I should already know -- do you use BOTH 5GHz AND 2.4GHz?

[sfx2000]

can't agree with that... needing a special app that's version-fragile, to config the products!
I have that with my Netgear GS ethernet switch. It uses outdated standards for a GUI session.

Well, as long as the device can be configured...

WRT54G for example - use a modern web browser - and it basically doesn't work..

There's a couple of low-end managed switches that are in the same boat - not a browser, but something written in C#/donNet stuff, and that needs Windows to even touch...

meh...

 

[sfx2000]

Of course they could provide both a web interface AND an application interface -- it's not like either is a terribly complicated coding project.

I'm sure they asked this question in house - and that was asked and answered...

Little known secret though about Airports - run OS X server 10.6 or earlier, and it takes the airports from SOHO to SME level, mainly because of how the API was designed...

 

[turnstyle]

There are ways to trick the installer for 5.6.1 on Mac to extract the older version on newer OSX... that restores things...

Have any references? I looked into it, but gave up, and wound up running the AirPort Utility on an old PC. (I'm trying to cycle out that PC, so it would be useful if I could manage the AirPort from my Mac.)

 

[sfx2000]

Have any references? I looked into it, but gave up, and wound up running the AirPort Utility on an old PC. (I'm trying to cycle out that PC, so it would be useful if I could manage the AirPort from my Mac.)

Ask the google - lots of sites have this info...

 

[turnstyle]

Ask the google - lots of sites have this info...

I did that first, nothing worked -- perhaps something changed between when you tried and when I did (I would have been using Mavericks or Yosemite) -- I finally gave up and used the PC...

 

[sfx2000]

Actually it does work - just need to find the right site for info - I suggest Macintouch or http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

but basically - do this... I'm not going to help any further - you have to break it out from the installer, as the installer does the version check, not the application itself - it runs fine under 10.10.5...

Download the disk image (you can find it here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1536).

1. Mount the disk image and drag the install package (AirPortUtility.pkg) to your desktop.
2. Fire up Terminal and prepare to show off…
3. Make a temporary directory and cd into it: mkdir tmp ; cd tmp
4. Extract the Payload file from the install package with xar, here's the command: xar -x -f ~/Desktop/AirPortUtility.pkg Payload
5. The result will be a directory named AirPortUtility.pkg (just like the file, but now you can move into it to get the files you want). Inside will be a file called Payload that is a compressed archive of AirPort Utility.app.
6. So our next move is to extract the app. Here's the command: gzcat AirPortUtility.pkg/Payload | tar -xf -
7. When it finished there will be three new folders Applications, Library, and System. Your nice new copy of AirPort Utility 5.6.1 will be in the Utilities folder inside of the Applications folder. Use Finder to rename it (assuming you want to keep version 6 as well) then drag it to your Applications/Utilities folder.
8. The other two folders hold the AirPort Base Station Agent and its supporting files. I'm not sure if you need/want these or not. As best I can figure the agent does two things: it checks for updates for AirPort Utility and it monitors AirPort base stations for problems. You probably already have a version running as it comes with the system and it seems to know how to talk to both versions of AirPort Utility (I got nagged about updating).
9. The final step is to launch AirPort Utility and confirm that it works. You'll probably want to go into preferences and turn off the option to check for updates. If all is good you can remove the temporary directory: cd .. ; rm -rf tmp (or drag it into the trash with Finder).

 

[turnstyle]

I just looked again, found something:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/23480404#23480404

Does that sound right to you?

 

[stevech]

Sunsetting ... one way to cause eWaste and new sales!

 

[turnstyle]

I tried one of those apps to extract the Airport Utility 5.6 -- running current OSX (10.10.5) -- seems no dice.

You can launch it on 10.10.5?

 

[sfx2000]

http://coreyjmahler.com/2013/10/24/airport-utility-5-6-1-on-os-x-10-9-mavericks/

 

[azazel1024]

Have any of you owned a TP-Link router long term? Because it aint that great. Their support is abysmal (warranty is useless if you cant even get in touch with customer support and god help you if you try to actually get a replacement or repair) and their hardware tends to fail faster than anything else I have deployed (consumer side, their enterprise/small business stuff is pretty decent). Spend the few extra bucks and get something from asus, netgear, dlink or in all honesty, just get the Airport Extreme. Sure the windows utility can be a bit janky but once you set it up, its one of those routers that will rarely if ever fail on you or require a reset. Bash apple all you like but the damn things rock solid. And +1 to the T-Mobile AC1900 router. Find a local official T-Mobile store, they're pretty common in most metro areas and they sell the $200 asus router for $100 or $0 if you're their customer. Hard to beat at those price points, especially considering how simple it is to flash it into a regular Asus AC68u should you desire (took me about 40 minutes total) and run merlin on it.

Yes, I think I have 6 of them at the moment. Though I think I've only owned the oldest of them for about 4 years.

My oldest is a WDR3600 that has been running in my garage for a little over a year (3 years inside before that). Still running perfectly even though it is on a mechanical timer powering it off at 12am and back on at 8am every day. From 0F up to 105F in my garage.

The only issue with any of them that I have is that the cheapest, the 841nd does not like Channel 1 and 2 for whatever reason. If you select them wireless through put drops down in to the hundreds of KB/sec. All other channels work great (and frankly I don't really use the thing anymore. It was a temp garage/outdoor AP for about 18 months until I got a nicer indoor AP and the WDR3600 got moved to the garage).

 

[theramenman]

Yes, I think I have 6 of them at the moment. Though I think I've only owned the oldest of them for about 4 years.

My oldest is a WDR3600 that has been running in my garage for a little over a year (3 years inside before that). Still running perfectly even though it is on a mechanical timer powering it off at 12am and back on at 8am every day. From 0F up to 105F in my garage.

The only issue with any of them that I have is that the cheapest, the 841nd does not like Channel 1 and 2 for whatever reason. If you select them wireless through put drops down in to the hundreds of KB/sec. All other channels work great (and frankly I don't really use the thing anymore. It was a temp garage/outdoor AP for about 18 months until I got a nicer indoor AP and the WDR3600 got moved to the garage).

They've been very hit or miss for me. I buy them all from newegg, so its not like some shady back alley deal with counterfeit/subpar products or anything like that. I help set up maybe 6 or 7 of my friends with TP-Link products of various types since they're affordable and they usually get the work done, but as I said, their support is abysmal (at least here in the US) if/when one of their products kick the bucket. In general, they're pretty reliable as in they'll work for years usually, but working doesn't necessarily mean consistency or polish, which are two things I find TP-Link products lack imo. For the price they're good but I figure if you're a power user who needs consistency or someone who desires more polished products with actual support/warranty when needed, look elsewhere. Of course everyone's experiences will vary and no one on this forum has enough routers to make any statistically significant assumptions, but I digress.

 

[azazel1024]

I can't really comment on their support. On reliability, well, mine have held up under relatively trying use cases well. They certainly use a lot less power than some manufacturers like Asus. For features, they are typically on the lower end of features (never really have VPN abilities or limited, no download servers, etc.)

Performance wise, they tend to be around the top of the heap for wireless performance compared to their peers. Netgear and Asus are sometimes better, but often by a modest amount or not at all in some bands.

Price wise, they tend to be about 2/3rds the price of Netgear or Asus.

Power user, well, I'd recommend them since a number of their models will take OpenWRT, which is going to likely be a darned sight better than trying to use the Netgear or Asus firmwares. "power user" with the very big air quotes, yes, Netgear or Asus (or Linksys) as their firmwares have a lot more features, but those features are still missing a ton of things I'd want as a real power user (VLANs being one of them).

 

[Explore]

Is there some "I'll kick myself later for getting AC1750" scenario that I should be taking into account?

I ask because Tim describes AC1900 as the "current sweet spot" -- but given this conversation, I don't actually understand the point of AC9000 (at least for my network).

And now I'm thinking about getting an Archer C8, whereas previously I was leaning toward the ASUS RT-AC68U.

I'm still clunking along on a Netgear WNDR3700, and I'm quite looking forward to finally making the switch to ac!

If you are still over thinking this decision. Amazon and Best Buy have the Archer C9 for $113.