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RIP Apple Airport
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Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Nobletucky
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
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Not enough planned obsolescence to be a real Apple product.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
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Not surprising. None of them have been updated in years. And it's a tough business to be in. Most people use whatever equipment their ISP gives them. So the volumes sold had to be minuscule. I can see how they concluded that it wasn't worth the effort to keep competing in that space when Eero, Linksys, Amplifi, etc. are all delivering compelling next-gen mesh routers.
OAW
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Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
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I thought this already happened? Or am I confusing it with time capsule? I figured they were indistinguishable.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
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In Nov. 2016 there were reports that the team responsible for the Airport line had been disbanded and the engineers reassigned to different areas within Apple. But they were never confirmed IIRC.
OAW
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Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
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Such is the quality of reporting that such rumors are accepted as fact.
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Irvine, CA
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Apple no longer makes routers, displays, or Mac minis anymore!
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
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So now, Apple wants us to “bring your own storage” for Time Machine no matter what. That’s an unsatisfactory answer...
I also wonder if they will discount the “remaining stock” of AirPorts/TimeCapsules. I’m still running a 4th Gen AirPort Extreme as my router/WiFi base station and though it’s doing fine, there’s always room to expand a network...
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Administrator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: California
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If they're requiring 3rd party storage, then the APFS debate about file checksums just got a boost. 3rd party hardware can't be insured by Apple to have exceptionally low error rates.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: UKland
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About time Apple's networking got put out to grass. Overpriced, under performing and way too non configurable. When they stopped the TimeCapsule from joining an existing wifi network it was basically all over. Far far far superior Mesh setups were just the final volley of arrows into a body that stopped breathing years ago..
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This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: UK
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I always like the Airport gear and I'm sad to see it go. I guess I'll have to hunt for a new preferred solution for multi-node networks. I'm gonna bet theres nothing thats as easy to setup or as reliable at reconnecting after power failures etc.
I wish they would appoint an official infrastructure partner that they could gift or license some of their discontinued tech to. Mac OS Server and Airport could allow for a nice little business for a startup or a nice sideline for one of the giants like Cisco/Linksys, Netgear or even Belkin.
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I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: UKland
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Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep
I'm gonna bet theres nothing thats as easy to setup or as reliable at reconnecting after power failures etc.
Just as long as your requirements go no further than each node within 30cm of each other and nothing more substantial than some rice paper between them. Or you only need three nodes. Or you don't mind swapping your routers network for Apples own one, or switching everything off and on again repeatedly. Or the power supply in your time capsule melting every three weeks. Or wifi speeds a quarter of ell the newer tech. Or paying over double for all that.
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This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
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Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Nobletucky
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On the other hand, I've been using an Airport Extreme for several years, and have had flawless service. It has easily covered my 2,100 sq.ft home, even when broadcasting from a room on the far end of the house. The only times I've had to reboot the thing have been on those rare occasions when Comcast upgraded their service and required me to reboot. It easily handles streaming movies and AirPlay without a stutter or drop. Set-up and management is dead simple, as it should be.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
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Yeah... mine aren’t too bad.
I get 120 down through a wall, haven’t had a TC melt (knock on wood), and I haven’t needed to reboot one for years.
They’re expensive (Apple), but that balanced out for me using Airport Expresses as the backbone for my “whole home” audio. Ten years ago, $100 a node was a steal.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: UKland
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Well my experience (over 10 years and dozens of clients) is that as long as it's simple, the house if reasonably small and not made of anything hard then yes Airport is adequate. However as soon as the usage case steps outside these fairly limited needs then it's always been nothing but trouble.
I have a fair number of clients with largish houses (some with very large houses( and a lot made from the local stone which is high in iron and usually used in very thick blocks. In these cases I have spent huge amounts of time messing around with Airport set ups to only get adequate results. Newer mesh systems cope fine. When they were released the flat Airport Extreme etc were pretty good. But time didn't stand still and Apples wifi offerings did.
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This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: UK
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I don't do as many as I used to so the tech was more up to date then, but aside from the Time Capsules dying ( I actually have one I repaired but I don't leave it on as I don't really trust me soldering) I never really had the problems you list. They were always the easiest setups and the most reliable. When customers had me use alternatives they would fall out of sync all the time. The Airports would often last years with only occasional reboots required and often in large houses. Bath stone is a nightmare for wifi.
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I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
Status:
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I’ve definitely been working with Airports long enough to have had plenty of problems with them, but I was somehow lucky enough to come up with a decent configuration long ago, and it’s hummed along ever since.
Range-wise, with the layout and composition of my apartment, if I want 120 down everywhere, that requires one node per 750 square feet (70 square meters). If I don’t mind it being only 40 down in places, I only need one per 1500 (140).
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Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status:
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All I know is I had no trouble setting up my Time Capsule to deal with online gaming NAT stuff with no issues. That to me was worth the apple tax, because jesus, routers.
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Irvine, CA
Status:
Offline
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My favorite is the Airport Express, which is a small device that directly plugs into the wall. Has audio input also.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
Status:
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Originally Posted by mindwaves
My favorite is the Airport Express, which is a small device that directly plugs into the wall. Has audio input also.
Mine too. It’s exactly like a laptop power adapter. They stopped making that model, but I’ve got five of them still going strong. One just celebrated its 14th birthday.
My favorite part of the Express design is analog and optical out of the same jack.
Keyspan also used to make an IR receiver which plugs into the USB slot, that natively controls iTunes.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
Status:
Offline
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One thing I won’t miss about the Airport is the tower model packaging.
You think it’s like this:
A normal two-piece box, with a lid, and a bottom cupping the product.
Here’s how it really is:
The bottom is like a cap on an upside-down bottle. First time I opened one, I took off the plastic, gave it a shake, and the Airport went bouncing across the floor.
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Last edited by subego; May 2, 2018 at 03:01 PM.
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
Status:
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I have found that my 4th Gen AirPort Extreme has one (of only three) bad Ethernet port, so I’m starting to think about replacing the old girl.
Since Apple is not helping in this area, what are some other brands that provide simultaneous dual band operation, a separate guest network, and (if possible) shared USB connections (storage/printers)?
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: 888500128, C3, 2nd soft.
Status:
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Originally Posted by mindwaves
My favorite is the Airport Express, which is a small device that directly plugs into the wall. Has audio input also.
It’s an audio output.
I have the old-style wallplug hooked up to the kitchen stereo, and the newer, flat type for the living-room stereo.
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