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?
All are running the most recent firmware version.

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

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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.

Airport Express use to work on both computers, now just one. Did Bonjour &

So I had my HP Printer working with my Apple Express wireless with both my desk top and laptop.
My laptop is fine.
My desk top directed connected to my wireless router use to work until I reconfigured Acrobat Profession 8 because it stopped working. Now Acrobat is working but my printer is not.
I did Bonjour and nothing shows up. I Airport Admin Utility and it didn't show up so I looked it up with it's IP address. It found it.
Now what do I do "UPDATE" OR "REVERT"? I don't want to mess with the setting that will stop the laptop from working.
Or do I hardwire to the airport express for my desk top to do bonjour or utility.
Please advise.
Thanks

I figure it out myself. While fixing my Acrobat Professional it bounce my printing Ports around. I checked the port box with the correct Apple Express IP address and it works fine now.

AirPort Express - extend network and/or AirTunes - one or both ?

I would like use my second AE to extend my existing AE network AND wire it to my stereo to use the AirTunes feature. No trouble setting it up for AirTunes but can't seen to get it to extend the network. Any tips about how I can get both features to perform as advertised?

If you need more wireless coverage, you can use the WDS configuration method for a "mix" of older "b/g" and newer "n" devices.
The big downsides here are that WDS operates only at "g" wireless, so you lose any faster "n" capability on the network...and...the bandwidth of the entire network will be cut in half. So, in effect you will have a bit more wireless coverage, but it will be a "g" wireless network running at half speed.
I don't recommend this, but if you want to try, post back for more details.

How do i delete multiple emails as i cant seem to highlight them and delete anymore , seems like just one at a time??, how do i delete multiple emails as i cant seem to highlight them and delete anymore , seems like just one at a time??

how do i delete muliple emails as i cant seem to delete more than one at a time cant seem to highlight them anymore

Here's a link to a similar question. The 4th post gives an answer for Mountain Lion users. There may be other ways but this seemed acceptable to the questioner.
anyway to select multiple emails in...: Apple Support Communities
Message was edited by: seventy one

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.

Airport Express Audio Drop and Network issue

I have a Dell Laptop, DLink G604T router and Airport Express. When I first bought the airport express I successfully got it to join my existing Dlink wireless network and I could happily stream music wirelessly to the airport express and maintain a wireless internet connection through the Dlink router.
Since then I started having issues with audio drops to the Airport express and despite doing a lot of searching on the discussion forums and internet and trying different things have never solved the issue.
The one thing that does seem to work is if I create a new wireless network with the Airport Express rather than joining the existing Dlink one. I can then stream music flawlessly all day long. The down side is I then can't get internet access wirelessly at the same time. I have to disconnect from one network and connect to the other.
If I connect the dlink router to the airport express by ethernet and use the Dlink router just as a modem I think the issue will be resolved but this is not convenient due to position of router and airport express.
So the question is, Can I get the Dlink router to join the Airport Express Wireless network wirlessly rather than the AE joining the Dlink wireless network? Any thoughts on whether this is possible and if so how?
Dell Inspiron 500m Windows XP Pro

I had one AE base unit, where network connection would disapear every other day. The light would still be green on the AE, but the signal from the AE could not be picked up nor seen by the computer. Only turning the AE off and back on, would make it appear and work again. I Changed the AE unit, and I dont have the problem any more. I didnt change any settings at all.
So in my case, it was the AE base unit that was malfunctioning.
I have also seen similar problems with a different cause: That the wifi network card in the computer wasnt connected properly. ..
I dont think its a software problem
good luck

I have an old Airport Express I want to use to extend WiFI (which is best Airport Express or Extreme) and to have a HD for storing Itunes connected to the old Airport as well. I would also like to have the new Airport hardwired to my Mac (desktop)

I am willing to buy a new Airport Express or Extreme so I can get at least one LAN port - but only if I can use that LAN port to connect to my MAC (desktop) so it doenst have to get internet via the WiFi- AND so I can set it up as its own hot spot. I think I saw that was possible?? That way my guest network would be separate from my home Network. Just trying to get the best layout. I have cable modem to old Airport now and USB from it to printer.
Maybe a new Airport - again USB to printer and LAN to MAC(?) then old Airport elsewhere in the house to extend the signal and use USB off it to hard drive to store Itunes? Would LOVE to have it there to use for Airplay etc- Is that possible- I have read many comments and still not sure if it is possible or not.
Baxically I need a simple solution to storing all my photos- music and movies (MAC only has 500GB) AND have a great back up; Currently have a 1TB drive as Time Machine - so could use that for back up- but running out of space on MAC for all the media I am saving. THANKS!!

You are asking several different questions. If you need to store your photos, music, and movies on an external volume, you certainly can. Any externally connected hard disk drive will work, connected either directly to your Mac or to your Time Capsule as a shared volume.
You should not rely upon using that as a backup device though. Although you certainly may use it for both purposes, it is a better idea to have dedicated backup devices for a variety of reasons not limited to redundancy. You would not want to simultaneously lose all your pictures as well as your backup. If they are all on the same device, that could happen. Furthermore, a backup cannot back up the volume on which it is running.
As for adding an Extreme or Express, using its LAN port for your iMac, and then enable Internet sharing so you can effectively use the iMac as a "hotspot", you can do that too, but I am unclear on what benefit you believe this arrangement would convey for you.
An Extreme's Guest network is separate from its Main network; that is the reason for having it.

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

Iphone will not connect to airport express extended network - macbook and ipad will without problems.
iphone will connect to base station no problems, I've restored settings and started again but still the same, the iphone picked up the network for the last couple of months, but not now ?

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 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."
As far as I can tell, all my settings are correct, etc. I'd be grateful for any ideas, comments, etc.

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 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 extending Time Capsule network causes network failure?

I have a 1GB Time Capsule used as my 'main' wireless access point for my home network. I purchased an Airport Express for use about halfway through across the home so that I could play iTunes music in that area... no problem. That works. However my office is also right next to the Airport Express.
So if the Airport Express is -not- plugged in I have a great signal from the Time Capsule and things work without a hitch. Once I plug the Airport Express in, every 20~30min my MacBook Pro shows I have a full-power network connection, but it wont actually do anything. I have to turn off the MacBook's wireless, then turn it back on... then again it only works for a short while. If I unplug the Airport Express this is no longer an issue. :/
So I know the Airport Express is part of the issue. But also, I know it must be setup correctly since I can go all the way to the back of the house and have a network connection [when normally without the Express I would not have a connection at all]. Clearly it's extending the network.
Any ideas why my MacBook might be getting 'stuck'? I'm relatively new to Apple gear, but long time PC user and very skilled with networking... but never experienced anything like this... but also this is the first time I've ever extended a network.
Open to any suggestions... thanks all!

Welcome to the discussion area!
Something is wrong, whether it's an incorrect setting or a defective AirPort Express because the "extend" setup normally works very well. I've gone 3-4 months with no problems at all since I added an Express last fall and the network is up 24/7.
Check to make sure that your MacBook is actually connecting to the AirPort Express (AX) as follows:
Open AirPort Utility, click on the AirPort Express and note the AirPort ID for the AX
Hold down the option key on your computer and click on the fan shaped AirPort icon at the top of the screen and you will see details about the connection. You should see the AirPort ID of the AX. If not, you are not connecting to it.
You can also check a few settings using AirPort Utility to see if the Time Capsule (TC) and AX are setup to "extend".
For the TC:
Click Manual Setup and click the Wireless tab below the icons
Wireless Mode should be "Create a wireless network"
There should be a check mark next to "Allow this network to be extended"
For the AX:
Click Manual Setup and the Wireless tab
Wireless Mode should be "extend a wireless network"
Network Name should be the name of the TC network
Check mark next to "Allow wireless clients"
Security and Password settings are the same as the TC
Is that what you see?

Issue w/ Airport Express extending a network (intermittently)

Hi -- I have an Airport Extreme and Airport Express currently configured to "extend" the network that my Extreme base station creates. But its not working right -- here's whats up.
Basically the Extreme is on the ground floor, and I got the Express so that we'd have good signal in our master bedroom, all the way at the other end of the house, upstairs. The Express _definitely_ has good signal from the Extreme. And the master bedroom where the weak signal was is about 30 feet from that airport express I put upstairs.
However, for whatever reason, most of the time in that master bedroom from any computer (macbook pro, imac, and our ipads, iphones) connnect to the extreme downstairs, not the express upstairs. This results in one or no signal bar, and crappy internet access. Hmm.
Green lights are on and steady on both the extreme and express.
I've rebooted the express, reset it, reconfigured it, and the ONLY time I can get it to work properly is right after a reset and reconfigure (choosing "extend a wireless network). Both have the most recent updates.
Any ideas? Is my airport express just not working right ? Any ideas ?

The key here is that if you locate your MBP at the location of the AirPort Express Base Station (AX), leaving the AX unpowered, if it can get a good signal from the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS), then the AX would as well.
The AX can only extend the range of the AEBS effectively if it is within a 25+ dB SNR range of the AEBS. Anything beyond that, you may get a "strong" signal (indicated by full bars), but the actual bandwidth will be useless.
SNR = Signal-to-Noise Ratio = Signal (in dBm) - Noise (in dBm)
You can easily find the Signal and Noise value using System Profiler on your MBP.
ref: Click on the Apple icon on the menu bar > About This Mac > More Info... > Contents > Network > AirPort > Interfaces > en1 > Current Network Information > Find your wireless network > Signal / Noise
While your still in the System Profiler, note the value for Transmit Rate.
These values should be negative numbers. For example, mine currently read: -67 dBm / -95 dBm, with a transmit rate of 27 (Mbps). Plugging in these numbers yield: SNR = -67 - (-95) = 28. My Mac Mini is about four rooms away from my AEBS with about five walls between them. As you can see, the signal is still quite useable ... but the bandwidth is minimal, especially for streaming.
SNR Guideline
40dB+ SNR = Excellent signal
25dB to 40dB SNR = Very good signal
15dB to 25dB SNR = Low signal
10dB to 15dB SNR = Very low signal
5dB to 10dB SNR = No signal

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.
One thing I have noticed - I had the express set to use a fixed IP by setting 'static' in the internet screen - this is not the current setting (it's reverted to DHCP) and I cannot force it to update to and remain set to static.
Does anyone know how I can restore the correct functioning of the express as an extension of the wifi network?
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 extends static ip?

Hi! I have an Airport express and I brought it to my dorm room. However it turns out that my dorm is giving me one static ip. How can i use my airport express to get that static ip and create/extend its own network with multiple ip adresses?

Unfortunately, AirPort Setup on the Mac will use a simple wizard type of setup, which does not allow a "manual setup" that you need.
The solution might be to go ahead and configure the Express using the setup wizard and once it has restarted, go back in using AirPort Utility to manually enter the Static settings on the AirPort Express.
Frankly, I have no idea if this will work or not since I cannot duplicate the setup here.
Connect the Ethernet cable to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort Express and power up the Express for a few minutes.
Hold in the reset button on the Expess for 9-10 seconds and release. Allow a full minute for the Express to restart to a slow, blinking amber light
Click the AirPort icon at the top of the Mac's screen and wait a few seconds for a listing New Airport Base Station to appear. Just below that, click on AirPort Express
AirPort Setup will open up automatically and take a minute to analyze the network and suggest a configuration...which will be wrong. Instead, you have to click the Other Options button and select the choice to Create a new wireless network. Click Next
Enter a wireless network name that you want to use and a device name for the AirPort Express. Enter a password for both the wireless network and AirPort Express device. Click Next.
Ignore the message to restart the modem and click Next
It will take a minute or two for AirPort Setup to configure the Express. When you see the message of Setup Complete , click Done.
Now click the AirPort icon at the top of the Mac's screen and select the wireless network name you named and enter the password to connect.
On your Mac, open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utiltiies > AirPort Utility
Click on the AirPort Express icon, then click Edit in the window that appears.
Click the Internet tab at the top of the next window
Change the setting for Connect Using from DHCP to Static
Enter the Static IP address that the school gave you in the iPv4 Address box
Enter the Subnet Mask in the Subnet Mask box
Enter the Router Address in the Router Address box
Leave other boxes blank or untouched
Click the Network tab at the top of the window
Click the Network Options button at the bottom of the window
Change the iPv4 DHCP Range to read 192.168.1.2 to 200
Click Save
Click Update at the lower right of the window and wait a full minute for the Express to restart. The Express will still be blinking amber. Check to see if you can get an Internet connection when you connect to the AirPort Express wireless nework and enter the password.
Post back on your progress.

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

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