Airport Express getting priority over Extreme

Hi guys,
So i have both an airport express and extreme. The Express is extending the network of the Extreme to the rest of the house, which is exactly what i want it to do, however; where i am in my room i get perfect connection to the Extreme but for some reason i get connected to the Express' network.
This is a problem because the Express' network is significantly slower for downloading (about a 7th of the speed) than the Extreme. So i was wondering if there was a way to get the Extreme to have connection priority over the Express even though they are technically the same network?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions,
Julian.

Welcome to the discussion area, Julian!
So i was wondering if there was a way to get the Extreme to have connection priority over the Express even though they are technically the same network?
Unfortunately, no. Your computer will automatically connect to the wireless point that has the best signal strength...not necessarily the fastest speed.
You may want to experiment with the placement of the AirPort Express to see if you can improve the speed on the network. Most users place the AirPort Express much too far away from the main router.
A good starting point would be a location this is about 1/2 the distance between the main router and the area that needs more wireless coverage. The important thing to remember here is that +the Express can only "extend" what it "receives"+. It does not "boost" the signal. So, if you have it located where it receives a slow signal, that is what it will extend.
So, you wind up with a strong "low" signal if the Express is located too far away from the main router.
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

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Thanks for the info.
I assume that the AirPort Extreme is setup and working at this point.
Work with one AirPort Express at a time to get them all configured, and then you can locate them where they will be needed.
AirPort Setup will configure the Express devices to "extend a wireless network" using Ethernet, so they will be broadcasting the same wireless signal as the AirPort Extreme and provide more wireless signal coverage as well.
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Connect a spare Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <-> ports on the Extreme to the WAN "O" port on the Express
Power up the Express for a few minutes
Hold in the reset button on the back of the Express for 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 AirPort Express to appear just under the listing of New AirPort Base Station
Click directly on the AirPort Express
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Enter a device name that you want to use....example.....Express1.....and click Next
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Now you can move the Express to the remote location where it is needed, hook it up to the Ethernet connection there, power up the Express and set up AirTunes on the device.
AirTunes is enabled by default, to other than make the speaker connection, you won't have much to do on that.
Set up other Express devices the same way, except assign a different name to each device....example....Express2, Express3, etc.....to keep things organized.

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The one which has no acces to a Ethernetcable is extending the signal of the other Stations. Now the problem is, this station is kinda in the middle of two Airport Express base stations, now it switches the source signal and after a while it's not available anymore. On this Express is the Soundsystem, so it's quite annoying when the sound suddenly stopps.
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the new Extreme base Station with latest Firmware 7.6.2
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I had to get sure that a whole house of a friend was able to connect to the same wifi-network with apple Airport Express and Extreme.
There are two Extreme base stations and 4 Express installed, all (but one) are getting the signal out of a Ethernetcable and create the signal itself with the same SSID and password. That works.
The one which has no acces to a Ethernetcable is extending the signal of the other Stations. Now the problem is, this station is kinda in the middle of two Airport Express base stations, now it switches the source signal and after a while it's not available anymore. On this Express is the Soundsystem, so it's quite annoying when the sound suddenly stopps.
How could I fix this, since I think it's not possible to fix the source on the device just the network but I want the network in the house to be the same and not having two different SSIDs. Shall I install a ironwall between one of the stations
Hardware:
the new Airport Express 2Generation with the latest Firmware 7.6.2
the new Extreme base Station with latest Firmware 7.6.2
Thanks for your imput.

Airport connection taking priority over Ethernet

There have been similar posts about this, one of which is marked as answered so I can't reply to that.
I am running within my company and may Macbook is connected via Ethernet to the network. I have a Time Capsule doing wireless backups. The Time Capsule is also connected to the network via Ethernet to provide me with a personal WiFi point (so I can use if with my iPad etc).
However I noticed that wireless connection is taking priority over the wired Ethernet, effectively making the Ethernet wired connection to my Mac redundant. Whilst this doesn't really result in a massive performance issue, it would be best to use Ethernet whenever connected.
I checked System > Network > Set Service Order and Ethernet is above AirPort.
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Hi,
Welcome to the  Discussions
I read this as no-one seemed to have made a reply.
I ma not sure I have the answer but I do have some questions.
Those answers may provide some insight to someone that can help.
Are you saying that effectively you have a Modem and possibly a router that serves the computers at your company ?
Separate from this a Time Capsule is also on this Network.
You say Wireless backups.
Does this mean the Setting in System Preferences > Network differ between the Airport Card settings and the Ethernet Card Settings ? (Different "router IP" Listed)
Could you explain how the Computer is therefore doing Wireless backups ?
If you are Ethernet to the regular router and then Ethernet from there the to the Time Capsule I don't see how it was set up for Wireless.
Was the Time Capsule set up to Extend the regular Network ? (Join an existing Network or if set up manually, the drop down in the Internet pane read "Bridge (Off) Mode")
The System Preferences > Network Settings would be the same except for the Airport Cards IP Address and the Ethernet card's IP address in this case.
From there where are you getting the info that the Wifi/Airport card is taking priority ?
Setting the Sort Order needs you to Drag things down the List or only up to second place (you cannot drag to the top directly).
You do seem to be saying that you have achieved this.
The Mac Help on this does not say that one will override the other - just that it will try the top one first.
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o AEBSn = main base station
o AX#1 = relay base station
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I have an ipad 2 with airport express that I use to play and change music whilst teaching ballet class. Recently, I keep losing connection and the airport express appears to be getting quite hot. I did use Archos but changed to Apple for reliabilty! Can anyone help or should I just buy a new airport express.

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Hi everybody!
I'm planning on buying a MacBook Pro sometimes next year and I'm wondering... Would it be a good idea to buy an Express base station? I look at the specs and they seem to be the same.
My mother is also planning on buying a MacBook Pro so there would be two connected computers to it wirelessly. Will it be as efficient as the Extreme base station?
I will also quit my home in a year or so, so I would take the AirPort Express with me.
Any ideas about this?

I'm planning on buying a MacBook Pro sometimes next
year and I'm wondering... Would it be a good idea to
buy an Express base station? I look at the specs and
they seem to be the same.
There are some differences
AirPort base station differences
http://tech.ifelix.net/1301.html
The Express can do AirTunes, the Extreme has a dial-up modem and a LAN port are some major differences.
My mother is also planning on buying a MacBook Pro
so there would be two connected computers to it
wirelessly. Will it be as efficient as the Extreme
base station?
Yes
I will also quit my home in a year or so, so I would
take the AirPort Express with me.
You could.

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The Airport Admin utility internet TAB reads as follows
Connect Using Ethernet
Configure TCP/IP using Ethernet
Configure Manually
IP Address: 192.168.3.170
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Router Address: 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers: blank
blank
Domain Name: Blank
WAN Ethernet port: Automatic
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Distribute IP Addresses [CHECKED]
Share a Single IP Address (using DHCP & NAT) [CHECKED]
Use 10.0.1.1/24 addressing [used option]
No other options checked on this tab.
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===========================================================
C:\Documents and Settings\TAPAN>ipconfig
Windows IP Configuration
Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.1.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.1.1
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.3.170
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
==========================================================
Ethernet shows up here because I am using the internet on my computer directly right now.
But the AE is connected and printer and Airtunes is working fine. It still flashes Amber though.
Any other details you require to further analyse the problem? .. I have tried various combinations of basic IP settings. Resets to the AE, restarts to the Computer already. But I am willing to follow any additional instructions you might have for me and provide you any other information you might require.
Many thanks, You should realise that your continuing support is very encouraging and means a lot to me.

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Airport Express getting priority over Extreme

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