How to connect an Airport Express to Time Warner Cable modem?

This worked for me: I hooked into the modem, wrote down the 2 sets of DNS numbers from the network setting pref pane, then powered it all off, set up the router and cables, then plugged in the modem. Then I went back to network settings and manually added the DNS numbers that I had written down. Voila! Worked like a charm. Thanks Cameron for the jumpstart..

While the above suggestions are good too, 95% of the time I've found problems with an airport hook up it gets resolved by "power cycling" all the equipment. You said you rebooted several times, but did you unplug from power for about a minute? Cable Modems and stuff seem to store settings unless they are "power cycled" (which yes, the entire minute being unplugged DOES matter... not just 5 seconds).

In addition to the above suggestions though, your Airport might have some settings from your DSL hook up leftover, rather than it being your computer that has different settings. You might want to do a hard reboot of your airport by plugging it in, taking a pen and holding down the restart button for I think 8 seconds, or until the light blinks green 3 (or 5? I can't remember) times. This erases your airport's memory and makes it think it's fresh out of the box. you will need to set up a new network and such, but this may flush out the offending pieces of information and get you going.

Power cycling doesn't do the trick here. I've tried it with Time Warner in NYC and it works for about 10 mins. My Airport Express worked with other providers, and I've tried at least 3 other wireless routers with the same results. They don't know what they're doing over there, technically, and they have zero desire to fix it because they have no competition, so there is no motivation to do better.

Call them and complain. That's all we can do. But everyone who has had a bad experience in this regard needs to let Time Warner know that in this day and age, one cannot expect a customer to have just one computer connected directly to a cable modem. They need to support at least one router per major manufacturer. This isn't too much to ask for.

We must demand better.

hello, i have a similar problem with my dad's airport extreme.

my step mom unplugged the power strip it was one while cleaning and since then it wont turn on. the cable modem next to it seems to be working perfectly fine but the airport won't even turn on(no flashing lights). I am not sure what to do. I didn't set up the thing. I have tried the holding done the button in the back but no lights at all.

I looked at the manual and it says you have to plug it in to another computer to set it up. Do you believe I have to do that to fix it? I hope it isn't fried.

any help would be nice.

I had difficulty setting up an Airport Express with a Time Warner Cable modem. I tried resetting all the devices, and still was not able to access the internet. A phone call to Apple Care was very helpful. They suggested I unplug the power on the cable modem, and also remove the coaxial cable. Then I reattached the coax, then the cable modem power...Voila...surfing the internet.

i was lurking here a few days ago as i had exactly the same problem. i tried the last suggestion - pulling out the co-ax and unplugging the power and was able to get it up and running. so happy! then a couple of days later... internet's gone again. i spent about 5 hours today plugging and unplugging, changing settings, power cycling, everything. and now i don't even have internet when i plug straight into my G5. AND when I try and access my airport setup i get loading...... and it never pulls up the settings. AND the reset button on the airport is doing nothing (yes am holding it down upwards of 10 seconds). i am really hoping i haven't broken in. no i didn't throw it against the wall (but i REALLY wanted to). the worst thing is now i have no internet at all. i can't even plug in direct to find help (i'm at work right now so finally online). can someone offer any more suggestions? i'm really at my wit's end.
emma.

Emma -

Not sure if I am reading it right, but you never specify here how long you unplug the power to the modem... believe it or not it DOES make a difference! Sometimes it needs a "power cycle" which means you unplug the power cable from the back of the modem for at least 60 seconds. I can't explain to you why the time makes a difference, only that it does from my experience. In times of frustration, I will power down my computer, unplug the modem and the airport and walk away for a while... just to make sure I'm giving enough time. Then, I plug the modem in first and let it settle for a few minutes, then the router until the light turns green, then I turn my laptop back on. See if that works.

In addition, you mentioned that the internet wouldn't work even when you were plugged directly into your modem? That means this isn't an airport problem... it's a computer or modem or service problem. If it really doesn't work when plugged in directly, call your internet provider and have them help you troubleshoot it because that is a problem they are supposed to help you fix. If the problem is your airport they won't go near it because it isn't one of their products.

Hope that helps!

-Tom

I have the same issue. Unplugged everything to clean up the cable-nest under the disk. Plugged back in - no connection. Spent an hour on the phone with Time Warner, tier 2 tech support. Direct connected to their modem, can access the Internet. via the airport, nada. Their final comment - works with our equipment, the airport is your problem. Have cycled everything off for hours, reconnected - nothing. Reset the airport to defaults and totally resetup - nothing. It's like the Airport will not take the DHCP assisgned address from Time Warner.

Hi all, thanks for all the replies! My problem ended up being solved in another way though. I moved. When we set up the new internet (with Time Warner and an airport) we didn't have any problems... go figure!

The following solution worked for me when I switched from DSL to Time Warner for my internet connection. At first I could not connect to the internet through my Airport Extreme (AE). When the tech left, I had the Ethernet cable from the modem directly connected into my MacBook Pro (MBP) and the internet worked fine. I then moved the cable to the AE and got nothing. What was worse, when I then moved the cable back to the MBP, there was nothing there either.

I called tech support and learned that Time Warner uses a “dumb” modem, that is, it cannot handle changes in what it is connected to. (I have cable internet service on Long Island with Cablevision, and their modems seem able to handle changes.) The solution, the tech told me, was to reset the modem by disconnecting the power (I waited 60 seconds). When I did that, the internet reappeared when the Ethernet cable was directly plugged into the MBP.

My set up previous to changing to Time Warner was as follows: my MBP communicated with the AE wirelessly, and two PC’s connected by Ethernet cable. In addition I had my printer connected to AE and printed from all three computers via Bonjour.

The instructions that come with AE say to have everything plugged in when you start it, so with everything plugged in to its proper place, I reset the AE by sticking a paper clip in the reset hole for several seconds until the light started flashing. Then I reset the modem by disconnecting it for 60 seconds then reconnecting it. Then I reset the AE by unplugging it for 60 seconds and then reconnecting it. Then I opened up Airport Utility and clicked on “Continue” (not “Manual Setup”) and the utility configured everything perfectly with only a few inputs from me (for example, yes, I did want to set up a network, and it asked me to create passwords). Then everything worked just as before.

Note: When I had attached the Ethernet cable directly to the MBP, it only worked if I shut Airport off because the MBP will only try to connect via a wireless connection if AE is on. So if you have been fussing around, shutting things off and on trying to make this work, make sure Airport is turned on.

Second note: If you have PCs using your printers via Bonjour, you may have changed the name of your network and they won’t work. Just run Bonjour again and it will find the printer and the new network.

Make sure the setting is NOT set to a static IP address. I had the same situation and it was resolved by changing the setting to accept a renewing IP address. I am not IT technical so if I am using the wrong terms, sorry.

Al

So After spending two hours - here is the fix. I am using mac mail 3.6, with OS X Version 10.5.7 with a new Airport Extreme. Go to Mail, Preferences, Account information, On the bottom for outgoing mail server, select none and also check Use only this server. It sounds counter to what it should do, but it worked for me. It is using the validation from prior for incoming mail.

After 3 hours of fiddling around with all these suggestions - someone at Apple ACTUALLY fixed my problem.
I just got Time Warner, Arris modem - had the problem of not being able to connect to the internet though I could if I was connected directly to the modem via ethernet.
The FIX - was a complete power cycling of the modem, unplugging the power cord, REMOVING THE BATTERY, then upscrewing the coaxial cable.
I guess just undoing the power cord, leaves the power light on, which identifies that there is still a battery storing old information - blocking the assigning of an IP address to the airport express.
I waited 60 seconds, leaving the ethernet cable plugged into the AE, then screwed the coaxial back in, put the battery back in and then plugged in the power cord.
Now I'm back in business and so relieved. I hope this helps someone!
Cheers to all!