Create a WDS with Motorola SBG6580 Time Capsule and Express

I have a Motorola Surfboard SBG6580 and enabled bridging. Has anyone successfully used this cable modem as part of a WDS? I'd like to have the SBG6580 as the main base and then use an older 1TB Time Capsule and Airport Express to extend the wireless network. At the moment I cannot get the TC to see the SBG's wireless network. I can manually enter the network name and password but it cannot connect.

Unfortunately, the Time Capsule will only wirelessly extend a signal from another Apple router. It is not compatible with the wireless signal from the Motorola SBG6580 for this type of purpose.
What you can do.....is establish a permanent Ethernet cable connection between the SBG6580 and Time Capsule and then configure the Time Capsule to create a wireless network using the exact same name and password as the Motorola network.
That will result in one "big" wireless network, effectively extending the Motorola network.
The downside....the Time Capsule must remain permanently connected using an Ethernet cable back to the Motorola SBG6580.
The upside.....Ethernet can be run up to 330 feet or 100 meters with virtually no loss, so you should be able to locate the Time Capsule just about anywhere that you want.

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Hello - I recently got Comcast Xfinity service. We had switched from a different service. Our wifi service was never great, but prior to Xfinity, it worked decently. But now that we have Xfinity, our wifi is much worse and very unreliable. I am seeking advice on how to setup my various Apple wifi devices in my home. I have attached a diagram that illustrates what I am dealing with. We have a large old house with stone walls. Comcast does not support this issue.
To explain the attached diagram, we have a total of 4 levels in our house - an unfinished basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor, and 3rd floor. The Xfinity router is in the basement and it is connected to a NetGear 10/100 network switch. I already have ethernet cables running from the network switch in the basement to various locations throughout the house. So I have ethernet connected to my time capsule and ethernet connected to each of my 3 Airport express devices. The dark lines running from the network switch to the various devices represents ethernet cable.
The immediate problem that we are having is that we are unable to connect to our wifi networks. The networks show on my mac laptop and my iPhone, for example, but I am unable to connect. I know that I am inputting the correct password, but most of the time, we cannot get in. Sometimes we can..... Very frustrating! Also, due to the fact that I setup what I have over several years, I have multiple network names. I once tried to fix that issue, but was unable to tackle it due to my lack of understanding.
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How can I get Airplay to work with my 3TB Time Capsule and my two AV receivers

I have researched the net to death and my only solace is I don't appear to be alone. I have a 3TB Time Capsule that has a Denon and Pioneer receiver attached to it by ethernet. Also connected to the time capsule our three apple TV's. I can use airplay with my iPhones and iPads to the Apple TV but can't get either the Denon or the Pioneer to show up as Air Play options on any IOS Devices or my two Mac's.
I have the latest firmware on the Denon and Pioneer, the latest firmware on the Time Capsule and Mac's. I have tried power cycling, inserting a switch between the receivers and the time capsule but to no avail.
Any suggestions would be greatly

You can't officially as it relies on hardware.
A potential software solution is Airparrot.
http://airparrot.com
AC

Setting up network with ATT Uverse, Time Capsule, and Airport Extreme..HELP

PLEASE HELP!
I have ATT U-Verse which provides their own router. My Time Capsule is connected to the router (in the living room) via an Ethernet cable and has been working fine, and is set up like this:
Wireless Mode: Join a wireless network (I joined the ATT network 2wire)
Network name: 2wirexyz
Wireless Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
Channel: 5
Connect Using: Wireless Network
When I try to add my Airport Extreme (for wireless printing in the office) by adding it to the same network (I've also tried to extend the network option) the Airport Utility thinks forever then comes up with an error and the Airport continues to flash amber. I've tried resetting the Extreme multiple times and configuring different ways but same result.
What am I doing wrong?? Please help, my wife is giving me grief for not being able to print wirelessly from her MacBook!!
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!

Thank you Tessarax....
So does that mean I need to create a separate wireless network? I apologize, I'm not extremely familiar with how to complete what you've suggested. I know I've seen the bridge mentioned before in the Airport Utility when I've been trying different things. Would you mind giving me some more specific instructions please? Actually I just tried messing around with Airport Utility, let me know if I'm headed in the right direction:
For TC wireless mode I want to "Participate in a WDS network"?
Then where does my WDS remote come from? is that the Airport Extreme? I've plugged in the AEBS but it's not showing up in the Airport Utility...
I'll mess around with it some more tomorrow morning. Thanks I'll let you know how it goes.
Message was edited by: Jerimy75

Poor network speed with 1st generation time capsule and multiple airport express 5Ghz. My network speed slows to a crawl when not close to the time capsule. I get the range that I need, but the speed is painfully slow.

Hello,
I have a first generation time capsule running 802.11n (b/g compatable) and the airport expresse's are the newer 5ghz models. I have 3 airport express's and I have the range that I need. I can run the time capsule using 802.11n 5ghz, but I loose the range and can't connect to all of the airport express's. My computers and mobile devices run 802.11n. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to increase the network speed. Would the new airport extreme fix the problem?
Thank you

Unfortunately, you are experiencing one of the downsides to 5 GHz. That's because the higher frequency 5 GHz signals are much weaker than 2.4 GHz signals.
After all, you always have to give up something to gain something else. In the case of 5 GHz, you gain potential speed but in return, you must give up penetration power and distance capability.
In order to work well, 5 GHz signals need to almost have a line-of-sight relationship between devices. Unless you can achieve this, you will do much better to leave the Time Capsule running at the 802.11n (b/g compatible) 2.4 GHz Radio Mode and allow the Express devices to "extend" that network.
As for the location of the AirPort Express devices in an exended network, that is critical for best performance. That's because the Express can only "extend" the quality and bandwidth of the signal that it receives. Post back if you need a few more tips on how to find the best location for the AirPort Express devices.
Would the new airport extreme fix the problem?
Unfortunately, no.

Time capsule and express internet settings

Hi there,
I have the following setup:
1. cable modem
2. connects to airport express (as it's beside my amp for airtunes etc) which also is the main station for my wifi
3. time capsule in office
So the airport express provides the internet access and time capsule is just for backups. Only thing is that the backups take AGES. I have figured out the reason for this is the data travels to main server (AE) then to the TC, before coming back and forth between the laptop. So it's taking a long time.
My question is thus: can I set up the main server to be the TC, and still use the internet connection from the AE?
Many thanks,
Saqib.

Saqib wrote:
AE: internet connection sharing: off (bridge mode)
Those settings look reasonable, but the "bridge mode" setting suggests that your cable modem is actually a router. What is its brand and model number?
The MBP varies in location but never more than a few feet from one or t'other station (TC/AE) - transmit rate varies from 100ish and above (from the details that appear when you option-click the wifi icon).
From that option-click display you can determine which base station the MBP is connecting to. Compare the "BSSID" value to the "AirPort ID" values of your base stations. If you can get the MBP to connect directly to the Time Capsule backups might be faster.
What value of "RSSI" (signal strength) do you see at the MBP?

Best way to set-up U Verse, Time Capsule and Express to Extend Network

I'm trying to extend my WIFI signal with AP Express and TC using an AT&T U Verse router. Neither the Express nor the TC are directly connected to the U Verse router. Both the Express and the TC show they are connected to the network but when I try and edit the settings to extend the network rather than join the network they both show as not connected any longer. Before on DSL the Express and TC were connected as extending the network (slow but connected). The house is 3 levels U Verse in in the basement. Trying to get a connection on the 3rd floor. We have multiple iPads, iPhones, Mac Book Pro's, an i Mac and Direct TV receivers.
What's the best way to set this up to extend the range of what we have?

You cannot extend range from non-apple routers.
So both the TC and express will join the wireless of the uverse and then become dumb clients..
You need at least one of the two units plugged into the uverse by ethernet.. then the other device can extend that network.
Consider using EOP adapters if your distance is such that even with the correct setup you don't get the range you need. Or better still do it properly and wire it with ethernet.
It is possible to use the Express as a bridge..
So say setup on the first floor.. a wireless bridge from the express to the uverse.. then plug the ethernet into the TC.. and use the TC in bridge mode.. it will not be fast but it can work.
Reset everything to factory and start over.. as you will not be able to get this working without a full reset of the apple routers.
Note still not ideal but it might give you more range than extend wireless with say express plugged into the uverse.

What is the best configuration with Mac Book air, time capsule and external hard drive?

Hi, I just bought a MacBook Air with the new Time Capsule and I was wondering what is the best set up:
Option 1: use the time capsule as my main drive and back it up onto an external drive plugged at the back of it
or Option 2: use the external drive as the main drive and use the time capsule as the back up? in that case, would the ext drive need to be plugged to the MacBook Air?
Many thanks

Option 2 is far superior.. and actually the only one that works.
That is without killing yourself or having continual issues accessing your files.
You do need to plug the external disk into the MBA.

Would like my macbook pro to only connect to time capsule and not to airport express that is extending network. Is there a way to do this?

I have a network set up with a main time capsule and airport express. The airport express is configured to extend network. While its fine for our iphones and ipad to connect to the express, I would like the Macbook pro to only connect to the time capsule as it seems to run faster. Any way to do this?

You are extending the 2.4ghz.. as that is the only way you can connect iphones.
But if you have Gen2 or later TC you can setup 5ghz to use a different wireless name to 2.4ghz.. and it is much faster.. you need to be close to the TC though.. like in the same room.
Make sure you download 5.6 airport utility if you haven't already.. go to the wireless options and the extra wireless area.. set a different wireless name (SSID in everybody but apple's book). Then you can deliberately select it.

Time Capsule + Airport Express N How to extend

Have been trying to extend my wireless network but have been unsussessful. Here is my setup. Cable modem connected to Time Capsule and Express N connected via ethernet cable. I try to do it with the setup but it will eventually revert to picking up the cable modem IP address 169.etc so I think I might need to manually input the addresses. Will some walk me through this including the ip addresses I should use? The Time capsule is NOT in bridge mode and works perfectly with the internet and other expresses used only for music streaming. Thanks

Mitchell, welcome to the discussions!
You may find it easier to use Manual Setup in AirPort Utility for the device.
The key setting would be under the Internet icon. Look at the bottom of the pane for Connection Sharing, this would be set to Off (Bridge Mode). Under the Wireless tab, you would set the Wireless Mode for "extend a wireless network" and make sure there is a check mark next to "allow wireless clients"
On the setup of the Time Capsule in AirPort Utility - Manual Setup - Wireless tab, make sure there is a check mark next to "allow the network to be extended"
If you have a good wireless signal in the area where the Express will be located, you also might want to try extending your network without using the ethernet cable. Normally, a good starting point for positioning the Express is at a point that is approximately half the distance from the Time Capsule and the area that you want to cover with the Express.
You may also need to reset your cable modem by powering it down for 10-15 minutes and then restarting.
Please post back on your progress.

Time Capsule-AirPort Express-WDS not working together

According to everything I've read here, I've configured this properly, but it doesn't seem to be working. If anyone can help me troubleshoot this I would greatly appreciate it.
I have a new Time Capsule acting as my main wireless base station; it has a manually-configured static IP address, is plugged into my Verizon FIOS router, and is set to distribute IP addresses over wireless using DHCP. I have it set to run a 5 GHz network in addition to the regular 2.4 GHz network. I have an older AirPort Express that I want to use to extend the range of the 2.4 GHz network (the Express can only do 802.11b/g, not 802.11n), in part because we have some older devices in the house that I don't want to slow down the 802.11n network, and in part because the 802.11b/g signal doesn't reach all parts of the house very strongly. So I told the Time Capsule to make its network extendable, told the AirPort Express to participate in a WDS network as a WDS relay, and entered the MAC address of the Time Capsule's 2.4GHz network as the WDS main. Result: flashing amber light on the AirPort Express, which no longer shows up in the AirPort Utility; I had to do a hard reset in order to get the Express back (and then it had to be reconfigured again, of course). At the moment I have it just joining my wireless network, and that works -- green light -- but of course doesn't allow the Express to extend the range of the wireless network.
What am I doing wrong here?

Before there was dual band, we always told users that if they used WDS, the entire network would revert to "g", even if the Time Capsule, AirPort Express, etc were capable of "n" performance.
Your findings seem to confirm that this happens with a dual band as well.
I think it's well worth it to get the AirPort Express 802.11n. Then you can reconfigure the Time Capsule back to "Create a wireless network" and check the box to "Allow this network to be extended"
The Express"n" would then be configured to "Extend a wireless network". I use this setup and would highly recommend it. There may be a slight bandwidth loss due to overhead, but the performance is light years ahead of WDS.
If you are using the same network name for both bands on the Time Capsule, then I believe by default the Express will extend the 2.4 GHz "n", "g" and "b" band. This makes sense for most users since 5 GHz signals do not travel well over distance or penetrate obstructions well.
IF...you want to extend the 5 GHz band, the only way that I know how to do this is click Wireless Network Options on the wireless setup page for the Time Capsule and enable the option to assign a different name for the 5 GHz network.
Then you will have to configure the Express to extend this specific 5 GHz network. I never had much luck extending 5 GHz, and I wanted my iPhone to be able to use the network across the house, so I went with the simpler one network name for both bands and extended the 2.4 GHz network.
If you have a "g" device joining the extended network, it may tend to slow the "n" devices down slightly...when the "g" device is active, but it won't drag everything down to "g" levels. When the "g" device is not active, "n" devices will run at "n" speeds.
BTW, the ethernet port on the AirPort Express is active when you configure it to "extend a wireless network". This can come in handy for hooking up DVD players, etc that need an internet connection for firmware updates and extra features.
Follow up....I tried a very quick reconfiguration of my dual band AirPort Extreme (same router that the Time Capsule users) and AirPort Express using the WDS arrangement and everything did indeed drop way down in speed and performance.
Post back if you have questions. Happy to help.
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

Time Capsule and time machine with third party router

Hi,
This is the first time I use this site.
I have over three years old Mackbook.
APP has expired.
Now I want to know how to set up time capsule in a new environment.
I moved from Australian and Singapore.
I was using Time Capsule and Airport Extreme in Australia.
I have moved to Singapore.
I am using router provided by Singtell(Singapore Telecommunication). I do not have an Airport Extreme anymore. My housemate and I are using wireless internet-sharing. Needless to say that internet provider is SingTell.
Now I would like to know how to use time capsule and time machine with the network created with a router provided by SingTell.
What I did so far is;
Connected the time capsule to the power point.
Orange lamp lit and flashed for a few second and stop. Orange lamp stayed on.
Apple Utility does not recognise Time Capsule.
I prefer to use it wirelessly.
There are only two USB cable ports installed.
One is used to synchronize iPhone.
Other is used for a printer.
but if it is not possible, wired would be OK.
MacBook 13 inch 2.0 GH Late 2006
I hope that someone able to give me an answer for this.
Cheers,
morepubholidays

In this case the apple support people reveal a truly poor understanding.
You must bridge something.. you either bridge the TC.. which 90% of people do.. or you bridge the dsl router.. which some people do manage to do.. You will have to look that up for your modem and check with verizon if they support pppoe authentication.
IMHO just bridge the TC as you were told not to do.. as they are simply wrong about that.
If you already tried this and it didn't work.. try again.. it is the correct approach.
You have no choice. But this time let me suggest you do it using the 5.6 airport utility.. as the apple toyland v6 airport utility is likely half your trouble.
So here is how to get the utility into your computer.
How to load 5.6 into ML.
1. Download 5.6 for Lion.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482
Click to open the dmg but do not attempt to install the pkg.. it won't work anyway.
2. Download and install unpkg.
http://www.timdoug.com/unpkg/
Run unpkg on the desktop.. it is very simple.. drag the AirPortUtility56.pkg file over to unpkg.. and it will create a new directory of the same name on the desktop.. drill down.. applications utilities .. there lo and behold is Airport utility 5.6 .. drag it to your main utilities directory or just run it from current location.
You cannot uninstall 6.1 so don't try.. and you cannot or should not run them both at the same time.. so just ignore the toyland version.. the plastic hammer.. and start using 5.6.. a real tool.
For screen shots see this post.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4668746?tstart=0
Then open the manual setup on the 5.6 utility.. go to internet tab. Connection sharing.. off bridged mode.
Select this and update..
Then all your IP addresses will be wrong.. I suspect this is where things are going wrong.. and messing you up.
Once the TC is bridged.. turn off everything and restart.. in correct order.. modem.. TC.. client computers etc. 2min gap between each.

How can I add a Time Capsule 3TB to a network with an older Time Capsule 2TB?

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro with 500 GB HD and a 2013 Macbook Pro with 1TB HD. I am using Mavericks and will migrate to OS X Yosemite when it becomes available. I tried backing both up with my older Time Capsule with 2 TB of space but it isn't enough. So, today I bought the new Time Capsule 3 TB to add on to my network. I want to use both TCs in order to have 5 TB for backup.
I have a Brother printer and my Comcast Cable Modem connected to the old Time Capsule. I also have an Apple TV with 1080p HD that uses the internet wirelessly through the old Time Capsule.
My first question is what should connect to what and in what order? Should the new TC connect directly to the old TC and if so, with what cable?
My 2nd question is: Can I move several 100 GB of old data that I rarely use onto the 3TB TC so that I could access the data from either computer whenever I need it, without having the data on either computer?
Thank you.

This is a pretty easy setup.
Basically just plug the new TC WAN port into the old TC LAN port.
Run the airport utility on the computer and it should recognise that the new TC is plugged into another one.. and setup bridge mode and create a wireless network.. if not you can jump in and edit it at the end of the setup.
You could also swap things around with the new TC as the main router.. and the old one as the secondary.. but people are experiencing some issues with WAN connection to some cable modems.. so you need to be prepared if you have issues to go back to the original setup.
You will use an ethernet patch cable to connect them. I recommend if you have them in the same area place them at least a couple of meters apart.. so buy a 2-3M patch cable at least.. (8-9ft). Even better would be to install the new TC closer to the clients that will use it.. to improve wireless in dark corners of your house.. but all that can come later.
My 2nd question is: Can I move several 100 GB of old data that I rarely use onto the 3TB TC so that I could access the data from either computer whenever I need it, without having the data on either computer?
This is a lot harder question.. not in how to do it.. it is simple.. copy and paste files onto the new TC.. that is not the issue..
The problem is backup of the files that no longer exist on the computers. Ironically the TC is problematic for one major reason.. it cannot back itself up.. nor can Time Machine (TM) backup network drives. Even though TM uses the TC to store the backup it cannot actually work to backup the TC. The problems are not insurmountable.. you can use a third party backup.. eg CCC but it will be extremely slow. A better strategy if one of your computers is a desktop is to install an external drive and share it to the network. The data rate will be hugely better.. and TM can backup as per normal.

Backing up Mac HD with Time Capsule AND an external hard drive

I am sure that this question has been asked one way or another but I can't seem to find the exact answer.
I would like to back up my Mac HD with the Time Capsule AND another hard drive essentially to create two backups. Should one fail, I still have another copy as a precaution. The Time Capsule will be my primary back up because my external hard drive is usually switched off and will only be turned on from time to time to perform "less frequent" backups.
With Time Capsule AND the external hard drive on, will Time Machine just update the backup on the external hard drive without becoming confused with the other copy on Time Capsule? In other words, can Time Machine distinguish between two different Time Machine Backup files and bring them up to date accordingly?
I understand there is an archive function on the Time Capsule, which would also serve the purpose. However, I am wondering if there is another way.
Thanks.

Rheopaipo wrote:
I am sure that this question has been asked one way or another but I can't seem to find the exact answer.
I would like to back up my Mac HD with the Time Capsule AND another hard drive essentially to create two backups. Should one fail, I still have another copy as a precaution. The Time Capsule will be my primary back up because my external hard drive is usually switched off and will only be turned on from time to time to perform "less frequent" backups.
With Time Capsule AND the external hard drive on, will Time Machine just update the backup on the external hard drive without becoming confused with the other copy on Time Capsule? In other words, can Time Machine distinguish between two different Time Machine Backup files and bring them up to date accordingly?
I understand there is an archive function on the Time Capsule, which would also serve the purpose. However, I am wondering if there is another way.
I don't think it's possible to configure Time Machine to back up to two locations without modifying its settings frequently.
You might consider using that external drive to hold a bootable backup. You can create such a thing with either of the utilities SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner. If you pay the registration fee for SuperDuper! (~US$28), there's a mode where it will back up only what has changed, which makes the backup operation run quicker. (Carbon Copy Cloner may offer a similar feature.)

Airplay pausing with 1st gen time capsule

I'm using airplay to stream music from my MacBook Pro (mid 2010) to my apple TV and my stereo that's hooked up to an airport express. Airplay seems to stop and pause at random times (though according to iTunes, the music keeps playing). The streaming often, but not exlusively, stops when one of our computers is backing up to the time capsule.
I use a first generation time capsule to create my wireless network and I exted the network with my airport express. iTunes 11 and all my device firmwares are up to date.
Could my network settings on my time capsule cause the issue? Is the first gen time capsule simply too slow to create a fast enough network that can support airplay?

Thank you Sheila!
I read and implimented all the information in the links you posted. Unfortunately, it didn't solve my issue.
I used all the recomended setting for my Wi-Fi and even switched my wi-fi to use 5Ghz 802.11n. I also set my AirPort Express to join the network created by the time capsule instead of extending it. These two changes helped somewhat. All of the erratic unpredictable pauses in airplay were gone. After these changes, the only things that caused airplay pauses were Time Machine backups to the Time Capsule (on an external HD connected to the Time Capsule), and when I start up the AirPort Utility and it scannes my network.
Since then, I've bought another AirPort Express to send Airplay music to my living room stereo. To solve the Airplay issues I decided to have this AirPort Express create my Wi-Fi Network instead of the Time Capsule. This gave me a dual band Wi-Fi. I turned off the networking feature of the Time Capsule and connected it to the AirPort Express creating the wireless network using an ethernet cable. I also renamed my Time Capsule and it's HDs to names without spaces (as suggested by a few other posts).
Even after all of these modifications, airplay still skips every time a computer tries to backup to the Time Capsule as well as when the AirPort Utility is scanning the devices on the network. If I disconnect the Time Capsule I can go full days without a single airplay skip, but the minute I reconnect it and a backup occurs airplay just starts skipping like a bad record.
Why are backups to my Time Capsule causing airplay pauses? Would this also happen with a more recent Time Capsule model (I have a first generation model)? Is a new AirPort Express powerfull enough to create a home network capable of Airplay? Could the problem be due to the fact that the backup is done on an external HD attached to the Time Capsule?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Mathieu

Create a WDS with Motorola SBG6580 Time Capsule and Express

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