Can I toggle Wi-Fi on AirPort Extreme without recreating the network?

It seems like if I want to turn my wireless network off, then when I want to turn it back on again, I have to start from scratch and create the network, as if for the first time. Is there a way to just turn the wireless network I created off and on, without having to re-create it every time?


Also, has this router been discontinued or something? It doesn't even show up on product lists. I have to search for documentation, etc.


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AirPort Extreme

Posted on May 29, 2025 10:30 AM

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May 30, 2025 9:41 AM in response to g_wolfman

I don't think you can turn the Wifi on and off in an Airport Base Station


Sure you can....separately......for both the 2.4 GHz signal and 5.0 HGz signal.


AirPort Utility > Edit > Wireless > Wireless Options






Just select Off to turn off the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz signal. When you want to turn the Wi-Fi back on, select Automatic for either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHZ.



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May 29, 2025 12:16 PM in response to Cynthia Smyth

If you’re turning off the AirPort Extreme power and turning it back on (such as during a power failure and restoration), it would seem a battery has failed.


The lithium batteries usually used last roughly ten years. (Access to the main board and to the battery is not too difficult, based on the I Fix It teardown, if you have some Torx wrenches and a spudger or two, and an inclination to try the swap.)


The most recent of the Apple Wi-Fi devices were sold from 2013 to 2018, and are no longer offered.

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May 29, 2025 5:18 PM in response to MrHoffman

Yeah, that wasn't my question. The power is not going out. I have a roommate who doesn't like the wifi being on all the time. He thinks it will fry your brains, and the Airport is in his bedroom. So, he just wants to turn the wifi network off, while the router is still on, and operating as the router for all our ethernet wired devices. Then the next day I want to turn the wifi back on, but I can't see where/how to do that without going through the whole process of "creating a wireless network" in the Airport Utility.

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May 29, 2025 6:35 PM in response to Cynthia Smyth

I’m not sure how many routers implement what amounts to two profiles, one with the Wi-Fi on, and one with it off. You don’t have one here. Shutting off the network discards the network settings, and requires re-entering those.


Though I’d be inclined re-enable the Wi-Fi with a different SSID, and not share that. That’s assuming I can’t relocate the ISP connection elsewhere.


My sympathies.

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May 30, 2025 9:30 AM in response to Cynthia Smyth

Well, I suppose it would not help to tell your roommate that they are being constantly bombarded with wireless signals from cellular towers, television signals, satellite, police, airplanes, emergency vehicles and the list goes on.


They are fooling themselves if they think that a drop in a bucket is going to make any difference in what is in the bucket.


Tell your friend to wrap their head in aluminum foil.





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Can I toggle Wi-Fi on AirPort Extreme without recreating the network?

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