HT4259 With extended network, which device do I connect to?

I set up my Time Capsule as my base station and extended the network using an Airport Express. My question is, when I am logged onto the base station, will my computer automatically select whichever signal is stronger, the time capsule or the airport express... OR do I need to manually select whichever one is stronger?
I am guessing it will automatically select but I have not read this anywhere and would like to confirm.
THANKS!

will my computer automatically select whichever signal is stronger, the time capsule or the airport express...
Yes, that's the whole idea behind having an extended network.

Similar Messages

Can't reliably connect to network with 5 AEs config'd with 'extend network'

To accommodate a large house, thick walls, and detached guest house I setup five airport Ex's using the 'extend network' option. One is connected to the cable modem and the other four extend. All four get green lights. I get good reception in most places but it appears that I often don't connect to the closest AE, even when only a few feet away. In some cases my signal will go from full to zero in the span of a few feet. The network is the all n/5Ghz mode.
When checking the logs of each of the AEs I found that I wasn't connecting to the closest unit and in the case of the farthest AE I never connected to it. When I stepped a few feet away from the farthest AE I lost all signal.
1. There's no relay or remote option when 'extending network'. Is there a way to force connection to a particular AE?
2. Is there a way to prioritize among the AEs? Like with networks.
The logs show three AEs connecting to the Main AE and the fifth one connecting to one of the the three relays. Is there a maximum daisy chain length?

I checked my 4 extremes and found that the 3 mac mini's, 2 powerbook's, 1 imac, and 1 xserve do connect to the closest extreme.
I have 1 extreme in the middle of the 2nd floor as the gateway. An extreme on the third floor for 2 mac mini's, an extreme on the far end of the second floor for an imac and a powerbook, and extreme on the 1st floor for a mac mini, powerbook, and xserve.
One item for consideration to help control access is by manipulating the min connect speed dialog box. The default is 1 mb. Up that number until your clients become ineligble to connect to distant routers. As cleints move away from routers, their connection speed reduces.

IPad will not connect with extended network and/or guest network

I have extended my main network (AP Extreme) with an AP Express and uses a guest network too, all Macs, PC's, iPhones, game consoles, mediaplayers can connect to the internet with both networks. Only one device does not work with the main network and that is the iPad (1st gen). It can connect to the guest network, though. If i disconnect the Express, the iPad can connect with the main network or if I set the guest network to off it will too. But I want to connect to the main network (remote access).
Device.                          Network.          iPad internetconnection
Extreme.                        Main.               Yes
Extreme + Express.       Main.               Yes
Extreme.                        Main + guest    Yes both
Extreme + Express.       Main + guest.   NO
I have reset the network configurations on the iPad and it works for only one time, if the iPad goes into sleep mode and restarts, the connections is lost. The iPad seems to be connected with the router/AP but no internet access.
Fyi
- all devices have a fixed IP address dedicated by the Airport. i tried to use DHCP, but no difference
- radio channels on automatic
- all on 2,4 GHz band
IS THIS A IPAD 1 ISSUE and do I have to accept the fact that Apple does not support the iPad 1 anymore?
Any suggestions how to fix this? Thank you.

Thank you for the suggestion.
The name of my home wifi network is automatically found by the iPad and after I select it the iPad asks for a password. I have typed in my password that I use with my laptop, but it does not work.
I also tried the two alpha numeric 13 digit strings on my router. It is actually a Belkin. Neither of those worked either.
finally, I went into general as I could not find settings to tell the iPad to forget network settings?

Trying to set Harmony 900 remote with Apple TV - Which device type to I select?

When trying to add a device within the Harmony software on my iMac, which device tpe to I choose for the Apple TV?

I found the answer here: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/68301/how-do-i-set-my-logitech-harmony- remote-to-control-my-apple-tv
briefly it is: Computer-> Media Center PC -> Apple -> Apple TV

Airport express won't work with Extend Network, only Create Network

My Airport Express when it is setup to extend my network while plugged into Ethernet will Create a network under settings. If I change this to Extend A Network it doesn't work properly. It keeps kicking me on and off WiFi, but the former way works with no foreseen issues. What is going on? I can't extend my guest network with the first option, I don't believe.
I have a 5th Generation AirPort Extreme and a 1st Gen AirPort Express.

My Airport Express when it is setup to extend my network while plugged into Ethernet will Create a network under settings
This is the correct setting to "extend" the network using an Ethernet connection. Technically, this is called a "roaming" network.
If I change this to Extend A Network it doesn't work properly.
This is because "Extend a wireless network" is used only when AirPort devices communicate with each other using wireless only......not Ethernet.
It would help if Apple used settings like "Extend a network using Ethernet" and "Extend a network using wireless only".....but they don't.
The AirPort Extreme will need to be configured as the main router if you want it to provide a Guest Network. It cannot do this if it is configured in Bridge Mode.

Time Capsule with a Network Hub to expand the connections

well, I have a Time Capsule and it has only 3 network connections in the back of it.
I need to connect more devices. Can I put a Network Hub in order to expand it? I would connect a hub in the Time Capsule and, then, connect other devices in the hub.
Would it work?
Thank you!

You need an Ethernet switch. They come in 5-port, 8-port, 16-port, etc versions.
Simply connect the switch to one of the LAN <-> ports on the Time Capsule to create more connection capabiltiies.
Choose a switch with at least 2-3 extra Ethernet ports than you need at the present time, as the ports tend to fill up faster than you might think in the future.

Extending network with Airport Express shutdowns uploads only

I have a cable modem suppling internet to the house. From there we have a Time Capsule creating a network. There are mulitple computers on the network both wired and wireless (iMacs + MacBook Pros). At the edge of the wireless coverage, the speeds are about 25MBs-download and 7MBs-upload. When I add in the Airport Express to extend the network (via ethernet NOT WDS) the wifi does improve the area of coverage getting about 35Mbs-download to previous dead spots, BUT upload speeds essentially hault at .02Mbs!!! If you take the airport express out of the setup, upload speed goes back to normal.
I have tried everythig I can think of. All computers are 10.7.3, firmwares for the airports are all 7.6.1. I have reset to default facotry settings. I have changed radio channels.
Any ideas?!?!?!
Thanks!

When you connect an Ethernet cable to the Express to "extend" that way, the Express must be configured to....
1) Create a wireless network (NOT "extend a wireless network", which is used to connect using wireless only....you are using Ethernet here)
2) Use the same wireless network name
3) Use the exact same wireless security settings
4) Use the exact same wireless network password
5) Be configured in Bridge Mode

Can't setup an extended network

I am hoping this group can help as I have had no luck with Apple support and am not willing to pay $50 to get a $100 airport express working. Anyway I digress.
I have an airport extreme and an airport express. I am trying to setup an extended network so that I can connect a DVD player to the net.
I have an Extreme connected to the internet and have gone through the tutorial to set up the extended network. However I do not have the option in my drop down to select extend a network under my express wireless tab.
I know that you can use a WDS but am not familiar with this setup.
Any suggestions.
Thanks

Thanks for the info. This is an older version of the AirPort Express
Using your AirPort Express, your only option to provide more wireless coverage and enable the ethernet port on the Express is to use the WDS settings on both your AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express. Unfortunately, WDS is an older technology that will force some significant performance penalties upon your network. In brief:
1) WDS operates only at "g" wireless speeds, so you will lose any advantage of having a newer "n" wireless AirPort Extreme. The entire network will drop down to "g" wireless.
2) WDS will additonally impose a 50% bandwidth (speed) loss on your entire network. So, in effect you will have a "g" wireless network that is operating a half speed. If you are planning to download high definition movies, you'll need as much bandwidth as you can get. WDS may not work here. At best, it will be borderline.
3) WDS is a difficult configuration for many users. It's easy to make a mistake and hard to recover when you do. Basically, you have to start all over and try things again.
Check out the following article from Apple on the different types of methods for extending and providing additonal ethernet coverage. Under the Steps to Add Additional Wi-Fi Base Stations heading, click the WDS link for step-by-step instructions on the WDS configuration if you decide you want to try that route.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145
I'm guessing that it's not feasible to run an ethernet cable from your AirPort Extreme to the DVD player, but that is the best way that you can configure a device like this and it will provide the best performance.
If your budget allows, the AirPort Express 802.11"n" will allow you to use Apple's "extend a wireless network" feature, which will provide much better performance than a WDS setup. The "extend" configuration will maintain full "n" speeds on your network with a mimimum of bandwidth loss and should work OK for downloading movies. And, it is much easier and faster to configure than WDS setups.

Time Capsule & Airport Express Extended Network loses connection!

OK, so I am an Apple virgin of 2 months experience, after many many years with Windows based PCs, so please be patient and gentle with me. Sorry about the long explanation.....
My set-up comprises of a Time Capsule, which is connected to the Internet via a NetGear ASDL modem. Both pieces of equipment are situated in my wife's office on the first floor of our house. My office is on the ground floor, where I have a 27" iMac and an Airport Express which is connected to a printer via the USB port. The Airport Express is sited about 10 feet from the iMac.
All software and firmware are lastest versions - TC v7.5, AX v7.4.2 & Airport Utility v5.5.
For the past 2 months, I have only been using the AX to print wirelessly and the set-up has worked faultlessly.
Earlier this week, I decided change the configuration to extend the network to allow me to use my laptop & iPhone in areas of the ground floor where I had no signal. I followed the online instructions and first changed the TC to check the box to 'allow this network to be extended', after updating the configuration successfully I moved to the AX. Here I changed the wireless mode to 'Extend a wireless network', selected the network name and checked the 'Allow wireless clients' box. This also updated successfully.
Everything ran correctly and the range of the network was greatly increased.......great, job done...not!
After about 3 hours the iMac lost the connection and the TC disappeared from the Airport Utility pane and refused to reappear. I checked but also couldn't connect or see any network on the laptop or iPhone, so have dismissed a fault with the iMac. I finally got things back up after doing a power reset of the TC, but after a few hours same problem occurred, and occurred and occurred. By clicking the Airport Utility icon on the top right of the screen and following the prompts from 'no Internet connection', I can at least get things up and working without a power reset of the TC, but the connection still drops after 2-5 hours each time.
My first call to Apple Support led to a full reset and re-config of both the TC and AX, setting the extended network up as I had done originally. The only difference was an iMac reset (alt/cmd P&R on power up) and changing the 2.4Ghz channel from 1 to 11. This had no affect and the connection drop-out problem continued.
My second call to Apple Support led to me being passed to a Level 2 Techie, who first suggested that I tried disabling the Guest Network - tried it, and it made no difference. I was then told to try a WDS network, which whilst not losing connection, is slower and has less range than the original extended network and frankly sounds a cop-out.
Has anyone had a similar problem, anyone solved the problems, can anyone offer any help or advice please.. I'd appreciate any input....thanks.

Similar problem here. Cable Modem (Moto SB6120)->AEBS (802.11n dual-band)>AX (802.11n) for wireless connection to MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.2. AEBS configured as dual-band: 801.11a/n at 5GHZ and 801.11b/g/n at 2.4 GHZ. AX configured to wirelessly extend the AEBS 5GHz 802.11a/n network. I am able to run on the extended 5GHz network (via AX) for varying lengths of time, until the internet connection dies. When this occurs, I am able to switch over to the 2.4GHz network to get back online. Solution up until now has been to unplug the AX, then plug it back in. After the AX restarts, I am able to hop back onto its 5GHz signal and get to the internet. However, the internet connection on this band will drop again after some time.
I was on the phone with Apple Support twice in the past week to get this resolved, but no joy. Senior Advisor seemed to think that my AX was working properly, and that that the problem could be with my AEBS -- perhaps the 5GHz antenna might be bad in my AEBS? Seems odd to me, since both my AEBS and AX are less than 2 months old...
I just read the post from LocoDoc and decided to see if I could replicate the problem. Sure enough, when I am connected to the internet via my AX extended 5GHz network signal and a Time Machine backup starts, the internet connection quits. Only recourse is to restart the AX. Note that I do not experience this problem with Time Machine while connected wirelessly straight to the AEBS 5GHz signal. Only when I am connected to the "extended" signal via the AX.

Slow transfers in an extended network

I have two Airport Extremes (Gigabit Ethernet). One is connected to a Firewall and DSL modem and is the "master". The other ("slave") extends the network. I'm using 802.11n only 5 GHz.
There are some resources (a NAS among others) connected to the slave using gigabit ethernet.
Using a MacBook Pro connected wirelessly, I'm trying to copy files to/from the NAS. If I'm connected wirelessly to the slave it works fine, but if I'm connected to the master it is extremely slow.
I've had this setup before with 802.11g Airports. I expect slower performance when the packets have to go via two base stations, but not this slow. A file that takes 2 minutes to copy when connected to the slave, takes 30-60 minutes when connected to the master.
Is there some known problem with "extended" networks?

I'm having the same problem, I think. I just started another thread before I found yours (sorry), but here's my post:
=============
I just recently sold my old AEBS 100 units and replaced them with 2 AEBS gigabit units in hopes of having a fast wired backbone to eliminate as many bottlenecks as possible.
Both AEBSgig units are set to N only, 5 GHz, firmware 7.2.1, with the following configuration:
"Office AEBS" all wired (at Gigabit speeds) to:
- MacPro
- ReadyNAS NV
- MacMini
"Living room AEBS" wired to: Media Center PC (100 MBPS Ethernet port)
- configured to "Extend a Wireless network"
Airport Utility reports the connection between the 2 wireless AEBS is 270 MBPS.
With this setup, I get extremely poor performance from the extended part of the network, whereas I really had great performance with exactly the same configuration using the older AEBS (100MBPS) models. In fact, the configs are using the same configuration file, so nothing has changed settings wise.
Examples:
1. From the Media Center PC (wired to the extended AEBS), watching a video file streaming from the ReadyNAS (wired to the Office AEBS), I get stuttering.
2. Copying a file from the Media Center (Living room AEBS) to the MacPro (Office AEBS) has a throughtput of around 500 k per second!!! Max 1 MB/sec in burst but mostly 500-800 K.
3. Copying from the ReadyNAS (Office AEBS) to a wired MacBook attached to the living room AEBS has similar transfer rates.
Again, I recall there being NO such issues when using the same setup but the old 100 speed AEBS.
Is this a problem with the current AEBSgig units? Is it a firmware issue (I'm at 7.2.1 on both AEBSgig).
* Steve

Creating and Extended Network with 2 Airport Express Units

I had an extended network using 2 express units but one of them broke. The old network was setup with an older version of Airport Utility and I can't seem to repeat the set up a new network with the new express unit I have bought.
The simple setup procedure using Airport Utility 5.5.1 only appears to allow you to 'join' the remote Express unit to an existing network, there is no 'extend remotely' option.
I remember doing it last time by creating a WDS network which agrees with instructions I have found here - http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2009/03/taming-an-airport-express-wds.html
I set up the first Express as a base station with a network and select 'Participate in a WDS network' and 'Allow this network to be extended' under the wireless tab. Under the WDS tab I 'Allow wireless clients' and add the hardware address of the second express unit.
I then update the express unit but I get a WDS error which states, "This Airport wireless device is set up as part of a WDS network but no other AirPort wireless devices were found."
This seems to be a chicken and egg situation.
Any help would be appreciated.
Alan

Alan, welcome to the discussions!
It appears that you want to set up a WDS arrangment, correct?
But, I can't figure out whether you want to configure it with a "base" and two "remotes", or whether you want to configure it with a "base", "relay" and "remote"
Can you clarify? I'll send you a link with instructions from forum expert user Tesserax with step by step instructions. Just need to know what set of instructions to send.

AirPort Express AirPlay over network with extender

I'm running a wireless network which includes a Netgear signal extender. With the extender, I have two wireless networks visable:
network name (primary wireless router) & network name_EXT (extended wireless signal)
I purchased the AE for AirPlay and have it hard-wired (RJ-45) into my router. When our devices are connected to the primary wireless network the AirPlay function works perfectly, but when the devices (iPad and iPhones) connect to the extended network (network name_EXT), the AirPlay doesn't work.
The AE is connected by an RJ-45 cable and is on the same network... it seems to me the wireless network shouldn't matter.
Any suggestions to get this to work on the _EXT network?
Thanks.
T

It seems as though, from my experimentation, that Airplay connects to another device through the MAC address and *not* the IP address. There are benefits of using both types of connections (which I won't get into), but the biggest problem with using the MAC address in this case is the that, on most networks (practically everything except for those using WDS), the MAC address of the device in question gets masked as the same MAC address of the router it is connected to. This is bad because when the computer looks for a specific device, (again assuming that Airplay checks for MAC addresses) it will only see the router's MAC address instead of real device's MAC address.
To clarify, say you have two networks, A and B, where A is where the IP addresses are assigned from, usually the router that is either connected to the modem or is the modem itself. Each has its own SSID, A and B respectively. Wireless device WA, which has Airplay, is connected to network A. Wireless device WB is connected to network B and is trying to wirelessly connect to WA. As I mentioned previously, most networks won't be set up with WDS (which preserves the MAC addresses). As WB looks for WA to send the music over Airplay, it won't be able to fully connect because it is trying to send it to the wrong MAC address (of router A) despite it seeing the device. I suspect WB sees WA because it can see WA's IP address.
Now, I haven't been able to confirm this theory with any Apple representative because, after all, they are mostly not knowledgeable in the intricacies of the devices networking. I'm sure if they forwarded the question to an Apple engineer, we would be able to get a concise answer as to why we are having this issue...
I can only hope they will fix this issue before we are forced to buy more hardware to support WDS
But again, this is just my theory, I have no evidence except for knowing that my network is all on the same subnet but the MAC addresses are transformed... it may have something to do with the DD-WRT set-up I have.

Help with extending a network using AirPort Express

I am UK based and have BT Infinity Internet connection. I have a BT NTE which provides an ethernet connection for my home network. I have an AirPort Express 2nd Gen setup to provide initial router etc with the local LAN port connected to a 24 port gigabit switch. I have structured cabling providing ethernet ports in each room.
PC's etc are configured as fixed IP in the rooms they are in and connect via ethernet, however, my wifi (because of the construction of the house) is very poor especially upstairs and at the back of the house.
I have setup a second AirPort Express at the back of the house connected via the ethernet port, assigned a static IP, configured bridge mode, and setup Extended Network. However, my internal network is now very flacky, wifi keeps dropping out, Internet access for all devices is up and down, in short, it's unusable. However, If I use the second AirPort Express in Join a Network mode it appears to be more stable!
So Q1 - What is the difference between Extend a Network (via ethernet) and Join a Network (via ethernet) and what are the benefits of both? (which one should I be using?)
and Q2 - assuming Q1 is Extend a Network is the correct way to go, can someone please explain in complete detail the exact process and configuration for this to work effectively? If I can extend correctly I am looking at adding a third AirPort Express in the garage so I have wifi access in the garden and in the garage.
Many thanks for all assistance
Nick

resolved - see Proper way to setup two airport express and router in a single wireless network

Extending network with Express via Ethernet(Complicated)

Hi all
I have an AirPort Extreme(Base Station). Now, I would like to extend my network by using an AirPort Express. To get a maximal signal, I've put an Ethernet-cable in the room where the Express will be placed. How do I have to install this Express now to be an extension of my current network without getting its connection wirelessly? The Express should get his connection from the Ethernet-cable which I put in the room.
Simplified: I want the Express to be some kind of a base station without creating a new network.
I think the solution might be making my two AirPorts both bridges, but this didn't work out so well when I tried this.
Thanks a lot to the one who can help me out!

Hello Momomo92094. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
With the AirPort Express Base Station (AX) connected to the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) by Ethernet you only need to do the following:
o Reconfigure the AX as a bridge.
o Use the same Network Name (SSID) for both wireless networks.
o Use a radio channel on the AX that is at least 3 channels away from the one used on the AEBS.
o Use the same wireless encryption type and password on both devices.

Extended network with 2 AEBS and 2 AE

I have an extended network with 2 AE Base Stations and 2 Airport Expresses. They are all connected on the 5 GHz band and are 'N' only. The two AEBS are connected through ethernet and the two AE are extended wirelessly. I also have an apple TV, Macbook Pro and iMac that connect to this network wirelessly on a regular basis.
My question is this.... is it possible to assign which AE connects to which AEBS. The two AEBS are at opposite ends of my home on furthest levels apart. I have one in the basement on one end, and one on the second floor on the other. The two AE are in the middle on the first floor in between the bases.
The problem I seem to be having is that they (the two AE) are not connecting to the base station that gives them a good signal. They connect fine, but the BS they are connecting to give them a weak signal essentially making them ineffective in their extension. I want to be able to assign them to the closest BS to make them more effective.
Is this possible?

Sure,
They are actually independent of the apple gear in that they are simply attached as wireless access points to provide for the wireless g side of my network. Their IP's are static and they provide my windows machines and gaming consoles their wireless feed.
The two Airport Extremes and Airport Express's make up the foundation of my 5 GHz wireless N network for my Apple systems. The two airport express's not only extend my network but also work as airtunes devices in my house.
So....the AExpress do not extend the linksys units at all... just the 5 GHz N. The problem I am having is that one of the AExpress units is linking to the AExtreme that is farther away from it....giving it a very poor connection and hence extending a very poor signal. I would like to get it to attach to the closer unit....and would prefer to do it without having to utilize MAC filtering if that is possible.
I have other MBP's and MB's that connect periodically and using MAC filtering would be a pain.

HT4259 With extended network, which device do I connect to?

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