AirPort 7.4.2 firmware update causing USB hard drives to lose connectivity

Users have reported that the latest AirPort firmware update (7.4.2) has caused the external hard drives connected to their AirPort Extremes via USB to lose connectivity after only a few minutes of operation.

MacFixIt reader Justin H. reports:

"There seems to be a handful of users who are having similar problems with the latest firmware (7.4.2) update for Airport Extreme base stations.  What's happening is that the Airport is dropping the connection to the disks attached via USB after a few minutes of use, and not reconnecting.  Some users have found that power cycling the drive fixed the problem, while others needed to revert back to 7.4.1."

Apple Support Discussions user "vabaist" relays:

"Same problem here with 7.4.2. Two drives (1TB, 500 GB) attached via USB hub to the Airport Extreme.  

The drives are visible after a reset of the AE, but the connection drops after 1 min of activity (doing a Time Machine backup or watching a movie from a connected hd for example).  
Had reverted today to 7.4.1 and the problem was gone. There's something very wrong with this update."

Apple Support Discussions user "UncleBrian" echoes the issue:

"Immediately after doing the 7.4.2 firmware upgrade to my Airport Extreme, I wasn't able to see or access the external HD (MyBook 1TB) anymore. Even resetting the Airport didn't do it. Disconnecting the external drive's USB cable from Airport didn't do it.  

What DID do it was unplugging the power cord from the external hard drive and reconnecting it. After that, everything was back to (almost) normal. 
My internet connection DOES seem slower, though, after the firmware update."

Possible fix
It appears as though the universal solution for this issue is reverting your AirPort firmware back to version 7.4.1. This, with a combination of power cycling your external drives should provide normal functionality. 

Resources
Read this Apple Support Discussions thread about USB hard drives losing connectivity after the AirPort 7.4.2 firmware update.

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