Airport express has a port for audio out that says optical?

So I just got my Airport Express and want to use it to Airplay to my stereo. It has a minijack for that, but in the setup guide it talks about optical output. I don't understand minijack and optical in the same hole. I don't want to break it jamming the wrong thing in there. Can anybody enlighten me?

Either an analog 3.5mm stereo mini plug will fit in the audio port.....or....a mini Toslink optical digital plug will fit very nicely in the audio port.
If you plug a 3.5mm stereo mini plug in the audio port, an analog audio signal will be delivered to your amp/speakers.
If you plug a mini Toslink plug in, an optical digital signal will be sent to your amp/speakers
The audio port on the AirPort Express is smart. It knows what kind of plug is connected, so it knows whether to send an analog signal or a digital signal.

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If you connect Airport Express to an amplifier's AUDIO OUT socket, can you

'receive' music on your Mac?
Maybe they haven't thought this one up yet in Apple HQ...

Good Idea!
The AE can only receive audio from your mac, it can't transmit to your Mac.
Let your idea be heard! http://www.apple.com/feedback

Is apple tv convenient compared to airport express when it comes to audio airplay ? (all i need to do is , switch on my airport express)

is apple tv (2nd gen) convenient compared to airport express when it comes to audio airplay ?
i currently have my amp connected via optical cable to my airport express , everytime i want to listen to songs from my iphone , all i need to is switch on my amp and airport express , and then play from my iphone.
the following are my doubts
1.i know that apple tv has mirroring and video airplay as well , but will it play audio songs from my iphone , just like my AE without any hassle of clicking anything or do i need to switch on my tv and opt for some settings ? ( my point is , is it as simple as AE or do i need to select a setting or 2 , i really dont have the patience of selecting any settings nor switch on the tv , my AE is **** simple cause all i need to do is switch it on )
2.i have a airplay enabled amp in other room , can i play a video from my itunes to apple tv (2nd gen ) and amp at the same time ? since the apple tv will play video also , will the audio play at the same time on both the apple tv and my airplay enabled amp ? or is there a lag between the 2 ,cause apple tv needs to play the video as well ?
3.can my airplay amp + apple tv + airport express play music at the same time when played through itunes ? ( its a music video , so apple tv will play video also ) without the lag ?

mattliggins wrote:
Would you recommend this set up
i would. i've got one of the original 40 GB units and it is probably the most-used gadget in my arsenal.
other users here will probably try to sell the new mini to you (due to it has an HDMI interface and whatnot) but IMHO nothing beats the ATV for ease-of-use.
Is there a new Apple TV coming out soon or should I just go ahead and get involved!?
there's rumor out there that a new model is in the pipe. however, nobody here would know when it is due and what features a new model will pack.
if you have the budget, go for it
JGG

My airport express has stopped working as an extender.

Aloha:
I have been successfully using my my airport Express as an extender for several months when it just quit working. I now have plugged it in right next to my computer and airport Extreme to trouble shoot.
It just sits there blinking orange. I have pushed the reset button to no avail. I have unplugged it, pushed and held reset while plugging it in, still it flashes yellow.
Any good ideas?
Thanks
Dan Page
Hawaii

When you performed the reset, you returned the Express back to its original new, out of box settings. So, you have to reconfigure it again to with settings for your network. You will not see a green light until you complete this process.
Temporarily, connect a spare Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <-> ports on the AirPort Extreme to the AirPort Express
Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility
Click Manual Setup
Click the Base Station tab below the row of icons and assign a name to the Express, a device password and adjust Time Zone settings
Click the Wireless tab and adjust settings to look like this:
Wireless Mode = Extend a wireless network
Wireless Network Name = Same name as the AirPort Extreme wireless network
Enter a check mark next to "Allow wireless clients"
Wireless Security = WPA/WPA2 Personal
Wireless Password = Same password as the AirPort Extreme wirelesss network
Confirm Password
Click Update at the lower right
As soon as you see the message that the settings have been stored successfully, close AirPort Utility and disconnect the Ethernet cable
Wait 40-45 seconds for a green light. Now you can move the Express back to the desired location and plug it back in

I use itunes to play music through my airport express but sometimes the songs cut out sporatically. a song will be playing along then all of a sudden there is intermittant music and silence. What could be causing this?

i use itunes to play music through my airport express but sometimes the songs cut out sporatically. a song will be playing along then all of a sudden there is intermittant music and silence. What could be causing this?

I finally resolved my problem after spending way too much time on it. I simply handed my 160GB iPod to my husband to put his fav Stones & Beatles songs on and I went back to my 80GB Microsoft Zune which has never disappointed me.
After spending so much time trying to figure this out I did finally take it back to Apple Store who performed a diagnostic and found there was a problem with the device. They replaced it with a refurbished one which has similar issues. All I wanted to do was listen to my music. Was that too much to ask? So I am happy to be free of this problematic device. No more Apple for me!!

Airport Express as wifi card for Xbox Live, then connect to Extreme network

My son just got xbox Live and we're trying to use Airport Express as wifi card for xbox (connected to xbox via ethernet). We use Airport Extreme as router for the house.
We're having trouble setting up Xbox Live, keep getting stuck at getting the xbox to communicate/access the web. Error reads "can't obtain IP address from router... make sure DHCP is enabled and has a large enough address range for all devices on network.. also make sure MAC filtering allows your console's MAC address or is disabled... "
We dont' know what else to do. I'm at wit's end before giving Gates $100... Anyone know how to get connected?
Thank you!

You can also perform a simple test to verify if you have an internet connection at the ethernet port on the AirPort Express.
Move a laptop near the Express, turn off the wireless on the laptop, and connect to the Express using an ethernet cable. See if you can open your browser and get a good solid internet connection.
If you can, the Express is setup correctly and you know that you have an internet connection reaching all the way to the Xbox.
If you can't then there is a configuration error somewhere and it will need to be identified and corrected.

Airport Express has very weak signal even to the next room

I am wondering why my airport express has a weak signal. The signal to the next room(about 4 or 5 meters away), is so weak that you can only see one or 2 lines from the graphic at the internet connect. My base station has the last firmware from apple. Has anybody else experiencing this problem or knows what could be wrong?
Mac mini G4 1.25, iMac G5 2.0, MacBook 2.0, iPod 20Gb, iPod nano 4Gb, iPod 30Gb Mac OS X (10.4.7)

I have tried changing channels, I have tried using interference robustness but nothing seems to work. Isn't it so wierd thought that in the same room within 1 meter distance, the signal becomes from strong to weak, to zero?? The funny part also is that when i change channel for a few seconds the signal is very strong until it drops to zero. When i try another wireless device doesn't seem to have this problem but only with airport express base.

Airport Express 2nd WAN Port light always on, even when nothing is connected.

My Airport Express 2nd WAN Port light always on, even when nothing is connected.
Is this normal? The Airport utility also said that I didn't connect anything to the port - when there is a lan cable connected from the main Airport Extreme.
The computer can connect to the WiFi from the Airport Express properly, but with blinking yellow and no internet connection, also it cannot obtain the ip address.
After setting the Airport Express to the Bridge mode, the computer cannot access to the Airport Express anymore, with "Connection Time Out" error.
The Airport Express was 3 days old, and was working properly until today. There is also one blackout today because of the storm.
Had reset the Airport several times, didn't solve the problem.

Hi again. That is a good idea. Check if router can grab an ip from your modem since wireless local connection through the router is working. If it can grab an ip and works fine on wireless, then you might have a problem with the ethernet ports. You might want to try assigning an ip address on the wired connection and see if ip of router is pingable. If really not working at all, possibility that router is not working properly anymore.

New airport express has error, now network can't connect to internet to

Purchased new airport express to use solely for airplay, ran airport utility and there was an error. Now airport express is not recognized and wireless network (Fios router) has no internet connection.

It's optional, but in my opinion, it would still be a good idea to perform the complete network power cycle that I outlined above. This will give the network a "fresh start" and minimize the chances of an error occurring during the setup of the Express.
Perform a Factory Default Reset as suggested by Tesserax above.
Temporarily, locate the Express in the same room or close proximity to the Actiontec modem/router and power it on for a few minutes. Do not connect an Ethernet cable to the Express, as it will be configured using wireless.
Click the WiFi icon at the top of the Mac's screen and look for a listing of New AirPort Base Station
Click on AirPort Express just below that listing
That will get the setup "wizard" running to take a minute to analyze the network and likely suggest that the Express be setup to extend the Actiontec network.
Technically, it cannot do this, but it should be able to join the Actiontec network for use with AirPlay if the security settings on the Actionec are compatible with the Express.
Enter a name that you want to call the Express and then click the Other Options button.
Select the Add to an existing network option, if not already selected, and click Next
Follow the prompts, making sure that the name of the network and password are entered correctly.
If the setup is successful, you will see a message of Setup Complete and the Express will display a green light. Click Done and move the Express to the desired location and power it back up again. The Express needs to be located where it can receive a good quality signal from the modem/router wireless.

My Airport Express has a weak signal 50-75 feet from base. Any solutions?

My AirPort Express has a very weak signal 50-75 feet away from the base. Any suggestions?

ideas
buy one (or two) of those newer md031 airport extreme base stations as they have a higher power output.
ur post is implying 'join a wireless network' so i dont think limiting to 2.4ghz or 802.11b or 802.11g would help..
using 2.4 or 802.11b would help over distances, if ur creating a network and joining it then thats not an option
the airport has a couple settings like power output (make sure its set to 100%) or multicast rate that might be worth trying out. multicast set to low helps with clients joining at longer distances and multicast set to high kicks off clients at distances
put the aiprort express up high on the wall so it has a better chance of not being obstructed ?? and not on the bottom of the baseboard??

Why my airport express has a yellow light

why my airport express has a yellow light (not blinking)

Before doing a reset try the Airport Utility via Finder > Applications > Utilities ... this might give you a reason for the flashing light. It could be something simple like the software needs updating.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16700100#16700100

AirPort Express has weak signal while playing music from Iphone, intermittent play

AirPort Express has weak signal while playing music from Iphone, intermittent play

I'm having the same problem, even more:
- Watching movies over AppleTV: switches off every 20min (sleep mode).
- Listening to iTunes music ofer AirPlay: the same.
- A whole confusion with switching airplay destinations (AppleTV, AirportExpress) over iPhone remote app. Sometimes remote cannot find my library anymore
- Before, I was able to multitask: stream a DVD to AppleTV, using airplay mirroring, and simultaneously stream music from iTunes on the same computer, over the iTunes airplay selector, to loudspeakers connected to AirportExpress. No longer possible.
I've grown a big Apple fan in short time, proudly living what for others is the future (your media stored anyhwere, controlled from anywhere, played anywhere, stop thinking in terms of devices). And, I've learnt to savour the moments when you can look your Microsoft friends deep in the eyes and say: "The big difference with Apple - it just works"...
At the moment, I'm trying not to invite my friends.

How to set up Airport Express in Bridge mode for hotel use

Please provide step by step instructions on how to set up Airport Express in Bridge mode for hotel use. I do not have a computer with me, only an iPhone and AEX 802.11n.

+"Please provide step by step instructions on how to set up Airport Express in Bridge mode for hotel use. I do not have a computer with me, only an iPhone and AEX 802.11n."+
AirPort Utility is the application that must be used to setup and make any configuration changes to the AirPort Express. I'm not aware of an "App" for this.
If you could borrow a computer from someone there for 30 minutes or maybe use the computer in the lobby, you could download AirPort Utility and reconfigure your Express. To help with setup, use an ethernet cable from the computer to the Express to help AirPort Utility "see" the Express.
http://support.apple.com/downloads/#airport

My airport express has a blinking yellow light and is not working. I have tried resetting it a few times, to no avail. My airport utility on my desktop detects it and will attempt to connect. However, after a few moments it says "An unexp

My airport express has a blinking yellow light and is not working. I have tried resetting it a few times, to no avail.
My airport utility on my desktop detects it and will attempt to connect. However, after a few moments it says "An unexpected error occurred Try again."
I'm running Mavericks on a 24-inch 2007 mac, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, OS X 10.9.3 (13D65). The Airport Express is model A1264. I connect to it via an Airport Extreme with 7.6.4.
Thanks in advance.

I have the same problem with my airport express – a blinking yellow light and it is not working. I have tried resetting it a few times.
My airport utility detects it and try to connect. However, after a few moments it says "An unexpected error occurred Try again.
Airport Express is model A1143
And I have tried to connect with iPhone - same same.

Airport Express has stopped working, no IP-adress

Airport Express has stopped working. In my Airport tool, I can't see the Airport Express anymore.
Under network, I can still see the Airport, but it says, that it cant find an IP-Adress.
It can see my Airport Extreme.
Thanks in advance.
Best
Clintcool1968

Try resetting the Airport Express.
If you don't see it in Airport Utility in your Utilities folder, then you would need to reset it...
Do you have it set to "Join" the Extreme network? or something else?
See this Apple doc on how to reset your base station.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3728
Also, you would not see it in your Network preference panel in the System Preferences.
You will only see the main network which is your Airport Extreme....
Unless you have 2 separate networks....
How many do you have?

Airport express has a port for audio out that says optical?

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