Airport Extreme Base station cannot connect to Westell C90-36R516-01 DSL modem

[MaxNVH]

Hi,

I just purchased a new Airport Extreme Base station for my 15" Macbook Pro. I set everything up this morning per the docs (all cables are connected properly) but the Airport Extreme is flashing an amber LED, which means it cannot establish communication to the network/Internet.

I'm using an old Westell C90-36R516-01 DSL modem that has been working fine up until now. I've tried switching out the Ethernet cables and different powering on/off combos but nothing appears to work. When I connect the Ethernet cable directly into my laptop, I have to power down the DSL modem, power it back on, and then do several refreshes before I finally get an Internet connection.

I read a previous post about unplugging the modem overnight and then plugging it in the next morning to wipe out the MAC address setting. I will be trying that tonight, but I was wondering if there was anything else I could try in the meantime? Or, is it simply a matter of having to get a newer modem from Verizon because this one is 7-8 years old? 

Thanks for any help you can provide. 

[Provider7]

I'm not overly familiar with the airport. If I remember corrrectly those older modems don't have the capability to store your Verizon user name and password.  However there may be a section in the airports menu that will allow you to set it up for a pppoe connection.  If so it should allow you to store your username and password there.

[MaxNVH]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Ok, I'm going to plead ignorance on this one. What is a PPPOE connection? AFAIK, the DSL modem has always been set up for DHCP.  I've never had to enter a username or password (at least I cannot readily remember entering one) to connect any of my previous routers/computers to the modem. Is this something only needed for a PPPOE connection? And did Verizon provide me with the username and password that I should use?

[Provider7]

When you first had dsl installed you needed to create a verizon email address and password.  This is your username...(without the Verizon.net)  pppoe is the type of connection Verizon supplies to your house.  This method of providing broadband requires a username and password.  usually this information is stored in your modem unless you have an older unit.

[MaxNVH]

Ok, thanks for the clarification.

I tried using a PPPoE connection. Entered my username and password and restarted the Airport Extreme. It came back that it could not locate the PPPoE server.

I tried setting it back to using DHCP and it still gets the "Invalid IP address" message that it cannot communicate with the DSL modem.

Then I unplugged the Ethernet cable from the Airport Extreme and plugged it into my laptop and I have an Internet connection again.

Any other ideas? If the unplug the modem overnight trick doesn't work, I guess I should contact Verizon DSL support directly. 

[Provider7]

Hi Max,

Let's start from the beginning,  

The ethernet from the modem should be wired to the Wan port of the Airport...

On page 28 of the users manual it says if the light flashes amber you should unplug the power of the modem, wait a few seconds and power up the modem.

I presume you installed the Airport utility from the disk that came with the Airport?

For more information about the reason the light flashes

Open AirPort Utility, select your base station, and then choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu. Click

Base Station Status to display information about the flashing light

Here is a link to the Manual  CLICK HERE

I was hoping to find out more about the Airport utility to see what's it's capable of doing...

[MaxNVH]

Yep, that's the manual I followed.

The ethernet cable from the modem is plugged into the WAN port.

I have unplugged the modem, waited for over a minute, and plugged it back in numerous times to no avail.

The Airport Utility is installed and I have tried using it. When I tried setting it to use PPPoE, it restarted the Airport Extreme and then stated that it could not connect/locate a PPPoE server. When I tried using DHCP, it says that the IP address is invalid and to check my Internet connection or contact my Internet provider. I also looked at some of the manual configuration options. I tried releasing the DHCP address, but clicking the button didn't appear to do much. The same address was still there.

It seems like there is a communication issue between the modem and the Airport Extreme, especially since I can disconnect the ethernet cable from the Airport Extreme and plug it into my laptop and have Internet access. I'm also checking some of the Apple forums to see if there are an known issues with the older Westell modems. I guess the newer Westell modems/routers can be set to be a "bridge" with the Airport Extreme, which solves some issues. Apparently, the older modems cannot. 

[Provider7]

When you set it for pppoe, did you enter the user name and password that you created when you first got Dsl?

[MaxNVH]

Yes, I did. I tried the original username that Verizon provided (combo of letters and numbers) and the username that I changed it to, which I use to log into my DSL account and check my email. Neither worked because the a PPPoE server could not be found (according to the Airport Utility). I just tried it again and got the same message. 

[Provider7]

One way to make sure you know your using the correct user name and  password is to login to your account at

http://www.verizon.net/central/vzc.portal

The other thing you may need to do is access the original modem...in the internet address bar type 192.168.1.1

this should get you access to the modem...the username is admin   the password is password

once there you may have to find the setting to a bridged connection