Mixing US equipment with international version of Airport Extreme

Hello! My question refers to differences in the 802.11n specifications between the US and Europe.
In the tech spec of Airport Extreme one can find the following statement:
Channels 1-11, 36-48, and 149-165 approved for use in the United States and Canada
Channels 1-13 and 36-64 approved for use in Japan
Channels 1-13 and 36-140 approved for use in Europe
My Airport Extreme was bought in the US. My computers and my Airport Express in Europe. I would like to know whether in 802.11n/5Ghz mode my Airport Extreme base station will automatically choose only channels which can be used by all (European) clients, so essentially limit itself to 36-48 because these are the channels shared between the US and the European specifications. Any thoughts?

Ran into the same problem - out of the box, AEBS and TC are customized to the region where they are sold. The question now is - is this due to different hardware, firmware or a SW configuration setting that Airport Utility just does not expose?
Given that the Apple documentation states compatibility with US, Europe and some Asian countries for the same model number (A1301 for the latest AEBS), different actual HW seems unlikely. Different firmware is possible, but if you look at the URL from which Airport Utility downloads the firmware, you will find a single version and no way to select a region.
I'll raise the issue with Apple Support. In the meantime, if anyone in this forum knows whether and how the region can be changed in a legal way, it would be nice to hear from him/her ...

Similar Messages

Will an old Airport Express work with a 4th generation AirPort Extreme?

My Airport Express model A1084 will not seem to work with my 4th generation AirPort Extreme.
I've tried everything I could think of to get it to work.
I am able to set it up(Extend existing network) with a copy of Snow Leopard but although it has a green light and seems to be working, I can't pick up a signal on any of my devices. Everything on iStumbler looks ok to me except the channel on the Airport express is 3 and the Extreme is 149. The Express is on the 2.4 ghz and the Extreme is 5ghz. What should I look for on iStumbler that might give me a clue?
Thanks,
Mot

The A1084 does not have a setting to "extend a wireless network", so it cannot be used for that purpose with the newer AirPort Extreme.
The A1084 Express can "join" the wireless network provided by the AirPort Extreme, and be used for AirPlay and to run a remote USB printer, but the Express does not provide any additional wireless signal coverage when it joins a wireless network.
You need the new A1392 version of the Express or the previous version, the A1264 if you want the Express to "extend" a wireless network wirelessly.
The older A1084 Express could be used to provide more wireless coverage if you can permanently connect the Express to the Extreme with a wired Ethernet cable connection.

I have a iMac with a built in airport extreme card. Does the imac act as a wireless router so that I can connect to the internet from my iPad by tethering through my iMac?

I have a iMac with a built in airport extreme card. Does the imac act as a wireless router so that I can connect to the internet from my iPad by tethering through my iMac?

Depends which iMac exactly and your network setup, you can go into System Preferences and under the Sharing pane you can enable internet sharing from ethernet (or whereever you get your internet from) to Wi-Fi.

How can i sync ipad1/iphone4 with itunes wirelessly using airport extreme network

how can i sync ipad1/iphone4 with itunes wirelessly using airport extreme network

Hi,
This is currently not supported by iOS for any devices. Rumour is that iOS 5 will finally add this function, until then I'm afraid you are stuck with the good old cable.
Jamie

Is the Time Capsule wi-fi router compatible with the Nest thermostat? I've read where there are issues with the Nest and Airport Extreme (AE)? Is AE used in the Time Capsule?

I've read where there are issues with the Nest and Airport Extreme (AE)? Is AE used in the Time Capsule?
If so, i already have a wi-fi router, so can the Time Capsule simply be used for wireless backup instead of as a router if there is conflict?

A TC is fundamentally a AE with a sata chip included to drive the hard disk. Some slightly different bios to include disk functions, although most of those are also on the AE. So as a router it is 99.999% identical.
And yes, if you have another router you can easily bridge the TC and use wireless for backups and internet connection. Once you no longer route through the TC the issues with most NAT problems including port forwarding should disappear.. mostly this is due to all apple routers using NAT-PMP instead of upnp which is the near universal standard for opening ports.. without upnp apple keep their routers more exclusive.

I can connect to internet with my MBP through Airport Extreme, but my iOS devices can't. Please help.

I can connect to internet with my MBP through Airport Extreme, but my iOS devices can't. Please help.

GerleMan, Welcome to the discussion area!
There are two probably causes:
Your ISP is blocking the port used by Entourage to send mail and the ISP used by the other wireless networks is not.
OR
Your ISP doesn't like OS X's default MTU seting of 1500. If this were the case it should also affect any large file transfers you try to make from your Mac to the Internet.

HT4260 I am working with a later version of Airport Extreme's using Mountain Lion. Are these instructions suitable?

I am trying to setup an extended wireless network using 2 Airport Extremes (4th and 5th generation). I have ethernet around the house. I have my wireless network setup but cannot add the second AE. My broadbanc connection is via cable modem.
Any help would really be appreciated!
Thanks
Barbara

Hello Barbara,
Things are very different now with the new version of AirPort Utility in Mountain Lion. Apple says that no instructions are really needed, since the setup is now much simpler than in the past.
Still, most users need a few hints to get going, and it's always good to check your connections first, to verify that the Ethernet "backbone" is working correctly before trying to add a second AirPort.
I understand that you already have one AirPort Exteme set up and working, which we will call AE 1.
Connect an Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <-> ports on AE1 to your Ethernet connection for the house....probably a wall jack.
Temporarily, move your MacBook Pro to the location where you want to install AE2. Turn off the wireless on the MacBook Pro (by clicking the fan shaped AirPort icon at the top of the screen). Connect an Ethernet cable from the Ethernet wall port to the MacBook Pro, and check to see if you can get a good Internet connection with the MacBook Pro connected this way as a test.
If you can, then you know that the Ethernet wiring is functioning correctly. You can disconnect the Ethernet cable from the MacBook Pro now, and turn the wireless back on.
If you cannot get an Internet connection with the "test", then you'll need to do some additional troubleshooting before you can connect AE 2.
Post back on your results, and we will continue with the setup of AE 2.
I assume that AE 2 is new, and that you have not made any changes to this device, or tried to configure it yet.

Setting up network with newer and older AirPort Extremes

Okay, I thought this was going to be so simple. I have a newer (like a year old - square) Airport Extreme that I have three computers wirelessly hooked up to in the house. Great... so now, I want to hook up the old iMac in my son's room that doesn't have a wireless card to the network. It is too far away to use the ethernet cable into the back of my newer Airport Extreme station so I figured I'd dust off the old saucer type base station, plug the ethernet cable into that in my son's room and then just easily get the old base station to network with the newer one wirelessly.
Not so easy. The newer one has no reference how to make a network with other base stations whatsoever and the old book describes how to with the Airport Admin Utility which is not available to the newer version, just Airport Utility and it does not have the WDA options listed. I tried to extend the network and then Doh! The whole network disappeared.
Is this a compatibility issue with the older and newer base stations? Would it just be easier to put in a wireless card to my very old iMac, if that's even possible? Has anyone successfully networked an old and new base station together? If so how?
Thanks!

Welcome to the discussions!
When you have an older "g" device (the flying saucer) and a newer "n" device (the square one) in order for them to communicate using wireless only, you must configure both of them in what is known as WDS configuration.
This is a quite tricky setup for most users. The best set of instructions that I've seen for this comes from expert user Tesserax in this thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2355832&tstart=0
If you elect to try this type of setup, you will probably need to hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the Wireless Mode selection box to get the WDS option to appear. (My guess here is that Apple "hides" it because it slows down the network substantially). But, it's the only way to do what you want to accomplish with and old and new device.
Other options would include the wireless card you mentioned for the iMac. Even better might be a pair of ethernet powerline adapters. One adapter goes near the AirPort Extreme and the other near the iMac. The AC wiring in your home transmits the ethernet signal of the powerline. Works great, almost no configuration required and better than wireless in many cases.

Setting up a USB external Drive with USB Hub on Airport Extreme

I have successfully hooked up the Airport Extreme Base Station (n) with two printers using a USB Hub. I am now trying to hook up an external hard drive(acomdata 250 gb). When I plug the hard drive into the Hub and turn the drive on the Airport Extreme Base station resets to amber and flashes green for a second then resets to amber again and it keeps doing that until I shut the drive down. I have a Mac Book Pro and an iMac on the network as well as a HP pavilion a730n on the network. I am able to share files between the PC and the Macs; however I can't seem to share the external hard drive. I tested the external hard drive by hooking it up directly to the Mac book and after a few seconds it mounted correctly and I was able to read and write.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Nick

I have successfully hooked up the Airport Extreme
Base Station (n) with two printers using a USB Hub. I
am now trying to hook up an external hard
drive(acomdata 250 gb). When I plug the hard drive
into the Hub and turn the drive on the Airport
Extreme Base station resets to amber and flashes
green for a second then resets to amber again and it
keeps doing that until I shut the drive down. I have
a Mac Book Pro and an iMac on the network as well as
a HP pavilion a730n on the network. I am able to
share files between the PC and the Macs; however I
can't seem to share the external hard drive. I tested
the external hard drive by hooking it up directly to
the Mac book and after a few seconds it mounted
correctly and I was able to read and write.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Nick
What version of the AE firmware are you running? If you upgraded to 7.1, LOTS of people have discovered that Apple broke the USB connectivity for both disks and printers big time. With the 7.1 firmware version a few people can see the disks, but most people CANNOT see the printers.

Airtune Over Ethernet with Time Capsule or Airport Extreme

Can the previous generation Time Capsule or Airport Extreme bridge an ethernet client to an Airtunes network?
Current Setup: I have an aluminum iMac wired to my Time Capsule; currently, I use the aluminum as a music server by connecting to several Airport Express clients over the the iMac's built-in Airport for Airtunes support.
Problem: I have 3-802.11g clients dragging my wifi network. I would like to dedicate the iMac's internal network to the g-clients so I don't have to use compatibility mode for my n-network. However, I will lose Airtunes speaker support when I use internet sharing over the built-in Airport. Airtunes does not appear to support the Time Capsule ethernet client.
Nodes:
-AE 802.11g (Airtunes only)
-AE 802.11n (Airtunes and USB printer)
-1st gen Time Capsule (Internet gateway, "creating network" 802.11 g/n,
-iMac 8,1 (Music server via internal wifi, wired TC client)
-Macbook 4,1 (wifi client)
-iPhone
-Canon MP620 (USB to iMac, wifi to Macbook)

Further to Bob's comments..
A Gen1 TC will be using marvel wireless chip and your 2008 and 2010 Macbook will use atheros and/or broadcom cards.. Just open your system profiler and look for info on the airport. We find the mixture of wireless chipsets especially older draft N and later N products can give very varied results.
The very fact you are linking at 270 and not 300mbps shows some reduction from theoretical max speed.. and really to get over 100mbps with any wireless you need perfect setup.. matched wireless chips etc.
Do a test uploading and downloading a file to the TC to see if the LAN speed is better than internet speed.
In reality I think you are doing especially well.. we see loads of people complaining about slow internet here who are getting less than 10% of the speed they get direct when routed through the TC. And on most occasions the limit in speed is not really going to affect what you do, as the real links to the internet are not that fast.

Time Machine fails with drive connected to Airport Extreme

First of all, I've had myriad problems with Time Machine, even when it was connected directly to my MBP. But after the recent updates, I installed them and hoped it would work wirelessly. I re-formatted my 120GB OWC drive (my MBP has 30GB available of 120GB). I have already been down the road of making sure I've formatted the drive correctly.
I excluded my system folder, my entourage identity, downloads, and my Parallels Windows XP file from the backup. I connected the drive to my Airport Extreme (not the gigabit version) and started the backup. Basically, it gets about 5 GB into the backup, moving very slowly, and then fails, saying that it couldn't locate the drive. And that part is true--I can't seem to locate the drive on my network anymore either. And eventually, after another hour or so, my Airport Extreme drops as well, and isn't even available. Even when I unplug the AE, and plug it back in, it still doesn't show up...but after about an hour or so...it pops back up and is available, working fine. My iPhone sees the same problem with AE dropping and then coming back. When the wireless service drops, I can plug an ethernet cable into the AE and I can access the internet fine, so it's not the cable modem (Time Warner).
Is anyone else seeing this problem? I'm no guru and appreciate that Macs just seem to work correctly. But Time Machine is making me pull my hair out. It's been an unmitigated disaster from start to finish.
Appreciate any help!

This is probably the most sensible post I've read on the issue. I've spent the last 2 days trying to get my 500GB LaCie Quadra hard drive to work with my Airport Extreme (the square one, yes .
I've formatted it correctly with the Disk Utility (multiple times!).
Airport Utility sees it just fine. I can back up to it when it is connected directly to my MacBook via USB.
But when the drive is connected via USB to the Airport Extreme, Time Machine doesn't see it -- unless I turn on file sharing with guest access read and write. That seems less-than-secure to me even if my network is protected.
Without guest access the drive appears in the shared section of the Finder, but I can't connect to it. I've tried all three combinations under "Secure Shared Disks" but none of them work.
Seems like its just too flaky to use an external disk connected to the Airport Extreme.
Happy to be pointed in the right direction... are there specific file permissions I should be setting my external drive to?
Thanks,
Rich

Time Capsule (SIM) expand network with 802.11b/g Airport Extreme

Hi, I try to expand a Airport-Network which is set up with a Time Capsule (SIM (latest model). I like to use an Airport-Extreme-Basestation to expand the network. The two devices will be connected wireless. In the helpfile there is a explantation how to do this with 802.11n-devices but when it comes to the 802.11b/g-devices it just says I should have a look on the apple support-pages. I do not find anything there.
I tried everything, but it did not work. I've had a Time Capsule (first model) which died some days ago (the well known powersupply problem). With this Time Capsule I did not had any problems to set up a WDS.
What to do?
Message was edited by: Kadege

Kadege wrote:
Ok Jolly, thank you, but I started this thread to get in contact to somebody who knows the solution, i.e. has done this before.
Jolly Giant wrote:
try automatic
Of course I've already tried this and the other automatics, but it did not work. That is the reason I am asking for help. So I guess I need special settings.
NOT good !
No protection is not good, ok. But I want it to set up and running and after this I can switch on protection to eleminate some mistake-reasons.
WDS-Mode: "remote WDS-Basestation"
when the UFO joins the TC's network this will no longer apply
But this menu exists and the UFO does not join the network, so I have to select any of this settings!
try these steps provided by Tesserax:
Setting Up Time Capsule as a Second Wireless Router
802.11g AirPort Extreme Base Station -> 802.11n Time Capsule
With "mixed" AirPorts, you will need to configure both routers into a Wireless Distribution System (WDS). Your neighbor's AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) will be the main and your Time Capsule (TC) will be the remote base station in this WDS.
To simplify setup, you should connect your TC directly to the AirPort's LAN port by Ethernet. Once the WDS is configured, you can disconnect the TC and place it at the desired location.
The following are the basic configuration steps to create a WDS:
(Note: To facilitate the WDS set up, jot down the AirPort IDs (MAC addresses) for each of the base stations to be used in the WDS. The AirPort ID and is printed on the label on the bottom/side of the base station.)
Main Base Station Setup - AEBS
o 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.
o 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).
o 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.
o 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.
o Click Wireless in the toolbar, and then choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and then choose “WDS main” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
o Select the “Allow wireless clients” checkbox if you want client computer to connect to this base station.
o Click the Add "+" button and enter the AirPort ID of the base station you want to connect to this base station.
o Click Update to send the new settings to the base stations in the WDS.
Remote Base Station Setup - TC
o 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.
o 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).
o Select the remote base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
o 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.
o Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
o 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.
o Click WDS and choose “WDS remote” from the pop-up menu.
o Enter the AirPort ID of the main base station in the WDS Main field.
o Click Update to transfer the settings to the base station.
(ref: Pages 42-46 of "Designing AirPort Networks.)
802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station -> 802.11n Time Capsule
o Open AirPort Utility and select the base station that will connect to the Internet.
o 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.
o Click AirPort in the toolbar, and then click Wireless.
o Choose “Create a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and then select the “Allow this network to be extended” checkbox.
o Next, select the base station that will extend this network, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu, or double-click the base station to open its configuration in a separate window. Enter the base station password if necessary.
o Choose “Extend a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and then choose the network you want to extend from the Network Name pop-up menu.
o Enter the base station network and base station password is necessary.
o Click Update to update the base station with new network settings.
does this fix it for you ?
edited by the Jolly Green Giant (where Green stands for environmentally friendly)

IPhoto 6 with 2 macs, an airport extreme and a extenal harddrive

Hi
Can you help a new mac user?
I recently converted from PC because I heard so many great things about the mac but have struggled with a few things.
I have two macs - a mac book and a mini - and an airport extreme with a harddrive attached. I have IPhoto 6 and a shedload of photos. What I want to do is the following:
1. Back up my photo collection on the external harddrive. I presume the easiest way to do this is just to export from IPhoto. Is this the best way?
2. Modify the pictures on one or other of the macs and then update the other one with the changes. Not sure how to do this.
Also, I have been playing around with these things for the last couple of weeks and noticed if I import photos from the external drive they lose their original date settings and get the date settings from the date I put them on the external drive. This has driven me mad and if I ever had to import my backed up library from my harddrive would send me completely crazy. Any suggestions.
Thanks in advance...

Art H:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions and in from the darkside.
Are you wanting to share a library between the two Macs or have each Mac have it's own library and then keep them the same as time goes on.
If it's the first option, you're best bet would be to put your iPhoto Library folder on the external HD (with ownership turned off as shown here) and then have each Mac access the library on the external HD.
Then you can periodically copy the iPhoto library folder to one of the Macs as a backup, the one with the most free HD space. To do it frequently you can use a backup application what will only copy those new or changed files from the library folder on the external to the backup copy on the designated Mac. Much faster that way.
If it's the later, then it's going to be a little more difficult, at least the updating the second Mac. If both Macs will be adding new photos to the library it will take using iPhoto Library Manager to move the new photos (in rolls or albums) from one library to the other like this while keeping the keywords intact.
If you're only adding new photos to one library and you want to update the library on the second mac occasionally you can use the backup application to backup from Library A to Library B. Then keep a backup of the primary library (A) on the external HD and back it up with the backup application frequently also. I use Synk for that.
I think the first option would be the best as each Mac can add to the same library. One restriction to that would be that only one Mac can access the library at a time.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
MBP 2.16Ghz; G5 Dual Core 2GHz, 2G RAM ea, 250G HD; G4 Dual 1Ghz, 1.5G RAM; Mac OS X (10.4.10) 22" LCD, 710G FW HDs, Canon: SD700IS/i850/LIDE 50, Epson R200, 30G iPod, 2G Nano

Extend my wired Airport Extreme (5th Gen) with a 2nd Wired Airport Extreme (also 5th Gen)

I have a 5th Generation Airport Extreme in my house hard wired directly from my fiber optic provider
Then I have that 5th Generation Airport Extreme hard wired directly to my Desktop Computer in a separate building in my back yard (using an Ethernet Cable run through an underground conduit).
Using that setup, I DO get Wi-Fi for my iPhone 4S & iPad 3 in that separate building in my back yard, but it is sometimes so weak, it really is not useable.
To improve the Wi-Fi signal for my iPhone 4S & iPad 3, I plan on adding a 2nd 5th Generation Airport Extreme in the separate building in my back yard.
I will disconnect the Ethernet Cable that is currently plugged directly into my Desktop computer & plug it into the 2nd Airport Extreme.
Then, I will use a short Ethernet Cable to directly connect my Desktop Computer to the 2nd Airport Extreme.
The desktop computer is an older Dell Dimension 9200 running Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3
With this set-up, will the strong Wi-Fi signal I now get in my house from the 1st Airport Extreme NOT be reduced?
And since the separate building is only 300 square feet, I assume the Wi-Fi signal there will also be as strong with the 2nd Airport Extreme being so close to everything?
Could someone point me to SPECIFIC instructions on how to CORRECTLY set this up so that the 2nd Airport Extreme will EXTEND my home network?

So, I should unplug the 1st Airport Extreme from the outlet before doing anything?
Yes.
Since the 2 Airport Extremes will be in 2 separate locations, which do I plug into the outlet first?
I would suggest plugging the one in the house first, then the second one in the backyard building. Be sure to connect the Ethernet coming from the first into the second before power-on either base station.
Could I connect the Ethernet both to the 2nd Airport Extreme & then to the desktop, then plug in the current Airport Extreme in the house, then run out & plug in the 2nd Airport Extreme in the separate building?
The key is to leave everything powered-off; connect the Ethernet cables, and then, start by powering up the house unit, then the backyard unit, and then, the PC. Make sense?
P.S. I have the Version 5.5.3 of Airport Utility for Windows (using Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3)
There does NOT seem to be a later version than that.
That worked great for the installation of the 1st Airport Extreme several months ago, so I shouldn't have any problems, should I?
There is a later version (5.6.1) for Windows, but required Windows 7 to run on. Since you can already administer the 1st 5th gen Extreme with the version you have now, you shouldn't have any issues continuing to use it for the second unit.

V. Slow transfer speeds with new dual band Airport Extreme

I have a new Airport Extreme (late 2009, dual band, full 'N' spec) which I am using to replace an older Airport Extreme (early 2008, 5Ghz, 'draft' N).
I have a USB disk attached and was interested in benchmarking the transfer speed of the new Extreme, compared to the previous version. The results are puzzling / alarming.
Shown below are transfer speeds (file copied to the attached USB drive) under different connection standards (2.4Ghz / 5Ghz & a/b/g/n)
'Old' Airport Extreme
5Ghz - 'draft' N : ~5-7 Mb/sec
'New' Airport Extreme
2.4Ghz - b/g : ~3-5 Mb/sec
5.0Ghz - a : ~3-7 Mb/sec
5.0Ghz - N : ~200 Kb/sec
Hence transfer speeds appear to collapse when I try to make use of the 'N' spec with the latest Extreme. I have tried altering items such as - wide channels (on / off), interference robustness (on / off), 5Ghz channel (manual, instead of auto), with no upside.
I seem to be at the point of concluding that either
1. I have a 'broken' Airport Extreme
2. The WiFi card on my early 2008 iMac (which implements I guess the 'draft' N standard) is 'incompatible' with new the Airport Extreme under a 'N' connection.
Any thoughts ?

Since all devices in my wireless network are capable of latest 802.11n protocol, I really do not need older and slower 802.11a/b/g protocols. To achieve above 200 Mbit/sec, 5GHz band with wide channel option turned on is really necessary. Thus I really wish I can turn off the 2.4GHz radio band (seems Apple has set this band as default) of my new dual band Airport Extreme to avoid unwanted bandwidth degradation. Unfortunately this is not possible with radio mode setting in Airport Utility.
The best I can do to force connection with 5GHz radio band (with quite consistent result) is as follows:
On Airport Extreme through [Airport Utility>Wireless] :
Radio Mode: 802.11n only (5Ghz) - 802.11b/g/n
More Options>Wireless Network Option>Transmit Power: 100%
More Options>Wireless Network Option>Use Wide Channels: checked
More Options>Wireless Network Option>5 GHz Network Name:
checked and same network name with extra suffix "(5 GHz)"
On 27" iMac through [System Preferences>Network>AirPort>Advanced>AirPort]:
Preferred Networks:
Create only one profile in Preferred Networks for the above network name with suffix "(5GHz)"
Uncheck the option [Remember networks this computer has joined] to ensure there is only one profile under Preferred Networks .
Once all above settings are done, restart Airport Extreme in Airport Utility. Your computer should connect wirelessly to the base station through 5GHz band after booting most of the time. Even when it is not occasionally, simply go to the Airport icon in main menu bar and click on the network name with suffix "(5GHz)" in dropped-down list to connect manually. With all these settings, I have achieved 300 Mbit/sec bandwidth on my iMac most of the time for fast Time Machine backup.
How I wish feature for better radio mode control by end user will be implemented in next update of Airport Utility. Apple should trust end user's brain better than artificial intelligence (or ignorance ?) in wireless network implementation. Wireless traffic between the two radio bands and among various wireless devices should be segregated specifically in Airport Utility by end users whenever dual band Airport base stations are in use.

Mixing US equipment with international version of Airport Extreme

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