Airport express - extend a network or join a network?

I have a Time Capsule as my base station and a number of Airport Expresses installed ( one with a USB printer). All the Express are connected wirelessly. When setting up you are allowed to configure the Express to join a network or to Extend a Network. What is the best choice. My goal is to make sure my printer works, but also ensure the signal is decent throughout the house.
Apple tech when I called gave two conflicting answers. One said it should be Extend the Network. When I called back the next tech said that that was in fact incorrect. He said it should be Connect. He told me that Extend only works where you are hooking up the extra Expresses to an Ethernet cable which is not the case. Who is right?

Hi Bob,
After searching all over the internet, I found your answers to be the most informative
Would appreciate if you can comment on my situation:
Room Outlay:
I have a single-story 3,000 square-foot house with the Study on one end of the house and two other key areas of the house, the Family Room and the Master Bedroom, at the other ends of a "triangle" (Note: the Master Bedroom is a little closer to the Study than the Family Room is to the Study).
Original Environment:
1. in the Study: Cable Modem (Comcast)
2. in the Study: Time Capsule (MB276LL/A 500GB) ethernet connection to Cable Modem
3. in the Study: iMac ethernet connection to Time Capsule
4. in the Family Room: iPhone, iPad, and Laptop wireless usage
5. in the Master Bedroom: iPhone, iPad, and Laptop wireless usage
Original Issues:
Particularly in the Family Room (the most important of my remote areas), the devices (iPhone, etc.) seemed to drop in and out of the wireless network connection. I measured the wireless signal strength to be between 30-40% (Note: it was 45-50% in the Master Bedroom).
New Environment (additions)
6. in the Family Room: AirPort Express (MB321LL/A) Unit 1
7. in the Master Bedroom: AirPort Express (MB321LL/A) Unit 2
Impulsively reacting to various internet posts regarding extending wireless range with the AirPort Express, I went out and bought 2 units with the hope of improving the wireless signal strength in the Family Room and the Master Bedroom. I followed the instructions to have them "extend" the existing wireless network, and I now measure the wireless signal strength to be between 55-70% (vs. 30-40%) in the Family Room and 60-65% (vs. 45-50%) in the Master Bedroom.
Concerns/questions:
Further research turned up a bunch of posts that claim "extending" a wireless network the way I have significantly reduces the overall wireless network performance (cuts the throughput in half for each extender?).
Q1. Is this true? How does this relate to the improved signal strengths I measured.
Q2. If so, if I scrap the unit in the Master Bedroom, will I get better throughput in the Family Room?
Q3. In general, is there a better way to configure my network (e.g., not using "extend", etc.) to get better coverage in the Family Room (and ideally the Master Bedroom) without compromising throughput?
Q4. Although it appears the Time Capsule does not easily support a booster antenna, I did see some convoluted "do-it-yourself" kits that seem to have positive results for people. Is this something I should consider?
Thanks in advance,
Steve

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Airport Express Will Not Reset or Join WDS Network

I have an Airport Extreme which is a WDS main. The Express will not join the network. I reset the Extreme, set up the network again, and did a hard reset of the Express. Airport Utility will not see the Express either from my iMac or MB Pro regardless of whether I connect directly through Ethernet, or wirelessly. The Express flashes amber. I've read the proposed solutions given to others with the same problems, but nothing works for me.
I know I'm doing something incorrectly, but can't figure out what's going on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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A couple of suggestions:
1. do a factory default reset of the Airport Express. Follow the instructions to the letter, which means don't let go of the reset button until you see the four green flashes in a row. This can take a bit longer than Apple's article suggests - up to 10-15 seconds.
2. when setting up the WDS (and I suggest you do this all wirelessly) make sure the Mac, the Airport Extreme, and the Airport Express are all in the same room. I suggest you use the iMac - MacBook Pros seem to have their own share of wireless network problems.

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Do I have to use airport extreme to be a main network if I want to use Airport express extend my wifi range.

You cannot extend wifi from a different brand router..
Only apple to apple.
But the apple router does not have to be the main router.. it can be in bridge.. as long as it is creating a wireless network it will work fine.

Iphone will not connect to airport express extended network - macbook and ipad will - Help

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I'm having the same issue. My AExpress used to give a good signal strength on the far side of the house extending he network created by my Extreme. However, I've noticed lately that my iPhone does not receive the same strong signal it once did. AE has a green light, I've rebooted it, and my Extreme but there is no change in signal strength. Other than the green light, how can I tell if the Express is working if I don't get a good network signal?

Airport Express extends 5 Ghz and 2.4 Ghz or just one at a time?

I recently switched my dual band Time Capsule to use different names for the 5 Ghz and 2.4 Ghz networks.
Will the Airport Express extend both or just one at a time, if so, which one will it extend?
I have two Airport Express modules, bought a long time apart, is there any difference in functionality and how do I tell them apart if this is the case?
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Welcome to the discussion area, Mike!
Will the Airport Express extend both or just one at a time, if so, which one will it extend?
The AirPort Express is a single band device, so it can extend either the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band, +but not both at the same time+. Since you have different names for the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands, the Express will extend the 2.4 GHz band by default. Using AirPort Utility, the setup application for the AirPorts, it is possible to configure the AirPort Express to extend either band.
If you are perhaps thinking of extending the 5 GHz band, this can be a bit tricky because 5 GHZ signals do not travel effectively over distance or penetrate obstructions as well as 2.4 GHz signals. You almost have to have a line-of-sight relationship between the Time Capsule and the AirPort Express to be able to extend the 5 GHz band.
I have two Airport Express modules, bought a long time apart, is there any difference in functionality and how do I tell them apart if this is the case?
Look on the side of the AirPort Express for the model number in the small print. You'll need Model No A 1264 to be able to "extend". If you have the older Model No A 1084, that version will not be able to "extend" a wireless network, but you could use it to "join" the wireless network and stream AirTunes to the device.
All are running the most recent firmware version.
That would be 7.5.2. If you have the older version of the AirPort Express, the latest firmware version for that device would be 6.3.
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

Can I use the Airport Express to connect to a Linksys Wireless Network and then use the Ethernet port on the Airport for a wired connection to a device for internet access? Would I be able to then also use that Ethernet pt to a Ntwk Hub for more wired c

Thanks for the help. Looked but not clear on what I am trying to do as being possible. Can I use an Airport Express to connect wireless to a Linksys Wireless Router, such that I can then use the Ethernet ports on the Airport to either connected to a PC wired, or even use a hub off the Airport Express to allow multiple wired connections to it?
I am not looking to have the Airport Express extend my wireless network, just connect to it and provide me wired connections in a different location from where my Linksys Route is located. Would prefer to replace Linksys with all Apple, but just not possible financially yet. Thanks for the help.

If the AirPort Express Base Station (AX) is an 802.11n model, then yes, you can reconfigure it as a wireless Ethernet bridge. In this configuration, the AX would join the wireless network provided by the Linksys router and its Ethernet port would be enabled for either a single wired device or for an Ethernet hub or switch for multiple devices.

Airport Express Extends 5GHz at 2.4GHz?

My second generation(802.11n) Airport Express extends my 5GHz network, Net5, at 2.4 GHz. The express is about 20
feet from its "target," an iPad 3 serving as an internet radio. I know this because a scan turned up the 5GHz network on the same
channel as the 2.4GHz one and identified as "Net5."
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Ok, thanks for clarifying that for me. By default, the 2nd generation Express should extend both radios of your 5th generation Extreme. The key is placement. As you are already aware the range of the 2.4 Ghz band is greater than that of the 5 GHz one.
Even if you have the Express within 20 feet of the Extreme there may be some form of Wi-Fi interference (like walls) that may be preventing the 5 GHz band to be extended properly.
To rule out a possible placement issue, please check out the following AirPort User Tip for details on how to best place your base stations.

Airport express extending - n AND g

I have an airport express extending a dual band airport extreme network. The extreme has one band on n (for laptops) and one band on a/g (for iphones and an older laptop). The airport express extends the network, connecting wirelessly to the extreme in another room, and sharing its connection with an iphone and an old laptop.
My question is this: will the airport express connect with the airport extreme (receiving its internet connection) at n speeds, but then connect with my iphone and old laptop (sharing its internet) at a/g speeds? I know the express is not dual band and thus cannot share its connection on different bands, but can it connect on a different band than it shares?
Thanks!

From what I've tried the Airport Express will only extend as it connects to. I've tried and it doesn't seem to "auto-convert" from one to another.
Also, you might want to look at the 802.11n 5ghz and 802.11n b/g/n 2.4ghz. Set this in your Airport Extreme accordingly (which you already might have), and let Airport Express automatically extend the 802.11n b/g/n 2.4ghz. This way, the iPhone will connect as fast as it can and the older laptop can connect.
BTW here is my "poor man's dual band" setup if anyone's interested:
DSL modem is connected to Netcomm 802.11b/g/n wireless router. This supplies the 802.11b/g/ 2.4ghz N signal for iPhone, Xbox360, and anything else.
Then, I connect via ethernet from Netcomm wireless router to my existing Airport Express. Airport Express supplies a pure 802.11 5ghz N signal for my Mac, iPad2, new iPad and AppleTV.
This way, the Mac, iPads and AppleTV always "see" only the Airport Express network, hence WiFi iTunes syncing as well as AirPlay streaming is great, and the 5ghz network with maximum N speed doesn't suffer interference and/or dropouts such as when my microwave is running.
As for the iPhone, I'll just use a cable when I need to, but this way my iPhone and Xbox360 can access the Internet as needed without degrading the connectivity of the Mac, iPads and AppleTV. I don't play online games, I only need connectivity to update or download stuff on Xbox360.
Yes, the disadvantage is double-NAT, but I haven't encountered issues yet.

Problem with airport express extending wifi from extreme

My setup is an airport extreme wired to the internet with two iMacs connected by wire and an airport express to extend wifi from the extreme to the further parts of my house. When originally installed about a year ago this arrangement worked perfectly, but I noticed a few weeks ago that neither my iphone, ipad, nor my MBP 13" is connecting to the aitport express anymore and the network extension is not working as intended.
Last night I investigated the isue and found that the express is connected wirelessly to my extreme because when I wired my MBP to the express and turned off the wireless connection it could still reach the internet. But, even with the express sitting plugged in next to my iPhone I could not get it to connect to the express - it always uses the extreme and while I'm in range there is no problem. The problem is that my house is old and the wals tend to cause problems with reception and I can't get wifi in the garden and some parts of the house.
I have the express and the extreme configured to allow access only by the client macs that I have provided and it looks like the two devices share this information when they are in extend mode (but not sure about that). When I set up the system I added the aitports mac addresses to the approved list in the access control screen, which seemed to be necessary then though I removed them (the airport mac addresses) fromt he list last night to see what effect this had and biefly the airport did connect to my MBP. But after returning it to its location where it usually is I have not been able to reconnect to it.
In brief; I have an airport express extending an airport extreme wifi, it used to work, but now all wifi clients will only connect to the master. I have a suspicion that a recent airport update has caused this (both airports are up-to-date) but can't be sure. I have the express correctly configured to extend the wifi of the extreme as it was originally working.
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Thanks
Damon

Perform the Factory Default Reset one more time. Hold the reset button until the amber light has been blinking rapidly for 8-10 seconds before you release the reset button
Run the setup wizard, and wait for screen similar to this to appear, then click on Other Options:
Select the Add to an existing network option, then click Next and follow the prompts.
If you are still having difficulty, try running the setup utility on an iPhone or iPad, since Yosemite has a number of bugs in the setup process.

Airport express extending wifi extremely slow

Hello,
I have a time capsule creating a wireless network and a airport express extending the wireless network.
When I'm connected to the time capsule I have around 12mbp of speed but when I am connected to the airport express I have around 0.2mbp
In the airport utility it says the connection is good she connected to the airport express.
Everything was working fine a few days ago.
I was reading the the forum that it may be interference from a neighbour and to change the channel but I can fine where to change the channel.
Is changing the channel the solution? How can I access where to change the channel?
Or is there another solution?
Anyone knows how to fix this speed problem in airport express?
Cheers
Francisco

What is the distance between the Time Capsule (TC) and the AirPort Express Base Station (AX)? Are they in the same room, different room, different floor from each other? If in different rooms/floors, what is the basic building material used in the walls/floors/ceilings?
It is important to understand that the AX can only extend the TC's wireless network at the same bandwidth that it receives it. If you are only getting around .2 Mbps at the AX, then either there is too much distance between routers or there is some form of Wi-Fi interference (other Wi-Fis or the builiding material) between them that is preventing the AX from getting a strong enough signal to extend.
Changing channels is one possible solution. You would do so using the AirPort Utility. If you are using version 5.x of that utility, you would change channels as follows: AirPort Utility > Select the AX > Manual Setup > AirPort > Wireless tab > Channel. By default Channel is set to "Automatic." Click on the up/down arrow to the right of the Channel window to get the other channel options.
If this doesn't resolve the problem, please check out the following AirPort User Tip for details on how to best place each base station for maximum bandwidth in an extended network.

How can I use Airport Express to create a standalone Wi-Fi network without Internet Access so I can browse web pages on the local network? I will be using MAMP as my server (Apache)

I would like to create my own Wi-Fi standalone network at an upcoming tradeshow where there will be NO internet access.
Currently, I run and develop sites on my iMac use MAMP to manage my sites locally. Using MAMP, I run my sites as though they are on the internet although everything is local.
I purchased an Airport Express hoping I could create a standalone network so that the iMac would broadcast its website to whatever device connects to it such as my iPhone, iPad and MacBookPro.
However, after setting up the network successfully (I have a green light on the Airport Express, and there is NO internet going through it), I am not able to go any further by logging into the iMac's websites from the other machines. Form my MacBookPro Finder, I can look at files and folders using afp://10.0.1.2, from the Find/Go/Connect to Server utility, but I can't browse the website that is running on the iMac via the Safari browser.
Can anyone help me configure my MacBookPro (or iPad, or iPhone) to run the website on the iMac when they are all on the same network?
Thanks so much!!

1) connecting the TC using a ethernet cable from one of the two modem's LAN ports to the TC's WAN port
2) create a new Wi-Fi network using the TC ?
Does someone already create a new Wi-Fi network using its TC connected by Ethernet on a modem/router device ? How do you set up the DHCP (and NAT) ? Which range did you use ?
This is easy enough to do..
Plug the TC directly into a computer.. without other connections to do the setup.
Using the newly installed 5.6 utility.
Bridge the TC.
Create a wireless network.
This is an older screen shot and I would set security to WPA2 Personal only not WPA/WPA2 Personal as shown above.
I do recommend you use wireless names that are short, no spaces, pure alphanumeric.
Update the TC..
Now plug it into the modem router.. it will be a part of the network without doing NAT and DHCP itself.. which you do not want.. that leads to double NAT issues.. but it is a WAP that provides access to devices on both 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands directly to the main router.

Can an older Round Airport Extreme and Airport Express be used on my home WIFI network?

I recently upgraded my Macbook Pro to a newer one because I was having problems with the older one getting on my home WIFI network. It had been dropped, but had continued working without any hiccups for five or six months. Suddenly it won't go online. It said there was no WIFI hardwae installed. I suspect that the WIFI antenna connection between the main bdy and the display failed. Repair options at the Apple Store were iffy, so I just baought the new one. My Time Machine backup smoothly cloned my old machine onto the new one.
In the "when it rains it pours" category, my Airport Extreme also failed at the same time I began having problems with the old laptop. Suspecting the hardware was the problem after checking with my ISP, I purchased a new Airport Express at Best Buy. Using it, I got my WIFI network back up and running. That's why I figured there was a problem with the older Airport Extreme. The Airport Extreme was replaced by an Apple Genius at the store, when I purchased the new laptop. Putting my Home WIFI network back together with the new AE, went fine, but it turned up another problem. I use an older (pre-N speed) Airport Express to link a YAMAHA digital piano wirelessly to my WIFI. It can go online directly and download music. I can also push my iTunes wirelessly through the piano's amplifier and speakers for great sounding stereo. The problem is my new AE won't recognize my older Airport Express. I tryied downloading the Airport Utility v. 5.6 as suggested online, but It still won't find the Airport Express hooked up to the piano.
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Network consists of:
20" Mid 2007 iMac running Mac OS Lion 10.7.4
New 15" MacBook Pro running Mac OS Lion 10.7.4
HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-one Printer
New Airport Extreme attached to DSL Modem
New Airport Express wirelessly attaching my Printer to the network
Old Airport Express (A/B/G) connecting my Yamaha Digital piano (NOT WORKING)
Old Airport Extreme (round) (NOT WORKING)

Bob,
Thanks for your help. At this point, I'm seriously considering replacing the older "g" AX with a new "n" model. For whatever reason, each time I've tried to bring the ols AX bcak online in my network, it only managed to screw up my network. Using the Airport Utility 5.6 for Lion, I was able to get a green light on the AX, but it still would not go online from my Yamaha digital piano control panel, like it always did before.
Using AUtil 6.0, everything else works, and I'm assuming that setup with a new "n" speed AX, my piano will be able to get back onlune, too. When I originally set up the AX to link the piano to my WIFI network, I had very little trouble getting it setup. YAMAHA didn't list the Apple AX in it's list of compatible wireless routers/adapters, but I saw no reason that it wouldn't work. As I said it was a reasonably easy setup the first time, and it has worked for several years with no problems.
It's not the cost of buying the new AX that bugs me, it's the fact that I can't figure out why it won't work now when it did before. It was working fine with my old AE based WIFI network, even after upgrading the my computers to the Lion OS. I used to be reasonably savvy with Apple technology, having spent the last 15 years of my teaching career (1987-2001) as the tech liason for the schools where I worked, supporting first Apple II's, then Macs, and networked buildings. After eleven years of retirement, I find it harder and harder to keep up as the technology just keeps evolving. I'm trying, but it's not easy! Any and all help is appreciated!

Using Airport Express to set up an ad hoc network for presentations

I have to give a presentation where I will both need my MacBook Pro and iPad. I may or may not have a wireless network available (will depend on location). Is there a way that I can use an Airport Express to set up an ad hoc network and use an Apple TV for AirPlay from my iPad and laptop?

Easy to do. Just set up the AirPort Express to "Create a wireless network".
When you see the "error" message(s) that there is not an Ethernet cable plugged into the WAN port and/or no Internet connection, click "ignore" and you will have a green light on the Express.
Wireless devices will connect to the network by selecting it and entering the password.

Airport Express stopped showing up on the wireless network

Airport Express stopped showing up on the wireless network, and now I can't stream music from my iMac or iPhone through the AE as I used to. I now have a new adsl modem, but it doesn't help. The AE has a wireless connection to the modem. I've used Airport Utility to setup the AE again, no help. I also updated to Maverick but it didn't help. Any ideas?

By "I can't reset it" do you mean you tried both the "hard" and "factory default" resets on your AirPort Express Base Station (AX) and still were not able to see it from iTunes? ...and if so, were you able to connect to it directly, using an Ethernet cable, to configure it using the AirPort Admin Utility?

Airport Express extending network needs to be restarted daily

I'm having a really annoying problem with my Airport network. Here's the configuration:
Den: Latest generation simultaneous Dual-Band Airport Extreme
Living Room: older 802.11g Airport Express used only for AirPlay
Office: older 802.11n Airport Express wired to the Airport Extreme via ethernet, extending network
Hallway: 802.11n Airport Express wirelessly joining and extending network
Bedroom: Latest generation simultaneous Dual-Band Airport Express wirelessly joining and extending network
I have an older house which is not terribly big but the radio-opaque walls make it difficult to propogate wireless, thus the need for so many units.
It all works pretty well except for my bedroom Airport Express (simultaneous Dual-Band). On a daily basis it will lose connection with the network or go so painfull slowly that it's pointless. The only solution is to do a reboot of the unit which works temporarily (good connection / good speeds) My son likes to watch Roku in our bedroom and that Roku uses the WiFi that the Airport Express should provide. Needless to say troubleshooting wifi when your 3 year old is crying because he can't get 30 seconds of streaming before the signal craps out is not fun. Anybody have any suggestions???

"Hard reset" the bedroom Extreme to preclude the possibility that some corrupted internal parameter is limiting its performance. Consider doing that with all of them. They will subsequently need to be reconfigured.
Configure the den Extreme to provide a unique name for its 5 GHz network, and ensure all the devices capable of using it are using it, and not 2.4 GHz. Find out what your Roku is capable of using.
The key to solving problems, if your challenging requirements are solvable, is to start with as simple an installation as possible, then progressively add to it. Find out the maximum usable range of your den's Extreme in both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, then position any devices used to "wirelessly extend" its signal roughly half the distance to that Extreme - not a different base station. The ideal location for the Roku's Express may not necessarily be in the bedroom.
Run speed tests each time and make sure you are not trying to "extend" a weak signal. "Extending" a weak signal makes it stronger, but no faster that what it receives.
That's all you can do.
... I thought "N" networks minimized that problem.
You're right about that.
The thing is I get decent wireless reception in the bedroom WITHOUT the express plugged in.
I wonder if those devices are really using the Express you think they are. That's the problem with multiple base stations. There are ways of addressing this question but not with the current AirPort Utility version.

Airport express - extend a network or join a network?

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