Extending Range With AirPort Express

Hi, we recently purchased the new Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station and I want to extend the range with my older model AirPort Express. I know the new Base Station is 802.11n and my Express only supports a/b/g, I was wondering if it is still possible to extend the range, and if so, how do you do this?
Thanks!

Yes, it is possible, and here are the steps...
AEBSn - WDS Setup
(Note: To facilitate the WDS set up, place the base stations within near proximity of each other during the set up phase, and then relocate them to their desired locations when complete.)
Main Base Station Setup
- Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as the main base station.
- Open AirPort Utility (located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
- Select the main base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base
Station menu, or double-click the base station to open the configuration in a separate window.
- Enter the base station password if necessary. If the base station is using the
default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
- Click Wireless in the toolbar, and then choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu.
- Click WDS and then choose “WDS main” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
- Select the “Allow wireless clients” checkbox if you want client computer to connect to this base station.
- Click the Add button and enter the MAC address of the base stations you want to connect to this base station.
- Click Update to send the new settings to the base stations in the WDS.
Remote Base Station Setup
- Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as a remote base station.
- Open AirPort Utility (in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
- Select the remote base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
- Enter the base station password, if necessary. If the base station is using the default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
- Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
- Click AirPort in the toolbar and click Wireless. Choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and choose the same channel as the main base station from the Channel pop-up menu.
- Click WDS and choose “WDS remote” from the pop-up menu.
- Enter the MAC address of the main base station in the WDS Main field. The MAC address is also referred to as the AirPort ID and is printed on the label on the bottom of the base station.
- Click Update to transfer the settings to the base station.
(ref: Pages 41-45 of "Designing AirPort Extreme 802.11n Networks.

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Time Capsule as bridge, want to extend range with airport express

I have a Motorola Surfboard SBG6580 a time capsule (3rd gen) and an airport express (2nd gen). I currently have the time capsule connected to the surfboard router by ethernet and have it iset to bridge mode. i would like to use the airport express to extend the network because as i get to the back of my apartment the range of the wifi signal starts to degrade. however when i try to extend the network with the express i am unable to.
both apple routers are on latest firmware
would there be any alternative way to configure these 3 devices for best performance / range

@blaqink
Have you figured this out?
I am looking to accomplish the similar feat. I have the Motorola Surfboard SBG6580, Time Capsule (Gen2) and Airport Express. I would like to use the Motorola as the main wireless signal because it appears to be better. But I still use the TC for backups and time machine, then I use the AX to extend the signal.
So, how can I use these 3 in unison? TC connected via ethernet to Motorola and set in bridge mode? Then extend the AX signal? Any detail setup info you can provide will help..thanks!

How to extend wireless with airport express and time capsule

So, I have a time capsule & because of the thick walls in my apartment, I can barely use my ipad and iphone at night in my bedroom! (my macbookPRO stays at 3 bars however!)
I bought an airport express thinking I could plug it closer to or inside my bedroom to boost the signal - but it doesn't seem to work that way - any tips on how to set this up?
TWO ADDITIONAL Qs:
Does connecting directly to my time capsule (which i'm assuming i'd need another ethernet cable) help with the boost? (then negates the other great uses for the airport express it seems)
Isn't there a way to do the boost with the express wirelessly? I'd really love to get wireless speakers, use airplay AND be able to use my devices just two rooms away .... HELP!
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cheers.

Suggest that you check your setup again to make sure that the settings are correct on both the Time Capsule and AirPort Express.
Open AirPort Utility, select the Time Capsule and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons
Make sure that a check mark is entered next to "Allow this network to be extended".( If the box is not checked, the Time Capsule will not extend to the AirPort Express)
Click Update to save your settings and close AirPort Utility
Next, open AirPort Utility again, select the AirPort Express and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab
Settings should look like this:
Wireless Mode = Extend a wireless network
Wireless Network Name = Same name as the Time Capsule network
Check mark entered next to "Allow wireless clients"
Wireless Security = Same setting as the Time Capsule
Wireless Password = Same password as the Time Capsule network
Confirm Password
Update to save settings and close AirPort Utility
Locate the AirPort Express approximately half way between the Time Capsule and area that needs more wireless coverage. You may need to experiment on placement to find the best compomise.
Post back on your results.

Extend wireless range with Airport Express?

Hi,
I am using a Time Warner internet wifi router and need to extend the range in my home. Can anyone help me with how to extend the range using an Airport Express?
Thanks
Chris

Chris, are you planning to connect the AirPort Express to the Time Warner router using a wired Ethernet connection?
The reason we ask is that Apple's "extend a wireless network" feature to provide more wireless coverage....using wireless only.....works only with other Apple routers as far as we know.
It is almost certainly not compatible with devices from other manufacturers.

Extend netgear dgn3500 range with airport express

Hello all,
I would like to extend my network range ( router netgear dgn3500) with an airport express. Is it possible?
Thank you!

I'm not sure if what I did extended the range, but I can play music from iTunes through connected speakers while connected to my Netgear WGR614v7 router (base). I tried hardwiring both my Mac and another PC in the house to the express and the computers do not find the express.
Connect (I did it wirelessly) to the express.
In AirPort Utility, select manual setup.
Under wireless, select "Join a wireless network" as the wireless mode.
The Wireless Network Name should be the same as your Netgear router's name.
Wireless security should also be the same as the Netgear router.
Type in the password for the Netgear router.
Select update.
After the AirPort Express reboots, connect to the Netgear router, and the express should still be listed in AirPort Utility. This means it is connected to the Netgear router. Now for the ultimate test. See if it extends the wireless range. If it doesn't work, it might be the router, since mine is a different model.
Good Luck!

How to extend wireless range with airport express

I am using 10.6.8....I have a wireless connection and would like to use an airport express to extend my range....the unit model is A1084. I can't find out how to do this in assistant. Does anyone know?

An Airport can extend only another Airport WiFi. It can not extend non-Apple WiFi systems.
I don't know the model numbers and I don't know when the extend capability was added.

Can't extend network with Airport Express on Sky Broadband

Hello,
I'm having some difficulty that's driving me bananas!
I've recently moved house and got Sky Broadband. They sent me their Sagemcom router and the setup was easy. I thought I'd do what I always do. I'll connect my Time Machine to it via ethernet, and connect via Time Machine's network. Then I have two Airport Expresses in the house to extend the network and use Airplay etc.
I can set up the Expresses with no problem, everything talks to everything without a problem and the lights are all green but the network isn't getting extended with either of them. I refuse to believe they're both broken as I also borrowed an Express form my Dad's house (which extend the network without a problem) and it doesn't work with me.
Extend my network is checked in the Manual Setup in Airport Utility but for the life of me I can't get my network extended.
I have done tests where I replaced Time Machine and made one of the Expresses the main base station and it throws signal out easily like that but I can't extend that network with the second Express.
I followed this thread https://discussions.apple.com/message/13171691?messageID=13171691 and have tried a few things to no avail. Currently I have configured an old Airport Extreme (just to keep testing) which works great and have set up an Express wirelessly. All lights are green and the settings seem to all be correct. I turn wifi off on my computer and connect to my computer from the Express using ethernet and nothing. Should I get a connection like this?
Is it Sky? I have read in a few places that Sky have disabled the ability to extend their network but I'm not eve using the signal from their box.
Any ideas or thoughts will be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.

OK so I've been tying it out but unfortunately to no success. Everything looks fine and all lights are green but the network isn't getting extended - just as before.
Click the Wireless tab
Wireless Mode = Extend a wireless network
Wireless Network Name = Same name as the Time Capsule network
Check Mark next to Allow Wireless Clients
I don't have an option to extend a network, only to join: http://flic.kr/p/a222kR
I do get the option though if I use the guided setup, even though it doesn't work: http://flic.kr/p/a24TQQ
I did try one other thing though. I set up the Time Capsule and it works great. Then I tried instead, to use my Airport Extreme to extend the network. The Extreme did give me an option to extend the network in the drop down menu and a checkbox to Allow Wireless Clients, unlike the Express. I do believe that this is now working. I now need to find the best place to put it to extend the range.
My Expresses are only 802.11g so they're pretty old but as I said, it worked at my Dad's house but not here. Does it make a difference that the Airport Base Station at my Dad's house is an older UFO shaped Snow Airport? I'm becoming suspicious that seeing as I've only ever lived in small houses and apartments that maybe they never worked?? I've recently moved into a more spacious house so could this be the problem?
One final test using iStumbler showed that it could see Apple Network XXXXxX until I configured it. Once it was configured it disappeared from iStumbler. The Airport ID number had gone from the list.
Do I need newer n compatible Airport Expresses then? So many questions pop up now... When I turned my Express into the base station (which only throws out a g network) then surely I should be able to extend to the next Express (which is also g only)? It still didn't work. The Express are on version 6.3 by the way. Having the Extreme extend the network is a good start but I also need the others to work too. Do you think I'm correct in my assumption?
How about WDS, could that work? Will WDS slow the network considerably?
Sorry if this message is rather long and garbled and again, thanks for your interest and advice.

Extending Network with Airport Expresses?

I'm drawing in wifi signal from the shipyard and want to broadcast(extend) it throughout the lower sections of a boat.
Currently I have 1 airport express drawing in the signal with ethernet connecting to the computer. However I want to extend the current network. Can I do this by buying another Airport Express and connecting through ethernet cable to the one I currently have. Would this work? What options would I need to select with the new AE(extend network, create network, etc)? Would this work with an airport extremeas well.
Any help much appreciated.
Ash

Tessarax,
Are you saying I would need three AXn to create the extended network? or would it just work with 2?
ie
AXn(Recieving)-----Ethernetcable-----AXn extending network
Will this not work?
Sorry just want to know how much I'm in for and if it will work before i go out and spend it.
Thanks for the reply
Ash

Extending Wifi with Airport Express

I have an airport express second generation. I also have my internet connections coming through a cisco router. Is it possible to extend the wireless signal coming from my router (with an ethernet cable) using my airport express?

Yes it is, if you establish a permanent Ethernet cable connection from a LAN <--> port on the Cisco router to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort Express.
Your next question might be "how" to setup the Express.
We'll need to know what operating system you are using on your computer, or whether you want to use an iPad or iPhone to set up the Express.

Extending network with Airport Express and Airport Extreme (latest models) causes chaos on network

Today I upgraded from my several year old Airport Extreme (3rd gen) and 2nd gen Airport Express to a new (what you'd buy on the shelf today) Airport Extreme and Airport Express. All airports are updated with the latest firmware and I'm using windows 7 for configuration.
The intention is to use the Airport Extreme as the main router, also serving wifi. And extend the network using the express. As such, the following has been done:
The Airport Extreme is configured for automatic channel, and automatic radio mode. I tried to select 802.11n 5 ghz and 802.11 n 2.4 ghz only, but it won't take the changes. Additionally, it wont' accept me using only channel 6. Not sure why, but I digress. The airport extreme is not set to broadcast a separate name for the 5ghz network.
The Airport Express is configured to use bridge mode, use an existing wireless network and is connected to my network on it's WAN port (the circle icon on the back) with ethernet. The password and wireless name used in configuration is the same as created initially on the Airport Extreme.
Initially I did the configuration of both airports on my computer, connected by ethernet to ensure stable connectivity while I inputted settings. During this, they appeared to accept the changes fine. However, when I moved the airport express to it's destination (other side of my house), the entire network went crazy.
Internet became slow, and often wouldn't load pages. This was on wired and wireless connections. When I attempted to administer the Airport in the Utility, they would not load, an error would occur. Also, at one point the Airport Extreme had renamed it self with a (2) at the end. Which was super odd. So far, the only solution has been to unplug the Airport Express and attempt to devise a solution.
Anyone have any ideas? Of course, I will continue to tinker with this, but it seems realllly strange. The previous setup was also extended (granted, using wireless only, not ethernet > wireless) and worked fine, granted it was a smidge slow, but it worked.

I wanted to add this.. I followed the guide here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260 to extend using ethernet, and the above is the result.
I just tried re configuring in OS X Mavericks and got the same, odd, result.

Extending network with Airport Express from Time Capsule Base Station

I have a working Time Capsule wireless base station that's setup and working successfully. I want to extend my network and connect to my stereo for playing via iTunes. I've spent hours trying to get the Airport Express to connect.
What's the correct basic approach? Time Capsule base and adding the AE to the network? Setting up WDS? If anyone has the proper settings for both the TC and the AE I would be very appreciative.

I still say this needs to be addressed by Apple on why there isn't 2 different forums for the old Express or the new Express.... Just like the Extreme Base Station. A lot of time is wasted on the forum on which Express a person has.....
1. Old Express with "g" ????
2. New Express with "n" ????
If you have the old Express, you need to set it up using WDS along with the TC.
If you have a new Express, then you can just check the TC settings for "allow this network to be extended" and set the Express to extend the network. This is much easier than setting up a WDS.
Good Luck
Joseph Kriz

Extending wifi with airport express and time capsule

Hi All
I'm new to macs and moving over in a big way!
I started with a time capsule and all was fine apart from the coverage in the house.
It seemed easy to extend the wifi so purchased an AE 802.11n and extended the network.
It does extend and I can connect to the internet but the network is now really really slow and the time capsule backup wont work.
connection is :
Ethernet modem - Airport express ( as its close to my audio equipment ) - extended WIFI conection via 802.11n.
Any suggestions? why is it so slow?
Im at 7.3.1 firmware on both AE and time capsule and the Macbook pro is at 10.5.3.
Any suggestions?

I've managed to change the 5gHz of ther Airport Express that's extending the network.
As mentioned, main AE is on channel 48, and I now have the 2nd AE on channel 36 - which means my TV can now see the network. Also tested speed via my mavbook air on the same 5gHz network as it all seems OK (A while ago I spotted my Time Capsule was on the same channel 48 as main AE and throughput was abysmal! Bad enough to make me reset the TC to factory defaults and setup again - which is when the TC got channel 120).
Anyway, the fix... I changed the 2nd AE to create a wireless network (instead of extend), and manually set the channel to 36. I then set it back to extend, and it seems to have kept channel 36.

Extend wifi with airport express

I want to use an airport express to extend my AirPort Extreme wifi. Do I need to connect them with a cable ? Is there a benefit to connect them with cable?

We need more information, please before we can answer accurately.
What model of AirPort Express? New model?
What model of AirPort Extreme?
Please look for the model number on the side or bottom of the device. It starts with an "A" followed by four numbers.
What operating system are you using on your Mac or PC?
Do I need to connect them with a cable ?
Yes, if you want maximum performance, as wireless is always a compromise in quality of signal and speed.
Is there a benefit to connect them with cable?
See previous answer.

Problems extending network with Airport Express

After messing with the settings on my new Airport Express((802.11n), I finally managed to set up a WDS network that sort of works. I've been struggling for a day and a half trying to use it to extend my regular network set up on my Airport Extreme(802.11g). I used multiple configurations, different securities, channels, etc, and got nothing but flashing amber. Somehow I've got it working with AirTunes, but no internet. Here is the current WDS setup:
*AEBS(g)-WDS MAIN*
Connected to Comcast broadband
v 5.7
WPA/WPA2 security
Channel 6
Set as WDS-Main
Internet: Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
Remote is set to the ID for the AX
Sharing: Share a public IP address
*AX(n)-WDS REMOTE*
v 7.3.2
WPA/WPA2 security
Channel 6
Set as WDS Remote
Internet: Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
Sharing off (Bridge mode)
The AX works as a music streamer only. In order to access the internet I have to switch to the main network (AEBSg). For some reason the AE is not sharing internet connection with the AX. Could it be my internet settings on the AE? Or maybe it's not possible to extend a "g" network with an "n" AX? Any suggestions would be great...

Price difference between an express vs an extreme makes moving to an extreme very attractive. using extremes and the extend a network feature automates a lot of settings. I tried the express route and was never happy with the results.

Extend Wifi with Airport Express when Airport Extreme is in Bridge Mode

Hello,
I'm trying to make my Wifi network easier at home but Im having some trouble.
My Internet Provider installed a Router at home. So I had to connect my Airport Extreme to the IP Router via cable and setup in Bridge Mode.
In my Airport Extreme I created a Wifi Network called WIFI HOME.
Than I connected two Airport Express into my Airport Extreme via cable and created two new wifi networks: WIFI HOME 2 and WIFI HOME 3.
But, in my opinion, this is not cleaver way to have my Wifi Network setup, since I have to change networks all the time.
The problem is that every time I tried to extend my current WIFI HOME setup into one of the Airport Express, the Airport Express crashes during the setup reset and my network starts to behave wrongly.
I'm starting to think that is something related to the Bridge Mode in my Airport Extreme. but I want to check with you guys if that makes any sense.
Thanks a lot!

Power off both of the AirPort Express devices
Disconnect the Ethernet cables
Wait a minute
Power up one of the AirPort Express devices for a few minutes
Hold in the reset button on the Express for 10 seconds and release
Allow a full minute for the AirPort Express to restart to a slow, blinking amber light
Connect the Ethernet cable to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort Express if it is a two port version
Click the AirPort icon at the top of the Mac's screen
Look for a listing of New AirPort Bsee Station
Click on AirPort Express
The setup utility will open up automatically and take a minute to analyze the network. Then, it will suggest that the Express be configured to Extend the AirPort Extreme network.
Type in a name that you want to call the AirPort Express. Example........Express1
Click Next
Then, the screen message will change to indicate that the AirPort Express is being configured to extend using Ethernet.
When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done.
The first Express is now set up and working correctly.
Set up the second Express exactly the same way........except give it a different name to avoid confusion.....Example......Express2.

Extending Range With AirPort Express

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