Extended Airport network

A=TimeCapsule connected to Internet
B= AirportExtreme, connected to A, secondary station
C= AirportExpress, new secondary station
According Apple http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4259?viewlocale=en_US
any secondary station must connect to the primary base station, hence to A
Problem:
when for C the signal of B is stronger than from A, then C connects with B. So connection is A -> B -> C.
When this happens C becomes useless, even when its LED turns green. Any device, even when in closest neighbourhood of C, does not connect with C, it tries with B or even A if possible.
C could connect with A, but B overrides with better signal strength and establishes the connection.
How can I force a network where C connects with A, not B?

@Tesserax - I am sure you are correct. I ran iStumbler on one of my MacBooks and found that in the area of the house where the AXn is located, signal strength from the AEBSn was somewhat weak - around 35% or so on both 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz bands, with a good deal of noise from external sources (neighbors' phones and access points, etc.).
It's a bit of a quandary as I'd also like to have the AXn located near a sound system in that part of the house for Airtunes. BTW, streaming over Airtunes (via iTunes or Airfoil) works, but the noise will occasionally knock it out for a few seconds as well. The noise spikes are clearly visible in iStumbler.
I see that the only iron-clad solution is to run an Ethernet cable from the AEBSn to the AXn, but unfortunately that entails a nasty trip into the crawl space under the house, which just creeps me out - all that fiberglas, dirt and spider webs - yuck! It might be worth it in the end, as it would certainly do the job.
For right now, I am just using the AXn for Airtunes, joined to but not extending the network. I'll crawl under the house when the weather is hot and I've had a few beers...

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Doubly extended Airport network has become unstable

I have an ethernet-wired Airport Extreme generating a wireless network, extended twice by Airport Express units, with a TiVo wireless adapter getting feed from the 2nd AXpress. TiVo is located about 120' from AXtreme; that's the full length of the network. TiVo currently is receiving an IP address most of the time but is not receiving TiVo information, reporting "Gateway not found" (it has connected reliably in the past). All the Apple equipment is glowing green, both on the equipment itself and on the Airport Utility. All AX are running v7.6.3, my OS is 10.6.8 on a 2008 Mac Pro.
All stations are n-capable. AXtreme is currently set up to "Create a wireless network"; "Allow this network to be extended" is checked, Wireless security is WPA2 Personal.
Relay AXpress is set up to "Extend a wireless network." Should it be "Join a wireless network" or "Participate in a WDS network" instead? "Allow wireless clients" is checked. Security is WPA/WPA2 Personal.
Remote AXpress is set up identically to Relay; should it be different?

I have an ethernet-wired Airport Extreme generating a wireless network, extended twice by Airport Express units, with a TiVo wireless adapter getting feed from the 2nd AXpress.
You cannot extend twice. Apple's "extend a wireless network" function works like the hub and spokes of a wheel.
Your AirPort Extreme is the "hub" and each AirPort Express resides at the end of a "spoke". The devices at the end of a "spoke" communicate directly to the "hub".....not to another device at the end of another "spoke".
You can have multiple devices extending, but each one resides at the end of a separate spoke, since it must communicate directly to the hub.
In your case, the 2nd AirPort Express cannot "extend", but it can "join" the network. It provides no additional wireless coverage when it joins, but the Ethernet port is enabled if you clicked that option in AirPort Utility.
The Express that is "joining" is going to have a tough time unless it is quite close the 1st AirPort Express so that it can get a good signal. If you think about it, you will realize that the wireless signal has to make two separate "hops" to get to the 2nd AirPort Express. Not good.
If you want the 2nd AirPort Express to "extend" the network, it must be physically located closer to the AirPort Exteme than it is to the 1st AirPort Express.
Never use the WDS option, (which Apple tries to hide for good reason) as it only operates at slower "g" wireless speeds and each relay or remote on the network cuts the bandwidth on the entire network in half. So, with a base station, relay and remote in a WDS setup, your network runs at about 14 Mbps. That's about where wireless "b" operates....very, very slow....about 10 times slower than a basic "n" network.

Apple TV 2 stalls over extended Airport network?

Hello. I have an Apple TV 2 in my basement, right next to an Airport Express (802.11n) that extends my Airport Extreme (802.11n) network - which originates upstairs, in my office. ATV2 reports a signal strength of "five bars" in this configuration. However, if try to access a large video file on my computer (via Home Sharing), it chokes.
Now here's the fun part.
If I unplug my Airport Express, the file plays perfectly. Starts in a few seconds, no skips, no hitches, nothing. Plug the Express back in, and ATV2 chokes on the large file again. I can reproduce this every time. My iPhone/iPad tell me that the signal strength is one tiny bar (and are faster over 3G from this location), yet the files stream seamlessly to Apple TV 2 via home sharing.
Anyone experience similar? Anyone able to configure a similar network that works in this capacity?
I've tried reconfiguring my network, playing with multicast rate, googled for solutions. Can't figure it out. I'd really like to have the Express working with the Extreme; my network coverage in my basement (on the laptop, iPad, iPhone, I mean) is spotty otherwise.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
jjd

Although the "extend" feature does not impact overall bandwidth significantly, it does use up some bandwidth for extended network administration. What you may be experiencing is that there just enough of a bandwidth loss using the extended network that is affecting the quality of the streams to the Apple TV.
If you prefer to use the Express to extend your wireless network, I would suggest that you try relocating the Express. Even a small distance (inches) can make a difference. At 2.4 GHz, the wavelength is around 5 inches. Better still, to help find the "sweet spot" of where to best place the Express, you can calculate the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of the Extreme's signal at the Express' location.
SNR (in dB = Signal (in dBm) - Noise (in dBm). You will want the SNR value to be 25-30+ for the best performance. If you have a Mac laptop (running Leopard or Snow Leopard) handy, you can easily make this calculation using OS X's System Profiler.

Can you mix roaming and extended airport networks as such:

I have my main aebs connected to the cable modem. I want to conenct several airport expresses to the aebs via powerlien adapters to form a roaming network. One airport express I cant connect conveniently to powerline so I want to set it up to extend the wireless network as well as acting as a a wireless to ethernet bridge (to connect a Tivo). Any pdroblem mixing these two types of networks?

Several is a lot.. there isn't really enough wireless channels free to make several viable unless you are running 5ghz. You can extend wireless and use the express as ethernet bridge. But it might be worth thinking if you use roaming network naming for the rest of the network.. at least use a different name for the unit you extend.

Why won't my WPS printer and Tbox connect to my extended AirPort network?

I have an AirPort Extreme (7.6.4) in my home network and recently added an Airport Express to improve the signal coverage. Most devices connect quite happily to the extended network (iPad, iPhones, iMac, Windows PCs).
However, my Epson XP-200 (WPS) printer and Telstra Tbox refuse to connect when the Express is on. If I turn off the Express they both connect fine.
What do I need to do in the AirPort Utility to allow these devices to connect with the Express on?

Are you using the guest wireless network?
Sorry but the solution to some of these things is usually arcane.. if you are not prepared to reset and try again.. it is really hard to suggest other things to do.
But here are some of them.
1. Set specific channels for 2.4ghz wireless.. Do not use 12 or 13 even though allowed in Australia because often US drivers are unaware of those channels.
2. Remove all wireless security.. only as a test.. do the printer and Tbox work if there is no security. You are only testing briefly and do not need to reset everything.
3. Do not use WDS to setup the printer. Plug the printer in by USB to the computer and redo its setup manually from scratch using the utility that came with the printer. This is often much more successful than using WDS with apple stuff. You will need to remove all the existing setups of the printer in the computer and start over.
4. You can also always export the settings.. just change the AE and Express back to factory defaults.. and do as little setup as possible.. you don't have to change anything else except the one computer you use for the setup.. if it fails.. simply restore the settings. If it works you can then change the settings on all the rest of the equipment.. is it really that big a hardship??
5. Why don't you extend using ethernet.. and see if you have the same issue?? You setup using the roaming network method.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260
If the issue is only when you extend wireless then it at least gives you a headstart to complain to Apple about their multiple incompatibilities.

Extending airport network - Express as Base/Main and Extreme as client

Hi,
I have looked around on these forums and can't find the answer to these questions, so apologies if they have been asked and answered elsewhere.
I have an Airport Express 802.11n which I want to plug in to my cable modem as the base station. I have a Windows PC and network storage drive (ethernet cable connection only) in the other room that I want to join to my network (and can't move the NAS for various reasons).
I am considering purchasing a dual band Airport Extreme 802.11n Gigabit router to put into the second room to allow the NAS to be shared with the PC (NAS and PC connected via Ethernet cable to the Extreme) and a laptop connected over Wifi.
I believe I may be able to use the Extreme to extend the wireless network (is this correct? - do I have to hit control in the Airport Utility to get the Extend option?), but am not sure if this will disable the Ethernet ports on the Extreme. Are the Ethernet ports still enabled if the Extreme is in 'extend' mode? (I have downloaded the PDF of the Extreme manual and it doesn't mention this). If so I will need to configure the Express as a WDS Main and the Extreme as a WDS remote(?) - but I believe I will lose bandwidth doing this - correct? In either of these configurations will I still be able to use the Express to stream music to my hifi in room 1?

Welcome to the discussions!
If you configure your AirPort Express(n) (AX) to "Allow this network to be extended", the AirPort Extreme (AEBS) can be configured to "Extend a wireless network" from the AX.
There is some bandwidth loss in this type of configuration, about 10-15%, but far less than an WDS configuration which will result in a 50% loss of bandwidth. The AEBS will need to be positioned in an area that receives a good wireless signal from the AX
The ethernet ports on the AEBS will be active in the "extend" configuration.
Since the AX creates a single wireless network, you will be losing some features on the AEBS, namely its ability to create dual band networks and a guest network. In the type of configuration you propose, the AEBS would only act as an extending device for the AX and provide 3 ethernet ports for devices.
I'm confused by your question on streaming AirTunes to your stereo with the AirPort Express. If your AX is connected to the modem, the stereo connects to the audio port on the AX, so the stereo will need to be close to the AX.
If you need to stream AirTunes to a remote location, it would make more sense to use a 2nd AX and configure it to "extend a wireless network". Then you could connect your stereo to the 2nd AX. If you need more than 1 ethernet port, you could add a simple ethernet switch to the 2nd AX.

Trouble extending Airport network

I have an Airport Express that works great. I bought an Airport Extreme (mostly for the storage connection). The Extreme is a refurbished unit from Apple. When I configure the Extreme to extend the Express, "bad things" happen. I've been through this several times, resetting the Extreme to factory settings.
The last time the Airport Utility lost touch with the Airport Express entirely. When I reset the Extreme, I have no access to the Express at all. I have to power cycle the Express to get back to a working state. I think this has happened more than once, but I'm not sure.
1) Do I have a bad Extreme?
2) Should I be able to use Airport Utility to configure devices over the ethernet?
3) What else should I be trying?
FYI: Both devices are connected to an internal LAN behind a firewall. I've tried the Extreme connecting to both the "single port" and the "set of ports".
Thanks
David

Well, they warrantee them, but that doesn't mean it that's perfect. Given the "it just works" nature of most Apple products, it's been a less than happy experience, so I want to consider that possibility.
Well, as long as I have two wifi units, I'd /like/ to have them make a larger wifi. Granted, I haven't noticed a range problem before with my Express, so maybe I shouldn't care about that. The primary goal is to have the extreme provide hard-disk storage for Time Machine.
Yes, the computer I'm using to configure them (MacBook Pro) is behind the firewall. It's normally not on the ethernet, but I have connected it at various times during this adventrue.

Extending Airport Network w/ DVD??

Ok, I've been able to set up a wireless network at home that connects my Apple hi/fi to our Airport Express w/ Airtunes. What I'm wondering is if I can connect my hi/fi to my optical connection on my DVD, then use an RCA out Y cable to the Airport Express unit so I can play both Itunes and my movies.
Anyone?

The Express mini-plug is for connecting either to the audio of your stereo or to audio output for powered speakers.
At this point, and someone may prove me wrong, there are several products out there like Miglia or El Gato, ADC that will allow you to provide a signal to your computer which you can view. I have a Miglia Max TV that takes cable input and allows me to watch it on my television. I am sure that it can be adapted to allow DVD input but no to stream wirelessly to a television. The only system that I know that allows you to do that is Apple TV but you must use iTunes as the source or the iTunes Store but you can stream directly to Apple TV from your DVD player at least not today.

How do i use my time capsule and extend the network with airport express

I have a new iMac and Time Capsule, how do i extend the network with airport express. My time capsule does have a guest net work, and logins and passwords? I am no computer person. So for me it would have to be spelled out.

Use the search as this has been done to death ..
Bob Timmons is the expert on this.. look at his answers here.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4274187?start=0&tstart=0
https://discussions.apple.com/message/21856077#21856077
This has been automated in the v6 utility. I am used to doing it manually in v5 utility which is also fairly easy.
Apple doco is also good to read.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4259
Note.
You cannot extend the guest network unless everything is up to date 7.6.3 firmware. And that is only with the TC as the main router in the network.
All apple routers can be configured as the main wireless or as the extend wireless.. so don't worry if a post uses express or extreme or TC.. they are for wireless, the same thing.

I have an Airport Extreme as my router and am using time capsule to extend the network in my new house. My ISP is only providing me 4-5 ip addresses and wants me to set up my router to issue out new ip addresses for all my devices.How do I fix this?Help

I have an Airport Extreme as my router and am using time capsule to extend the network in my new house. My ISP is only providing me 4-5 ip addresses and wants me to set up my router to issue out new ip addresses for all my devices.How do I fix this?Help.
They said I need to change my settings to NAT settings. I haven't been able to figure out or find anything. I have also spoken to Apple Support on the phone for hours without being able to figure out how to do this ( i don't think he knew much either lol.) Please help me because I've got about 15-20 devices in my house that require to be connected to the internet and this is just making things ridiculously slow and painful for me.
Thanks!

It is on DHCP & NAT under router mode yet my isp is still the one issuing ip addresses to my devices instead of the router issuing them

I have an airport extreme for my main internet connection, an express to listen to music on my home theatre, another express to extend the network upstairs, and one more express for my wireless printer. whats the best way to setup the express stations?

So basically I would like to know if its best to have them setup on "join a wireless network" or "extend a wireless network"
Obviously the one I use to extend the network is setup that way, the other 2 are set on "join a network"
is this the optimal configuration? or should I have them all on "extend a wireless network" ?

There is really no "best" setting here for the AirPort Express devices. If you need more wireless coverage in the area where an Express is located, then it makes sense to configure the Express to "extend" a wireless network.
If you already have good coverage in an area where an Express is located, then the "join" configuration makes sense.
I've yet to meet the first user who felt that he/she had too much wireless signal coverage in their home, but you never know.

How do I extend a network with an AirPort Extreme from an Arris TG862?

I'm using Comcast as my ISP, and after some issues with a previous Motorola modem, they supplied me with an Arris TG862 Router/Modem combo tower. I have two AirPort Extremes, one of which was previously connected to the old Motorola modem to send wireless into the house, but it only reached halfway, so I had the other AirPort Extreme in the middle of the house to "catch" the signal and then broadcast it out to the rest of the house. This worked fine for a while.
But with the new TG862, it doesn't seem to be an option. From what I've read, if I have the TG862 in one room (connected to the cable), AirPort Extreme #1 in the middle of the house, trying to join the existing network (or extend it?), and AirPort Extreme #2 in the far end of the house (to extend from AirPort #1), it won't work. Apple's "extension" technology isn't compatible with all other modems or routers, and even if it was, I'd have to somehow configure the TG862 to "allow to be extended."
So my question is, IF there is a desktop utilizing the TG862 as a direct connection (because it has no built-in Wi-Fi), is it possible to put the TG862 into bridge mode, connect one of the AirPort Extremes and have it act as the router so I can use AirPort Extreme #2 to extend that network out to the rest of the house? I want to ensure the desktop still has a connection, but there's Wi-Fi that actually goes out through the whole house.
The connected-to-the-cable-desktop is a PC; we have multiple iPhones, iPads, and anywhere from 1 Mac laptop to 1 iMac in the house at any given time.

pcbjr wrote:
Topic title pretty well sums up the question.
I have a TimeCapsule Base Station with two Expresses for extending the network through the house.
We're doing a 3 room addition, and there is not a convenient place to put an Express in a wall outlet in the middle room of the addition, but there's a perfect place to put an Extreme on top of a piece of furniture.
So, can the Extreme act as an "extender" only, in lieu of using an Express?
Hiya.
You can absolutely extend a network with an Extreme. I've got a 5th gen. Extreme extending a network created with a 3rd gen. Time Capsule. On the Extreme, you'll have the option to allow (or not) WiFi clients. I recommend having all units updated to the current firmware (7.6.1 as of this writing). Note that extending doesn't work in daisy-chain fashion, meaning that your Expresses or Extremes will each connect to and extend from the TC. As such, you'll want the TC to be in as central a location as possible to offer the best coverage.

How do I know "Roaming Network" is working with Airport Express and Airport Extreme and should I use extended wireless network for third Express?

Attempting to eliminate a dead spot in Wifi coverage [and implement AirPlay] have one Airport Extreme 802.11n and two Airport Express 802.11n's.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145
The Airport Extreme is of course connected to cable modem and Ethernet switch, and one Airport Express is connected to the Ethernet network. As per instructions for creating a "Roaming Network", Airport Express is set to same SSID, security type, and Password.
Questions:
1. How does the client device know which Airport to connect to? In other words, will it switch to the closer WiFi transmitter automatically? The WiFi reception problem is intermittent in the fringe areas so what I do not want it for it to stick with the more distant Airport Extreme in the basement when the Airport Express which is closer will work better.
2. How can I tell which of the Airports the attached client device is using?
The third Airport Express will be in a third location - I was planning on using it also for expanding coverage but after reading the warnings about performance suffering when purely using WiFi for the expansion in this location ("Wireless Extended Network" without an ethernet connection) I have figured that the single wired Airport Express will be adequate and will use the third Express to do Airplay only.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4259
Question: Can I use this second Airport Express to extend the wireless network via "Extended Wireless Network" while the other two are in "Roaming Netowrk" configuration? Without bogging down??
Mitch

1. How does the client device know which Airport to connect to?
The Mac computer will automatically connect to the wireless access point with the strongest signal...which is probably the closest AirPort. An iPhone or iPad may not do this and will tend to stay connected to one AirPort.
2. How can I tell which of the Airports the attached client device is using?
On a Mac, open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility. Click on one of AirPorts. In the area to the right, locate the AirPort ID and jot that down. Then do the same for your other AirPort.
Move your Mac near one of the AirPorts and log on to the wireless. Hold down the option key on the Mac while you click the fan shaped AirPort icon at the top of the screen. Look for the BSSID. That is the AirPort ID of the device to which you are connected.
If you are close to the "remote" AirPort, and you see the AIrPort ID of the "main" router when you are testing, then you know that the network is not configured correctly.
Can I use this second Airport Express to extend the wireless network via "Extended Wireless Network" while the other two are in "Roaming Netowrk" configuration? Without bogging down??
There will be a modest 10-15% bandwidth loss with the "extend" setup, assuming that the Express is located where it can receive a strong wireless signal from the AirPort to which it is associated. You can avoid the bandwidth loss if the Express is also connected via Ethernet as part of the roaming configuration.

I have a Airport network at home with a Time capsule connected via ethernet cable to modem. Also the network is extended wirelessley with an Airport Extreme. My question is I now wish to add a second Airport extreme but am considering a hard wire connecti

I have a Airport network at home with a Time capsule connected via ethernet cable to modem. Also the network is extended wirelessley with an Airport Extreme. I now wish to add a second Airport extreme but am considering a hard wire connection with 100 ft of cat 6 cable from the Time capsule to the second Airport extreme. Can my network operate properly to extend the network with both a wireless and wired extend functionallity?

I now wish to add a second Airport extreme but am considering a hard wire connection with 100 ft of cat 6 cable from the Time capsule to the second Airport extreme.
Excellent plan.
Can my network operate properly to extend the network with both a wireless and wired extend functionallity?
Yes, but don't get confused about the second AirPort Extreme, as it would not be configured to "extend" a wireless network.....it would be configured to "create a wireless network" using the same wireless network name, security settings and password as the Time Capsule network. Configure the second Extreme in Bridge Mode.
This Apple support document will show you how to hookup and configure the second AirPort Extreme:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260

My iPod Touch was not connecting to my Airport Express router (which was "extending" a network as a WDS repeater) -- SOLVED!

My problem was this. I have a large apartment with concrete walls, so just one wireless router would not work. I used apple Airport routers and used one of them (an airport extreme) to create my wireless network, and a number of other ones -- airport expresses -- to "extend" the network.
That's all great, but I found that a couple of my devices -- mainly my iPod Touch -- would refuse to connect to the repeater airport express routers -- it only wanted to connect to the main Airport Extreme router, not the satellite guys.
Finally I solved the problem. It had to do with how the wireless network's configuration for "Radio" setting was set regarding 802/11 b/g, and the dual-band ability of the Extreme. Below is the description of how I fixed it.
======SOLUTION THAT I POSTED======
I've pretty much solved this problem. I do not FULLY understand why, but now I can have my iPod touch (and I am hoping my kindle) attach correctly to the satellite/repeater airport express. Here is what I did:
I did two configuration changes to my central hub airport extreme router (i.e., the one that my other routers were merely configured to "extend.") I realize now that these are both configurations that must be done at that central router, and the repeater routers then simply mimic or reflect accordingly.
-- First, I used the most recent Airport Utility (v6.0) and clicked on my main router (which, crucially, is an airport extreme that has dual band 802.11, both 2.4ghz and 5ghz.)
-- In the airport utility, I clicked on that Extreme router and then in its funky popup window, clicked Edit.
-- Clicked the tab called Wireless.
-- Clicked on Wireless Options button.
-- the first config change I made on that page was to change the Radio Mode setting to "802.11a/n - 802.11 b/g."
What nobody really tells you is that that hyphenated choice means that the 5GHz band will use the first of those two (namely, a and n, in other words the strong modern N standard will be used on this band ONLY) ... while the 2.4GHZ band will use only the second of those two, b/g, in other words, the devices that only can use that older weaker standard.
So, it's kind of a segregation. I'm telling it "No, don't let the 2.4 ghz band try to handle traffic using N. That band will just take care of the old crappy clients."
-- the second config change that I made on that page was to check the check box to make a totally separate wireless network name for the 5GHZ band. Further segregating things. When I tried my solution without this additional step, my problem did not fix itself, though I don't fully see why.
As I said, a few questions remain in my head, but the darn thing works, so I'm happy. Among many other questions... are those airport expresses dual-band too? I didn't think they were but somehow they are repeating this dual-band strategy? Whatever. it works.
BY THE WAY -- I recommend using the Apple question/answer board on StackExchange to get Apple-related answers. It is at http://apple.stackexchange.com/

To demonstrate, here's a screenshot from the Airport Utility on the iPod Touch in close proximity to the Express, still connected to the Extreme :

Extended Airport network

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