Macbook won't talk to Airport Express WDS remote

I have two new Airport Express 802.11n access points, and an Airport Extreme (802.11n but not the latest model). One of the Expresses is connected to my DSL modem (wired ethernet) and is the 'main' WDS access point. The Extreme is acting as a relay, and the other Express is the WDS remote.
Here's the problem - the WDS network works fine with my Macbook Pro (model ID MacBookPro3,1) and I can use the remote WDS with no problems, but I have an early 2008 Macbook which simply will not connect to the remote express - but it has no problems connecting to either the Extreme or the WDS main Express.
The Airtport card type in my MBPro is "AirPort Extreme (0x168C, 0x87)", the card type in the Macbook is "Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.91.26)". Both laptops can see the same physical networks, and I don't think channel interference is a problem, because I'm on channel 6 and all the other networks I can see are on either channel 1 or 11.
I've tried swapping the two expresses, and that makes no difference. I've also checked that the Macbook can connect to both expresses when they are acting as the WDS main AP - so it appears to be when the express is acting as a remote (via the relay) that I get a problem.
Has anyone seen a similar problem? This configuration sould work, right?

I found a way to get a wireless configuration that serves my purposes. I'd tried swapping the expresses around to see if that helped, and reached a point where my extreme wouldn't extend any network I set up on an express, so I did a reset to factory defaults on both.
Once I'd done that, I created an 802.11n (5GHz) network using one express, and extended it using the extreme. Having done that, both my Macbook and Macbook Pro could pick up the extreme's extended network in the room where I had the second express, so that solved one problem (previously the Pro could see the extreme's network, but the Macbook couldn't - odd, since this is a polycarbonate bodied Macbook, and they normally have better wireless reception).
The only remaining issue was connecting some wired ethernet devices, which is the other reason I wanted the second express functioning as a WDS remote. Turns out that if you just want the express to bridge a wired network to a wireless one, you can do that by having the express join as a client, and enabling wired clients as well - I think that may be new to the 802.11n expresses.
Everything works perfectly now - both laptops have internet connectivity via the extreme and express; the wired devices are bridged onto the wireless network so they can talk to other machines elsewhere in the house, and the setup is much simpler because I'm not having to mess around with WDS details. I'm also hoping that an extended network like this loses less bandwidth than a main/relay/remote setup.
I never did get to the bottom of why the Macbook couldn't talk to the WDS remote - possible a factory reset on all three would also have resolved the problem, but I guess I'll never know now.

Similar Messages

Can Apple tv talk to airport express??

Hi,
Wondering if the ATV can talk to airport express. Might be nice to stream the movie audio to the AE. Any Ideas??

No. The answer is as simple as that. Not even if you play a video from your Mac and AirPlay it to the ATV. Normally air playing audio from a Mac allows for multiple speakers at the same time (i.e. Computer speakers, ATV, AE all at the same time), but this functionality goes away when you start playing a video. It only allows for one device to stream both audio and video at the same time.

If I have my iMac internet sharing turned on, the Airport Utility won't recognize the Airport Express I want to use to stream iTunes to my stereo. When I turn the iMac internet sharing off, the Airport Express appears but calls itself a base station.

If I have my iMac internet sharing turned on, the Airport Utility won't recognize the Airport Express I want to use to stream iTunes to my stereo. When I turn the iMac internet sharing off, the Airport Express appears but calls itself a base station. I just bought the Airport Express and it's not clear how I should set up my System Preferences for Sharing. Thx

Yes. Unfortunately the stereo is too far from the wired ethernet connection My iMac is connected to the internet using an ethernet cable from the DSL modem (plugged into the wall, not wireless). The Airport Express is plugged into an outlet 25' away from the iMac and connected to my speakers. I've turned on the iMac Airport wireless Internet Sharing, hoping to stream iTunes to the Express connected to the stereo. The iMac Airport picks up several neighborhood networks so I know it's working (and I connected my iPhone wifi to it just to check as well).
When I use Airport Utility to set up the Express, the only time Utility recognizes the Express is when the iMac Airport is off. When I turn on the iMac Airport, the Airport Utility immediately loses the Express and asks to rescan.
Maybe that explains my problem better.

HT4145 why won't my old airport express work?

why won't my old airport express work?

Not sure what you mean by "won't work".
Won't turn on at all?
Won't allow configuration changes?
What are you trying to do with the AirPort Express?
If you could provide the Model No of the old Express.....look on the side of the Express for this.....it will be something like "A x x x x"
and
If you could provide the version of AirPort Utility that you are using.....open AirPort Utility, click on the AirPort Utility menu in the upper left corner of the screen, then click About AirPort Utility to locate the version number
We can probably help

Macbook Pro won't connect to Airport Express, period.

So I just got this brand new Airport Express a couple of days ago, and I've had the darndest time trying to get this thing to work with my cable modem. I've conducted a number of experiments, and have performed factory resets on the airport more times than I care to talk about, but so far nothing has worked. Here is what I've gathered so far:
1) No matter what, whenever I try to connect to the Airport Express' wireless network, I get a connection timeout or some other error. This happens whether I attempt connecting via the Airport Utility, or manually using the airport icon in the toolbar.
2) As a result of #1, it's completely impossible to configure my airport express wirelessly, because when the Airport Utility tries to connect it just ends up giving me an error.
3) As such, I have tried configuring the airport express by hooking it up to my computer via ethernet cable. Once I do that, I am able to configure to my heart's delight, but then when I plug the Airport back into my cable modem, I am once again no longer able to connect wirelessly because of connection timeouts.
4) My connection timeout issues happen whether the Airport's light is solid amber, flashing amber, or solid green. They would probably still happen if the light was fuchsia or cerulean. As far as I can tell, the status light makes no difference whatsoever.
5) I have the most up-to-date firmware on my airport express.
6) I have the most up-to-date version of the Airport Utility.
7) I have run an ethernet cable directly to my laptop from my cable modem and the internet works fine, so the problem is not coming from my ISP.
8) My laptop (15" Macbook Pro running OSX 10.5.8) is able to connect and maintain connections to other wireless networks without any problems.
I'm at a loss. All I want is wireless internet. It can't be that hard, right?
Help!
Thanks in advance.

I had a similarly perplexing experience today. My AE - which I have been using trouble free for months - was blinking amber this morning after a particularly heavy download session. Usually a modem restart fixes the problem...but not this time.
After many many resets I was completely unable to connect to the modem wirelessly. I was able to connect when connected to the AE over ethernet. However after applying settings to the AE I was unable to connect wirelessly or over ethernet.
Setting the AE to use 802.11n (a compatible) did not immediately fix the problem, but I've no doubt that I would still be without luck if I hadn't applied that setting. However after removing all previously stored Preferred Networks, shutting down the computer and modem and then connecting the AE to modem and restarting everything I got green lights on the AE.
My computer still could not "see" the AE using the Airport Utility. The network did appear in my network list tho, so I selected it and was able to finally join the network. Only after joining the network did Airport Utility pick up the AE.
That's almost 3 hours of my Saturday afternoon wasted, but I'm just glad to have wireless internet again.
The key here appears to be configuring the AE while connected via ethernet and then trying out the various settings while it's connected to the modem.
It ***** trying to debug internet-related problems because you clearly need the internet to debug them! (ed: wow, suck* is a banned word!)
Message was edited by: kjvarga
Message was edited by: kjvarga

Macbook Air (Lion) won't connect to Airport Express (and won't remember network)

My new Macbook Air 13, with Lion, will not connect to my Airport Express. It throws the following error: "A connection timeout occured"
This Airport Express is setup as a bridge. So it extends my wireless router.
The new Macbook air sees this setup as 2 seperate WIFI networks. It will connect to one (the router), but will not connect to the other one (the airport). It will then not remember the router, so each time it restarts or wakes from sleep, I have to manually reconnect to the correct one.
For reference. I have 4 other wifi devices in this household. A win 7 laptop, an IPad 2, an iphone, and a Macbook pro with Leopard. All 4 of them are working as intended. They see one wifi network, connect to it (and move between the two points as necessary), and they remember their connections.
Any thoughts or advice?

Glad it's not just me. I have D-Link and TP-Link routers set up in the same or a similar way. My iPads, iPods and Windows laptops all show a single SSID and switch between them happily. My new 13" Air was showing two networks (2 SSIDs) and wireless was patchy at best. I changed one router to be N only and that improved things somewhat, but still loosing the network. In order to see which router was being used I altered the SSID of one. The "N-only" router is giving the best coverage with a strong signal - but then it just drops out and the wireless icon shows "Searching". Turning wifi off then back on fixes the connection.
When it comes to internet browsing my iPad 2 is significantly faster than the Air.
I'm also having trouble keeping or attaining connections to my Windows shares, drop-out, even when I still have internet connectivity.

MacBook Air, OSX 10.8.4 won't communicate with AirPort Express.

What is required to use older AirPort Express with 10.8.4?

A workaround is required to install an older version of AirPort Utility 5.6 on your MacBook Air.
This is not officially supported by Apple, so there are no guarantees here.
It would be better if you had another Mac running the Leopard or Snow Leopard operating system to administer the old Express
See this thread for workaround details:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22940547#22940547
If the installation of AirPort Utility 5.6 is successful, you will need to use that version to administer the old AirPort Express.

Macbook Pro doesn't see Airport Express

Hi,
I've been struggling with connection to my Airport Express.
My Macbook Pro (OS X 10.6.7 + all the latest updates) doesn't recognize it anymore. Occasionally, my wireless network was briefly visible to the Mac, but connecting to it only led to a time out. My Windows laptop from work did not have issues connecting, and neither did my iPhone...
I've done a reset of the AE, which did not help (my Windows laptop now shows the Apple Network XXXXX that is supposed to appear). However, the Airport Utility that is supposed to help me reinstall the thing from my Mac will not recognize it either...
Anyone any suggestions on where to go from here?

I am having the same problem. Right now i am sharing the wireless connection through the iPhone because my MBP2011 won't even see the SSID broadcasted by the airport express.
I hace tried emptying the keychain, emptying the list of known networks but nothing helps. It had the same kind of episode last week but after a lot of rebooting and editing of the AE over ethernet cable it started working again.
Tonight I came home from work, started the MBP and it wouldn't see the network. It has popped up once but clicking on it only resulted in a timeout error message.
Any help would be much appreciated! The AE is only a month old..
MBP2011
OS: Lion latest update
Airport utility and AE are updated. The utility doesn't see the AE.
iStumbler doesn't see the AE-network.
Please advise,
Sebastian

Time Capsule-AirPort Express-WDS not working together

According to everything I've read here, I've configured this properly, but it doesn't seem to be working. If anyone can help me troubleshoot this I would greatly appreciate it.
I have a new Time Capsule acting as my main wireless base station; it has a manually-configured static IP address, is plugged into my Verizon FIOS router, and is set to distribute IP addresses over wireless using DHCP. I have it set to run a 5 GHz network in addition to the regular 2.4 GHz network. I have an older AirPort Express that I want to use to extend the range of the 2.4 GHz network (the Express can only do 802.11b/g, not 802.11n), in part because we have some older devices in the house that I don't want to slow down the 802.11n network, and in part because the 802.11b/g signal doesn't reach all parts of the house very strongly. So I told the Time Capsule to make its network extendable, told the AirPort Express to participate in a WDS network as a WDS relay, and entered the MAC address of the Time Capsule's 2.4GHz network as the WDS main. Result: flashing amber light on the AirPort Express, which no longer shows up in the AirPort Utility; I had to do a hard reset in order to get the Express back (and then it had to be reconfigured again, of course). At the moment I have it just joining my wireless network, and that works -- green light -- but of course doesn't allow the Express to extend the range of the wireless network.
What am I doing wrong here?

Before there was dual band, we always told users that if they used WDS, the entire network would revert to "g", even if the Time Capsule, AirPort Express, etc were capable of "n" performance.
Your findings seem to confirm that this happens with a dual band as well.
I think it's well worth it to get the AirPort Express 802.11n. Then you can reconfigure the Time Capsule back to "Create a wireless network" and check the box to "Allow this network to be extended"
The Express"n" would then be configured to "Extend a wireless network". I use this setup and would highly recommend it. There may be a slight bandwidth loss due to overhead, but the performance is light years ahead of WDS.
If you are using the same network name for both bands on the Time Capsule, then I believe by default the Express will extend the 2.4 GHz "n", "g" and "b" band. This makes sense for most users since 5 GHz signals do not travel well over distance or penetrate obstructions well.
IF...you want to extend the 5 GHz band, the only way that I know how to do this is click Wireless Network Options on the wireless setup page for the Time Capsule and enable the option to assign a different name for the 5 GHz network.
Then you will have to configure the Express to extend this specific 5 GHz network. I never had much luck extending 5 GHz, and I wanted my iPhone to be able to use the network across the house, so I went with the simpler one network name for both bands and extended the 2.4 GHz network.
If you have a "g" device joining the extended network, it may tend to slow the "n" devices down slightly...when the "g" device is active, but it won't drag everything down to "g" levels. When the "g" device is not active, "n" devices will run at "n" speeds.
BTW, the ethernet port on the AirPort Express is active when you configure it to "extend a wireless network". This can come in handy for hooking up DVD players, etc that need an internet connection for firmware updates and extra features.
Follow up....I tried a very quick reconfiguration of my dual band AirPort Extreme (same router that the Time Capsule users) and AirPort Express using the WDS arrangement and everything did indeed drop way down in speed and performance.
Post back if you have questions. Happy to help.
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

Airport Express WDS main weirdness

I have some Qwest provided dsl modem/wireless router hooked up via ethernet to an airport express 802.11n configured to be WDS main. There is another airport express 802.11n as a WDS remote upstairs. If I connect directly to the qwest router I get good performance, if I connect to the WDS remote I get good performance. If I connect to the WDS main, I get terrible performance. I've tried unplugging, turning off ipv6 and lots of other suggestions I've seen, but nothing seems to help. I've seen the same thing with my imac and my macbook air, so I think the problem must be the airport express.

Welcome to the discussions!
If both of your Expresses are 802.11n capable, you can use the "extend a wireless network" option rather than WDS.
WDS cuts the bandwidth of your wireless network in half when you add a remote device. "Extend a wireless network" will not do this.
Can you confirm that both Expresses are "n" devices? Do you need step by step to set up the "extend" feature? It's much easier to setup than WDS and will perform much better.
Of course, it is possible that you have a defective Express there. If you have time, you could switch devices, or test each one individually as a base station to verify proper operation.

HP Deskjet F2280 won't work with Airport Express

Hello.
When I try to add the printer, plugged into the Airport, in the settings, it says "because of a network error it could not get the software." One time it seemed to have worked, but then I could not print. So I deleted the printer again, and now I cannot install the software again.
I cannot print anything on my iPad through airprint, because there are no printers found... What can I do?

I thought I could plug in any printer there and print over the air to the airport express's usb printer...
Not all printers are compatible with the USB port on the AirPort Express....and....AirPrint is a completely separate matter. This is a separate Apple feature that allows an iPad or iPhone to print to an AirPrint compatible printer using wireless.
The printer has to connect to the network using wireless for AirPrint to work....not USB. You might be able to use a separate App like Printopia to allow the iPad to print when the printer is connected to the USB port.
There is a free trial for Printopia, so you will know if it will work before you buy.
Printopia - AirPrint to Any Printer - Print from iPad - Print from iPhone ...
But, first things first. You need to see if you can get printing to work normally first from your Mac....and then try Printopia to see if it will allow the iPad to print.
But the main problem is that it won't download any software... Even when I plug in the printer into my Macbook, it says "searching for software" and then "Cannot download software now, there is a network problem." But I'm clearly connected to the internet so...
Have you tried powering off the MacBook and the AirPort Express?
Have you contacted HP Support to ask them about whether they still support your printer....and whether there any new printer drivers that you could manually download and install?

ITunes won't play through Airport Express

I have my stereo connected to the Airport Express via optical cable. I can Airplay from my iPhone to the AE, but for some reason iTunes running on my MBP won't Airplay to the AE. The AE is listed as a remote speaker option, but when i select it, nothing happens.
Any ideas?
Thanks!

. Short answer: No.
. Long answer: I've been going back and forth with Dan Hill ([email protected]) and his best suggestion so far (port fowarding the known itunes ports to the server's static IP Port Forwarding iTunes on the Ubee U10C022-Ambit - PortForward.com) of course didn't work because the streaming and handshaking for connecting to the remotes doesn't go out or in through the router. I'm not playing this over the WAN just a subset of my LAN.
. Since this all worked behind the AT&T Uverse Router 3800HGV-B but stopped behind the Ubee DDW3611, that's the presumed culprit.
. When time permits, my next two tests are to rearrange the network so the AP Extreme is DHCP host and firewall and the DDW3611 is only a bridge, and then to crash the mini back to 10.6 if all else fails, since the other two computers work fine.
. I also talked with Emilio at the LaCantera Apple Genius Bar. Couldn't set up a similar problem there (they have a trunk line to AT&T) and no new hints.
. Problem is beyond the control I have in the Time Warner Cable (TWC) bridge and Lion has also removed many controls.
Idiot proofing downfall: the idiot is behind the locked door.

Linksys WAP54G, Airport Express WDS and WPA

Hello,
I have previously been able to set up my Linksys gear and Airport Express to work in WDS with AirTunes thanks to the great thread at
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=607414&ft=y&#607414
I am wanting to know if there has been any update in being able to do the above but with WPA and not WEP.
I would prefer to have WPA obviously and was wondering if anyone has been able to do this and what additional steps are required.
Regards

I have been trying to set this up with my WRT54G for a while now and have had no success. I've tried pretty much every 3rd party firmware available.
After countless Googles and searching many forums, I've found that nobody has been able to establish a WDS connection w/WPA between a Linksys router and AX. There have been a few people that say that apple is doing something incorrect, how I know that WDS with WPA work just fine between the AEBS and AX. Note that you can let the AX join as a client and have WPA work, but it won't work if it joins via WDS.
I have basically given up my search and am currently looking for an AEBS on eBay.
20" FP iMac & 12" iBook 1.2 Mhz Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Brand New MacBook Pro Cannot Connect to Airport Express

Hi all,
Been reading through these pages and I think there are many others with the same problem as me but with no real answer, I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask anyway.
I have an Airport Express which I bought a couple of years ago. It initially worked fine on my old MacBook, I moved house and then it stopped working (flashing amber light syndrome). I got so fed up with it that it has been languishing in the loft ever since.
After a brief stint with a Windows laptop I decided it was time to return to Apple, and I haven't regretted it for a second.....until I got the Airport Express from the loft!
It simply, fundamentally and irrevocably...doesn't work! It's plugged in, amber light flashes but my nice new MacBook Pro just doesn't even recognise it exists. I have tried running the setup utility but at the first screen I am told that no unit is detected, I'm then told to check my Airport card (I assume it means the inbuilt modem which clearly works as I am writing to you guys now!). I can't even progress with the setup after this.
I have tried each of the Airport setup utilities to no avail (lap top cannot "see" AX).
Just as an update, I just connected my AX to my wireless router with an ethernet cable, a new network called 6ad16d appears to be available. Airtunes then works and I can connect to the internet (albeit slowly). I am not happy with this arrangement though as there is no padlock next to the new Apple network so I am worried that it isn't secure and surely I should be able to just plug my AX into the main and my hifi and it should work anyway?....just like it used to!
My apologies for the rambling post and please excuse my lack of computer knowledge. I really hope someone can help!

Fixed! You jut need a girlfriend with a lot of determination....not even sure she knows how she did it. Involved a lot of menus and a lot of swearing.
Surely this should be easier?!

MacBook Pro can't find AirPort Express base station

My friend gave me an AirPort Express and I've set it up as a base station before. But the other day it was having problems and I reset it. Since then I have not been able to set up a base station. When I try to set up a new base station through the AirPort Setup Assistant I get the message "The AirPort Setup Assistant was unable to find your base station." I have tried soft resets, hard resets, and even factory resets, but I can't get the base station set up. Any suggestions?
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I face a similar problem - the default name of the Airport Express is shown, Internet-Access works, but no way to administrate the Station - it is "not found", although it displays the name of it before. Frustration!

Macbook won't talk to Airport Express WDS remote

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for