Extend existing wifi network?

Can the airport express extend an existing wifi network?
I am looking for a portable wifi router that I can use while traveling. I would like to be able to provide acces for my IPad to wired networks and extend a wireless network in the event of a poor hotel signal.
I have found many travel routers with these capabilities but most cannot be configured using only an iPad!
Any suggestions appreciated.
Willie

Can the airport express extend an existing wifi network?
The AirPort Express can only "extend" a WiFi network that is produced by another Apple router....an AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule or another AirPort Express.
So, the chances of an AirPort Express extending any given network while you are traveling would be just about zero.
If the hotel has an Ethernet port, it is possible to connect the Express that way and have it produce your own private network in the room.

Similar Messages

TC to extend existing wifi network

Hi there,
how can I use my TC to extend my existing wifi network (provided from a wireless N VDSL-2 router? I tried to put TC in bridge mode (extend wireless network) but got the reply "The network you selected can not be extended"...
Help please ! ;-)
Chris

Hi Bob,
My router is near the entrance door as it needs to be plugged in the telephone master socket there.
Initially, I placed a short ethernet cable between the router and the TC which was placed right next to the router. I set up the TC to create a seperate wifi network. The signal strength in the rooms furthest away was similarly weak/insufficient in the two wifi's.
Now, I plan to place a second unit half way. Unfortunately, due to local circumstances, this will need to be slightly nearer to the entrance hall than to the rooms furthest away. Hence the question which unit (Airport express or extreme base station) will provide the strongest signal?
In the new configuration I would plan to no longer use my old router; instead I would use the TC and a new unit...
Should I leave the TC near the entrance or place the TC in the middle of the house...
Many thanks for your help.
c

I'm trying to extend my wifi network with time capsule but it can't find the existing wifi network

I'm trying to extend my wifi network with time capsule but it can't find the existing BT wifi network even though it is there with a good signal strength. The Time Capsule is connected to a Netgear router via ethernet.

You will need to start over on the setup of the Time Capsule as follows:
Disconnect any Ethernet cables that might be connected to the Time Capsule, but leave it powered on
Hold in the reset button on the back of the Time Capsule for 8-10 seconds and release. The reset button is located next to the AC power socket.
Allow a full minute for the Time Capsule to restart to a slow, blinking amber light
Connect the Ethernet cable from a LAN <--> port on the Netgear to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule. The Ethernet cable must remain connected at all times.
Click the WiFi icon at the top of the Mac's screen
Look for a setting of New AirPort Base Station
Click on Time Capsule
The example below shows an AirPort Express. You will see Time Capsule on your screen.
That will get the setup wizard going. It will take a minute to analyze the settings, then display a screen that looks like this, except you will see a picture of the Time Capsule
Network Name..........Type in the exact name that the Netgear wireless is using
Base Station.............Type in a name that you want to call the Time Capsule. Use something short and simple. Mine is TC, for example
Password..................Type in the exact password that the Netgear wireless requires
Verify.........................Verify the Password again
Click Next
The setup wizard will configure everything for you automatically. When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done.
That's it. Now you have one big "extended" network. Technically, this is called a "roaming" network.

HT201945 How do I use my time capsule on an existing WIFI network?

How do I use my Time Capsule on an existing WIFI network?

Use an Ethernet cable to connect from one of the LAN <--> ports on your existing wireless router to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule and then use the setup "wizard" on your Mac to configure the Time Capsule.
It will suggest that you set up the Time Capsule to create a new wireless network. If you don't want or need another wireless network, you can turn off the wireless function of the Time Capsule and use it as wired hard drive only.
Leave the Ethernet cable connected at all times. If you need to locate the Time Capsule in a different area, you can put it anywhere that the Ethernet cable will reach up to about 330 feet or 100 meters.
The only exception to using an Ethernet cable would be if your existing wireless network is provided by another Apple router. Then.....you would have the option to have the Time Capsule connect using wireless and extend the network, although using a wired connection would still be the better way to go in terms of performance.

How to extend a wifi network of third party router with TC 4th generation?

After searching the communities for a while, I did not find a definitive answer on the following question:
- I recently bought a 4th generation Time Capsule 2TB (MD0322/A), that I also want to use as an extension for our existing wifi network.
- This wifi network is maintained by a Sitecom Wireless 300N XR Gigabit Router. Router is set to work over 2.4 GHz (B+G+N) because of several non-N-wifi devices in the network. The channel in use is currently 11.
- This router provides so called WDS functionality, i.e. the ability for other wifi access points to act as a seamless extension of the basic wifi network (using the same SSID).
- The security settings in the router are WPA2 Mixed, with a password in plain ASCII.
- There seems to be no way to set different security levels for WDS-connections versus normal AP (access point) connections. If WDS is enabled, the security settings of the AP-mode are extended to the WDS connection.
I have set the Sitecom router to enable WDS, and added the MAC-address of the TC in the configuration of this router.
When configuring the Time Capsule, with Airport Utility 5.5.3, I can select the option to use TC to extend an existing network, and I can select the network of choice using the WPA personal or WPA/WPA personal security. However, the TC does not succeed in extending the network, and reports this back. If I manually configure the TC and select the network of choice, Airport Utility reports back that the selected network cannot be extended.
I have read several times in other posts that Time Capsule can only connect to third party routers via WDS using WEP-authentication, but these posts were quite old. I was wondering if this is still the case, or that Apple has updated this functionality in newer versions of TC, and thus there could exist a trick to connect to a WDS using WPA.
I really would appreciate suggestions
Bram Bos

gilles13 wrote:
I have a mac and pc (win7) both are connected thru a network with wifi and allready two access pt.
Airport can not be used to extend a WiFi created by a non-Apple box.
You need to turn off the radio in the router (shut down the existing WiFi). Purchase TWO Airport Express units. Connect one to the router with an Ethernet cable. Configure that one as your primary WiFi network and then use the second Express as the extender.
You need to locate the second Express where it receives a decent WiFi signal. Too far away and it has nothing to extend. Too close and it doesn't buy you anything. Before you plug in the second Express, check to see where the primary WiFi disappears completely. My personal WAG is that you want to locate the second Express 2/3 the distance to that point.
If you use Airport Utility to configure the units, it's a snap. In fact, if you configure the primary first and the extender second, AU will default to exactly the settings that you want.
By the way, I refereed to the Express because it's less expensive than the Extreme and you didn't indicate any need for the Extreme features.

Extending a WiFi network: Clarification / update needed

Hi,
I've got an older 802.11g AE
My understanding was that in order to use it to extend an existing WiFi network, that existing WIFi network had to be provided by either an Apple Airport Extreme, or Express.
I've got an o2 Router (a UK broadband provider), nothing fancy, had it for a few years now.
I'm using Airport Utility now to be sure, to extend the o2 router's WiFI network:
1) I'm 'restoring Airport Express to factory defaults', it's restarting.....
2) I'm giving it a name / password
3) 'I want my AirPort Express to join my current network'
4) I'm choosing 'Entend the range of my Airport Extreme or Airport Express network'
5) I'm selecting my o2 Wireless (g) network, WPA personal password is already present...
6) In the '...make sure the settings are correct' section, it only states "Wireless Mode: Join a wireless network"
7) I'm clicking update......'this device ..wil be temporarily unavailable.....'
8) It restarts and all is good.
Is it that i am just lucky, that my o2 router just so happens to be compatible (I'm sure i tried this a few years ago and had no success), or, has there been a formware update that i may have installed that now enables wider compatibility for extending WiFI networks?
Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks,
c

Does someone have any suggestions on how to set up a wireless signal?
Please start over by performing a Factory Default Reset on the AirPort Express as follows:
Pull the AirPort Express (AX) from power
Wait a few minutes
Hold in the reset button and keep holding it for an additional 7-8 seconds while you simultaneously plug the AX back in to power
Release the reset button and allow 40-45 seconds for the AX to restart to a slow, blinking amber light
Test the Ethernet cable that your landlord has provided by turning off the wireless on your computer and connecting it using the Ethernet cable. You should be be able to get a good Internet connection this way.
Do not proceed further until you have verified that you can do this. Post back on your progress.

Trouble extending my WiFi network with older Airport Express

Hi,
As the question states, I have an older Airport Express which I have dug out to try and extend my WiFi network in a new house.
I am on Virgin Media (fibre optic) in the UK and get a good WiFi service but one room in the house (which I have just turned into a cinema/media suite) has no reception.
I have successfully managed to 'create a new network' via the Airport Express and the signal strength is 100% but for some reason if I try to reconfigure the device to extend the existing network I get no improvement at all from the (zero) signal I was receiving before.
Am I doing something wrong? Or is there an additional step I am missing?
I could live with having a secondary network but what I would really like to achieve is Home Sharing from my main computer, so that I can access my photos, movies and music etc. from iTunes on the big screen. If the computer exists on another network my iPad, iPhone and AppleTV can't see/use the media from that room.
Many thanks in advance,
Colin

Are these the steps you used?
To create a wireless extended network, you must place any extended Wi-Fi base stations within range of the primary Wi-Fi base station.
Start with the device that will be configured as the primary Wi-Fi base station. Then configure your extended Wi-Fi base stations, ensuring that each is within direct range of the primary Wi-Fi base station.The physical location of extended Wi-Fi base stations will vary according to the building environment and may require some experimentation.
If you have configured your Wi-Fi base stations in the past, it may be helpful to do a factory default reset of each Wi-Fi base station that will be part of the wireless extended network before you begin.
Configuring the primary Wi-Fi base station
Power on all 802.11n Wi-Fi base stations and allow them time to appear in the AirPort Menu Extra.
Open AirPort Utility (On a Mac, choose Go > Applications from your desktop, click the Utilities folder, then open AirPort Utility. In Microsoft Windows, choose Start > All Programs > AirPort to start AirPort Utility).
Select the primary Wi-Fi base station in the Base Station Chooser, then click Continue. Note: If you see a message appear that indicates that the Wi-Fi base station has been reset, click Cancel to continue.
Click Manual Setup. Enter the base station password if necessary.
Click AirPort in the toolbar.
Click Wireless.
Choose “Create a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode menu.
Select the “Allow this network to be extended” checkbox.
Enter a Wireless Network Name.
Optional: By default, Wireless Security is set to None so that no password will be required to join the network. We recommend you click on the Wireless Security menu, select WPA2 Personal, and create a password between 8 and 63 characters long.
From the Radio Channel Selection menu, select Automatic.
Click Update.
The next window may indicate that there are some problems. Resolve the problems, then click Update.
You are now ready to add extended Wi-Fi base stations to your network.
Configuring an extended Wi-Fi base station
Place any extended Wi-Fi base stations within range of the primary Wi-Fi base station
Ensure that all 802.11n Wi-Fi base stations are powered on and allow them time to appear in the AirPort Menu Extra
Open AirPort Utility (On a Mac, choose Go > Applications from your desktop, click the Utilities folder, then open AirPort Utility. In Microsoft Windows, choose Start > All Programs > AirPort to start AirPort Utility).
Select the Extended Wi-Fi base station in the Base Station Chooser, then click Continue. Note: If you see a message appear that indicates that the Wi-Fi base station has been reset, click Cancel to continue.
Click Manual Setup. Enter the base station password if necessary.
Click AirPort in the toolbar.
Click Wireless.
Choose “Extend a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode menu.
Choose the network you want to extend from the Network Name menu.
Enter the network and device password if necessary, then click Update.
The next window may indicate that there are some problems. Resolve the problems, then click Update.

Airport utility no longer recognizes my Airport Extreme Base Station, which had been set up to extend a wifi network

Hi. In November I set up my airport extreme base station (5th generation I believe) to wirelessly extend the wifi network we use at home to see if it would increase download speeds. Before doing that, I did a factory reset of my airport extreme, and the owner of the airport extreme to which the ethernet cable is attached made changes to his network to allow it to be extended. I folllowed all the directions from the apple support pages, and finally got it to work. I could even access a portable hard drive which I attached to the airport extreme base station being used as the extension. Then a week or so ago I noticed that my laptop would no longer connect to my base station. I did not have time to look into it until this week. Airport utility, either on my Mac or iphone no longer recognizes my base station. My mac is running OS X 10.10.1 and my iPhone is running iOS 8.1.2 I have tried both hard, soft and factory resets of my base station to no avail. The only thing that has changed after doing that, is that when I do a soft reset of my base station, a neighbors airport express appears when it never did before. I can't actually connect to it, but it does try. Then after approximately 5 minutes, it disappears from my list.
Today I went and pulled out my OLD AIRPORT EXTREME base station... you know, the one that looks like a space ship and is running wifi 802.1 b/c? airport utility DOES locate and display that, but airport utility returns a message stating that it cannot be set up by this software. I am attaching an image of that.
Thank you,
John
Does this have anything to do with the fact that 'Back to My Mac' is probably enabled?

I think the initial problem is that your iPhone was connected to an open network that wasn't yours.
Go to Settings > WiFi and "Forget" the network created by that AirPort Extreme, it's older than dirt. Forget your neighbor's network also.
Perform the equivalent actions with your Mac: System Preferences > Network > Wi-Fi > Advanced... Delete every network that appears, including your own.
Then, connect to your own network on all your devices, after which you ought to be able to use any of them and configure your Extreme without any difficulty. You may need to start over with a "hard reset" on both the main AirPort Extreme and the one extending its network.
Does this have anything to do with the fact that 'Back to My Mac' is probably enabled?
Not exactly, but using iCloud Keychain will populate all your devices with the names of preferred networks that any of them connect to, no matter where they are. I don't know why Apple considers that a beneficial feature.

I have an AirPort Extreme time capsule . I need to extend my wifi network range. Which devise is better ?? Airport express or AirPort Extreme ??

I have an AirPort Extreme time capsule . I need to extend my wifi network range. Which devise is better ?? Airport express or AirPort Extreme ??

Since you have the new Time Capsule, then you will need a new AirPort Extreme to match the performance capabilities of the Time Capsule.
If best quality is preferred, you will need to connect the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme using a wired Ethernet connection between the devices. The advantage of doing it this way is that you can locate the AirPort Extreme exactly where it is needed...and there will be no loss of signal through the Ethernet cable.
A wireless connection will result in a significant drop in performance, but it might be OK for your uses, if you want to try it that way first to see if the performance is acceptable.
It is really important that the AirPort Extreme be located where it can receive a strong wireless signal from the Time Capsule.
A line-of-sight relationship between the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme would be the goal, with the AirPort Extreme located about half way between the Time Capsule and the general area where you need more wireless signal coverage.

When extending my wifi network using an Extreme as my main and an Express to extend.. does it help to make sure that both devices are on the same channel or does it even make a difference if they are on different channels?

when extending my wifi network using an Extreme as my main and an Express to extend.. does it help to make sure that both devices are on the same channel or does it even make a difference if they are on different channels?

Have you even tried the process in which i have described in my previous post?
Yes, many times. If you are setup to "extend a wireless network, the screen looks like this:
If you click the Wireless Options button, the screen looks like this:
Where is it on this screen that you see a setting to adjust the channel? It sounds like you are confusing "create a wireless network"....which does allow you to adjust channels.....with "exend a wireless network" which does not.
Normally, when you extend a wireless network, AirPort Utility used to always assign the same channel to the extending device. That is no longer the case. It might be the same, or it might be different. You have no control over this, so you have to accept what AirPort Utility thinks is best.

Tried to use my two airport express to extend my wifi network on a windows pc but no success

Tried to use my two airport express to extend my wifi network on a windows pc but no success

My two airport express base stations are 802.11n and i am triying to use them extend my wireless network which is using a D link wirless router as supplied my my ISP connected to TalkTalk network.
Unless the D-Link wireless router has Ethernet ports for each of the 802.11n AirPort Express Base Stations (AXn) to connect to, they will NOT be able to extend the wireless range of the D-Link.
Instead, when directly connected and reconfigured for a roaming network, these base stations CAN extend the range.
Please check out this Apple Support article on how to use AirPorts to extend a wireless network.
The key is to have both AXns configured as follows:
As a bridge.
Each having a unique Base Station Name.
Both using the same Network Name (or SSID), wireless security type and password as the D-Link.
Each AXn to use a channel at least 3-5 channels apart both from each other and that of the D-Link.

Cannot add AirPort TC to existing wifi network

Tried severla times to add APTC 3 TB (newest release) into existing wifi network using either iPhone or MacBook Air AirPort Utility. It does not work, as I receive an error message "An unexpected error occured. Try again"

It is difficult if you try and do setups Apple does not support.
Connecting to existing wifi network is not supported. You can do it but it is the worst possible setup and definitely to be avoided.
Is it not possible for you to connect to ethernet on a modem or router?
If you must here are instructions to setup "Join a wireless network"
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5719954?tstart=0
If you run into trouble .. take some screenshots and post them.
Be fully aware of what you are doing.. you are taking an expensive unit.. and making it a dumb client.. you lose all advantages of the new Gen5 TC.. you may as well have got a cheap Gen4 from the refurbished store.
No wireless AP and no ethernet ports.. and slow slow wireless double hop backups on whatever your existing wifi is.

HT4259 i connected two airport extremes by extending a wifi network. wifi seems weak...help

i connected two airport extremes by extending a wifi network. all my lights are green, and airport utility confirms connections are excellent. but the extended base station hasn't improved my wifi range in the area i set it up in.

If you have a Mac laptop handy, run the test that I have outlined below to find out if the remote AirPort Extreme is really extending the signal at all.
Here, I assume that both of your AirPort Extremes are the newer "square" versions....not the older "round" version.
Locate your Mac laptop close to the "main" AirPort Extreme
Hold down the option key on the Mac while you click on the fan shaped AirPort icon at the top of the screen
Look for the BSSID and jot down the last few characters
The BSSID is the AirPort ID of the AirPort Extreme
Now, move the laptop close the "remote" AirPort Extreme and perform the same test
If you see the same BSSID as the "main" AirPort Extreme, your Mac is picking up from the main AirPort...and the remote AirPort is not configured correctly to extend.
If you see a different BSSID near the remote AirPort, that indicates that the Mac is picking up a signal from the remote AirPort....which is exending the signal correctly.

HT4259 Extend existing WiFi signal using airport express?

I have a Belkin Play Max Wireless Router Modem in my existing WiFi set up.
I want to extend its range, could I connect a Airport Express wirelessly to extend its range (as my house does not have ethernet lines built in)?
And how would I be able to do it?

Apple's "extend" setting is a proprietary feature that is designed to only work with other Apple routers. So, it would be extremely unlikely that it would work with your modem/router from Belkin.....or any other manufacturer, for that matter.
Your best bet for compatibilty is to always use wireless routers and extenders from the same manufacturer on your network. Check with Belkin to see if they have what you need.

How to set up TimeCapsule (4th) to create own private (wired) network behind Airport Express (5th) that is set up to join existing wifi-network of fritz adsl modem/router?

I work in an office building with free Wifi to connect to the Internet. I want to be able to use this internetconnection, but at the same time I want to shield of my own wired network.
I've made the following configuration:
- fritz adsl modem / router
- Airport Extreme (5th gen) set up to join existing wireless network (green light, works)
- Lan-cable from lan-port AE to wan-port TC (4th gen)
- Lan-cable from TC to Mac
- Lan-cable from TC to Printer
When I set my TC (network-settings) in bridge-mode everything works fine, but my Mac and Printer get an IP-address from the fritz modem / router and are visible to others.
I tried to set TC in NAT/DHCP-mode, but then I get the error message that I should set a static IP-adress for TC. When I set TC in DHCP-mode, it looses connection to the AE. I'm not sure what to do now. Does anyone know how to set up my TC and create my own private network and still be able to get on the internet?

Hajenius wrote:
Is there a better alternative? I'd rather not want to reset my TC every day.
You are using free internet.. so there is a price to pay.. that is convenience and non-ideal network setup.
The better alternative is to pay for your own connection. Then you are completely free of the possibility of others in the bullding seeing your connection. (as long as you secure the wireless).
But I think you are probably over worrying about public wifi.. if it is setup right.. ask the building admins.. it should be setup so each user cannot see another users connection. This is typical for most wifi setup and simply means you can see internet connection but nobody else on the connection. ie other wireless users.
Having a router with NAT makes it then more secure again and allows clients on your own network to interact with each other. But you can setup wireless to the free wifi for every client.. (depending on how many IP you are allowed).. and run a secondary network without internet access. This is easy for desktop etc where you have a wireless and a wired connection but less convenient for mobile devices.. unless you use a cloud connection and each client can link and share via that.
Have I made the explanation worse??
Think of it this way.. if you had 3 laptops.. all 3 could connect to the internet from the building wifi.. but they cannot talk to each other or share resources in local office. You can put resources out in the cloud, that can be shared.. but that adds traffic and most free services are not fast.
Now you can also plug all three into Time Capsule by ethernet.. and share local resources. Files, printers backup etc. This network is not connected to the internet at all. Each laptop has internet via free wifi and local connection.
For devices like iphones that have no ethernet or other method.. you could use local wireless and public wireless.. but in turns.. still the only advantage is less issues with double NAT.. if that causes problems.. then this is an alternative.

Extend existing wifi network?

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