playing up".....

My children (now in their late 30's the four of them) didn't ever stretch me as far as this problem has.

The Wireless Security thing is weird. Every time I set it back to "None" both units play ball.

But enter the passwords and the main unit does the amber/green flashing with intermittent internet.

As well (I didn't think we could get away with it that easily!), the iPhone won't select a wireless network on its own - I have to go through Settings and select it.

Small beans however, I'm sure it will be easy enough to fix (just like last time!)

read something at somepoint about making sure WPA security was set to "WPA2 only"

....found it, talking about express, but may be the key

"My Airport Express was blinking amber and I could not get it to rejoin my LAN. Here's what I discovered and it works like a charm. You need to make sure that you select WPA2 for both devices and encryption type "WPA2 Only". Then, if your "express" is showing up on the WDS page of the Airport Admin Utility - DELETE IT and then search for it again with the "+" sign. Then just follow the next window's instructions and remember to change the password from "public". Good luck!"

Not sure about the deleting bit...see how the switch to "only" goes???

by the way, if you did end up putting manual IP addresses in then you may run into problems down the line if your router assigns the same address to a client (iphone/PC/laptop) on the network, or even worse the two Airports get conflicting IP addresses.

If you managed to get it working without manual addresses, all will be well.

Re the iPhone problem, no idea. Have only seen one in my day dreams. I await the official vodafone 3G one.....maybe a reset is in order?

That worked. We're on a roll here. Give up your day job!

One interesting thing I noticed... roaming is not seamless. I can get a 3 bar signal close to #1, then watch it as I simultaneously walk to #2 while accessing a couple of websites on the fly.

By the time I get to the top floor it's down to 1 bar, but if I wait a few minutes it will get back up to 3.

At the moment I'm sitting right next to #1 after coming back down, and only getting a 2 bar read. After a restart it's back to 3.

Just as well I'm not relying on it to save lives or cure cancer.

Signal strength is a tricky one, you could muck around with your channels, making sure that they are always the same. You may now be into the world of interference problems,

i.e. microwaves, cordless phones, other wireless networks.

Also placement of the second unit will be important, there will be a sweet spot somewhere.

By the way, didn't finish that last post properly, if you did end up having to use manual addresses then you'll need to get your router to start issuing addresses above a certain number so that the airport/airports manual addresses stay protected.....

please tell me you are on DHCP, I sense another long thread....

by the way, didn't quite work out which bit "worked" in your post above, the iPhone problem or the WPA problem (or both)?

I didn't put in any manual IP addresses. I can barely remember my own name after this marathon.

I await the 3G iPhone also, if only for some vast reduction in data costs. It's presently $11 for a Mb. Daylight robbery. And I'm sure they slip in a few extra dollars here and there knowing we can't check the data in or out.

This is one of the main reasons that I want to go to wi-fi - and get it working reliably - because on a couple of occasions a few days back it dropped out and I was on Vodafone's Ouch account. It only took 10 seconds to rack up a $10 charge.

I won't reset the iPhone. There's every likelihood I'll get trapped in an upgrade cul de sac and end up with a brick.

But I hope you'll get one soon. It's worth every red cent. In many ways it predates the scenario in Microsoft's future vision at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F1u36Y-qlE. Of course I hope Steve gets there faster than Bill.

alsta wrote:
Signal strength is a tricky one, you could muck around with your channels, making sure that they are always the same. You may now be into the world of interference problems,

i.e. microwaves, cordless phones, other wireless networks.

Also placement of the second unit will be important, there will be a sweet spot somewhere.

I set the Wireless Options to 1Mbps to extend the range, and checked the interference robustness box. Found right at the start that fixed a lot of problems stemming from my 5 wireless security cameras. But of course it has now screwed them up. Do you know anything about wireless cameras...ah, forget it!

Sweet spot was crucial. Upstairs is on the edge of a 1 bar reception, and when I shifted #2 into the pantry it clapped out. Experience told.

please tell me you are on DHCP, I sense another long thread....

Yes I am. Relax, your job is done.

... by the way, didn't quite work out which bit "worked" in your post above, the iPhone problem or the WPA problem (or both)?

It's all working now, and I don't care how.

Cheers.