Lock Airport Express in 5GHZ Mode

I am using my Airport Express 802.11N (1st Gen) as a wireless bridge between my TimeCapsule 802.11n (Living Room) and my Slingbox (Bedroom). I do not need my Airport Express to extend my network at all, just need it to act as a bridge. I have read the Express is a dual frequency device (2.5Ghz and 5Ghz), but cannot use both at the same time. Is there a way to lock my Express into only using the 5GHz frequency?

Normally, when the AirPort Express is configured to "Join" or "Extend" a wireless network, it will look at both the 2.4 GHz band and 5 GHz band and choose the best quality, or strongest signal......which is almost always going to be 2.4 GHz if the signal has to pass through any obstructions like walls or ceilings.
You can "force" the Express to connect to the 5 GHz band, but in order to do so, you must setup the Time Capsule to provide a separate name for the 5 GHz network. Once that is done, you can "point" the AirPort Express to that specific network.
But....there is no guarantee that connecting to 5 GHz will provide you with a faster connection. If the signal must pass through several obstructions to reach the Express, the 5 GHz signal may well be slower than the 2.4 GHz signal at that point.
Post back if you need more details about how to set this up. But, also keep in mind that when you give the Express the ability to choose the best quality signal....as it is doing now....it is connecting to 2.4 GHz because that is the better quality signal....and likely faster signal.

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How to set up Airport Express in Bridge mode for hotel use

Please provide step by step instructions on how to set up Airport Express in Bridge mode for hotel use. I do not have a computer with me, only an iPhone and AEX 802.11n.

+"Please provide step by step instructions on how to set up Airport Express in Bridge mode for hotel use. I do not have a computer with me, only an iPhone and AEX 802.11n."+
AirPort Utility is the application that must be used to setup and make any configuration changes to the AirPort Express. I'm not aware of an "App" for this.
If you could borrow a computer from someone there for 30 minutes or maybe use the computer in the lobby, you could download AirPort Utility and reconfigure your Express. To help with setup, use an ethernet cable from the computer to the Express to help AirPort Utility "see" the Express.
http://support.apple.com/downloads/#airport

AirPort Express in Client mode

If you configure a current (summer 2012) simultaneous dual band AirPort Express in client mode:
1) are both the LAN and WAN ethernet ports available or only one of them, the LAN port presumeably?
2) If you unplug the ethernet cable momentarily to connect a different device, does the AX drop the wireless connection or is it maintained?

1) are both the LAN and WAN ethernet ports available or only one of them, the LAN port presumeably?
Both ports operate as LAN ports in this type of setup, since the Express will be configured in Bridge Mode automatically.
2) If you unplug the ethernet cable momentarily to connect a different device, does the AX drop the wireless connection or is it maintained?
Wireless will be maintained, but you may need to power off and restart the Express.
Better practice would be to power off the Express before you disconnect the cable(s), connect the cable(s) again, then power up the AirPort Express.

HT1515 how to setup airport express as client mode

How do I setup my airport express as clint mode? I have a printer that I want to use as a wireless printer. The printer is usb only printer. I want to use the Airport express to be able to connect to the existing network as client and be able to print wirelessly.

The AirPort sets itself up in client mode automatically whenever it is configured to "extend" or "join" a wireless network.
If you have an Apple router, the Express will configure itself to "extend" the wireless network, which will provide more wireless coverage in the are where the Express is located and enable the USB port, so that you can attach a compatible printer and configure it to work with the network.
If you do not have an Apple router, the Express will attempt to "join" the network, which will also enable the USB port. The Express does not provide any additional wireless coverage when it "joins" a network.

Airport Express Extends 5GHz at 2.4GHz?

My second generation(802.11n) Airport Express extends my 5GHz network, Net5, at 2.4 GHz. The express is about 20
feet from its "target," an iPad 3 serving as an internet radio. I know this because a scan turned up the 5GHz network on the same
channel as the 2.4GHz one and identified as "Net5."
As far as I can tell, all my settings are correct, etc. I'd be grateful for any ideas, comments, etc.

Ok, thanks for clarifying that for me. By default, the 2nd generation Express should extend both radios of your 5th generation Extreme. The key is placement. As you are already aware the range of the 2.4 Ghz band is greater than that of the 5 GHz one.
Even if you have the Express within 20 feet of the Extreme there may be some form of Wi-Fi interference (like walls) that may be preventing the 5 GHz band to be extended properly.
To rule out a possible placement issue, please check out the following AirPort User Tip for details on how to best place your base stations.

Does the ethernet port work when the using airport express in client mode?

I am considering using an airport express to extend my existing wireless network to a room where I can't get a cable to.
I will need to connect a at least 3 devices to the airport express.
The questions are:
- is an airport express the right answer to this problem?
- if so, does the ethernet port work (AE on client mode) as a passthru into the main network?
- can I plug a hub to it?
Thanks
RFSF

Hi Tesserax,
Really appreciate you taking time to respond.
I stopped by the Apple store this weekend and one of their sales people ( not one of their genius bar people) told me NO to all questions. I tend to believe more answers from people in this forum but just realize that I have not mentioned one possibly important point:
the main AP to which I will be connecting the airport express is not an Airport Extreme/Express AP.
Thanks,
Ricardo.

Having problems connecting an AirPort Express in client mode to a Linksys?

I have a Linksys WRT150N as my main access point. I recently dumbed down its security to WPA2 Personal so a Dell, and Xbox 360 could get on it wirelessly. Unfortunately, my AirPort Express refuses to connect now even after re-configuring it to use WPA. Its light just blinks Amber.
Does anyone else have an AirPort Express connected in client mode to a Linksys access point using WPA Personal security? I vaguely recall that I had this problem before, and solved it by using WPA2. Perhaps it's time to get an Apple TV for playing music on the home theater...
Thanks.

Hi, Bill! Actually, no--the AE is creating its own wireless network with the same SSID and password as the Time Capsule. I had big problems with bandwidth degredation when I tried to extend the network like that.
But I believe I tracked down the cause of the issue--the powerline adapter was losing its connection with the other powerline adapter for some reason. Still observing that one, but all the Apple stuff appears to be operating normally. Thanks for the replay anyway!

Connecting an Airport Express in client mode causing problems

Hi! I have an Airport network set up in the following way:
Time Capsule set up as the main router
Airport Express connected to the Time Capsule in bridge mode via powerline ethernet to form a "roaming" network. It has the same SSID, password and encryption as the Time Capsule network.
Everything has been working great, but recently I tried adding another Airport Express wirelessly in client mode so that I could stream music from iTunes to it. Since then, after a period of time, the part of my house with the AirPort Express units loses its ability to connect to the internet wirelessly. It still picks up the wireless signal--I just can't connect to the internet. If I wander to the area covered by the Time Capsule, however, wireless internet works fine.
Unplugging the client mode Airport Express fixes the issue, so obviously that is the source of the problem. Has anybody ever heard of this happening with a similar setup? Thanks!

Hi, Bill! Actually, no--the AE is creating its own wireless network with the same SSID and password as the Time Capsule. I had big problems with bandwidth degredation when I tried to extend the network like that.
But I believe I tracked down the cause of the issue--the powerline adapter was losing its connection with the other powerline adapter for some reason. Still observing that one, but all the Apple stuff appears to be operating normally. Thanks for the replay anyway!

AirPort Express in client mode with WEP

I just bought an AirPort Express that I'd like to use in client mode so I can stream music from my laptop to my stereo. I have an existing wireless G network supported by a Netgear WGR614v4 router, using 64-bit WEP encryption. My laptop is a Dell Studio 15 running Vista Home Premium, and it has a Dell Wireless 1387 card.
I know there are some reported issues with AE and WEP encryption, but for whatever reason my laptop doesn't connect to WPA networks, so I'm stuck on WEP. I've been using WEP 64-bit, so I attempted to setup the AE to work with that. The AE was connected directly to my Netgear router, and I installed the AirPort Utility software on my Dell laptop. Went through the setup, entered my WEP passkey, and then got to a screen where I clicked "update AE" or something of that sort. It then showed a windows with some upload bars on it that made it look like it was doing something, but it finally resulted in an error message saying the AE could not be found following the update. After looking for help, I stumbled across the following thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1765010&tstart=0
which in Step 6 he mentions this "error" is normal. That gave me hope, so I disconnected the AE from the router and moved it to the other room where my stereo is. Plugged in the mini cable, then plugged the AE into the wall and allowed it to run its setup sequence. Eventually I had a solid green light, so I figured I was in good shape.
Problem is that I then opened the AirPort Utility software on the Dell laptop to complete the setup and activate AirTunes, but the AirPort Utility doesn't show the AE connected. If I log into my router utility though, it does show the AE as one of the devices on my network, so somewhere there is a disconnect. After reading some more, I realized I could manually connect via AirPort Utility by entering the AE IP address and password. Tried this and it seemed to work because it showed the info for my AE, but when I closed that window it was gone. I figured maybe that's just a bug with AirPort Utility, so I closed it out and went to iTunes, hoping to see the option for selecting AE as the audio output, but it's not there.
I've tried almost everything I can think of, but I'm having no luck. At times I feel like I'm even making negative progress because I'll start everything from scratch and it will get hung up at a step earlier in the process. For instance, right now I've just restarted from scratch and the AirPort Utility can't even connect to the AE to do the initial setup. For some reason, following a Factory Default Reset, and with the AE connected directly to the router, it now boots up to a solid green light, shows up in AirPort Utility under a default base station name, yet the AirPort Utility can't connect to modify my wireless settings.
Does anyone have any advice?

1) are both the LAN and WAN ethernet ports available or only one of them, the LAN port presumeably?
Both ports operate as LAN ports in this type of setup, since the Express will be configured in Bridge Mode automatically.
2) If you unplug the ethernet cable momentarily to connect a different device, does the AX drop the wireless connection or is it maintained?
Wireless will be maintained, but you may need to power off and restart the Express.
Better practice would be to power off the Express before you disconnect the cable(s), connect the cable(s) again, then power up the AirPort Express.

[Porblem] Airport express in bridge mode

Hello all,
It's my first post
I've got a problem using my all new airport express 802.11n...I explain, I've got a airport extreme base station(Fast ethernet) in mode n (channel 36) and I would like to connect my xbox(not a 360) using wireless...
I bought the airport extreme(so also in 802.11n) and I setup it as "extend my network" enter the passphrase etc and finally connect through a regular RJ45 my xbox and my airport express
The result is that I can connect my private network using my xbox but with very slow speed...2 MByte/sec...
I expect better speeds using n mode...normally it's 130Mbit/sec ...I'm really far from this speed...but very close from a 802.11g ...maybe that's normal..
Maybe someone can explain my how to increase the speed...
I'm using 7.3.1 for both of my airports (express and extreme)
Also, someone know where to find the older firmware???
Thanks all in advance.
Ed

Hmmm... I would say that this should work. I've got a Dual-Band network, and my sons' 360 is connected to my AEBS-g network via an AX-g and a Gigabit ethernet switch. The 360, 2 ReplayTVs and a DIRECTV HR20 all run fine on the g network.
One thing I've done is to run my AEBS-n at 5 GHz, n only to minimize any interference between the two networks.
Now that Apple finally upgraded the AX to n, I'm seriously considering upgrading my AX-g's to n and I would expect that the 360 should work.

Airport Express in Bridge Mode.. No AirTunes, limited functionality

I can only get my internet connection working through my Airport Express (AE) in bridge mode (i.e. the AE connects using 'Ethernet' as opposed to PPoE or WDV).
My computer is then able to connect to the internet using PPPoE.
Interestingly, the amber light is flashing although the internet connection is working fine.
Also, I cannot use AirTunes, and Airport Admin Utility cannot see the Airport Express.
Now, if I go into System Preferences>Network and disable PPPoE and check DHCP instead, I can see the Airport Express in Airport Admin Utility, the light becomes solid green and AirTunes starts working... BUT... my internet connection stops working!
Alternatively, I can now go into Airport Admin Utility and configure the AE to connect using PPPoE. However, no matter what settings I input in System Preferences>Network, the internet connection does not work. However AirTunes does work, the light is green and I can find the Airport in Airport Admin Utility.
It wasn't always like this. Sometime in late November / early December my Airport Express suddenly stopped connecting to the internet. Since then I've been trying very hard to get it working again, with numerous resets etc but its just not happening!
Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong or what I should do?
Thanks in advance (from a recent Apple convert)

Thanks for the very quick and helpful reply.
However I've tried on numerous occasions to configure the AX to connect to my ISP using PPPoE but it's always "looking for a PPPoE host". In addition, my ISP tells me that when I try and connect through the AX they dont see any requests coming in.
Was there a firmware or similar upgrade sometime in late November or early December of this year? I'm asking because all was fine prior to this period, after which internet through the AX only works in bridge mode, with the amber light flashing and no AirTunes functionality. Perhaps if i roll back the driver/firmware then it will start working again?
Also, is it a limitation of the AX that you cannot use AirTunes or even Airport Admin Utility to configure the AX when the AX is in bridge mode and the computer is not using DHCP to communicate with the AX? That doesnt seem to make much sense to me.

Airport express in bridge mode and wrong IP

Hi all,
my airport express is driving me nuts!! I'm trying to set it up in bridge mode, just to share the printer and to use airplay, bridging the network of my ISP router, that works fine in wifi mode with all my devices (tested with: 2 MacBookPro, 3 iphone, 1 ipad).
The issue is that I configure the AE to join my network (using airport utility), it restarts and works just for few minutes and then it drops the IP, and it turns out to not be visible even for airport utility.
I've noticed that in the summary configuration page of airport utility the IP assigned to the AE is kind of 169.254.X.X that means that the AE is not reciving a valid IP from the router. But, if I press "manual setup" and load the internal configution, in the TCP/IP pannel there is a righ IP number.
But it stops working anyway :-(
I've already tried to configure it with a static IP num (in my IP range), but it did not work as well.
Last thing: my AE is the old one, 802.11g.
Any suggestion?
thanks in advance and happy new year ;-)

When the AirPort is setup to operate in Bridge Mode, all ports behave as if they were LAN <--> ports, so it would not make any difference which port is used. As a personal preference, and also to aid in troubleshooting, I use the WAN "O" port when configuring a network, if only to know at a glance which cable is which.
The settings on the AirPort are interactive, so when/if you change the Network Mode to "create a wireless network", that will throw the AirPort back into router mode, so always check to make sure that the AirPort is in Bridge Mode as the last step before you click update to save the settings.

Can you make Airport Express go 5Ghz?

Hi all,
I am using FIOS at my house that runs through a Verizon router to my Airport Extreme that broadcasts wirelessly. I have also installed a Airport Express in an adjoining room to extend the network as well as to play music via Itunes.
When I am in the room with the Extreme, I get a strong signal at 5GHz. But when I am in the adjoining room I get a strong signal at 2.4GHz. I assume this is coming from the Express. My question is this; Can I set up the Express to go to 5GHz?

The issue is primarily due to the physical properties of higher vs. lower RF frequencies. The higher frequencies offer better bandwidth with a trade-off of range. In practice, the 5 GHz network is typically only useable in the same room as the wireless router providing it. It you want to provide 5 GHz networks in adjourning rooms, you may want to consider setting up a roaming network.
You can "force" the Express to extend the Extreme's 5 GHz radio, only if the following are true:
The Express must be within range of the Extreme's 5 GHz network.
The Extreme's 5 GHz network would need to have a separate Network Name.

How can I extend an Airport Express in WLAN mode with an additional Airport Express box

I'm trying to extend the existing WLAN with an additonal Airport Express box. I read through a bunch of comment throughout the communities here but didn't find what I'm looking for.
My actual Installation consists:
A Time Capsule attached to the Internet router which set up my 1. WLAN range
This WLAN has been extended with an Airport Express BOX creating my extended 2. WLAN range
Now I intend the extend the 2nd WLAN of the Airport Express BOX with an additional Airport Express (creating a 3rd WLAN range) but don't find a way on how to set it up correctly.
The physical situation of the location dosen't allow me to add / replace cabeling (Ethernet or similar). If there is any chance I'd like to avoid power-line connections. And, I'm aware of the impacted bandwith on WLAN / WLAN extensions, but can deal with this.
Regards and thanks for any advice

Two requirements that must be met to do what you want.......
1) An AirPort Express 802.11n must be used. Check the Model No on the label on the side of the Express. It needs to be A1264. Any other model number will not do what you want.
2) The Express must be configured to "Join a wireless network" and the option to enable Ethernet Clients must be checked.
Open AirPort Utility and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons
The box to "Allow Ethernet Clients" must be checked
Please check to verify that your AirPort Express meets both requirements

How do I reconfigure my Airport Express in client mode?

My home uses an AT&T U-Verse wireless network to connect to the Internet. I also have an Airport Express hooked to a USB HP Printer to create wireless access to the printer. With a change in U-Verse service, AT&T replaced my network interface with a new box, connected that box to new port at the sub-station, a new wireless network name and a new wireless network password. Now everything works except my "wireless" printer. I suspect that the issue is that the Airport Express has the wrong network name and password, but cannot figure out how to change it. My Airport Utility is version 6.3.1 and it does not find my Airport Express. My Airport Express is an older one and I can find no model number on it anywhere. How do I reconfigure my Airport Express.
Previously when trying to install an Airport Extreme on my system, I proved with several long conversation with Apple support that it would not work with the U-Verse system. I had to take the Airport Extreme back and use two USB hard drives for Tim capsule backups, one for each computer.

AirPort Utility 6.3.1 will work with the AirPort Express A1264, so something else is amiss.
Power up the AirPort Express for a few minutes, then hold in the reset button on the Express for 10-12 seconds and release. Allow a full minute for the Express to restart.
Open AirPort Utility
Click on Other WiFi Devices
Click AirPort Express
That should allow you to reconfigure the Express

Lock Airport Express in 5GHZ Mode

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