Basic Troubleshooting

This page will assist you with any basic problems you're having with Airfoil. Follow the steps in this troubleshooting guide and your problem may disappear. After each step, test Airfoil again.

Connection Troubleshooting

If you're having problems connecting to remote speakers or staying connected, please follow these steps.

Test iTunes
First, test iTunes with the remote speakers. If iTunes can't find the remote speakers, or can't connect to them, Airfoil won't be able to either. You'll need to figure out the issue with your network before Airfoil will work.

Check The Firmware
Check that the firmware on your AirPort Express is fully up-to-date. Open AirPort Admin Utility in your Applications->Utilities folder, and check the firmware. As of this printing (February 2006), 6.3 is the most current firmware for the AirPort Express.

Reduce Network Traffic
Airfoil needs to use a fairly large amount of bandwidth when communicating with the AirPort Express. If other processes on your network are using too much bandwidth, the connection may skip or fail. To avoid this, reduce network traffic.

Use 802.11g
802.11g, or AirPort Extreme, allows for the fastest connection to the AirPort Express. Using 802.11b, the original AirPort found in older machines will usually not be fast enough for audio transmissions. Be sure to use 802.11g with Airfoil, and be aware that having any 802.11b machines on the network will slow everything down to 802.11b speeds.

Basic Troubleshooting

Update
Be sure you're using the latest version of Airfoil. Check by using the 'Check For Update' command in the Airfoil menu.

Reset the AirPort Express
Sometimes the AirPort Express unit itself will have an issue. The best way to fix this is to reset the unit, by pressing and holding the small reset button on the AirPort Express, next to the audio jack.

Delete Preferences
Try the old OS 9 standby of deleting the application's preferences. On your OS X hard drive, go to your User folder and open Library/Preferences (~/Library/Preferences) and delete the file "com.rogueamoeba.Airfoil.plist".

Check for a messages from Airfoil
Did Airfoil give you any error messages? If so, pay attention to them! These error messages are designed to tell you something is wrong, and to help us diagnose the problem if you can't fix it. You may also see error messages if you check Console.app (located in /Applications/Utilities/Console).

If all else fails...
If these steps haven't fixed your problem, please check the online FAQ, then email us for support. Send mail to airfoil@rogueamoeba.com, and we'll try to get your issue solved.