Do airport extreme devices cover two story houses?

any experience using one of the current versions of airport extreme in a two story house?
i am planning on installing it upstairs, as apple recommends placing it as high as possible
in a building. i am hoping that i won't have to put a second unit downstairs to boost the signal
strength. anyone have any thoughts on the subject? thanks, dave

any experience using one of the current versions of airport extreme in a two story house?
Yes. I have set up the AirPort Extreme in a number of cases and it was able to cover both stories. However, every case is different. Several factors to take into consideration: 1) The overall square footage that you want covered, 2) Where will you be placing the base station? Will it be in the center of the 2nd floor or to one of its sides?, 3) The building material used in your home, & 4) Other sources of Wi-Fi interference.
Typically you would want to perform a site survey. Of course to do so you would need an existing wireless router to make the measurements. If you already have the Extreme, go ahead and place it at the desired location upstair, then use the following AirPort User Tip to calculate the SNR values at different locations where you are planning on connecting to the Wi-Fi network.

Similar Messages

How do I change one airport extreme device for a new one?

I have an old Airport Extreme (looks like a flying saucer) that my cable modem is connected to. Other Airport Express devices expand the wireless network around my house and Time Capsule is connected to the wireless network.
I want to take advantage of 802.11n so I'm looking to buy the latest model of Extreme to replace the old one. I still want to connect the cable modem to the WAN port of the new Extreme but just wanted to be sure how I can "swap" the two devices and minimise the disruption to my wireless LAN and the devices that connect to it.
I'd be grateful for any help or guidance.
Kind regards,
Cliff
Brighton, UK

Welcome to the discussions, Cliff!
There is an old saying that goes something like "change one thing on the network and everything else on the network changes".
While it should be relatively straightforward to connect your new AirPort Extreme to the cable modem, you will also be creating a new "main" network and a new "guest" wireless network...assuming you will use the dual-band version of this product.
That means that any current devices that you have now that have been connecting to your old wireless network will all need to be reconfigured again to join the new network, so you are basically starting all over again from scratch with each device.
Since you have configured your old system, you already know that it is not that difficult providing that you follow the configuration instructions carefully. I'm guessing that you have the older b/g versions of the AirPort Express, so perhaps the most tedious process will be to setup the AirPort Extreme and Express devices to participate in a WDS (Wireless Distribution System).
You may need to refer to both the older and newer AirPort Networks guides as the older one includes step by step instructions for configuring the WDS while the newer guide covers the advanced features of the dual band Extreme. Please post back on your progress.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/Designing_AirPort_Networks10.5-Windows.pdf
http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/Apple_AirPort_NetworksEarly2009.pdf

Trying to extend my Airport Extreme network using two Airport Express

Ok, so just an hour ago I had a network working fine that was set up like this:
Modem => Airport Extreme => Airport Express 1 / Airport Express 2
Stupidly I decided to rename one of them, to their specific room location, using Airport Utility 6.3.2, after it came back online it was listed on the utility bliinking yellow, when I hover over it with the mouse I can see the YELLOW DOT next to STATUS: Extend network, if i click on that it gives me the option to A) IGNORE B) EDIT and futher it goes on to say that it CAN NOT EXTEND THE NETWORK, asking me to check if the device is configure correctly/password is correct/or within range.
I have tried everything, reset, factory reset, setting it up again, and it just comes back blinking yellow.
Stupid again: I decided to unplug the other Airport Express, to see if that would help bringing the first one online again, now I have TWO yellow - non-able-to-extend-range Airport express units in the house.
Naturally I am quite frustrated, so any good advice will be very much appreciated, thanks!
The Airport Extreme is version 7.6.4 and serial number 6F8070MYYEW (If that helps anyone), both Airport Express is the latest version.

Hi Bob thanks!l
After about two hours of trying everything, I finally did something that fixed the issue, and since I have been around the block so many times I am actually not sure what it was; but it was a change in the setting on my Airport Extreme, and I think maybe I canged the router mode from DHCP (Is that default) to DHCP/NAT - and after that I was able to bring my Airport Express stations online again.... Weird, and far from the tunrkey solutions I have come to expect from Apple regarding internet connections.
Thanks for helping Bob, althogh I came up with a solution on my own, people trying to help is always very very much appreciated!!
Best
Eirik

Reconfirmation about Airport Extreme device capacity

So if I read the current Airport Extreme specs correctly it can support 50 wireless and 150 wired devices simultaneously.
Would it apply to a setup of 2 Switches and 1 Mac Mini directly connected to it? The first switch would have 6 IP cameras, 1 NAS with Link Aggregation (2 ports), 1 Mac Pro, 1 Apple TV. The second switch would connect 2 Game Consoles, 1 Apple TV, 1 HTPC. That would be 13 devices total (or 14 if you count the two ports from the NAS).
I just want advice if it's recommended to do it.

So if I read the current Airport Extreme specs correctly it can support 50 wireless and 150 wired devices simultaneously.
The Extreme could actually be configured to have up to 50 wireless and about 200 Ethernet clients, but out of the box, in router mode, it is setup to handle 50/150.
Once you get much above about 20 wireless devices, things are really going to slow down unless you have a very fast Internet connection. Remember....all devices will share the same Internet connection bandwidth, so if you have 20 devices to connect and a 20 Mbps Internet connection, each device is only going to get about 1 Mbps.
This assumes that you have AirPort Extreme configured to act as the main router on your network.
That means that it must connect to a simple modem......not a modem/router or gateway type of device that is often furnished to customers by Internet Service Providers.
So, before we go further, let's clarify on what modem you will be using. Make and model number?

How do I include my Airport Express with my base Airport Extreme to extend my in house wireless network??

How do I set up wireless network extension/expansion adding Airport Express to existing Airport Extreme Network??

OK, thanks for the clear information, this really helps.
Locate the AirPort Express about half way between the AirPort Extreme and the general area that needs more wireless signal coverage. The more that you have line-of-sight between the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express, the better the performance will be.
Power off the AirPort Express for a few minutes
Hold in the reset button firmly...and keep holding for an additional 10 seconds while you simultaneously plug the power cord back into the back of the AirPort Express
Release the reset button after the hold period and allow a full minute for the Express to restart to a slow, blinking amber light
This process is tricky.....you almost have to have 3 hands to do this.
If you have an iPad or iPhone, the setup is almost too easy to be true. In that case.....
Tap on Settings (gear icon) on the home screen
Tap on WiFi
Under the heading of Setup a New AirPort Base Station....
Tap on AirPort Express
The utility will analyze things for a minute, then suggest that the Express be configured to extend the AirPort Extreme network
Type in a device name that you want to use, then tap Next
The utility will set up everything for you automatically. When you see the message of Setup Complete, tap Done and you are good to go.
If you want to use the Mac running (10.6.8) for the setup.......
Make sure that the wireless is turned on at the Mac
Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility
Select the AirPort Express and click Manual Setup
Click the Base Station tab under the row of icons
Enter a device name for the AirPort Express
Enter a device password for the AirPort Express
Verify the device password
Adjust the Time Zone setting
No other adjustments are needed here
Click the Wireless tab below the icons
Set the Wireless Mode to Extend a Wireless Network
Click on the Wireless Network Name box and your AirPort Extreme network name should appear as a choice. Click to select that....or manually enter the exact name of the AirPort Extreme wireless network
Make sure that Wireless Security is set to use WPA2 Personal
Enter the wireless network password for the AirPort Extreme
Verify the wireless network password for the AirPort Extreme
Click Update at the lower right of the window and wait a full minute for the Express to restart. A green light on the Express at this point will be a very good sign that things are up and running correctly.
Your Mac will automatically select the AirPort with the best signal quality. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you may need to manually turn off the WiFi when you move the device near another AirPort, and then turn WiFi back on to get the iOS device to connect to the best signal.
Good luck, please post on your results with the method that you choose.

Two Airport Extreme (6th gen): Two seperate networks or one router one bridge?

Greetings All,
I have fiber optic service and the modem that came from the ISP is wirelessly capable of old version of 802.11n and short range as well, it has four lan ports as well. So I bought two Airport Extreme (AE 802.11ac) and its working ok but I'm trying to understand the difference between the two scenarios in terms of efficiency and speed;
1. Fiber optic cable connected to modem. AE1 connected to modem Ethernet port 1
via physical Ethernet cable. AE2 connected to modem Ethernet port 2 via
powerline. DHCP disabled on AE 1 and AE2 and carried out by the modem. Wireless
on modem is of course disabled. SSID the same on both AE1and AE2 but 2.4 and 5
GHz channels are unique for each AE.
2. Fiber optic cable connected to modem. AE1 connected to modem Ethernet port 1 via
physical Ethernet cable. AE2 connected to AE1 Ethernet port 2 via powerline.
DHCP disabled on modem and AE 2 and carried out by AE1. Wireless on modem is of
course disabled. SSID the same on both AE1a nd AE2 but 2.4 and 5 GHz channels
are unique for each AE.
Any thoughts? Am I better off essentially creating two separate wireless networks or just one with one AE as a router and another as a bridge?

Your questions are really about a matter of preference. Both 1) and 2) are correct implementations.
In 1) above, the "modem" (which is actually a modem/router) is providing the routing services for the network.
In 2), the "modem" is acting as just that, a simple modem with AE1 acting as a router and AE2 acting as a "bridge" to AE1.
If you asked the support folks for your modem/router which setup was best, they would say 1). However, if you asked the support folks at Apple which setup to use, they would say 2).
AE1 and AE2 are creating separate wireless networks, but if you use the same wireless network name, or SSID, and password for both networks, everything will act like one "big" network. Technically, this is called a "Roaming Network".

Why can't I get TC or Airport Extreme to work in my house?

I am very mad at myself for buying a TC in April and now the new one is out!! I had issues with connectivity with my Airport Extreme and purchased a TC in April thinking that the APE was on the way out and now the TC is doing the same thing....help!!
I live in an old house with lathe and plaster walls. The TC is in a closet on the stairwell that is central to the main floor. We have about 75Mbps download from Comcast but the wireless was getting flaky. Our iPads, and phones would just loose connectivity and a speedtest.com test would show maybe 6Mbps when we had the APE so we figured the answer was a new router. After we started seeing some of the same issues with the new TC, I have changed our set up to using the TC as the base station and have the APE (old one) set up in the livingroom as an extention.
I am still not sure this is the best way to run this and am really mad that Apple upgraded just after I purchased the TC. Should I just sell the TC and get the new version with hopes that the new antena will help my problem??
BTW, I work for IBM from home so I really need the internet to work to the max in order to get my job done.

I work for IBM from home
Kind of ironic.
I am very mad at myself for buying a TC in April and now the new one is out!!
It is the nature of technology.. whenever you buy you are going to be caught by the next wave of products.. let yourself off.. Apple are the most secretive company in the world. Although I was telling people to wait for a fair while before the announcement.
I live in an old house with lathe and plaster walls.
The heavier the materials and the higher the moisture content the worse wireless. Older houses often have water problems..
There is no certainty the new AC model will fix your problems.. and certainly not without AC clients.
If you have a 75Mbps connection my first test would be ethernet to the TC and test if you can get that.. wireless turned off on the computer and no other clients turned on. Make sure the TC is actually routing at full speed.. people have found the TC can be slow.
If the ethernet test fails, replace the TC with another brand router.. eg Asus or Netgear.. ones that take 3rd party firmware are my favourites..
Relegate the TC to backup duties in the local lan by bridging it to the router.
If ethernet is fine and wireless fails to connect fast enough.. do a proper wireless survey in your home.. use a wireless analysis software.. I don't know the paid one for Mac but istumber is ok.. inssider on pc is really good.
A full spectrum analysis would be even better but that requires more specialised stuff. But turn off everything you own that is wireless.. cordless phones, av senders, door bells, baby monitors, and the zillion other things that use unlicensed bands.
Do a full reset of the TC and set names, short, no spaces and pure alphanumeric for both 2.4 and 5ghz bands.. different names.. and set fixed channels and test each in turn.. non-overlapping at 2.4ghz, 1, 6, 11
For 5ghz down low, 36-40 and one of the high channels is enough.. 150 or greater.
If you own the house and you do work from home.. run ethernet.. and claim it on tax as business expense..
Anybody running business should run ethernet.
Wireless is for toys and hobbies .. the reliability of wireless is really not up to business standards. At least IMHO.. !!
If the business run wireless.. it comes with products that have the big C on them and cost thousands of dollars. Ask at your local Apple store what brand wireless equipment they run.. it aint apple.

Airport Utility cannot see Airport Extreme Device even though connected to wireless network

I'm trying to set up a Macbook Air for my wife. I have a home network of four Airport Extremes that were configured in bridge mode with an authenticated SSID and one that is open for guests. On my PC my airport Utility sees all of the base stations and can configure them fine. On the Macbook air the utility cannot see any of the base stations no matter how many times I scan. The strange thing is that it can see both wireless networks. A fact that may be related to the problem is that the Macbook Air cannot authenticate into the secured SSID. The password is correct. Other machines (PC/Mac) all have no problem. Apple TV 2's, iPad's, and iPhone's all have no problem. I'm stumped.
Any help is appreciated! Thanks.

As usual in recent years, Apple creates and ships a problem (latest MacBook Air + Airport Extreme N + Airport Utility 6.1), and when multiple users encounter the problem, and post about it, nary an Apple supoort person to take ownership, so threads just die, like this one did. I'm having the same problem, and as a committed Apple customer, I just want to find any oither company to do business with.
(I'm sure connecting by wired Ethernet would work, but THE AIR DOESN'T HAVE AN ETHERNET JACK!!)
Love this community. Have had it with Apple.
Sincerely,
Marc

For four years Ive been unable to use my home network as anticipated. I have ADSL connection with O2, airport extreme, three expresses, two minis 10.6.8 and 10.7.3, and two pros 10.6.8 and 10.7.3, and a cinema thbolt display. Id like to use bbc iplayer.

I am unable to stream video and I lose connection frequently. Ive tried it using wireless connection and with ethernet. Ive tried using the O2 router (%series) as a modem for the extreme, Ive tried using the O2 without the extreme - not poss to extend network but MUCH faster, and Ive tried using a variety of other routrers and modems. My flat is 10m x 6m, there are no other wireless devices within or immediately adjoining except for my wireless landline phone that I have changed three times. Every single piece of my home network has been to the genius bar at least three times and the entire network with all devices has been taken twice. Genius bar have found either no fault or no explanation. Applecare dont seem able to tie their own shoe laces and have been worse than useless, suggesting things like checking a plug fuse (good advice but not relevant). I met a chap socially who turned out to be an apple employee home networking specialist. He offered to look at it and came to my flat. I quote him now: "F**k me, its just not supposed to do tha., Theres something seriously wrong with the system. It's an Apple problem completely". However, despite repeated requests I have not been invited to escalate the issue beyond the genius bar. Enen though everything possible is apple (they dont make a modem for ADSL??), all I get from them is it must be the fault of something else.
PS Ive had my O2 connection checked tens of times and paid for a bt engineer to check my line 4 times.
PPS The thunderbolt display was sold to me after I refused one on the grounds that the location of my mini was more than 2 metres from the display, and the salesperson reassured me that the thunderbolt connection was universally available and that would have no problem connecting the display to my mini 5 metres away.
I may well not be too bright when it comes to computers, but with their attitude of there being NO SUCH THING AS A BAD/FAULTY APPLE PRODUCT, ONLY SILLY CUSTOMERS WHO HAVENT WORKED OUT HOW TO USE THEM YET, I wish I will soon see their brand will rot in commercial oblivion ****. I have focused this on home netwrking but that is the tip of the iceberg. However, having invested so much of my life and my money in what I have, please can any of you good people out there show me the foolish error of my simple ways?

Hi Zac, sorry to hear about your troubles, but that's why us other users are here to try to help in these instances.
Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this connection drop happens.

Is AirPort Extreme Base Station the right device and reliable for my setup?

hey guys,
i got a 2012 13" macbook air, iphone5 and an 2012 appletv
ive also got two external usb3 2tb powered hdd's that i would to setup towards and use on my network.
i have videos/movies/files/music that i would like to access from the network,
so ive been looking at the extreme device and i can share via sb in the back x1 external hdd.
from what ive googled i can share more devices such as my x2 external hdd's via a powered hub, is that correct?
so my main question is..how fast is the read/copy/write going to be via through a hub?
will it lag/skip if i watch videos on my macbook or straight to my appletv, which supposedly i can do access aswell, is that correct?
just say video file will be 1gb only.. and im going to be only not even 5meters from the extreme device(network).
what transfer rate will it copy/write from and to from one device(usb3 external hdd via powered hub via airport extreme) to my mac?
what is the usb port on the back? 2 or 3?
does anyone have a similar setup or use an airport extreme device for this setup?
and my last question is...
how reliable are these extreme device?
from what i read, these devices only last like two yrs and people have had alot of problems issue with faults etc....

Speed of read/write: if you're going by wireless, you're going to be limited by the wireless speeds. Based on my usage, it seems like wireless N at 5 GHz tops out around 5-6 MB/s (40-48 mbps) with this router. That's fine for video streaming, but will feel slow for heavy file transfer activity.
The USB port on the back of the device is USB 2.0. As a reminder, USB 2.0 is rated for theoretical speeds of 480 mbps, although in practice they're much lower; regardless, it's much faster than the wireless protocols are capable of. Your bottleneck will be the wireless.
I only use a printer with my USB port, so I can't give you any real-world experience with sharing hard drives. You can use a USB hub to expand the ports, but it will need to be a self-powered hub: the Airport Extreme won't power devices through the port. It's also worth noting that trying to use a network-shared disk as a Time Machine drive is a bit flakey; I've read a number of reports where people got it working, but then had their backups become corrupt with time. I haven't read any reports of people having issues with using drives for purposes besides Time Machine, though.
As for reliability, it's hard to say. Nothing lasts forever; you'll find people whose devices failed very quickly, and some who are using generation 1 or 2 devices that are still working just fine. I haven't heard any reports of an usually high failure rate with Airport Extremes. Operation-wise, my Airport Extreme (5th gen) is the most stable router that I've used, and I went through four or five other routers before this one. It's the only router that I have not needed to reboot, even after months of uptime and heavy traffic that usually choked up my other routers. I'm very impressed with it.

Getting Rid of Airport Extremes under Shared Devices in Finder Side Bar

In the Finder side bar, under Shared, I see a nice list of all the computers on my local network.
Unfortunately, I also see my Airport Extremes (I have two) and they show up as type "PC Server". How can I fix this problem either by not having the Airport Extremes show up while keeping the rest of my computers showing up correctly or (ii) having the finder understand that these are Airport Extremes and not try to connect to them and show the wrong icon.
Thanks,
Robert

I appreciate you taking the time to look. My 3 macs are now displaying only other Leopard computers. The strange ones have disappeared. One strange listing did look like my airport express base station. I have a 2nd express airport which servers to play my itunes. I, also, have two PCs on a Linksys wireless network and a wireless printer on my airport network.
Have no idea why the strange additions have disappeared. In an attempt to get them to disappear, I did shut down & restart each computer (Macs & PCs), unplugged and replugged both express airports, turned off then on the printer, and unplugged and replugged the linksys wireless router connected to my DSL modem. My goal was to isolate the equipment causing the strange listings. No luck. Could only modify the strange listing by totally taking down the wireless network at the DSL modem. Then, after returning from working at a client's; everything looked normal. ?????

HT3728 how do I see IP addresses of connected devices to my airport extreme

I'm trying to reuse a Net Gear N600 router I had to shelve since I installed my Airport Extreme router as an access point. I need to see other IP addresses so I can configure the N600 IP address as 10.0.1.xxx. The only way to make sure I don't use an already used IP address for the N600 is to see what IP addresses are used by the system.
The only support I've found here is how to set up a distributed network using other apple airport extreme devices.
Has anyone done/added a second non-apple router configured as an access point to an airport extreme. If you have please let me know what you did. I intend to have the N600 connected via ethernet cable to my airport extreme to extend both my wifi network and connected devices.
Thanks,
Steven

Download the fing app on an iOS device

Airport Extreme no longer extending my network

I have 3 Airport Extremes and one Airport Express set up in my house (all 5th generation). One is hooked up directly to the modem and I use it to create a network, the other three I use to extend the network. The Airport Extreme closest to the main one works fine. The other two, as of a few weeks ago, have the blinking orange light and they both have the "Extended Network" error. The 3rd Airport Extreme is in the next room, it used to feed off of the main AExtreme without a problem. Sometimes it says "Connection: Good" sometimes "Excellent". I connected it next to the main AExtreme and it worked (green light), but once I took it back to its original place the orange light started blinking again. The 4th Airport (Express) feeds off of the 3rd one, so I understand why that one's not working. But I don't understand why the 3rd one stopped working all of a sudden. I've reset it to factory settings several times and nothing. I have made no changes in the configuration and there have been no infrastructure changes in the house (and no furniture has been moved). Is there any reason why the reach of an Airport would change all of a sudden? I really need help with this. I have no internet connection in two big areas of the house because of this one AExtreme.

Weirdly enough, I had a 1st generation Time Capsule lying around and connected it in the exact same place the AExtreme giving me problems is, and it works fine, but for some reason it's feeding off of the AExtreme that's right outside where the main one is and not directly from the main one. I've never had any problems with an Airport connecting to another one that is not the main one. I live in a two-story house, the Airport Express is the only one downstairs, it has always fed off of another Airport that is not the main one. Right now it's not being detected because there are closed window shutters that prevent it from getting the signal, but once I open them it's all good. When the AExpress downstairs is not working, there's no internet at all downstairs, but there is when I open the shutters and the AExtreme from which it feeds is also working.
Right this minute, after writing the first paragraph and taking a break, I restored the problematic AExtreme (Rosangela's AirPort Extreme) to factory settings and now it's working again all of a sudden. That one and the Time Capsule are literally right next to each other, yet one is feeding off of the main AExtreme and the other one is feeding off of the one right outside where the main one is.
I guess I'll have to restore the Express as well and put the previously-abandoned Time Capsule downstairs to cover more space.
John, how do I connect a base station in "roaming"? Everytime I restore a base station or add a new one it simply asks me if I want to extend my network or create a network. I ask it to extend my network, Airport Utility does its thing and it usually works. What's the difference between that and using "roaming" configuration?

Can PS3 access NAS connected to an airport extreme n via wi-fi?

We have currently an airport extreme n with two HDD attached. 1 is back for desktop macs and the other is general storage and media storage. The extreme is the connection point for all devices in the household. This is due to none of the devices being in one spot or near the extreme which is located at optimum location to cover the home. Cabling is not an option at this point. Specifically our PS3 which is our TV tuner, blueRay/DVD player and media centre. Only issue is I can't directly access the media HDD attached to the extreme using the wi-fi. Otherwise this setup works reliably 24 hours a day. The HDD is the correct format and so is the content. I have read that it is due to apple not supporting UPNP (sorry if I got that wrong). Due to other issues I've decided to upgrade the setup to add a NAS, probably a 4 bay. Reasons are for raid backup of media files and further expansion and storage flexibility without disturbing the media. Any way I can find lots of choices of products that say they fit my criteria. The only thing I can't find out or confirm is if the PS3 will be able to access the NAS media content if it's connected to the extreme and accessed by the PS3 via the wi-fi connection.
Cheers,.

I assume that you plan on connecting an Ethernet-ready NAS device to the Extreme. If so, then it should be accessible from the PS3 via either a wired or wireless connection to the base station.
UPnP would only be necessary for access through the base station's NAT firewall to/from the Internet.

AirPort Extreme 802.11ac boosted w/ 802.11n Express?

for the past year or so I have had a perfect set up that has worked wonderfully. It was an airport extreme hardwired to two different airport expresses. I had a perfect set up all three devices had the exact same Wi-Fi name and all three supported 802.11n. So why ruin a good thing? Well here's why…
recently we have obtained some new Apple devices such as new iPhone sixes and also new MacBook air is. All of our new devices are capable of supporting 802.11ac. So now I have decided to purchase the new airport extreme sixth generation which supports this new protocol of 802.11ac.
My question is this, if I have my main airport extreme configured the same way I used to have it, but now I have airport expresses that do not support this new 802.11ac protocol, am I doing myself a disservice? The boosters are located on our third level in the master bedroom where where most of the surfing is done with the newer 802.11ac devices.
with the brand-new sixth generation extreme located in my basement, most of the house is covered however in the furthest rooms, such as the master bedroom, I have an airport express hardwired and functioning fine. But my question is this how can I be sure that the MacBook air is that support 802.11 ac are actually staying connected to the basement brand-new sixth generation airport extreme instead of the closer proximity airport express?
I wish that my airport express is also supported the new protocol so that I can be sure that my entire house is covered by 802.11ac. There's nothing wrong with using 802.11n, but the reason I purchased the new extreme router was to take advantage of the faster and stronger signal of 802.11ac.
The airport expresses that I am running in my house are the newer white ones that looks to be the same shape as an Apple TV. These are not the ones with the FlipOut prongs that plug directly into the wall but instead they are the ones that have a regular power cord and it look like small little hockey pucks. Well, squares versions of hockey pucks that is.
this entire post was verbally dictated using my iPad air, so hopefully I have caught all of my typos or incorrect wording. But I think you can get the general just of my question here. I was hoping I would not need to use the airport expresses to boost the signal, but I think my home might be too big for one single router located centrally in my basement. I have it as Close to the ceiling as I could get it so the second floor is completely covered and most of the upper floor is covered and the entire basement is covered of course. It's just a few rooms that are above the garage and a few further rooms such as kids bedrooms and very important, the master bathroom. We all know how important that is. Thanks in advance to anybody who can help me with this issue.

if I have my main airport extreme configured the same way I used to have it, but now I have airport expresses that do not support this new 802.11ac protocol, am I doing myself a disservice?
Yes and no.
Yes, if you want "ac" capable devices in a remote location near the AirPort Expresses to connect at "ac" levels......because they won't.
No, if you need the extra range provided by the Express, and don't mind that the "ac" devices connect at slower "n" speeds through the AirPort Express.
But my question is this how can I be sure that the MacBook air is that support 802.11 ac are actually staying connected to the basement brand-new sixth generation airport extreme instead of the closer proximity airport express?
You can't, if all the AirPorts are producing a signal with the same wireless network name......since the MacBook Air will connect to the wireless access point with the strongest signal.....not the AirPort with the fastest signal.
IF....you assigned a different name to the wireless network that the Express devices were creating....then....you could "point" the MacBook Air at the basement AirPort network created by the AirPort Extreme 802.11ac down there.....but chances are, the MacBook Air will never connect at "ac" levels since they are carried on the 5 GHz band, which is much weaker than the 2.4 GHz signals.
In other words, 5 GHz "ac" signals are pretty much "same room" or "line-of-sight" signals. 5 GHz just won't penetrate walls and other obstructions nearly as well as slower, but much stronger 2.4 GHz signals.
The bottom line.....if you want the MacBook Air to connect at "ac" level speeds in the remote location, you will need another AirPort Extreme 802.11ac product in place of at least one AirPort Express, maybe both.

Do airport extreme devices cover two story houses?

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