Expanding signal strength to Express airtunes with 2nd AEBS
Herr0,
I currently have my AEBS(n) tapped into the cable modem in my entertainment room. Problem is that it is on the very opposite side of the house and I want to stream airtunes to my Express stations located throughout the house (http://bp2.blogger.com/_SV-StZbqvdw/RgRPAyXhzJI/AAAAAAAAAGI/5dXJkX4Nz4k/s1600/ho menetwork.JPG)
I also have one in my garage.
The airtunes signal continutes to cut out in the pool room, so I know I need to extend the range of my WiFi, and I am thinking of buying a 2nd AEBS(n) and placing it in the kitchen to be a remote base station to help feed signal to the express stations in the kitchen and pool room.
Will this work? Will my speed suffer? Is their a cheaper way to extend the range of my wifi from my AEBS located in the media room?
Hello iSearched. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
Before buying another router, I suggest that you do a simple RF site survey using your MacBook Pro and the freeware iStumbler utility.
Use iStumbler's Inspector feature (select Edit > Inspector from iStumbler's menu) to determine the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) at different points around your house. Within the Inspector, note the values for "signal" & "noise" at these locations. Start with your MBP near the AEBSn, note the readings, and then, choose the locations where you would want to place the AirPort Express Base Station (AX).
SNR is the signal level (in dBm) minus the noise level (in dBm). For example, a signal level of -53dBm measured near an access point and typical noise level of -90dBm yields a SNR of 37dB, a healthy value for wireless LANs.
The SNR of an access point signal, measured at your MBP, decreases as range to the source increases because the applicable free space loss. An increase in RF interference from microwave ovens and cordless phones, which increases the noise level, also decreases SNR.
SNR Guideline
o 40dB+ SNR = Excellent signal
o 25dB to 40dB SNR = Very good signal
o 15dB to 25dB SNR = Low signal
o 10dB to 15dB SNR = Very low signal
o 5dB to 10dB SNR = No signal
If the SNR is 20dB+ at each of these locations, then you should be getting reasonable performance from your AirPort. If less, either try to locate the source of the Wi-Fi interference or try relocating either the base station or the wireless clients until they are within a 20dB SNR range. If neither of these help, then the next step would be to add another base station. However, you want to avoid setting up a Wireless Distribution System (WDS), if possible, because for each base station added, the overall bandwidth is cut in half.
Btw, nice setup!
Similar Messages
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On my iPhone I can update the 3G signal strength by dialing *228 with Verizon. Is there anyway I can update signal strength with Verizon on my ipad?
it does not really update your signal strenght, It disconnects you from network and reconnects you back. Termin is reprovisioning. Once your phone is reconnected it autmatically searches for the best cell on the closest tower. You can do the same by simply turning off your wifi radio (airplane mode off). As far as I know there is nothing on your ipad that will make them(verizon) to reprovision your account on their side.
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Airport Express/AirTunes with Verizon Internet
hi!
i'm trying to set up my airport express with a verizon router. i only want to be able to use this to stream music/print wirelessly so i'm not trying to extend or replace the network.
when i reset the airport express and go through the configuration process, pick a name, password and connect to the existing wireless network from verizon an error pops up saying:
"AirPort Utility was unable to find your base station after restarting. The settings for this base station have been successfully updated, but there was a problem re-joining the wireless network or finding the base station. You may need to select your network from the AirPort menu and try again."
the airtunes network isn't available to select from the airport menu and my existing wireless internet network stops working until i reset everything.
any ideas how i can get airtunes to work? i'm not sure why the base station can't be found after set up.
thanks!i'm not sure why the base station can't be found after set up.
The AirPort Express is not joining your Verizon wireless network because it does not have the correct settings...probably security related.
Can you tell us exactly what type of security your Verizon router is configured to provide? We can't tell you how to configure the Express until we have this information.
You may need to get into the configuration pages for the Verizon router if you don't know the exact type of security that is being used on the network. -
Iphone in Great Britian discovers Apple tech problem - Signal Strength -
November 25, 2007
Signal trouble: British iPhone mystery
Is O2’s network to blame, or Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone?
That’s the question posed by more than a few British iPhone owners who purchased the device in the past two weeks and have been struggling ever since to get decent telephone reception on it.
The problem surfaced two days after the phone went on sale in the U.K. when “Matlock” in Derbyshire started a discussion thread on Apple’s support board entitled “UK 02 (poor signal strength/reception problems)”:
My iphone can barely pick up even the slightest signal, although on occasion can pick up 3 ars, only for it to drop out again. I have two other 02 phones, a Sony Erricson and a Nokia n95 with no reception problems at all. Is anyone experiencing same problem with their iphone, I would like to hear from you. (link)
Two weeks later, Matlock’s query has received more than 100 replies (and 3,723 pageviews), most of them registering similar complaints. Some users found that reinstalling the software made a difference. When others returned their phones for new ones, the problem went away (although some reported that the new phones were no better).
Definitive U.K. sales figures are not available, but O2 reported that it sold “tens of thousands” of iPhones the first weekend it was available.
Several posters on the Apple discussion board volunteered that unlike the complainants, they were getting great reception on their iPhones. And many owners with signal problems expressed pleasure with how well the device performed its other functions.
But unlike American iPhone owners, who tend to blame any reception headaches on AT&T’s (T) cellular network, the assumption in the U.K. seems to be that the signal problem is Apple’s. The impression is reinforced by O2, which has been referring callers directly to the manufacturer.
One clue is that many British iPhone owners can, like Matlock, compare the signal strength on their iPhone with other cellphones using the same network (one user even posted photos showing the phones side by side). Another is that the indicator on the iPhone tends to jump to five bars as soon as it is placed in the charging dock, which suggests that the problem is battery related. As user Richard Catledge points out:
It says in the manual that phone signal is adjusted to the minimum power when not in use, just enough to detect the incoming pings, then it will power up to get the best quality call. It is digital, so as long as the signal power is strong enough to reconstruct at the other end, more power is pointless. I suspect this is what you are seeing, or a slightly flakey implementation.
Meanwhile, the consensus on the discussion board is that unhappy owners should let Apple know. Writes one user who posts as ::…SAM…::,
The only way to get anything done about it is if people that have poor signal problems is to take your phone back and get it replaced. The more phones they get back, the sooner they will do something to fix the problem. Emails and complaints are fine, they can be put in a folder, high handset return numbers cant be so easy to hide under the rug.
Thanks to InformationWeek’s Alexander Wolfe for the link. See his report here.
FiledInteresting post. My previous phone was an 02 XDA Exec, a smart phone based upon a common handset (forget which one), but the smart phone before that was the same. They all had one thing in common - poor reception.
tbh, I think its an inherent problem with smart phones. However, with my iPhone I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary really. Its better than the XDA, at least the iPhone doesn't drop out completely!
But compare it to a normal handset and the normal handset will normally have a much better reception strength. -
Airport Extreme signal strength problem
My airport extreme's signal is very weak by the time it gets to the other end of my house, and a couple of computers at that end have been using my neighbor's unsecured wifi for their internet connection. How can I extend or strengthen the broadcast? Is there a setting in the airport utility app? The computers affected are windows xp computers. My iMac and Vista pc are connected via the ethernet cable, so they're not using wifi.
Welcome to the discussion area!
Wireless signal strength dissipates quite quickly with distance and any obstructions such as walls or ceilings will make this effect even more noticeable.
If you have a newer dual band AirPort Extreme and you want to extend both bands for greater wireless coverage using wireless only, then you'll need to look at another dual band AirPort Extreme.
The AirPort Express can also be configured to extend your wireless network, but it will only extend one band.
The extending device would normally be located at approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the distance between your main router and the area that needs more wireless coverage.
Post back if you decide to add an extending device to your network and you need help with configuration details. -
Does the Note 4 have better signal strength than the Note 3?
I have a note 3 that continually drops calls and bounces from 4 bars to 1 bar over the course of time with the phone being stationary. I believe my problems started with the last software update (as documented in numerous forums) but both Verizon and Samsung give no credibility to problems raised on internet forums. The people on these forums apparently "lack technical expertise" was my take on their explanation.
So far they, Verizon, is following exactly the same course of action to try to correct my issues as other folks have stated they tried with tech support. Replacement of the SIM card did nothing. Software reflash is next followed by a factory reset with no additional apps allowed to download to the phone.
I have not looked at a Note 4 nor do I know anyone that has one so I am reaching out for information. What is the Note 4 running for software and if you owned a Note 3 previously did you experience signal strength issues where you felt you shouldn't have? If you had, or have, weak signal strength were you able to compare it to another android phone on the same carrier to see if the problem was specific to you phone?
I understand the bars are not the best indication of signal strength but they are a quick indication. Under the mobile networks I usually have -100+ dBm and 30 +asu. If it is a software caused problem neither Verizon or Samsung knows anything about it which is good news because they should be able to correct it. I have my doubts the people on the forums are the crackpots they make them out to be. I suggested they are people like me who are desperate for help with a problem Verizon gave up on.
If the Note 4 is better I know what to ask for when they hit the end of the road with me. That will happen software and reset wise in the next week then I am off to "getting someone else's problem phone" sent to me for a swap. Last time they tried this the junk phone they sent didn't even recognize the sim card!
Thanks for any facts you can provide about your experience with the Note 3 and Note 4 as related to signal strength in both areas with strong and marginal service.I have an iPhone 6 on Sprint for work and it stinks, I don't like the service or the phone. Had an iPhone 5s prior and although I didn't care for it it was still better than the 6.
I had a software reflash done at Best Buy and a factory reset at Wireless world. Reflash went smooth but I should have done the factory reset myself or had Best Buy do it. It will take me days to get the phone back to where I had it. Kies software from Samsung does backup the phone but you lose all the changes you have made to the Home screens and some other apps need attention to get them functional.
Signal strength remains the same but need to use it for a few days to know if it still drops calls and breaks up. If it does next on the list is running in safe mode for a few days to see if an app is causing it. If the problem still persists I have the choice of replacing it with insurance, money out of my pocket. Sending it to Samsung for testing and repair (if necessary), or having Verizon send a replacement refurbished phone. Probably will go with the refurbished phone and hang on to mine for a few days as well. If the refurb isn't any better I will return it and then send mine to Samsung.
According to Wireless World the insurance company will pay me for my phone if I trade it in before a year is up. May get up to 50% of full retail. Not sure what to trade it in for if I go that route. -
Measuring cell signal strength
iOS4 displays fewer signal strength bars than iOS3 did. It is clear that many people are interpreting this as less signal strength.
Is there a way to measure signal strength numerically rather than as bars?
Is there an app that does this?
Perhaps looking at strength as a number would be a better way to determine if you have a good signal.
For those of us who have not yet upgraded to iOS4, we could get a measurement of current strength in specific locations, and compare that another iphone using iOS4, or to our own phone after updating the OS.It seems to that this would be a more precise way to determine your signal strength.
I agree with you, Ride1992, that the best measure is whether or not your calls go through (Can you hear me now?), but people are getting really bothered and perhaps confused about the new way of presenting the signal bars. A numerical rating might be a better way.
The number of bars displayed is based on a signal strength number anyway. Why not just display this number, and people can then determine what the minimum strength needs to be for them to place/receive a call.
Just seems to me that this might be a better way to display signal strength. -
1242AP how to check signal strength
I have a 1242 set up as a bridge tied to a solid dish. About 3 miles away I have 3 yagis set up as a non bridge working fine. I set a forth yagi say 800 ft away from a working yagi and the siginal works for a few minutes and then shuts down so I mounted a 50 ft. tower same problem so i replaced the yagi with a solid dish yesterday and my connection lasted the day and this morning it was down again.
There has to be a way to see the signal strength but I don't see it in the configuration. I swaped the unit with the one at a working location and it works just fine. The only thing I haven't done is try a different cable. I'm using a 100ft premade cable from Cisco.
Any help is greatly appriciated
Thanks
DKDshow dot11 associations all
typically shows signal strength, and SNR along with a few otehr details when users connect.. While i have no experience with bridges, i would expect that this would have the same effect.
Hope it works for you. -
Is it normal that Apple TV 1st generation cannot use AirTunes with Apple TV 2nd generation or Airport express 2nd generation? I want to play music synced in my ATV 1st gen. to a nymber of speakers in the house. In the list of speakers I can see Apple TV itself and my two Airport Expresses 1st generation but not my Apple TV 2nd generation or my Airport express 2nd generation. For the ATV 2nd gen. I found a solution: when I enable the Airplay setting of XBMC which is installed on my ATV 2nd generation, then AirTunes in ATV 1st gen. sees the speaker "XBMS (Apple-TV)". Itunes can in my Macbook pro can use Airplay with all my speakers, i.e. ATV 1st gen., ATV 2nd gen., Airport Express 1st gen., Airport Express 2nd gen.
Last time I checked ATV1 could not use Airtunes to send audio to an AppleTV 2 or 3 - highly annoying as you think they would have kept backwards compatibiility for audio, but it seems Airplay is more than a superset of Airtunes.
AC -
I have a wireless home network consisting of a time capsule, two airport expresses and a cable modem. Even with this configuration I get a very weak signal in much of be condo - the walls, etc. are solid concrete. I want to see if I can add another separately connected cable modem and connect one of the existing airport express to it by Ethernet cable. If so, this would give me two wired hubs and greatly improve signal strength. I do not know if this configuration will in fact work or if I will just wind up with two, separate and unrelateable networks. Unfortunately, there is no way to run any additional Ethernet cable and I doubt simply adding more Airport Express will help. Thanks.
Try Ethernet over Power adapters.. these are very popular for your kind of environment.. being able to make non-wireless link to another area where you can setup a wireless access point.
Airport Express are not great for wireless power.. if you really have issues with wireless strength in a bad environment apple stuff is not the way to go.
The comparison chart here.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/58-2_4-ghz-dn?see=P_F
This is their worst test location you can also see averages.. the latest airport extreme.. is there a long way down.. and that is a much better wireless device than Airport Express.
The Ubiquiti power AP is small cheap and designed for precisely this duty.. useless in an apple wireless network.. you will need to run ethernet or EOP adapters back to the main router.. but if the normal omni directional antennas don't provide enough signal you can get directional ones.. I suspect you can cover your whole apartment with a pair of these and high gain directional antenna. -
Airport Express + iTunes 10 not working with Airtunes, but 2nd Airport does
Hey,
at first I have to excuse myself for my English, i come from Germany.
I looked around in the topics but i didn't find anything that helped me.
I own 2 Airport Express stations since nearly a year.
One of it creates a Wi-Fi network and is connected to a switch, which is connected to the internet.
The other Airport Express is set up as repeater and everything works fine, even Airtunes.
But then i noticed, that the Wi-Fi creating one was not able to work with Airtunes, which it was some weeks ago. I think this has something to do with iTunes 10. The other Airport works well with Airtunes with the same Macbook and speakers.
So I made a new set up on the Wi-Fi Airport, because some guys reported, that the problem would disappear then, but it didn't.
But I wondered why my iPhone 4 is now abled to play music via Airtunes with the new iOS 4.2.1 on the "broken" Airport, because my mac was not abled to do so and I thought of returning it to the Apple Store.
So how do i get this thing running again? I would like to use both of the Airports to listen to music in different rooms with my Macbook.
I would be glad for any help, thanks in advance
TheShima@TheShima,
First open up the airport utility and see if both AE's show up. If not:
This would be my guess, unplug them both for 10 seconds, plug the network creating one back into the wall, them plug the second one back in after the first has a green light. If that doesn't work, "manual setup" and looking for the option that allows speaker sharing.
Finally if that doesn't work reset them, recreate the network reviewing the the advanced settings in "manual setup" and looking for the option that allows speaker sharing.
Does anyone know how to get movie audio to play through the airport express? I really want this to exist my wife's laptop speakers are awful and I would love to have the audio streamed to my airport express. -
Okay, well I have just bought a AirPort Express Base Station ( 2nd Generation ) and I'm new to it, but I wanted to ask that if it join's a network you have setup at home, will it still run with the 2.4 GHz and the 5.0 GHz.
The AirPort Express will "extend" both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks and provide more wireless signal coverage when it is connected to another Apple AirPort router and configured correctly.
The AirPort Express cannot provide more wireless coverage though, if you are trying to connect it to another 3rd party wireless router using wireless only.
It should be possible to set up the Express to provide more signal coverage if you connect it back to the main router using a wired Ethernet connection or using Ethernet powerline adapters. -
I have a studio apartment behind my house. It is across a 20' patio and tree. I have an airport extreme in my front room, and an airport express in the back room of the house closest to the studio. I want to provide my tenant with wireless. She is only able to get two out of four bars on her signal strength. We live in an urban area, and there is lots of "noise" -- mac stumbler shows a signal in my house of 63 - 98 with noise around 52 at most times. I don't know if this is the problem... can I extend the first express with a second? Perhaps actually in her apartment?
powerbook G4 Titanium Mac OS X (10.2.x)She is only
able to get two out of four bars on her signal
strength.
That should be fine, I am sending this to the forum with 1 bar going on 2!
Remember that if you put an Airport Express (AX) in her apartment though her Mac will get a stronger signal, the AX will only be receiving the poor signal she can get already.
iFelix -
How to restore strength of signal from Airport Expresses on a network
I have a newly developed problem with the signal strength from two Airport Expresses drawing a wireless signal from an Airport Extreme downstairs near the router and an IMac. This network has been functioning well for some time. Recently I noted that the signal strength upstairs (for I Pods etc) was weak where it had previously been strong. The Airport Utility program reports that these AExpresses have been properly set up and report no problems (My Airport utility version was 4.something, in spite of supposedly being automatically upgraded, and when I checked "upgrades" that brought the response that there were none, even though the current version is 5.5.2, and I then went and got that upgrade anyway).
After fiddling with the upgraded Airport Utility, without knowing what I was doing, and possibly making the Airport Extreme reset itself, the strength of one of the Airport Expresses, (the one further away) increased almost to previous (normal?) levels, while the closer one stayed weak (the one Airport Utility calls "Base Station" even though, like the further Airport Express, it is an identical Airport Express wirelessly connected to the Airport Extreme downstairs). Both, incidentally are 8011n, if I have that right.
Please forgive this incoherent post, but I am confused about how to trouble shoot a network like this, when something is not going right. I have read a number of the support articles as well as posts in this discussion group, and have learned a lot in general, but not specifically for this problem.
Thanks Rick WardOk, thanks for clarifying your network requirements with the AXns.
For both AXns to be successful in extending the AEBSn's wireless network they need to be within a 25+ dB SNR range of that AEBSn. SNR, or Signal to Noise Ratio, is the base station's Signal strength (in dBm) - Noise level (in dBm). Two primary reasons for low SNR values is Wi-Fi interference and obstacles (like walls/ceilings, etc.) that prevent a signal from passing through.
You can easily calculate the SNR value by using a utility like iStumbler. Ideally, you would run iStumbler on a laptop and take signal & noise measurements at both the location of the AEBSn and at the desired locations of the AXns (with the AXns powered-off). If the SNRs are 25+ dB, then you should be get good performance with placing an AXn there to extend the AEBSn's wireless network. If not, then you won't.
Also, remember, with the 802.11n AirPorts, think of the configuration of the extended network with the main router as the hub of a wheel and the extending routers as spokes on that wheel. You cannot extend the network in a serial fashion (main to relay to remote) in this configuration. -
My iPod touch 4th gen. Keeps giving me the error message "cannot connect to the app store when I sign in. I can open the app store and browse it but I can't download anything. I have full signal strength with my wi-fi and safari is working perfect. I turned it off and restarted it 3 times now. I have an iPad 2 and the app store works flawlessly with it. What is going on?
Same here on my lpad2. Can access the web just fine from browsers but cannot install new apps or updates in appl store. Seeing a few others reporting same issue tonight so likely an apple server issue and staff will notice it in network monitors and fix it...sometime this weekend.
Rob
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