Extending airport extreme network using airtunes

Hi Everyone
Is it possible to extend my airport extreme base station wireless network using my airtunes device. I want to put aitunes in another room and plug a printer into the USB port on the airtunes device. Is this possible and how would I do it.
Many thanks

An AirPort Express will extend the range of a AirPort Extreme base station.
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How do I extend my AirPort Extreme network using airport express

How do I extend my AirPort Extreme network using airport express

see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145 and other support articles
and/or
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4462789?start=0&tstart=0
and many other discussions on this forum about this topic.

Extending Airport Extreme network with Airport Express using WDS

I have been having some trouble using WDS between an Airport Extreme and Express, with the Extreme acting as the internet router in the network.
Both devices have been updated with the lastest firmware.
I am using Airport Utility 5.5.1
*Airport Extreme Configuration*
*Wireless Tab*
Wireless Mode: Participate in a WDS network
Allow Network to be extended: Checked
Radio Mode: Auto
Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
Channel Selection: Manual (Same as my Express)
*WDS Tab*
WDS Mode: WDS Main
Allow Wireless Clients: Checked
WDS Remotes: (MAC of my Airport Express)
*Airport Express Configuration*
*Wireless Tab*
Wireless Mode: Participate in a WDS network
Channel: (Same as my Extreme)
Network Name: (my network name)
Wireless Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
Allow this network to be extended: unchecked
Radio Mode: 802.11n (802.11 b/g compatible)
*WDS Tab*
WDS Mode: WDS Remote
Allow Wireless Clients: checked
WDS Main: MAC of my Airport Extreme
I think that covers the pertinent stuff. If there's anything else that might be useful, please just say so.
So, the Extreme is green-lit, working fine. Wireless clients can connect to it just fine. On the Wireless Clients page the MAC of my Express is showing up, with a type of WDS listed. It does not, however, show up under the DHCP clients section.
The Express is yellow-lit. Sometimes after a setting change it goes green for a minute or so, then back to yellow, reporting a WDS Error ("the AirPort Wireless device is set up as part of a WDS network, but no other AirPort wireless devices were found").
The Airport Express is ending up with an ip address of 169.254.49.198 (an automatic private). It seems it's not getting an ip from the Extreme's DHCP.
Do I have some sort of authentication issue here? Honestly I'm totally baffled.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Would the routers' logs be of any help?
Thanks
Message was edited by: Xaniel

Wait, just did a bit more reading. Am I correct in assuming now that the "Extend a network" option will function as a wireless repeater, with no ethernet connection to the main router required
Yes. This will provide much better wireless performance...and...its much easier to configure.
On your AirPort Extreme, open AirPort Utility - click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons
Wireless Mode = Create a wireless network
Make sure there is a check mark next to "Allow this network to be extended"
Update to save settings
On the AirPort Express, open AirPort Utility - click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab
Wireless Mode = Extend a wireless network (hold down the option key when you click on the selection box if you do not see this setting)
Wireless Network Name = Click on the selection box and name of your AirPort Extreme network should appear
Check mark next to Allow wireless clients
Wireless Security = Exact same setting as the AirPort Extreme network
Wireless Password = Same password as the AirPort Extreme network
Confirm Password
Update to save changes
A good starting location for the Express is a point that is about 1/2 to 2/3 the distance from your AirPort Extreme to the area that needs more coverage.
The ethernet port on the Express is also enabled, so you can connect an ethernet device if needed. Post back to let us know how things are working.

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

ATV ethernet port used to extend Airport extreme network?

Recently bought a new 52 inch Sharp AQUOS internet ready LCD HDTV. Wondering if I can use the ethernet connection off of the ATV to connect to the HDTV, and then wireless network from there to my Airport Extreme/Cable modem. Can't determine from the ATV specs that this is possible.

Thanks. Would have been nice though.

How to extend and Extreme network using Express

so i have the latest airport extreme and noticed that between my computers and iphones i cannot get good signal in my yard...the computers or iphones drop off the network and join again a little later! I configured the AE to extend the network but it seems the computers and iphones etc. never let go of the extreme signal to jump to the AE signal! The distance between the AX and AE are about 50 to 75 feet away from each other with the Extreme being near a window facing my shed where the AE is being used as and extender and as Airtunes for speakers in my yard. Is there something i'm doing wrong?

If the AirPort Express is setup correctly to "extend a wireless network", both the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express will be using the same wireless network name, security, password and channel.
Apple's instructions to setup the "extend" configuration are here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4259
If you configure the AirPort Express to "join a wireless network", it will not provide any additional wireless coverage in that type of configuration.

Extend Airport extreme network

Hello all,
I have the latest airport express router and just recently bought a airport extreme 5th gen. I wish to extend my wireless network right upto my kitchen where the signal strength is poor. Do I have to use a wired connection from my airport extreme to airport express to get the maximum signal strength or wireless connection would just be fine?
If it is wired, I dont have such a long cable that runs from my airport extreme to airport express in kitchen. Can some please advise?
Thanks.

For max strength, yes you need wired but wirelessly extending it might work, just put the express halfway between your extreme and the space you're trying to reach

Extend Airport Extreme Network via Ethernet to Airport Express

I am trying to extend a gen 4 Airport Extreme by hardwiring ethernet to a 2nd gen Airport Express and will add a second Airport Express if I can get the first one to work. I have a large network with a 24 port switch and aiport utility 6.3.2 (most recent as of this date)
First question:
When expanding my network using the hardwired Airport Express can I name the new network anything I want or should it be exactly the same as the Extreme Network. I would prefer to name it differently so I can keep track of which network my devices are acturally joining but I will be happy simply to get this to work either way.
Second question:
After repeated attempts to configure my hardwired Aiport Extreme, I get the following yellow status error:
Yellow Internet Connetion
Yellow No DNS Servers
Yellow Conflicting DHCP Range
Observation:
Many of the suggestions here and the link posted in a previous post are not based upon the most recent Airport Untility software so that may contribute to my lack of success so far. I am using the most recent version.

Even though the express was hardwired to the extreme during the set up process it was choosing to "extend" the 5 ghz network which I have activated on my extreme. I assume this is okay. It seems to be. It offered me no other option during the set up.
Both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands will be extended if the extending device supports dual bands.
I configured the express by plugging it directly into the LAN port of the Extreme. Once configure, I plugged the express into my 24 port switch. It worked.
That's a good way to do things. If the Express works when connected directly to the Extreme, and doesn't when you connect it elsewhere on the network, then you know that you have a wiring or switch issue somewhere.
I choose to keep the express network name and base station name the same as those on the extreme. They worked. Since I really want to keep track of which network I am logged into, I later changed both the network name and the base station name for the express and it seems to all work under the new names.
Either will work, as long as you don't mind logging on and off of networks to switch. Most users prefer to have one "big" network. Then, they can walk a laptop from one area to another, stay on the same network and the Mac will automatically switch to pick up the strongest signal from the closest access point.
I activated the 5 ghz on the newly configured and newly named express. It seems to work.
As it should.
While configuing the express I got the error message metioned above a couple times. I kept trying the same procdure with out changeing anything and eventually it worked.
I can't duplicate that issue, but glad that things worked after a few tries.
Since my AppleTV on the second floor has difficulties connecting with the extreme, I am thinking of plugging it in to the express directly. How do you feel about this? WOuld I be better off running another separate ethernet wire off the switch?
Always the best plan to connect any network devices using Ethernet if you can. The best networks are the ones with an Ethernet "backbone". You can connect the Apple TV to the Express or the switch, whichever is easier. Personally, I prefer to connect devices to a switch if possible just to keep things simpler and make any troubleshooting easier.
This whole system with an extreme, 3 expresses, 3 appletvs, 12-14 cameras, a 24 port switch and up to 50 devices on the network at one time (computers, phones, ipads, etc, etc) works reasonably well considering the demands I put on it.
That's quite a home network. Glad that things are working. I am sure that you notice better wireless performance now with the two AirPort Express devices wired into the Ethernet backbone.
If we could get more users to set up their networks this way, most of the complaints that we get about slow wireless, intermittent connections, etc would go away.
It's not easy to run the Ethernet cable for some users, but I have yet to hear from the first user who ever regretted doing it.

Extending Airport Extreme Network Slows Network Dramatically

Hello, after I extended my airport network I experienced dramatically reduced network speeds. Here is my configuration:
ISP is cable modem with very decent speeds.
Base Station is Airport Extreme (802.11n capable) / with gigabit ethernet (in garage)
Secondary router is Time Capsule 802.11n WiFi hard drive (also gigabit ethernet capable (on my desk at other end of the house).
What works OK is connecting base station to secondary router using ethernet, base station with wireless enabled, but secondary router (Time Capsule) with wireless set to Off. I have the latest versions of Airport Utility and firmware installed everywhere.
"Ain't broke, don't fix it" you may say, BUT I did want to extend the range of the wireless network. So I followed the steps to extend an 802.11n wireless network:
( - Base Station: Create Network / Allow network to be extended;
- Remote Station: Extend Network, selecting my network, allow wireless clients)
Everything seemed to complete successfully; two green lights glow in Airport Utility and one on each device. However, the network slowed to a crawl. It was so bad that I had to back out the changes and revert to my initial configuration. The extended range of my wireless network was just not worth the terrible performance penalty.
The network slowdown seems to be experienced by all clients, including another Mac which is connected via Ethernet to the Gigabit Base Station (not to the Time Capsule - directly to the base station). So this suggests that the extension to the wireless network slowed down the whole network. (Btw, it's not just internet connections that were affected. I tried connecting between the Macs using the Finder and it was painfully slow - taking roughly a minute to connect.) To me it seems that something must be very wrong, I just don't know what!
So my questions:
1. I had hoped that the gigabit connection between the routers (which seems to work fine when only the base station supports wireless clients) would continue to work when the Time Capsule is used to extend the wireless network. Is this true, or in this mode does it switch to operating as a wireless client itself? (If so, this might partly explain why my office Mac slows down so much; it would now be connecting to the cable modem via wireless, not gigabit.
2. I'm guessing, (but I haven't tried it yet), that I might be able to achieve almost what I want to do by creating a different network using Time Capsule. Does anyone have any experience doing this? If so, what suggestions do you have?
Thanks, Patrick

Patrick... I had the same problem althjough not quite as complex I believe... see this thread... http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2111176&tstart=0
I changed my base to 'n' at 5ghz and saw a marked improvement. Hope this helps.
M

Airport Express won't extend Airport Extreme Network

I use an Airport Extreme (AE) to connect to the internet. I use an Airport Express (AX) to extend the network via a WDS network. Until recently all was fine.
Last week I updated the firmware for my AE. Since then my AX has not been acting as a WDS extension. I have tried several times tonight to make the AE and AX talk to each other in this fashion. I have reset the AX to factory defaults and reset the AE as well. So far, nothing works.
Thought the AX might have failed. However, the AX will connect to the AE network just fine. It just won't extend the network.
Any ideas will be most appreciated.
Thanks.

I have an Airport Extreme Base Station. I just bought an Airport Express to extend my network and connect a wired device in my living room to my network via the Ethernet port. The Airport Express obtains an IP address from the Airport Extreme but I can't seem to get out to the Internet ...at least via the Ethernet port. When I installed the Airport Express, I updated it to 7.3.1.
This sounds like a similar problem to the original post.

Extended AirPort Extreme Network Unable to Connect

I have two AirPort Extremes. One was set up in the basement directly to my network and is working fine. The other AirPort Extreme was set up upstairs, plugged into the same hub as the downstairs Extreme, and I followed the default setup procedure on my MacBook Pro to extend the downstairs wireless network via ethernet. You can connect to the downstairs Extreme via wireless devices no problem, but when you move upstairs into the range of the Extreme on that level, you are unable to attach to the wireless network. I can see the network, but when attempting to attach via the MacBook, the wireless indicator works for a while, then displays a "!" with no other message. On an iPhone, you are not able to connect at all.
The setup procedure in Mac OS X is very straightforward, and I accepted all defaults in the AirPort Utility to extend the existing AirPort Extreme (downstairs) network. There are no other wireless networks that may interfere.
The router in this home is a Luxul XBR-2300. The AirPort Extremes are plugged into a switch that the router is also plugged in to. Both AirPort Extremes have access to the network/internet-- if you plug a device directly to the AirPort Extreme it can get to the internet via the hardwired connection.
I've been working on this problem for two days, have returned one of the AirPort Extremes thinking it was defective, but I have the same problem.
I did the same type of setup in another home with two AirPorts and it was 'plug and play'.

Tesserax, thank you for the reply. I have commented next to each suggestion.
If both AirPort Extreme base stations are interconnected by Ethernet they should be configured for a "roaming" network. They are interconnected by Ethernet and are configured for a "roaming" network.
Setup both AirPort Extreme base stations as bridges. Network tab > Router Mode: Off (Bridge Mode). This is how they are both set up.
For each base station:
Connect to the same subnet of the Ethernet network. They are on the same switch. They are on the same subnet.
Provide a unique Base Station Name. They have unique names.
The Network Name (SSID) should be identical. They have the same SSID, exactly.
If using security, use the same security type (WEP, WPA, etc.) and password. Note: It is highly recommended that you use WPA2 Personal for best bandwidth performance. They are both using WPA2.
Make sure that the channel is set at least three channels apart from the next base station to prevent Wi-Fi interference. Initially the Apple AirPort Utility set both up under "Wireless" settings to "Automatic". Based upon this suggestion, I set the Basement Extreme manually to the first channel choices for 2.4hz and 5.0hz networks. I set the Upstairs Extreme manually to channels at least 3 channels away. NO CHANGE to the problem.
The following are the basic setup steps: I have done the following in an attempt to fix the problem, after changing the wireless channels on both units manually:
Power all the base stations down. Done.
Perform a "factory default" reset on each of the base stations. Note: You may have to perform this more than once to make sure they "stick." Done. Confirmed with rapidly flashing light on both.
Connect one Ethernet cable between the Ethernet switch to the (circle of dots) port on the basement Extreme. Connect a second Ethernet cable between the switch and the WAN port of the upstairs Extreme.
Basement Extreme: Modem-->Router-->Switch-->Basement Extreme WAN Port
Upstairs Extreme: Basement Extreme LAN Port-->Upstairs Extreme WAN Port (Prior to this change they were both plugged in to the switch via the WAN port)
Power up just the basement Extreme. Done.
Set Network Mode option to: Create a wireless network. Done. Set the Router Mode to: Off (Bridge Mode). Done. Verify that you can get Internet connectivity with network clients either by wireless or by wire connections to the basement Extreme. Verified-- can connect with no problems. NOTE: I set this up using the iPhone AirPort Utility using default settings to create a network. I then verified these settings on the MacBook Pro in the AirPort Utility. I manually set channels based upon your recommendation to set them to insure no interference, restarted, and verified that I can connect.
Power up the upstairs Extreme. Use the AirPort Utility to select it. Done. Verify that this unit has not been plugged in after reset until now. NOTE: It now shows in the AirPort Utility Network Diagram that the Basement AirPort Extreme is connected to the Internet, and the Upstairs Extreme is plugged into the Basement Extreme. Before, both were shown connecting to the Internet.
Configure the upstairs Extreme with the Network Mode option set to: Create a wireless network. (Note: Do NOT set it to "Extend a wireless network." Verified. Was set up correctly by default.
Set the Wireless Network Name, Wireless Security, & Wireless Password options to be exactly the same as that used for the basement Extreme. Verified.
Set the Router Mode to: Off (Bridge Mode). Verified. Was set up correctly by default.
Select Update and allow the upstairs Extreme to restart. Extra Step: Manually set the channel to be 3 away from Downstairs Extreme based on initial recommendation, above. Restarted the Upstairs Extreme.
Once restarted verify that you can roam with a wireless laptop or iOS device between base stations and still gain Internet access. Problem not solved.
I followed everything above exactly. Neither my MacBook Pro nor my iPhone can connect to the "Apple Network" out of range of the Basement Extreme. The network line connecting the Extremes is verified and is a good line.
Again, thank you for the very detailed response. I had pretty much tried all of the above other than plugging the Upstairs Extreme WAN directly to the Basement Extreme LAN Port and manually setting channels on both. Did I screw anything up based upon what you wrote? Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Ken

Problems extending Airport Extreme network

I am sure this must have been covered but I can't find it here, and feel a bit foolish asking this, but I bought a new AE base station (the new flat 'n' variety).
I set up my network fine (I have a Netgear wireless router connected to MacPro with AE card). I also have (1) an older flying saucer AE base station and (2) an Airport Express. I want to boost my signal so the whole house can get a good signal. However, when I try to add 1 or 2 I am told it can't be done because "this computer does not have an Airport Extreme card" (it does!). I have obviously done something wrong because 1 and 2 show up in the network as if they are networks (they have the default names like "Apple Network e371b8" but obviously they have no Internet access. I have tried this several ways today and failed every time. Should I give 1 and 2 the same name as the main network so only a single name shows up in the network list??
Can someone who has successfully extended their network using the new style AE + older flying saucer AE +/- Express please tell me what settings they used?
Cheers
Drew

This Digg may help you.
See Digg
http://www.jayhaynes.net/2007/04/donot_install.html
April 10, 2007
Do NOT install AirPort 802.11n Firmware 7.1
This Firmware 7.1 update for AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n should definitely NOT be installed.
Here was my problem:
I used AirPort Utility 5.1 to install the update. It is automatic - launch the utility and it asks if you want to install the update. I said yes because I had problems getting two AirPort n base stations networking together to extend my range (I gave up finally and just used an AirPort Express to extend the range).
After the firmware update, some sites would not load at all (www.nytimes.com) and others took forever to load. And worse, I could not send any email from any of my IMAP accounts. It seemed to be a DNS problem.
I have two 802.11n AirPorts, so I finally went back to the other one (7.0) and everything worked fine. The Apple tech support guy offered to replace my broken (7.1) AirPort.
Foolishly, I wanted to make sure the problem was actually with the 7.1 update and not the AirPort itself. So I updated my second 802.11n base station with 7.1. And it casued the exact same problem (some sites not loading, no outgoing email).
The Apple tech (at this point I was speaking with a wireless specialist) put me on hold to test a few of his AirPorts to see if he could revert back to firmware 7.0 or (ii) install a clean version of 7.1 (in case the version on my drive was corrupted).
Unfotunately neither option was possible, which is a design flaw in AirPort Utility.
Apple is sending me two new AirPorts in 1-2 days, which is great service, but I will not be installing firmware update 7.1 again. Fool me once...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/airportextremebasestationwith80211nfirmwa re71.html

HT3500 To add a wireless adapter to my Airport Extreme network using WPS, documentation recommends adding it under "Add wireless clients" in Airport Utility but there's no such an item anywhere in v6

I am trying to connect an Iogear Wifi adapter from my home entertainment center to my Airport Extreme home network (secured with personal WPA) using WPS. Apple's support literature says to do this through Airport Utility (v.6) choosing Manual Setup from Base Station Menu and Add Wireless Client. After hours of searching and fiddling I cannot find "Manual setup" or "Add Wireless Client" in the Airport Utility (v.6). HELP. andy

Those instructions are for Airport Utility v5.5.3 or v5.6. As a matter of fact, Airport Utility 6.0 does NOT have that options. So assuming you have Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4, you have to download and install Airport Utility 5.6 for Mac OS X Lion. Then follow those simple instructions you have.

Extend airport extreme network via ethernet to airport express (special case)

This question has been asked many times on the forum, and answered many times, but I have a special case and would like to know if it can be made to work.
As you can see, the issue is that the LAN port of the Extreme is not connected back to the switch, I've only connected the WAN port of the Extreme to the switch. Therefore the express doesn't get an IP over the CAT5e cable coming from the switch, and will only extend wirelessly. The reason I don't make that connection is because the switch/modem is in the basement, the Extreme is on the second floor, the express is on the far side of the first floor, and I don't want to run another cable through the house.
First question is, can the given topology be made to work?
If the answer is no, then would it work to put an additional switch on the second floor like the following?
Thanks!

That is exactly what I am saying.
Remember, the modem has only one Internet IP address that it can deliver to a router. It is the router that assigns "local" IP addresses your other devices to "share" the Internet connection.
If you connect the Modem to the Switch, then it will be matter of chance as to which device......the AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express will get the valid IP address. The "other" AirPort will not be able to connect to the network.
Bottom line.....if you have a simple modem, as you have pictured, then it must connect directly to the WAN port on the "main" AirPort router. Something like this, for example:

Extend AirPort Extreme Network with AirPort Express- Setup assistance

I have an AirPort Extreme working nicely and connected directly to my Comcast cable modem. I would like to extend my network for greater coverage upstairs and to run an upstairs printer on the network. I cannot get the Express connected as an extension to my existing wireless network. What am I doing wrong?

Hi Bob. Do you mind if I listen in on this thread? I am trying to extend a network the same way JVT1057 is, yet my Mac mini in the Airport application cannot find the Express device. The Extreme device is up and working well, and is "seen" by the mini in the utility, but not the Express device. I need a stronger signal in a home office upstairs and would like to connect a networked printer here in the office via the Express.
What am I doing wrong? I, too, have specifiied on the Extreme menus that I want the network to be extended.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Extending airport extreme network using airtunes

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