My Airport Express won't extend range. How to set up?

My Airport Express won't extend the range of my Airport Extreme. How should I set it up to get it to work?  Stuart

When the Express is configured to "extend" it is a wireless repeater.
"Adding Wi-Fi base stations when it is unnecessary
Speaks for itself
can reduce Wi-Fi throughput because the Wi-Fi network will require more data management overhead."
As will adding another computer, iPhone or any wireless device to the network, for that matter.
FWIW, I have run 4 AirPort Expresses all setup to "extend" and noticed nothing except faster Internet browsing and download speeds throughout the house.
IF...you can connect the AirPort Express to the AirPort Extreme using an Ethernet connection, that will provide better overall performance. That is the way any commercial network is designed, except on a much larger scale.

Similar Messages

  • I have an airport express and want to know how to set up two different wireless networks. One with 5GHZ and one with 2.4GHZ so different devices can connect to either.

    I have an airport express and want to know how to set up two different wireless networks. One with 5GHZ and one with 2.4GHZ so different devices can connect to either. I have an iphone 4 that will not connect to 5ghz.
    thank you!

    Your AirPort Express is already providing two separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, but each band is using the same wireless network name.
    This is the default setup for the AirPort Express, which is recommended for most users. The theory here is that devices will automatically connect to the best quality signal based on their capabilities and distance in relation to the AirPort Express.
    It is possible to assign a different name to the 5 GHz band, and then "point" devices at that network to connect. Some users swear by this option.....(I am not one of them).... but you might want to give it a try to see how it works for you.
    Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility
    Click on the AirPort Express
    Click Edit in the smaller window that appears
    Click the Wireless tab at the top of the next window
    Click Wireless Options near the bottom of the next window
    Enter a check mark next to 5 GHz Name.....which will automatically add "5 GHz" to the network name....so you can identify it
    Click Save, then click Update and wait a full minute for the Express to restart
    Now you will need to "point" your 5 GHz capable devices at the 5 GHz network name.  2.4 GHz devices will connect to your "other" network name.

  • Airport Express won't extend Airport Extreme Network

    I use an Airport Extreme (AE) to connect to the internet. I use an Airport Express (AX) to extend the network via a WDS network. Until recently all was fine.
    Last week I updated the firmware for my AE. Since then my AX has not been acting as a WDS extension. I have tried several times tonight to make the AE and AX talk to each other in this fashion. I have reset the AX to factory defaults and reset the AE as well. So far, nothing works.
    Thought the AX might have failed. However, the AX will connect to the AE network just fine. It just won't extend the network.
    Any ideas will be most appreciated.
    Thanks.

    I have an Airport Extreme Base Station. I just bought an Airport Express to extend my network and connect a wired device in my living room to my network via the Ethernet port. The Airport Express obtains an IP address from the Airport Extreme but I can't seem to get out to the Internet ...at least via the Ethernet port. When I installed the Airport Express, I updated it to 7.3.1.
    This sounds like a similar problem to the original post.

  • AirPort Express won't extend network range

    I spent 5 hours on the phone with three different apple reps changing every possible setting on the airport express that i wanted to use to extend the range of my existing network and even though AirPort utility said everything was set up right, the AX was only connected as a client. It was on the network, but not broadcasting ANY signal. This was at an office building with an AirPort Extreme as the base station. Both devices are brand new. 802.11n. I then took it home to see if it would extend the range of my home network which is set up using an AirPort Express as the base station. After trying every possible set up option there i was left with the same result. No broadcasting from the remote Express. It broadcasts when it's a base station, but not as a remote extender. What's the problem?!

    I am going nuts too trying to configure my Airport Express to extend the range of my Airport Extreme. Nothing seems to work and I've been at this off and on for months. The Extreme works fine (it's an "n") but the Express (I think a "g") won't cooperate. And Apple has no current definitive step-by-step instructions that help at all. Does anyone out there have a solution? Shouldn't this just be plug-and-play with a few tweaks to the settings?

  • Can an airport express 802.11n extend range of Netgear base stn?

    can an airport express 802.11n model (i think it is two years old) work as a range extender for an existing base station (it's a netgear station, not an airport base) without having to hook up an internet cable to the Airport Express?  --Bishop

    Virtually no chance that the Express is compatible with a product from another manufacturer, but you can always give it a try.
    Apple designed the "extend" feature to only work with other Apple routers.
    If you have already been trying to do this and cannot, I think you already have your answer.

  • Airport express won't extend network via ethernet but shows GREEN (HELP!!)

    I have the following routers setup up the same network and are working.
    10.0.1.1 Airport Extreme (connected to hardline from IP)
    10.0.1.2 Time Capsule 1 (extending network and providing internet connection to computer via ethernet)
    10.0.1.3 Time Capsule 2 (extending network and providing internet connection to Xbox1)
    10.0.1.4 Airport Express 1 (extending network and providing internet connection to Xbox2)
    Not working correctly
    10.0.1.43 Airport Express 2 (wanting to set this router up to extend network to plug into desktop)
    The router seems to join the network fine and will show GREEN but doesn't show a similar IP address as the rest of the routers. It also doesn't provide any internet connection via ethernet to any computer, the network pref page says that it shows RED and that nothing is connected to the computer for internet but airport shows GREEN.
    Reset the router multiple times, tried every which way of setting it up and no go. I also tried assigning it a IP and not using DHCP and gave it a 10.0.1.5 and still the same outcome.
    Right now just at complete loss as to what to try next.

    Sorry, the older version of the Express does not have the option to  "extend a wireless network", which is the setting on the new Express that provides more wireless coverage and also enables the Ethernet port.
    What you want to do can be done with a different setting..."participate in a WDS network" on both the Time Capsule and Express, but I am not recommending that you do this because WDS operates only in "g" wireless mode. Your Time Capsule would lose most of its performance in this setting and the network would slow down tremendously...defintely not what you want for gaming.
    You'll have the best performance if you connect the PS3 directly to one of the Ethernet ports on the Time Capsule using an Ethernet cable. If it is not possible to run the cable, the next best performance option would be to use a pair of Ethernet powerline adapters to send the Ethernet signal over the existing AC wiring in your home.

  • Airport Express Won't Extend Network

    I have an AirPort Extreme and I am trying to use my AirPort Express to extend its network.  For quite a while, it was working fine.  Then, due to some interference issues, I had to change the channels on my AirPort Extreme.  Since then, the AirPort Express flashes Amber.  I have tried restoring it to its default settings from AirPort Utility, as well as the reset button while plugging it in.  My computer detects it, renames it, and automatically chooses to extend the network from the Extreme, but when setup is finished, it just flashes Amber.  What can I do?

    Ii suggest that you run a few quick tests to try to begin to troubleshoot the issue.
    Move the AirPort Express to the same room as the AirPort Extreme to reset and reconfigure the device again.
    Do you get a green light that way?
    If yes, then unplug and move the Express to a location that is no more than half the distance between the AirPort Extreme and the general are that needs more wireless coverage and test to see if the Express will work reliably at that location.
    However, if you cannot get the AirPort Express to work when you configure it in the same room as the Airport Extreme.....and you have reset the AirPort Express several times, then it is time to start thinking about the possibilty that the Express is defective.
    Please post back on your results, as it still may be necessary to use a good utility like WiFi Explorer to help analzye your wireless network connection quality and take a look at other sources that may be introducing wireless interference that is affecting your network.

  • Airport Express won't extend network over LAN when plugged into a switch

    I have several airport expresses (newest model) and an airport extreme.
    Every room in my house is wired for ethernet.  Those terminate in a closet and plug into a single switch.  That switch then has a single cable that plugs into the airport extreme.
    In different areas of the house, I've placed a few expresses to extended the wireless network.  After several attempts, the express "hotspots" would only extend the extreme via wifi (offering no real advantage) even though they were plugged into the wall via ethernet.
    For grins and giggles, I tried connecting the port directly into the airport extreme (bypassing the switch) and it started to send the traffic over the wired LAN.
    Question is - why?  I'd much rather everything go through the switch as the extreme has a limited amount of ports and I'd rather use for other things.  Anyone had this experience before?
    Thanks!

    Sorry, the older version of the Express does not have the option to  "extend a wireless network", which is the setting on the new Express that provides more wireless coverage and also enables the Ethernet port.
    What you want to do can be done with a different setting..."participate in a WDS network" on both the Time Capsule and Express, but I am not recommending that you do this because WDS operates only in "g" wireless mode. Your Time Capsule would lose most of its performance in this setting and the network would slow down tremendously...defintely not what you want for gaming.
    You'll have the best performance if you connect the PS3 directly to one of the Ethernet ports on the Time Capsule using an Ethernet cable. If it is not possible to run the cable, the next best performance option would be to use a pair of Ethernet powerline adapters to send the Ethernet signal over the existing AC wiring in your home.

  • Airport Express won't extend wireless network

    I think due to a fault my airport express wont extend my wireless network around my house , but it will allow for airplay ... is it possiple to extend my network using the express but with an eithernet cable rather than the wireless that is transmitted out of the express unit ??

    Is the other wireless router, that you are trying to extend, another AirPort or Time Capsule base station? If so, are both units 802.11n models? Finally, what is the rough distance between the units and are they located in the same room, different room, or different floor?

  • Airport Express Won't Extend my Network

    I've had my AirPort Express for around 3 months now and it was working fine and extending my network with my base station as the Apple Extreme just fine, until 2 weeks ago. Suddenly, it started flashing amber instead of green, and even though I reset it, disconnected it and re plugged it in, and placed it in another room, it didn't work, so I called Apple. Keep in mind that the whole time this is happening, the light for the Apple Extreme was working, and so was the wi-fi, just the Express which I use as an extender wasn't. I was on the phone for 2 hours with them and eventually they got it to work by resetting the Apple Extreme and setting it up as a completely new network, which was tedious and annoying, but it worked. Now, I have the same problem again, and I have tried the same steps I used before, and it still isn't working. Is there any way I can get it to work without having to reset the Apple Extreme?

    yes, you can first do it with a short eth cable so you're still next to your extreme and then run the longer cable when you're ready to put it where you want it
    before you connect the eth cord to the express, fully reset it
    unplug express
    hold in reset and keep holding it down while plugging power back in - only release reset when amber light flashes after 10-20s
    now plug in the eth cable
    your airport utility should auto see that you're trying to extend your extreme via your express on a wired connection

  • Airport express won't extend wireless

    Hello
    Know there are countless of these out there already but would appreciate if someone knew this one. Since 2-3 weeks back my wireless set-up has not worked properly. Set-up;
    ISP Router in bridge to a Airport Extreme, Extreme running  DHCP and NAT.
    I have two A1264 or first generation AEs
    I have one A1392 or second generation AE
    So this summer all three was extending the network and it all worked fine. Now I understand the A1264 cannot do that anymore (why?) but also the A1392 wont extend the wifi either. Currently I am using the A1264 as just connecting to wireless and the A1392 to extend, but the last part does not work. It just says unable to extend the network.
    Still all three AEs are green and happy, I have tired re-booting and reconfiguring but nothing seems to get the A1392 to extend. is there some switch or option I could have forgotten?
    Thanks in advance

    Oh man this is so annoying.

  • Anyone has an idea how to connect and configure my Airport express to an internet range extender which is plugged into mains

    Anyone has an idea how to connect and configure my Airport express to an internet range extender which is plugged into mains?
    Message was edited by: m. emin

    You can connect it but with ethernet cable. You can not connect it by wifi to extend the range a second time.
    BTW AE is rather sensitive to connect by wifi to non-apple wifi routers.

  • How do i set up an airport express as an extender for my airport extreme

    how do i set up an airport express as an extender for my airport extreme

    Check these discussions:
    Best bets to extend/boost signals from Airport and AP Extreme
    How to extend and Extreme network using Express

  • Using AirPort Express as a WiFi Range Extender

    I have a Westell Versalink 327 W combination DSL Modem and Wireless Router downstairs hooked up to an iMac via ethernet cable. Can I use the AirPort Express as a WiFi Range Extender upstairs? Any issues I should be aware of?

    I suggest that you check with DLink on this as using the same manufacturer will always give you the best chance at compatibility.
    Maybe this would do it:
    http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=357

  • AirPort Express won't work with 7.0.2

    Everything was fine til I bought a new Shuffle. It made me upgrade to 7.0.2, now my Airport Express won't work. I have firmware 6.2 and just uploaded all of the newest updates from apple.com for it (AX). The security is off on my network and the AX is connected with a green light. Still no option to choose my home stereo which is hooked up to the AX. HELP! I have spent all day trying to get this to work!!!!

    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.

Maybe you are looking for