Connecting an Airport Express in client mode causing problems

Hi! I have an Airport network set up in the following way:
Time Capsule set up as the main router
Airport Express connected to the Time Capsule in bridge mode via powerline ethernet to form a "roaming" network. It has the same SSID, password and encryption as the Time Capsule network.
Everything has been working great, but recently I tried adding another Airport Express wirelessly in client mode so that I could stream music from iTunes to it. Since then, after a period of time, the part of my house with the AirPort Express units loses its ability to connect to the internet wirelessly. It still picks up the wireless signal--I just can't connect to the internet. If I wander to the area covered by the Time Capsule, however, wireless internet works fine.
Unplugging the client mode Airport Express fixes the issue, so obviously that is the source of the problem. Has anybody ever heard of this happening with a similar setup? Thanks!

Hi, Bill! Actually, no--the AE is creating its own wireless network with the same SSID and password as the Time Capsule. I had big problems with bandwidth degredation when I tried to extend the network like that.
But I believe I tracked down the cause of the issue--the powerline adapter was losing its connection with the other powerline adapter for some reason. Still observing that one, but all the Apple stuff appears to be operating normally. Thanks for the replay anyway!

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Having problems connecting an AirPort Express in client mode to a Linksys?

I have a Linksys WRT150N as my main access point. I recently dumbed down its security to WPA2 Personal so a Dell, and Xbox 360 could get on it wirelessly. Unfortunately, my AirPort Express refuses to connect now even after re-configuring it to use WPA. Its light just blinks Amber.
Does anyone else have an AirPort Express connected in client mode to a Linksys access point using WPA Personal security? I vaguely recall that I had this problem before, and solved it by using WPA2. Perhaps it's time to get an Apple TV for playing music on the home theater...
Thanks.

Hi, Bill! Actually, no--the AE is creating its own wireless network with the same SSID and password as the Time Capsule. I had big problems with bandwidth degredation when I tried to extend the network like that.
But I believe I tracked down the cause of the issue--the powerline adapter was losing its connection with the other powerline adapter for some reason. Still observing that one, but all the Apple stuff appears to be operating normally. Thanks for the replay anyway!

AirPort Express in Client mode

If you configure a current (summer 2012) simultaneous dual band AirPort Express in client mode:
1) are both the LAN and WAN ethernet ports available or only one of them, the LAN port presumeably?
2) If you unplug the ethernet cable momentarily to connect a different device, does the AX drop the wireless connection or is it maintained?

1) are both the LAN and WAN ethernet ports available or only one of them, the LAN port presumeably?
Both ports operate as LAN ports in this type of setup, since the Express will be configured in Bridge Mode automatically.
2) If you unplug the ethernet cable momentarily to connect a different device, does the AX drop the wireless connection or is it maintained?
Wireless will be maintained, but you may need to power off and restart the Express.
Better practice would be to power off the Express before you disconnect the cable(s), connect the cable(s) again, then power up the AirPort Express.

Does the ethernet port work when the using airport express in client mode?

I am considering using an airport express to extend my existing wireless network to a room where I can't get a cable to.
I will need to connect a at least 3 devices to the airport express.
The questions are:
- is an airport express the right answer to this problem?
- if so, does the ethernet port work (AE on client mode) as a passthru into the main network?
- can I plug a hub to it?
Thanks
RFSF

Hi Tesserax,
Really appreciate you taking time to respond.
I stopped by the Apple store this weekend and one of their sales people ( not one of their genius bar people) told me NO to all questions. I tend to believe more answers from people in this forum but just realize that I have not mentioned one possibly important point:
the main AP to which I will be connecting the airport express is not an Airport Extreme/Express AP.
Thanks,
Ricardo.

HT1515 how to setup airport express as client mode

How do I setup my airport express as clint mode? I have a printer that I want to use as a wireless printer. The printer is usb only printer. I want to use the Airport express to be able to connect to the existing network as client and be able to print wirelessly.

The AirPort sets itself up in client mode automatically whenever it is configured to "extend" or "join" a wireless network.
If you have an Apple router, the Express will configure itself to "extend" the wireless network, which will provide more wireless coverage in the are where the Express is located and enable the USB port, so that you can attach a compatible printer and configure it to work with the network.
If you do not have an Apple router, the Express will attempt to "join" the network, which will also enable the USB port. The Express does not provide any additional wireless coverage when it "joins" a network.

AirPort Express in client mode with WEP

I just bought an AirPort Express that I'd like to use in client mode so I can stream music from my laptop to my stereo. I have an existing wireless G network supported by a Netgear WGR614v4 router, using 64-bit WEP encryption. My laptop is a Dell Studio 15 running Vista Home Premium, and it has a Dell Wireless 1387 card.
I know there are some reported issues with AE and WEP encryption, but for whatever reason my laptop doesn't connect to WPA networks, so I'm stuck on WEP. I've been using WEP 64-bit, so I attempted to setup the AE to work with that. The AE was connected directly to my Netgear router, and I installed the AirPort Utility software on my Dell laptop. Went through the setup, entered my WEP passkey, and then got to a screen where I clicked "update AE" or something of that sort. It then showed a windows with some upload bars on it that made it look like it was doing something, but it finally resulted in an error message saying the AE could not be found following the update. After looking for help, I stumbled across the following thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1765010&tstart=0
which in Step 6 he mentions this "error" is normal. That gave me hope, so I disconnected the AE from the router and moved it to the other room where my stereo is. Plugged in the mini cable, then plugged the AE into the wall and allowed it to run its setup sequence. Eventually I had a solid green light, so I figured I was in good shape.
Problem is that I then opened the AirPort Utility software on the Dell laptop to complete the setup and activate AirTunes, but the AirPort Utility doesn't show the AE connected. If I log into my router utility though, it does show the AE as one of the devices on my network, so somewhere there is a disconnect. After reading some more, I realized I could manually connect via AirPort Utility by entering the AE IP address and password. Tried this and it seemed to work because it showed the info for my AE, but when I closed that window it was gone. I figured maybe that's just a bug with AirPort Utility, so I closed it out and went to iTunes, hoping to see the option for selecting AE as the audio output, but it's not there.
I've tried almost everything I can think of, but I'm having no luck. At times I feel like I'm even making negative progress because I'll start everything from scratch and it will get hung up at a step earlier in the process. For instance, right now I've just restarted from scratch and the AirPort Utility can't even connect to the AE to do the initial setup. For some reason, following a Factory Default Reset, and with the AE connected directly to the router, it now boots up to a solid green light, shows up in AirPort Utility under a default base station name, yet the AirPort Utility can't connect to modify my wireless settings.
Does anyone have any advice?

1) are both the LAN and WAN ethernet ports available or only one of them, the LAN port presumeably?
Both ports operate as LAN ports in this type of setup, since the Express will be configured in Bridge Mode automatically.
2) If you unplug the ethernet cable momentarily to connect a different device, does the AX drop the wireless connection or is it maintained?
Wireless will be maintained, but you may need to power off and restart the Express.
Better practice would be to power off the Express before you disconnect the cable(s), connect the cable(s) again, then power up the AirPort Express.

How do I reconfigure my Airport Express in client mode?

My home uses an AT&T U-Verse wireless network to connect to the Internet. I also have an Airport Express hooked to a USB HP Printer to create wireless access to the printer. With a change in U-Verse service, AT&T replaced my network interface with a new box, connected that box to new port at the sub-station, a new wireless network name and a new wireless network password. Now everything works except my "wireless" printer. I suspect that the issue is that the Airport Express has the wrong network name and password, but cannot figure out how to change it. My Airport Utility is version 6.3.1 and it does not find my Airport Express. My Airport Express is an older one and I can find no model number on it anywhere. How do I reconfigure my Airport Express.
Previously when trying to install an Airport Extreme on my system, I proved with several long conversation with Apple support that it would not work with the U-Verse system. I had to take the Airport Extreme back and use two USB hard drives for Tim capsule backups, one for each computer.

AirPort Utility 6.3.1 will work with the AirPort Express A1264, so something else is amiss.
Power up the AirPort Express for a few minutes, then hold in the reset button on the Express for 10-12 seconds and release. Allow a full minute for the Express to restart.
Open AirPort Utility
Click on Other WiFi Devices
Click AirPort Express
That should allow you to reconfigure the Express

I set up Airport Express as Client, I can no longer connect to my wlan

I set up Airport Express in Client mode so that I could use Airtunes. My Router/modem is a netgear one and I use WPA.
I can no longer connect to my wireless network from my ibook.
If I plug in the ethernet to the router I can. I can also then see from the router that Airport express has connected itself to the router.
So what do I have to do to be able to reconnect to myibook to the WLAN?

Double-check these settings on your iBook:
System Preferences > Network > Show > Network Port Configurations
- Verify that an AirPort option exists. If it does not, click "New" to create one. - Verify that AirPort is "On" (checked)
- Verify that AirPort is at the top of the list. If it isn't, you can drag it to the top.
Systems Preferences > Network > Show > AirPort
AirPort tab
- By default, join: Automatic
TCP/IP tab
- Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
- Configure IPv6: Automatically or Off
Proxies tab
- Configure Proxies: Manually
- Select a proxy server to configure: <All proxies should be unchecked unless you specifically require a proxy for Internet access.>
- Exclude simple hostnames (unchecked)
- Bypass proxy settings for these Hosts & Domains: <leave blank>
- Use Passive FTP Mode (PASV) (checked)

Question re AEBS Connected to Airport Express via Ethernet

If I have an AEBS that is being used to extend the range of my wireless network, if I connect an Airport Express via Ethernet to this AEBS for purposes of itunes airtunes will this work and will the wireless network remain wireless-n?

Yes, it will.
You also have the option of (a) completely turning off the radio on the Airport Express or (b) leaving it on, and using it to create a b/g point of access to your LAN thus allowing you to run the AEBSn in n-only mode for your n-capable wireless clients.

G5 & PC NOT STAYING CONNECTED VIA AIRPORT EXPRESS!

I've got a G5 and a PC - Hoped that Airport Express would allow both to access internet (via cable modem).
The connection drops after a little while. Everything says its working but obviously it's not.
ANY HELP??!!!
Thx!

reinis wrote:
I have white Macbook (802.11g capable) and Airport Express (802.11g capable).
I have a LAN internet connection, which is pretty fast. When I connect the cable to my ethernet and try to download something (for instance, speedtest.net) then the download speed is 33Mbit/sec, and upload is 20Mbit/sec.
I also have an Airport Express router - the 802.11g to be specific. So in the Airport Utility, under Wireless I selected "802.11g ONLY" and selected 24Mbit/sec Multicast rate.
When I tried to download something when conected to my Airport Express router - what actually happened, is that my computer is 2 m away from the Airport Express and the max download speed approximately should be ~24 Mbit/sec, but it turns out that the down speed is ONLY 14 Mbit/sec and the upload speed is 11 Mbit/sec.
So it means, that the Airport Express actually cannot deliver the 24 Mbit/speed.
I am actually pretty dissapointed, because I was kind of okay with the fact that I will loose those ~10 Mbit/sec from my actual internet sped when connected via Airport express, but I did not expect that it would be halved.
Any solutions?
According to one source, the maximum throughput of 802.11g is 25 Mbps. That assumes ideal conditions. To learn more about those conditions in your case, launch AirPort Utility, double-click on your AirPort station to enter "Manual Setup" mode, select the "Advanced" panel, click on the "Logs and Statistics" button, then click on the "Wireless Clients" tab. There you will see values for signal and noise. The closer those two numbers are together, the worse throughput you can expect.
If the value for noise is high, you might try setting your AirPort unit to a different channel.
All the above is based on your having no other Wi-Fi equipment.

Connecting via AirPort Express: Performance Help Needed.

Hello,
I'm grateful for ideas, instruction, pointers to threads I may have missed re: improving performance/determining the cause of poor performance when connecting via AirPort Express.
The deal: Up to 6 devices are connected to our AirPort Express. Only three of these are ever used simultaneously, though all remain "on," in either sleep or hybernate mode. Performance across the network is terribly uneven. Current data rate stats (a snapshot by way of the AirPort utility, in order of distance from the router):
iMac: 130 Mb/s
Printer: 54 Mb/s
Macbook Pro: 144 Mb/s
iPhone: currently "off"
PC (Connected via Belkin USB-type Wireless Adapter): 2 Mb/s
iPad: 39 Mb/s
Note: the Macbook Pro is often located in a room farthest from the hub, some 120 feet away and with partial direct line of site. Still, its performance is unimpeded.
At first glance, logic would dictate the worst problem is on the PC and caused by the Belkin adapter. But I've swaped that out for different USB solutions. Performace is seldom improved.
Wondering if:
a) The PC problem is in the data transfer rate of the PC bus. (Foregive me if I'm using "bus" incorrectly here. I'm guessing you'll know what I mean.) Or is it the nature of the USB adapters?
b) Please also note that the Printer, which sits close to the router, often has a drop in data rate, sometimes to the single digits.
Again, I'm grateful for ideas, instruction, or pointers. Also for wisdom on "extending" the network, perhaps by adding another AirPort device. I'm rather clueless about such stuff.
Thanks in advance- Best for the weekend-

Thanks,
I'm pretty sure the card is seated properly (it works most of the time after all). I couldn't get it to work when I installed it because it wasn't seated properly, I pushed it in as far as it could possibly go and it has worked since (except after extended periods of use). The Airport express is three feet from the eMac with only a couple of bits of wood between them. The connection does not go down at times which I can link with the use of any particular appliances (When the eMac stops working, the iBook is always fine, even in a similar position). It is the apparently time-dependent aspect that I can't figure out (I only notice it on those, fairly infrequent, occasions when I am online for a few hours at a time). The eMac discussion group is a good tip. Ta.

Xbox 360 does not connect to Airport Express wireless network

I'm at my wits ends. I got a my son a wireless adapter for Christmas and for the life of me cannot get it to work. We have looked at all the discussion forums on the internet and did A LOT of trial and error and still to connection. On one occasion the xbox 360 wireless adapter saw the network and once it tried to connect is dropped.
I have a Wii, two windows PC's, a printer and a PowerMac all connected to my wireless router. The xbox and the Airport Express both have the latest firm ware update.
These are some of the things I have noticed and tested:
1. Connection is Cable Modem>Vonage Router>Airport Express....wireless to Xbox360
2. I have taken the vonage router out to go
Cable Modem>Airport Express...wireless to Xbox360 and still no luck.
3. I was suspecting a double NAT and contacted Comcast to see if I could put the cable modem in bridge mode and they couldn't help me.
4. The network is open (no security)
5. The wireless adapter is a steady red...then when I tell it to find the network it drops out (LED turns off)
6. I have tried to see if I have a double NAT but tracing in the network utility does not show anything.
7. I have tried to place the Airport express in bridge mode and when I updated, it doesn't not come back up and I have to do a hard reset to communicate to it again.
8. There was one instance when the wireless adapter LED was green for about 15 secs and when we tried to connect it dropped out completely (no LED light).
9. I know it works because in the various forums I have read that people have it working.
I called xbox support and they were not very helpful...wouldn't even search similar cases...I have tried everything I could think of and I'm lost any assistance is appreciated.
Victor

Tesserax,
What is the make/model of the Comcast-provided modem? How about the Vonage router? Is this router also wireless? Finally, I assume that prior to introducing the AirPort Express Base Station (AX), the modem & Vonage router were working properly ... correct?
Thanks for your interest in helping me. To answer your questions:
1. The comcast make and model for the cable modem is Scientific American Model#DPX2203
2. The vonage router is ethernet hard wired connected between the cable modem and the apple express wireless route. The vonage router is model#VDV21-VD
3. With the exception of the wireless connection between the Xbox 360 and AX; everything works fine.
4. The AX is running Apple firm ware 6.3
In the discussion I have read of similar problems and have tried them all to no avail. I'm sure the is a fix to this problem because of people in the discussion groups have had the same issues. I don't suspect the wireless router because it has a steady red light and only turns off when we do the network test or scan for networks.
Victor

Airport 6.3.1 - Unexpected error connecting to Airport Express

I have an Airport Extreme (A1408) base station. I am trying to add an Airport Express (A1392) to my network using Airport Utility 6.3.1 (631.4) with Mac OS/X 10.8.4 (12E 55) running on an iMac. The Airport Utility can find the Express, but returns "An unexpected error occurred. Try again." I have reset the Express using the pinhole without success. I also tried connecting another Airport Extreme (A1408) to the same network with the same result: it can find the device, but returns an unexpected error.
Based on others' posts, I have tried changing the Network setting for IPv6 to "Link-local only". This also did not resolve the problem. Any suggestions are welcome.

I really appreciate your quick response!
The factory default reset didn't work. What did was connecting an ethernet cable. Here's what I did (for anyone else having a similar issue):
Connected the Airport Express via ethernet cable to the Airport Extreme base station.
Airport Utility found the Airport Express and set it up on the ethernet (wired) network. Airport Utility then showed a solid line between the Extreme and the Express to show they were connected.
I then edited the properties of the Airport Express as follows:
On the "Wireless" tab, change "Network Mode" from "Create a wireless network" to "Extend a wireless network".
After the Airport Express rebooted, I detached the ethernet cable.
I then unplugged the Airport Express and plugged it back in the room where I actually wanted it to serve as a wireless extender.
I waited a good 2-3 minutes, checked the status of the connection in Airport Utility in Wi-Fi mode, and voila! It worked. The solid line now shows as a dotted line between the Extreme and Express to show they are connected wirelessly.
I tried connecting a peripheral (in this case, my ethernet-enabled TV) via ethernet cable to the Airport Express extender and it was fully functional.
Thanks again for your help.

ITunes 11.1 won't connect to AirPort Express

Hello,
I just updated iTunes to ver. 11.1.0.126 from the previous version of 11.0.5. Prior to this, everything worked fine, no issues ever with connecting to my airport express from iTunes. Now that I've updated to 11.1 I get the following message when selecting my AirPort express for streaming:
"An error occurred while connecting to the AirPlay Device 'CasaWalck AirPort Express'. The network connection failed"
The AirPort express is a bit older... an 802.11g, running the latest version firmware 6.3 and it's still attatching to my AT&T Uverse wireless home network just fine. Went into the router admin to verify all is well, and it is.
At the end of the day, it seems to be the iTunes update that caused all of this. I should also add that with the iTunes update, I also installed iCoud (which I didn't have installed before) and the latest version of Quicktime.
I'm running
- Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 on an HP tower.
- AT&T Uverse wireles modem w/WPA2-PSK (AES) encryption
- Netgear WNA1100 USB WiFi modem
- Apple AirPort Express 802.11g w/firmware 6.3
Any help is greatly appreciated. I really want to get my streaming to work again!
John

Okay, I'm logging this for anyone who might be experiencing the same issue. I kept poking around my system until I found the solution myself.
In researching this issue, I kept coming across folks who found an issue involving their Mac systems. Since I have a Windows 7 platform that didn't do anything for me. Initially I started suspecting an IPv6 compatability issue between iTunes 11.1 and my old airport express. Found nothing fruitful there (including this so you don't waste your time chasing that down). The other common theme coming up with others was their firewall. I came across on thread in particular where if they disabled thier firewall, they got iTunes to connect to their airport express/airplay device again. However, they were stuck with a choice between this working and having firewall protection. I personally just couldn't operate without a firewall. So... I kept poking around and literally stumbled on the solution.
Windows 7:
Start > Control Panel > Windows Firewall > Allow a Program or Feature Through Windows Firewall > Change Settings:
- click to highlight iTunes from the list
- click Remove
- click Allow Another Program...
- Select iTunes from the list and click Add
- Click OK so save your settings.
- Test your connection AirPlay/AirPort Express in iTunes. It should work
- Restart your machine and test to make sure it still works after a reboot. Mine did.
From what I can gather, the previous installation of iTunes logged some sort of profile or entry into the Windows firewall. Once iTunes upated to 11.1, it seems whatever worked for the 11.0.5 install was no longer compatable. By remiving and reinstalling this entry in the firewall, whatever was needed was refreshed and all is well with the world again.
For all the times this community has helped me out, I only hope I can return the favor.
John

Can not stay connected to Airport express

I have an airport exress that is less then 9 months old. I have my internet provide wirlessely so my macbook pro picks up the signal and i share it with the airport exress. With the AE set to bridge mode. This was all working fine for the last 3 months, but now for some reason I can not stay connected with any of my devices wirelessly with the AE. I try to connect with my Iphone 4s and when i click on the network to connect i never recieve a check mark on the left all it does is give me the moving circle. I try to search the web on the phone and it will work for a second then not work for who know how long then work for a second ect.... i have hard rebooted the AE, reset network settings in my phone, reset smc and pram. when i access the ae through airport utility on my mac the internet shows green and the AE show amber becuase it says it does not have a valid ip address. I access the AE from my phone and the AE shows the same and the internet will go from green to amber and back. Also it will not stay connected to the AE i try to change setting on the AE through my phone and as long as i do it quickly it works fine, but if i wait anylonger then 10-30 seconds the phone drops the AE and i have to start over even though it will pick it up again with in a second or two. this is the same for ipad, three iphones, dell computer, and a android phone.

Simply reconfigure your Airport Express to either use for airtunes only or to extend the range of the existing network. This effectively connects the Airport Express to your main wireless router as a basic access node rather than a separate router creating its own network.
If you consult the User Guide that came with your Airport Express you'll find additional information on how to setup an Express to simply extend a local wireless network rather than function independently.
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Connecting an Airport Express in client mode causing problems

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