--- title: "Apple AirPort restart, firmware, NAT-PMP and DNS: a practical guide" url: "https://kilobat.app/routers/apple-airport" description: "Manage an AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule or Express in AirPort Utility on a Mac: restart, final firmware, NAT-PMP, channels, guest Wi-Fi, DNS and resets." --- Router · Apple # Apple AirPort restart, firmware, NAT-PMP and DNS AirPort Extreme, AirPort Time Capsule and AirPort Express are Apple’s Wi-Fi base stations. Apple has discontinued them all. You manage them in AirPort Utility on a Mac, iPhone or iPad; there is no web page. Sign in AirPort Utility on a Mac App AirPort Utility for iPhone and iPad Password Each base station has its own password, set when you set it up in AirPort Utility. It is separate from the Wi-Fi password. Models AirPort Extreme 802.11ac, AirPort Time Capsule 802.11ac, AirPort Extreme 802.11n, AirPort Time Capsule 802.11n, AirPort Express 802.11n **Checked 1 November 2026.** AirPort base stations on their final firmware (7.9.1 for 802.11ac models, 7.8.1 for 802.11n models) with AirPort Utility 6.3.9 for Mac, which still ships with macOS. AirPort Utility for iPhone and iPad can also set up and monitor base stations. ## Sign in to the Apple AirPort **Factory default.** After a hard reset, Apple sets the base station password to `public`. Set your own straight away under **Edit › Base Station**. 1. Open AirPort Utility from **Applications › Utilities** on your Mac. 2. In the graphical overview, select the base station, then click **Edit**. 3. Enter the base station password if asked. 4. To change it, click **Base Station**, enter a new password and click **Update**. Forgot it? Press the reset button for 1 second (a soft reset). For five minutes the password is cleared, so you can set a new one in AirPort Utility. If you change nothing, the old settings return. ## Restart it properly 1. Open AirPort Utility and select the base station. 2. Enter the base station password if asked. 3. Choose **Base Station › Restart** from the menu bar. If AirPort Utility can’t reach it, unplug the base station for a few seconds and plug it back in. With several base stations, restart the main one, plugged into your modem, last. ### Restart from an iPhone or iPad 1. In AirPort Utility, tap the base station, then tap **Edit › Advanced › Restart Base Station**. ### Schedule a restart Apple’s AirPort guides describe no scheduled restart. **Kilobat can help.** Kilobat Pro’s [router check-up](https://kilobat.app/docs/home-network#router-checkup) learns how fast this router usually answers, says when a restart is due, and checks the next day whether it helped. ## Update the firmware All AirPort products are discontinued. The final firmware is 7.9.1 for the 802.11ac AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule, and 7.8.1 for 802.11n models. Apple calls these final, so no further security fixes are coming. 1. Restart the base station first. 2. In AirPort Utility, select the base station to see its details and firmware version. 3. If an **Update** button appears next to the version, click it. 4. With several base stations, start with the one furthest from the main one and update the main one last. Each base station restarts after updating, and its network and shared disks are unavailable for a while. To be told about updates, choose **AirPort Utility › Settings** and tick **Check for updates automatically**. ## See connected devices Apple’s AirPort Utility guide describes no list of connected devices or their traffic. It covers these related tools instead. 1. Open AirPort Utility. The graphical overview shows your network and its base stations. 2. Hold the pointer over a base station for more details about it. 3. To give a device a fixed address, click **Edit › Network** and add it under **DHCP Reservations** by MAC address. 4. To limit when a device may join, use **Network › Enable Access Control › Timed Access Control**. **Kilobat can help.** Kilobat’s [new-device alerts](https://kilobat.app/docs/home-network#new-devices) tell you when a device you haven’t seen joins your home Wi-Fi. **Tools › Devices** lists what answers on the network, and you can name each one. ## UPnP and port forwarding Apple documents no UPnP on AirPort base stations. Its pages describe their automatic port mapping as NAT-PMP, and mention UPnP only for third-party routers. ### NAT-PMP 1. In AirPort Utility, select the base station and click **Edit**. 2. Click **Network** and check **Router Mode** is **DHCP and NAT**. 3. Click **Network Options**, tick **Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol** and click **Save**. 4. Click **Update**. The base station restarts and the Wi-Fi drops until it is back. ### Port mapping by hand 1. Under **Edit › Network**, click **Add** below **Port Settings**. 2. Choose **IPv4 Port Mapping**, enter the device’s private IP address and the service or ports. 3. Click **Save**, then **Update**. Give the device a DHCP reservation first, so its address doesn’t change. **Kilobat can help.** Kilobat reads router traffic counters over UPnP IGD, which Apple documents only for third-party routers. On an AirPort network, its call reports can’t ask the router which other device is busy. ## Prioritise calls and gaming Apple’s AirPort Utility guide has no QoS, traffic priority or bandwidth settings. Timed Access Control only allows or blocks a device at set times. **Kilobat can help.** Run Kilobat’s [stutter test](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/test-call-stutter) before and after you change priorities, to see whether calls really got smoother. ## 2.4 and 5 GHz, and the channel By default a dual-band AirPort uses one Wi-Fi name for 2.4 and 5 GHz. You can give 5 GHz its own name, which leaves the main name to cover 2.4 GHz for older or smart-home devices. 1. In AirPort Utility, select the base station and click **Edit**. 2. Click **Wireless**, then **Wireless Options** near the bottom. 3. Tick **5GHz network name** and enter a different name. 4. Click **Save**, then **Update**. ### Change the channel 1. Open **Edit › Wireless › Wireless Options**. 2. Choose a channel from the **2.4 GHz Channel** and **5 GHz Channel** menus. 3. Click **Save**, then **Update**. The best channel is picked automatically by default, and Apple says Automatic is usually most efficient. Devices follow the new channel by themselves. **Kilobat can help.** Kilobat shows which band and channel your Mac is on, and `kilobat channels` suggests the least crowded channel. More in [crowded Wi-Fi channels](https://kilobat.app/guides/wifi-channel-congestion) and [Wi-Fi on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/wifi-analyzer-mac). ## Mesh: which node a device uses AirPort has no mesh, but you can extend a network with more AirPort base stations. They share the same network settings. 1. Connect the new base station’s WAN port to a LAN port on the main one by Ethernet, if you can. 2. On your Mac, click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar and choose the base station under **New AirPort Base Station**. 3. Follow the setup assistant, which offers to extend your existing network. Apple notes that throughput is better with an Ethernet link than a wireless one. **Kilobat can help.** When your Mac moves to another node or band, Kilobat’s Health says so, so a weaker node isn’t taken for a router problem. See [find a better Wi-Fi spot](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/find-better-wifi-spot). ## Guest network 1. In AirPort Utility, select the base station and click **Edit**. 2. Click **Wireless** and tick **Enable Guest Network**. 3. Change the guest network name if you like. 4. Set **Guest Network Security** to **WPA2 Personal** or **WPA/WPA2 Personal** and enter a password. 5. Click **Update**. Choosing **None** makes an open network. With several base stations, turn the guest network on at the router base station first, then on each extender. **Kilobat can help.** Kilobat can show a network as a QR code, so guests join with their phone’s camera: [share Wi-Fi with a QR code](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/share-wifi-qr-code). ## DNS settings 1. In AirPort Utility, select the base station and click **Edit**. 2. Click **Internet**. 3. Enter your chosen servers in the **DNS Servers** fields, and **IPv6 DNS Servers** if needed. 4. Click **Update**. Apple advises changing the DNS fields only if your provider or network administrator tells you to. **Kilobat can help.** Before you change DNS, [compare resolvers with Kilobat](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/pick-faster-dns) to see which answers fastest from your home. ## Connection status and logs 1. Open AirPort Utility. A green dot next to a base station means it is working properly. 2. A flashing amber dot means it can’t reach the network or internet. Click it to read the status message. 3. To have AirPort Utility open when there is a problem, choose **AirPort Utility › Settings**. 4. Tick **Monitor AirPort base stations for problems**. Flashing amber and green means a start-up problem; the base station restarts and tries again. Apple’s guide describes no event log to read. **Kilobat can help.** When the line keeps dropping, Kilobat’s [provider report](https://kilobat.app/docs/health#report) lists outages, latency and speed tests against your plan, ready to send to your provider. ## Manuals and downloads - [AirPort Utility User Guide for Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/aputility/welcome/mac) - [AirPort Extreme 802.11ac technical specifications](https://support.apple.com/en-us/112419) - [AirPort Time Capsule 802.11ac technical specifications](https://support.apple.com/en-us/112420) Links go to the maker’s own pages. ## Questions **Is it still safe to use an AirPort base station?** It still works, but Apple has discontinued it and its firmware is final. Expect no fixes for newly found security flaws. **What is the difference between a hard reset and a factory reset?** Holding the reset button for about 5 seconds is a hard reset, which keeps a saved copy of your settings. A factory reset, holding it while plugging in, erases saved settings too. It only exists on 802.11ac models with firmware 7.9.1. ## Sources - [Apple Support: Update the firmware on your AirPort base station](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201519) - [Apple Support: How to reset your AirPort base station](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102330) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Change your base station’s name and password](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprt2700/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: If you forget your AirPort base station, Time Capsule or Wi-Fi password](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprt2754/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Keep your base station up to date](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprt2704/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Direct network traffic](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprt2741/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Reserve a DHCP address](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprt2757/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Control access to your Wi-Fi network](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprt2774/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Set wireless options](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprt3bba689c/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Extend an existing Wi-Fi network](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprtbc2ebc62/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Set up a guest network](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/ap22913/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: Connect to the Internet using DHCP](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprtdf42b453/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: See your Wi-Fi network](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/aprt0783d962/mac) - [AirPort Utility User Guide: If your base station’s light is flashing](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/aputility/alap11006/mac) - [Mac Help (macOS High Sierra): If Back to My Mac doesn’t work (enable NAT-PMP)](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh27034/10.13) - [Apple Support: Back to My Mac requires AirPort base station or UPnP-capable third-party router](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/100953) Checked on 1 November 2026. ## See what your router can’t tell you Kilobat is a Mac menu-bar app that watches the network from your side: which app is using it, whether the Wi-Fi, the router or the provider is slow, and why a call froze. [Download for Mac ↓](https://kilobat.app/downloads/Kilobat-1.31.1.dmg?via=site) ``` brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat ``` ## More router guides - [AmpliFi](https://kilobat.app/routers/amplifi): AmpliFi is Ubiquiti’s consumer mesh Wi-Fi line, with a touchscreen router and MeshPoints. - [ASUS router](https://kilobat.app/routers/asus): ASUS RT, ROG Rapture, TUF Gaming and ZenWiFi routers all run ASUSWRT. - [Cudy Wi-Fi router](https://kilobat.app/routers/cudy): Cudy’s Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems, such as the WR3000 and M3000, share one web interface at cudy.net. - [DrayTek Vigor](https://kilobat.app/routers/draytek-vigor): DrayTek Vigor routers are business-grade DSL, fibre and Wi-Fi routers, popular with small offices and enthusiasts, especially in the UK and Europe.