Resetting the AirPort Base Station (Dual Ethernet)

This document describes how to reset the AirPort Base Station (Dual Ethernet).

Note: This article pertains to the AirPort Base Station (Dual Ethernet). If you have the earlier AirPort Base Station (Graphite), see Resetting the AirPort Base Station (Graphite).

The reset button is used to return the base station to its default state or allow access to the base station when the password has been misplaced or forgotten.

This pictures shows the location of the reset button. It is located on the rear, next to the connection ports. You need to straighten the end of a small paper clip to press the reset button.





Important: Be sure you know which icons identify the local area network (LAN) Ethernet port and the wide area network (WAN) Ethernet port .

The LAN port icon:




The WAN port icon:




The reset button on the AirPort Base Station (Dual Ethernet) can be used to perform either a hard reset ("forced reload," "firmware upload mode") or a soft reset.

Soft reset

The soft reset removes the password and the closed network settings. The base station is accessible from any of the ports while in the soft reset mode (WAN, LAN, or wireless).

To perform a soft reset:

1. Press the reset button once.

The middle LED blinks at a rate of once every second while in soft reset mode. You can connect to the soft reset base station at the IP addresses listed in the factory default settings document.

Hard reset

A hard reset removes current settings from the base station. You must then connect to the base station using the AirPort Admin Utility and upload AirPort 2.0 or later software to return the base station to its default settings. A base station in a hard reset mode is only accessible through the LAN port, not via wireless connections.

To perform a hard reset:

1. Unplug the power adapter.
2. Press and hold the reset button.
3. Plug in the power adapter.
4. Release the reset button after at least two seconds total have elapsed (including the time required to plug in the power adapter while keeping the reset button depressed).

The middle LED blinks at a rate of once every second while in hard reset mode.

Verifying a hard reset

To determine if a soft reset was performed when a hard reset was intended, you should check the base station's name. If the name remains unchanged as a user-defined name, then a soft reset occurred. If the name was reset, then the hard reset was successful. Another way to tell if the base station is in hard reset mode is to try to access the base station with a wireless connection or from the WAN port. If the base station is only available through the LAN port, then the base station is in the hard reset mode.

Characteristics after a hard reset

• Base station is visible from the LAN port only.
  
• The default AirPort Base Station Name is: 00-03-93-xx-xx-xx Note: The "xx-xx-xx" portion of the name corresponds to the MAC address of the WAN port, which is listed as Ethernet ID #1 on the bottom of the base station.
  
• The AirPort Base Station IP address is 192.42.249.13 from the LAN port.
• Note: After you upload AirPort software, the IP address of the LAN port returns to 10.0.1.1. However, you may connect to the hard reset base station using any IP address to upload the software. The steps in the documents linked below use DHCP configuration for simplicity.
  

Note: Wireless Internet access requires an Internet service provider (fees may apply) and AirPort (or AirPort-compatible) wireless Ethernet card and base station. Some ISPs are not compatible with AirPort. For more information, see Requirements for wireless Internet access.