Extending an Airport Extreme (6th Gen) network with older Airport Express models

I just purchased the latest Airport Extreme (6th Gen) base station to be my main wifi router. I have two airport express models that I used in the past to extend my network with my (very) old retired Airport Extreme (2nd Gen): the 2nd Gen model A1264 (you plug into the wall directly) - I've had it for several years, and the newest 3rd Gen model A1362 (small square that lies on a desk or table) - I just purchaed a couple of months ago.
My question is - will extending my network with either of these Airport Express models diminish my overall network speed (Especially the older model)?
I don't have any AC capable clients yet - so everything is running on the "n" band - and the older Express is an "n" model, but I just have this (perhaps irrational) fear that attaching older routers will slow everything down.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks!

will extending my network with either of these Airport Express models diminish my overall network speed (Especially the older model)?
The A1264 model will be able to extend only one band of the new dual band AirPort Extreme. Normally, the A1264 will extend the 2.4 GHz band since it is stronger than the 5 GHz signal.
The A1392 will be able to extend both bands since it is also a dual band model, providing that it is located where it can receive a strong wireless signal from the new AirPort Extreme.
Here, I am assuming that you are asking about extending wirelessly.
You might want to keep in mind that extending wirelessly always involves compromises and loss of bandwidth. The main reason for this is that an extending device can only "extend" the quality of signal that it receives.
The wireless signal from the new AirPort Exterme will slow down and lose strength the further that it moves away from the main AirPort. So, the extending device gets a slower, weaker signal to extend. The result is signficantly slower wireless performance in the extended areas.
The way to solve this is connect the extending AirPorts to the main AirPort using a permanent wired Ethernet connection. There is no signal loss in a wire, so the extending AirPort receives a full bandwidth signal to broadcast. The result is higher and more uniform speed on the entire network.

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AirPort Extreme 6th gen, not recognize my printer HP deskjet ink advantage 1515

I have AirPort Extreme 6th gen, it can not recognize my printer HP deskjet ink advantage 1515.
I already contact hp support and they reply my printer is support by AirPort Extreme. This is the link web statement http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00710847&tmp_task=useCatego ry&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5385208#N59
Also doing all instruction on the web, update firmware for AirPort Extreme and my ipad to latest firmware.
But until now I can not share my printer through my AirPort Extreme 6th gen in my network.
Anyone know how to solve this problem?

Hi tonyioancy,
Welcome to the HP Support Forums! I see you are running into a few problems with your HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 1515.
I would like you to run the HP Print and Scan Doctor- It was designed by HP to provide users with the troubleshooting and problem solving features needed to resolve many common problems experienced with HP print and scan products connected to Windows-based computers.
If you run the PSDR and are still experiencing the issues, please contact our technical support at 800-474-6836 as your printer may still be in warranty. If you live outside the US/Canada Region, please click the link below to get the support number for your region.
http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/hpsupport/index.pl
Thanks,
HevnLgh
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" to the left of the reply button to say “Thanks” for helping!

I have an airport extreme and am trying to extend the range of the wireless network with an airport express. I set it up with the help of apple support, both lights are green on both airports, but the range didn't change. What could be wrong?

I am trying to extend the range of my wireless network by adding an airport express to an airport extreme. I configured it with the help of apple support, but it hasn't changed the range that I can access the internet wirelessly in my house. What could be the problem? Does weather affect the wireless network??

So, on the Extreme you checked the box to "allow this network to be extened" ?
Correct?
And on the Express, you set it up to "Extend a wireless network" ?
Correct?
See this Apple article and see if you missed anything...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145
To learn about other options for expanding your Wi-Fi base station wireless network and things you should consider before expanding your network, click here.
Set up: Components of an extended network
➊ Primary Wi-Fi base station (this is the base station connected directly to the Internet)
➋ Extended base station
Configuring a wireless extended network
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.

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

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

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

New Airport Extreme (6th Gen) Dropping Connection from Time to Time.

Problem:
6th Generation Airport Extreme drops connection intermittently at random times.
Set Up:
6th Generation Airport Extreme (main router - no hard drive/not a time capsule) located center of house on the main floor. 2 Range extenders each approximately 30+ feet away from main router. First range extender (Airport Express - newest generation) located on the third floor parallel to main. Second range extender (Airport Express - new generation) is located at the end of the kitchen (main floor).
Main Router is connected straight from a Motorolla Surfboard modem on a foyer table at the center of the house.
Range extenders connected to Main Router wirelessly and at wall outlett height.
Previous Setup:
Same setup as above but, with the 5th Generation Airport Extreme instead of the 6th Generation.
Firmware:
All current versions.
Devices:
1 SONY VAIO VGN-FW490J
HP Notebook G60
Several WEMO outlets
1 iPad Mini
1 iPad 2
1 iPhone 5
1 Motorolla RAZR MAXX
Macbook Pro
iMac (wired from main router on foyer table)
Note: All of these routers/range extenders/modem/computers are plugged into surge protected outlets.
Notes:
With the new Airport Extreme my family and I have been experiencing intermettent connection drops. The amber light on the main router turns on and within a few minutes turns green and connection resumes again. This has been happening for a few days now ever since I purchased the new router. This has not happened before with the 5th generation router, which I donated to our church.
I have not exchanged the product yet. I will be initiating a Complete Power Recycle after some suggested solutions in a bit. I have contacted my Internet Service Provider (Comcast) for a line check and found no problems.
Has anyone found any solutions to resolve the intermittent connection drops? Is reverting to the previous firmware going to solve this?
I would like some insights before trying to do all this. Thank you all for your time.
P.s.
I've done a detailed post since posts like these is frequently asked questions on set-up, devices, connections, etc:

Update:
Before I went to exchange my 6th Gen Extreme, I ran through all possible solutions from complete power recycle to no devices connected. I even went out of my way to my cousin's house to test it out. The same problem still kept coming.
I was able to exchange my 6th Gen Airprt Extreme with another 6th Gen Extreme the other day. I set it up how the instructions told me and within an hour it did the exact same problem as the previous 6th Gen Extreme. I gave up and decided to get the ASUS RT-AC66R (ASUS RT-AC66U is the same, just the 'R' is Best Buy's model.)
The ASUS router is just as great as the 6th Gen Router. You can actually get it down to $180 by price matching to Amazon. The ASUS router has 3 antennas that you can adjust according to where the signal is used more. I pointed them more towards the backyard, upstairs, and the living room. The range is by far better than the Extreme because of this. I was able to drive down a good block (3-4 houses down) and still connected to my router. Also it has 2 USB ports which was fantastic for me so I can plug in my external hard drive and a non-wireless printer. It has many more features that I really liked that I didn't even know was possible. The router utility interface is a bit confusing at first but, it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.
Some features that I liked with the ASUS was the ability to have multiple guest network with time limits. 3 for 2.4gHz and 3 for 5gHz. I think that Airport guest accounts are only allowed 2.4gHz but not a 5gHz. Though I only needed 1 for each but, I can see this working well for businesses.
Another feature is traffic manager. I am able to set specific bandwith for different types of use such as, high priority 80%-100% bandwith for gaming, medium priority badwith 70%-90% for HD media streaming/data transfer, and 50%-80% low bandwith for casual web surfing. It also has it's own "beamforming" so that data isn't free roamed.
Lastly it has AiCloud sync which is basically like having a hard drive into your router but, much like having a Dropbox at the same time.
More or less I think I'll stick with the ASUS router rather than going with the new Airport Extreme. I think that it's more on firmware issue than it is hardware. If you are not willing to switch to another brand and want to keep staying with Apple, I recommend going back to the 5th generation until a new firmware or rebuilt 6th gen extreme is out.
I have not found any problem with the ASUS router and no intermittent connectivity issues.
Now I am not trying to make you buy the ASUS router. I'm merely expressing how great the product is.
I do have 60 days from Best Buy return policy to try out the ASUS (and report of any malfuntions) and if within that time a new firmware is out for the Extreme. I highly doubt I'll go back to the extreme though.
Hope this helped!!

Using an old Airport Extreme in a network with the new one?

I am upgrading my network replacing my 1st generation version (MA073LL/A) with the new (6th generation) Airport Extreme Base Station (ME919LL/A). Is it possible to use the 1st gen. device as a network extender...as if it were an Airport Express?

Is it possible to use the 1st gen. device as a network extender.
Yes, either as a wired extender or wireless.
Wireless assumes that the 1st Gen AirPort Extreme will be located where it can receive a good signal from the new AirPort Extreme.

Airport Extreme 6th Gens having trouble (one bridge, one router)

I have two brand new Airport Extremes that I'm trying to troubleshoot. The problem that I'm seeing is that occasionally one (or both) will stop functioning entirely on a weekly basis.
Details on our setup:
These are servicing a small business, generally about 40-70 devices are connected between the two. They are located apart from one another to maximize the reach of our wireless network.
One is set up as a router (DHCP and NAT), it is connected to a switch which is connected to a Time Warner modem that is serviced by our building's IT contractors (I do not have access to those devices as a result). This has led to us receiving warnings about a double NAT, which hasn't been a real problem for us but could a potential point of where these are breaking so I figured I'd mention it.
The other is set up as a bridge and extends the wireless network, so they are both broadcasting the same SSID. This was set up automatically upon installation of the device.
I'm only utilizing two of the router's ethernet ports: one goes to a switch that handles our non-wireless boxes. This issue has happened regardless of the switch's presence, though, as previously we just used the ethernet ports on the Extremes and had the same problem; the other goes to the bridge.
I'm curious as to what in the configuration may be causing this problem, because I'm not totally certain if it is the fault of the Extremes and possibly due to us using our own range of IP addresses with the . Usually it is the bridge that dies and it's a PITA to get working again - I usually have to power cycle both the bridge and the router to get the bridge to function again.
Thanks for any tips you can provide.

double nat means you have 2 routers trying to, well route, basically so i suspect that tw modem is really a tw modem/router. if not, think about it, if it is just a modem, what is doing the routing before the switch?
in a clean setup, it would look like this
tw box connected to 1st extreme via eth (tw LAN port to ext WAN port, extreme in bridge mode)
1st extreme to 2nd extreme via eth (again, 1st ext LAN port going into 2nd ext WAN port, extending via a wired connection)
this is simplified. you can elongate the connections with your switch and wall jacks but the connections should be the same

Supplementing Airport Extreme 802.11n network with Gigabit Ethernet wired

Right now, I have an AEBS (Gigabit Ethernet) as my Internet router and network host, with an Airport Express elsewhere in the house to extend range for wireless devices. I'm steadily gaining A/V items with Internet or networking connectivity. AEBS and the A/V equipment are in different rooms. I am concerned that setting those devices up for wireless will cause needless complexity with inferior performance to Ethernet.
Here is what I think I should do:
1. Get wall panels installed by both the AEBS and A/V equipment wired for Ethernet;
2. Set up a Gigabit Ethernet switch in the basement, into which all these Ethernet outlets would run; and
3. Connect both the AEBS and the various A/V devices into the wall (and thereby through to the Ethernet switch) through their Ethernet ports. The goal is to have all of the devices on the same AEBS-hosted network to share data and have access to the AEBS Internet connection.
Any reason this should not work? Would the AEBS and the Ethernet switch need to be in the same room for any reason? I'd just like to make sure all of my ports are running in the right direction. In particular, I'd like to know if I am making this more complicated than it needs to be.
Thanks for your comments.

What you are planning should work without any problems.

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.

Current version of airport utility will not connect with older airport express

I was given an older aiport express that I want to add to my network for iTunes sharing. I have an airport express and aiport extreme currently. I am running Mac OS x 10.7.5. My current version of airport utility does not support this express and it tells me to download utility version 5.6. When i try to install version 5.6 i get an error message that tells me to contact software manufacturer. I'm sure there is a simple fix but I don't know what to do. Any help would be great!

Hi
again , at least for getting 5.6 installed, look at my post earlier, or better to JEFFY's and download an much better alternative "unpkg", to get it ( 5.6) on to your mac.
Then, though, getting to use it to configure your older AP as I attempted is anothe matter. I didn't succed so far..
Good luck to you. If it works pse tell .
Thanks.
Pierre

Newer mac mini airport utility can't work with older airport express

Hi anyone who can help me out.
I have a relatively new mac mini (2012), and a much older airport express. I can accesss the internet no problem, but I cannot use the airport utility to chane the password on the airport expres. when I try, I get this message "This version of AirPort Utility doesn’t support this base station. Go to AirPort Service and Support for more information." I have the latest version of Airport utility (6.3.1), which is supposed to work with all generaions of airport express. I need to change the password, but I do not have any of the original set-up disks for the airport. How do I fix this?
Thanks for your help.
liametmanu

Unfortunately, AirPort Utility in Lion and Mountain Lion no longer supports the older wireless "b/g" versions of the AirPort Express. This would include model numbers A1084 and A1088.
Please locate the model number on the side of your AirPort Express devices to verify the version that you have.
If you have another Mac running the Leopard or Snow Leopard operating system, you can use AirPort Utilty on that Mac to administer the older Express. A PC could be used as well.
If you cannot use another Mac or PC, then you might want to consider trying an unsupported method to install an older version of AirPort Utility on your Mountain Lion Mac. No guarantees can be offered that this will be successful since Apple does not officially support this method, but it does seem to work for most users.
See this thread for more details:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22940547#22940547
If nothing seems to work, the final option....likely the one that Apple wants you to use.....would be to buy a new AirPort Express.

Airport Extreme 6 gen works with new computers but not old.

Hey everyone,
Just bought a new 6 gen AE because our old one got fried. I got the new AE working very quickly, but it only allows my 2012 Retina MBP to connect and my iPhone 5s. My iPhone 4s and 2010 MBP connect, but when I do network diagnostics it says that the network settings are messed up. Does anyone know what I need to do to fix this? I also have the network without a password (we live in the middle of nowhere). Thanks!

Anytime you change networking hardware it is always a good idea to perform a complete power recycle of that hardware. Check out the following AirPort User Tip for details. Please post back your results.

Using new 6th gen non with older mac

I have a powerpc g5 mac with 10.4.11 OS 1G ram. I got the new nano for christmas but I need itunes 10 to use it, I need 10.5 or greater OS to run itunes 10. Can I run 10.5 OS on my mac since it doesnt have the intel processor?
I have a friend who has a mac support service tell me that I couldn't but I think he is giving me BS since he doesn't want to give me the OS system I need (he has the new software for the the newer OS systems which allows him to distribute multiple copies of it)

You will probably be able to find retail copies of it via eBay or Amazon. Supposedly, Apple still has copies of it on hand as well, so it might not hurt to give them a call either if you are willing to go that route.
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Version-10-5-6-Leopard/dp/B000FK88JK
B-rock

Set up ix500 scansnap with AP Extreme {6th gen}

I am having problems getting my ix500 scansnap to set up wirelessly with my AP Extreme 6th generation. I keep getting a message that the security access is not established and that I need to change the access on the ap extreme. Not sure how to do that. Can anyone help here?

This an older thread, but it came up when I was searching for my problem:
I was having difficulties getting the iX500 to work with my 2013 Airport Extreme (6th Gen ?) it would have a blue light, be given an IP but you could not ping, or connect to it.
I then discovered, if I connected the scanner and computer to the Airport Guest network, it would work. I went back to the regular (non-guest) network, and turned off my guest network option, and now it works fine on the main network.
Seems to be a problem with the iX500 (awesome scanner and OCR software b.t.w) and an Airport Extreme that has a guest network setup.
I don't have any guests right now, so I'm turning that Airport feature off and letting Fujitsu know - they have been helpful, don't know if this is Apple or Fujitsu, I have not had any other devices have reachability issues with Guest network enabled, although my other non-computer devices are wired to the Airport Extreme (ethernet and USB)

Will my airport extreme 2nd generation work with docsis 3.0 cable modems?

Will my airport extreme 2nd Gen work with docsis 3.0 cable modems?

RRoger, everything is working fine.
So, what is the actual problem here? You are now wondering if the Vonage can handle the speed from the modem? Is that the "problem" after all this discussion?
now I am wondering if my current setup will allow me to get docsis 3.0 speeds.
What speed is your Internet provider delivering to you?
The AirPort Express uses 100 Mbps Ethernet ports, so it will handle up to 100 Mbps. We have already told you that.
Vonage likely does the same. The answer is almost certainly "yes" .......both the Vonage and AirPort will handle the speed from the modem.
If you want to double check this, please provide the model number of the Vonage, and we will try to look up the specifications for the device. If you have documentation there with specifications for the Vonage device, check to see if the Ethernet ports are listed as 10/100. This is standard with almost all devices, with some of them handling even higher speeds 10/100/1000.
Chances are, your network will handle a lot more speed than your service provider is supplying to you. So, the "choke" point on your network may very well be your service provider and modem......not the Vonage and AirPort.

Extending an Airport Extreme (6th Gen) network with older Airport Express models

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