Connecting a Mac Airport Extreme Router

[davellis42]

I searched for this, but no results. Hard to believe no one has had this problem before, but here goes.

Last night I purchased an Airport Extreme router for my home network. I am using the DSL connection through the Westell 6200 modem. Attempting to connect via PPPoE.

Once I get everything up and connected, I receive an error in my Airport utility that states there is no PPPoE server.

I´ve attemted reboots, resets, etc. I´ve called att support and verified the internet connection is up and it does work when I try to connect directly (how I am posting this now) and I know my att username and password work properly as I can connect to my modem using the 192.168.1.254 address.

I've attempted to change my modem into bridge mode, but that failed horrendously as I couldn't access the modem and the airport extreme wouldn't connect wirelessly.

So, at the end of my rope. Any help out there?

[Rotated Grid]

Hard to say for sure off the bat.  I have the Motorola 2210, not the Westel, but if it works the same way, out of the box, it creates the PPPoE connection out to AT&T and the Mac connects directly to it and connects via DHCP.  Alternatively, the modem can be bridged and the PPPoE connection can be made either from the Mac in the Network settings Preference pane when the Mac is connected directly to the modem, or the Airport Extreme can host the PPPoE connection set using the Airport Utility.  If the Airport is set to host the PPPoE connection, the Mac should then be set to connect to it via DHCP.  It's easy mix up one of those settings in the chain of things and get no results.  I can say this last case is the most typical setup for Airport Extreme:

Mac (connect via DHCP) -> Aiport Extreme (share connection via DHCP & host PPPoE) -> Modem (bridged) -> DSL

I was set up this way just fine for over 3 years.  That said, I have a problem where the Airport Exteme intermittently drops the connection with that error: "No PPPoE server can be found"  It's remotely possible you have done things right, and are seeing a worse case of what I'm seeing.

If you bought the Airport Extreme new, take advantage of free support from Apple, not just AT&T.

[sjtaffee]

I am sorry to say that I am having a similar issue with ATT's 2WIRE 2701HG-B  Modem.

Dissatisfied that the 2WIRE does not support 802.11n, and wanting a stronger signal overall in my house, I purchased an Airport Extreme and started the configuration process. I expected a typical easey install with Mac products, but that did not happen.

I eventually lost all internet connectivity when I followed the directions outlined in this ATT support article:

http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB401538#fbid=fZ8ArWwaU9-

Therefore, I cannot recommend the above as a solution.

Some people blame the 2WIRE, and urge replacing it with something like an Actiontec GT701D. I'm hesitant to throw another $50 at the problem, as others report being able to use the 2WIRE/Airport Extrement combination just fine.

ATT Online Support reported that my DSL line was looking poor, and so a tech is coming to my home to check that out. However, I think that would be unrelated to the problem with the Airport Extreme.

Specifically, I was able to setup the Airport Extreme and create a home network and connect to it, but the Airport Extreme could not connect to the Internet. The 2WIRE sees the extreme as a device, and Airport Extreme sees the 2WIRE. But for some reason the Extreme is not getting what it needs to connect through the modem to the Internet. I would expect that the default settings on both devices should "just work," but apparently that is not the case. The PPoE connection never completes from the Airport Extreme to the 2WIRE. Very, very frustrating.

So, right now I am sitting between two companies both fingerpointing at the other. I'm not sure I will be able to resolve this on my own, so perhaps this community can help or it's off to plop down more $ with the Geek Squad. sigh....

[sjtaffee]

I'm pleased to report that with the help of others in this community and Apple's forums, I was able to resolve my issue. The key is to put the Airport Extreme into Bridge mode. 

Following a firmware update I applied to the Airport Extreme as part of my troubleshooting, I had even more  problems as the device would no longer complete its setup after a reset. It would go through the normal process and almost complete setup and then stop with an "unexpected error" message.

I found another person who had been able to solve this issue by resetting and then, with all ethernet cables disconnected from the the Airport Extreme, complete the setup process and then plug in the ethernet cable from the 2Wire to the WAN port on the AE. Once I did this, I had only one issue remaining: 2NATs. This, I solved, by putting the AE into bridge mode and 10 seconds later, a green light! Phew! Very frustrating. If Apple wants to make some more money, go into the modem busness and make all this stuff just work.