Apple Releases AirPort Utility 5.5.3 for Mac and Windows - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Releases AirPort Utility 5.5.3 for Mac and Windows

airport iconApple today released AirPort Utility 5.5.3 for both Mac (10.8 MB) and Windows (10.1 MB). The updates to Apple's software for managing the AirPort Express Base Station, the AirPort Extreme Base Station, and Time Capsule primarily address an issue that may cause the application to crash during setup.

This update contains bug fixes including the following:

Resolves an issue that caused the AirPort Utility to unexpectedly quit during setup

The Mac version requires OS X 10.5.7 or later, while the Windows version requires a minimum of Windows 7 SP1, Vista SP2, or XP SP3.

Related Forum: Networking

Popular Stories

8 CarPlay Features in iOS 27 Feature

Which iOS 27 CarPlay Features Actually Work in Your Car?

Thursday September 17, 2026 4:17 am PDT by
In iOS 27, available now, CarPlay gets its biggest update in years, but some features depend on what type of car you have rather than your iPhone model. Some of the biggest additions won't do anything in the vast majority of vehicles on the road today. Here's how the new features pan out. Works in Any CarPlay Vehicle Custom widgets: In iOS 27, CarPlay is no longer limited to Apple's handful ...
iphone 18 pro max prepare

iPhone 18 Pro Max Requires 'Prepare to Ship' Battery Drain Before Shipping

Friday September 18, 2026 4:27 pm PDT by
The iPhone 18 Pro Max has a battery capacity over 20 watt-hours, which means there are additional shipping requirements. If an iPhone 18 Pro Max needs to be shipped somewhere, its maximum battery capacity has to be limited through firmware. According to Apple, the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses an "innovative battery-firmware solution" that limits battery capacity to below 20Wh between when the...
Apple Watch New Charging Puck

Here's Why a New Apple Watch Charging Puck Was Just Released

Wednesday September 16, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
The new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 have hardware changes that allow for faster charging, but you will need to use the new version of the Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger included in the box in order to achieve this boost. If you need extra ones for your own charging stands or travel or so forth, Apple released the new version of the charger on its online store last week, with...

Top Rated Comments

199 months ago
Software Updates

Looks like the ability to cache Software Updates is coming. From AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/AirPortSettings.strings:


"bsUP.productName" = "Store Apple software updates on this %@";
"bsUP.description" = "Apple software updates that are copied to this %@ are available to anyone using this network.";
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
199 months ago
Screenshot before and after the update

Before: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4310180/01%20Time%20Capsule.png

After: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4310180/02%20Time%20Capsule.png
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghostlyorb Avatar
199 months ago
I always love updates
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Intell Avatar
199 months ago
Looks like the ability to cache Software Updates is coming. From AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/AirPortSettings.strings:


"bsUP.productName" = "Store Apple software updates on this %@";
"bsUP.description" = "Apple software updates that are copied to this %@ are available to anyone using this network.";

That was actually in the older pre-5.3.3 version as well.

There are some references to the new Time Capsule and Airport Extreme though:

"syAP.113" = "Time Capsule 802.11n (3rd Generation)";
"syAP.114" = "AirPort Extreme 802.11n (4th Generation)";
"syAP.116" = "Time Capsule 802.11n (4th Generation)";
"syAP.117" = "AirPort Extreme 802.11n (5th Generation)";

113 and 114 are the current ones. 116 and 117 are currently unreleased.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
199 months ago
New APE and TC?

Found this tidbit that appears multiple times in the binary (/AirPort Utility.app/Contents/MacOS/AirPort Utility):

APPLE-FIRMWARE
<unknown>
P19 Apple AirPort (Snow)
P85 Apple Xserve RAID
P81 Apple AirPort Extreme (802.11g)
Q57 S5 Q60 Apple AirPort Extreme (802.11g, Multiple Ethernet)
Q61 Apple AirPort Express
M28 Apple AirPort Extreme (802.11n)
M91 Apple AirPort Extreme (802.11n, Gigabit Ethernet)
Time Capsule M52
M48 Apple AirPort Express (802.11n)
K10 Apple AirPort Extreme (Simultaneous Dual-Band)
K30 Time Capsule (Simultaneous Dual-Band)
K30A Time Capsule (Simultaneous Dual-Band, Gen2)
K10A Apple AirPort Extreme (Simultaneous Dual-Band, Gen2)
K31 K30B Time Capsule (Simultaneous Dual-Band, Gen3)
K10B Apple AirPort Extreme (Simultaneous Dual-Band, Gen3)

Notes:
- I added returns and changed spacing for readability
- Mactracker refers to the original Time Capsule as 'M52', adding some verification to these; it also would add verification for the fact there are three numbers with "AirPort Extreme (802.11g, Multiple Ethernet)" - one each for standard, modem, and PoE
- I have no idea why the Xserve RAID is listed with all the APs
- For the most part, the code numbers make sense, especially with the K30(x) and K10(x) listings

Interesting part:
K31 K30B Time Capsule (Simultaneous Dual-Band, Gen3)
K10B Apple AirPort Extreme (Simultaneous Dual-Band, Gen3)


The 'Simultaneous Dual-Band' Extremes and Time Capsules are currently in Gen2 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort or the old AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/AirPortSettings.strings), so I would say this is additional proof of new base stations.

The raw text can be found in the binary at offsets 136e54, 2bdb74, and 453170 starting at 'APPLE-FIRMWARE' for those wondering. The first offset's text is missing the first Time Capsule for some reason, so I didn't use that one.

Devices are also added (with internally changed names in some cases) in the AirPortSettings.strings file also referenced above:

"syAP" = "Product Name";
"syAP.80211nFormat" = "%@ with 802.11n";
"syAP.0" = "AirPort Base Station";
"syAP.0.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.1" = "AirPort Base Station";
"syAP.1.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.3" = "AirPort Extreme 802.11g";
"syAP.3.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.102" = "AirPort Express 802.11g";
"syAP.102.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.104" = "AirPort Extreme 802.11n (1st Generation)";
"syAP.104.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.105" = "AirPort Extreme 802.11n (2nd Generation)";
"syAP.105.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.106" = "Time Capsule 802.11n (1st Generation)"; --> was Time Capsule
"syAP.106.useAlternateArticle" = "1"; /* See note above */
"syAP.107" = "AirPort Express 802.11n";
"syAP.107.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.108" = "AirPort Extreme 802.11n (3rd Generation)"; --> was AirPort Extreme (Simultaneous Dual-Band)
"syAP.108.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.109" = "Time Capsule 802.11n (2nd Generation)"; --> was "Time Capsule (Simultaneous Dual-Band)
"syAP.109.useAlternateArticle" = "1"; /* See note above */
"syAP.113" = "Time Capsule 802.11n (3rd Generation)"; --> was Time Capsule (Simultaneous Dual-Band II)
"syAP.113.useAlternateArticle" = "1"; /* See note above */
"syAP.114" = "AirPort Extreme 802.11n (4th Generation)"; --> was AirPort Extreme (Simultaneous Dual-Band II)
"syAP.114.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
"syAP.116" = "Time Capsule 802.11n (4th Generation)"; --> New listing
"syAP.116.useAlternateArticle" = "1"; /* See note above */
"syAP.117" = "AirPort Extreme 802.11n (5th Generation)"; --> New listing
"syAP.117.useAlternateArticle" = "0";
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
199 months ago
Before: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4310180/01%20Time%20Capsule.png

After: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4310180/02%20Time%20Capsule.png

Interesting name for your TC. I wonder what the names are of other devices on your network ;)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)