New Airport Extreme & Airport Express Setup Query

Hi,
About three weeks ago, I purchased my first Wi-Fi router so that I could use my iMac anywhere in the house, but also use my iPhone3G. This was because we do not get Edge coverage where I live in the UK, let alone 3G! And it is very handy to use the iphone when in the garden or my cellar/workshop.
So I thought I would simplify things and 'keep it in the family' so to speak, as I figured Apple products should work best with each other.
With this in mind i purchased an +Apple Extreme Base Station 802.11n+. This was very easy to setup and having set the WPA2 Personal Security, it was up and running in about 15 minutes and has worked just great.
I live in a large bungalow and find that the wi-fi coverage is great in moist areas, including the gardens, but rather weak at one side of the house where we have our home cinema setup and music systems.
With my pleasant experience with the Extreme in mind, and reading about Airtunes, I bought an +Airport Express 802.11n+ unit a couple of days ago.
I set it up to join my current Airport Extreme network, and setup my speakers etc as well as iTunes.
On the whole, the Airtunes aspect is brilliant, apart from the odd drop out from time to time, but my real concern is that my network strength has not improved at all in that area where the Airport Express is is plugged in. It is just as weak as it was when only the Extreme unit was installed.
I was under the impression that when it joined my Extreme network, the Express unit would extend the network. and it does not appear to have done so at all. On my iPhone3G it shows up as the _very lowest_ signal strength. On my partners Windows laptop, the signal strength is shown as 'poor'.
Am I doing something wrong, or misunderstanding how the Airport Express works with the Extreme unit?
All help most welcome.

Thanks James, I have now an Extended network, and my signal strength is excellent. Once I knew what I was aiming for, it was easy enough.
Thanks

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New Airport Express setup

okay, pretend I'm not very good at technical stuff. (I'm not) Pretend I might get easily confused. (I can) I have a DSL modem, connected to a linksys wireless router, connected to a Mac desktop. My laptop ibook G4 has an airport and I can connect wirelessly to the internet, all over my house. I just bought an airport express, hoping to hook up speakers and use it for airtunes. But it's blinking an amber light. Repeatedly. Airport Admin Utility only gives me a box that says "select base station", where there is nothing listed. How can I get my airport express to see my network? My computer sees it, so I know there's a signal. Is it a compatibility issue? Help!

My point is that because of poor documentation, some routers have WDS but don't call it that, possibly because it doesn't support all the features of WDS, like the easy set-up procedure.
The Linksys router I have that does work has no indication that it should work other than postings on forums indicating that it does work. I am pretty sure this is what the Linksys wireless network extenders use, so it would make sens that other Linksys models would also work, at least. Yes, if there's no WDS, you can't magically add it, but because there's obviously some lack in proper documentation as to which routers actually have this, it shouldn't hurt to do a quick test to see if it's there or not. If it doesn't work, either go out and buy a router that is known to work or hard wire using ethernet, which will actually give a little bit better performance. It just involves the annoyance of running lines through your house to set things up.

How to set-up new Airport Express to extend range of Airport Extreme

Purchased a new Airport Express to use it as a range extender on existing home network with an operating Airport Extreme base station. While I've read instructions, I'm unclear whether the Express needs to be connected by ethernet cable for its initial setup, or can I simply plug it and initialize it wirelessly onto the same household network? (I've tried the latter but without success).

to edex67 and Bob Timmons:
My objective is to extend the wireless range of the Airport Extreme base station wirelessly - so I do appreciate that the Airport Express would needsto be located haflway between the base station and the "dead zone" area.
The suggestion of using a Powerline ethernet connection to the Airport Express has merit (especially as I have one available).
I continue to use OSX 10.6.8 - does this affect my set-up in any way?
My problem had been - and remains - how to configure the Airport Express in range extend mode - I did click these boxes on both the Extreme base station and the Express, however the Express still has flashing amber lights and error codes - one indicating no internet availability on the Airport Express.

Can I use an old Airport Extreme as an extender with a new Airport Express

Hi All, I have Verizon Fios and the data line runs into my bedroom. I purchased a new Airport Express today to replace the Airport Extreme (from 2006). Can I use the old Airport Extreme as an extender (I'd like to set it up in the basement as I get poor connectivity there). I tried using the Airport Utility - Other WiFi Devices to find the Airport Extreme, but it's not registering. Is what I'm attempting possible? If so, how do I set it up?

Can I use the old Airport Extreme as an extender
Is this the "round" or "dome" shaped AirPort Extreme?
If yes, then it is not possible to have the AirPort Extreme wirelessly "extend" the signal from the AirPort Express.
However, the older AirPort Extreme can probably be set up to provide more wireless signal coverage if it will connect back to the LAN <--> port on the AirPort Express using a permanent, wired Ethernet cable connection.
In this case, the setup of the older AirPort Extreme will require that you have an older version of AirPort Utility installed on your computer. If it is a Mac, then the Mac must be running Leopard (10.5.x), Snow Leopard (10.6.x), or a PC with AirPort Utility could be used to set up and configure the older Extreme.
f you have the "square" or "flat" version of the AirPort Extreme, then everything becomes much easier. Post back if you do.

Setup Problem New Airport Express 802.11ac

Current setup is:
Cable Modem to Linksys Router to Ethernet Switch to Airport Express 802.11n (in bridge mode).
Airport Express is plugged into the ethernet switch and set to a fixed LAN address.
Everything works fine and reliable.
Just bought a new Airport Express 802.11ac
Plugged it into another ethernet switch port and tried to set it up the same way (bridge mode), but used a different fixed LAN address and different wireless network name.
I get a warning message that it cannot get a DNS.
I go ahead anyway and it doesn't work. Router hangs and has to be rebooted.
When I set the new AEX to "extend existing network", it works ok. But I assume that in this mode I'm still limited by the speed of the old 802.11n device, which is between me and the router and modem.
What is the reason that I can't have two AExpress units both in bridge mode tied to the same router?

... But I assume that in this mode I'm still limited by the speed of the old 802.11n device, which is between me and the router and modem.
Correct. Also, you won't be able to use 802.11ac anyway unless you are using a new MacBook Air or other device capable of 802.11ac.
Make sure that the AirPort Utility setup screen did not say "Setting up this AirPort Express to wirelessly extend (your network name)".
The words you must see are "Setting up ... using Ethernet".
If necessary, set it up again beginning with a "hard reset" and verify that is the result. Leave it connected as you described when you do. Your proposed configuration should work.

After the Airport update today, Airport Utility no longer sees my new Extreme or my 2 new Airport Express relay stations (same network); however, my internet is working and all Airports are green?

After the Airport update today, Airport Utility 6.0 no longer sees my new Extreme or my 2 new Airport Express relay stations (same network); however, my internet is working and all Airports are green? I'm running Lion on my iMac and updated when Airport Utility prompted me to do so a few hours ago. After applying the updates is when Airport Utility stopped seeing my routers. But they are working? Thoughts?

Did you remember to completely power cycle the entire network?
You would want to do this after any update or change to the network.
If you did not do this yet......things are out of sequence.
Power off everything on the network.....all devices.....power down order is not important
Wait a few minutes
Start the modem first and let it run a minute or two by itself
Start the next device connected to the modem the same way
Work your way out on the network starting each device about a minute apart
Check the network

How to setup a new network with a new Airport Express

I need help setting up a brand new Airport Express and creating its own wireless network. I have a Motorola SB6141 cable modem that is connected to a Airport Extreme. The new Airport Express will be connected by an ethernet cable in another room.
To set it up where do I place the ethernet cable, in the WAN or Ethernet on the back of the AE?
Any other suggestions are appreciated.
Thank you for looking.

Once you have the AirPort Express powered up, click on the AirPort icon at the top of the Mac's screen and wait a few seconds for a listing of New AirPort Base Station to appear.
Just below that, click directly on AirPort Express and follow the prompts.

Older Airport Extreme with new Airport Express

I have a new Airport Express and an older Airport Extreme (I think 1rst gen). I have been using the Extreme for a few years now and just got the express to help me extend the extreme. The Extreme's signal is very weak in some parts of my house. I cannot hook the two together via ethernet. Needs to be wireless. What's the best method? I only use the wi-fi for internet access and tv (netflix, HBOGO, etc). I do not share printers or hard drives. I'm wondering if the new express is better (range) than my older extreme? Should I use the express as my main base station?

Your Extreme should still provide better overall range over the 2nd gen 802.11n AirPort Express Base Station, so I would still recommend that you leave the Extreme as your "main" router.
You will want to use the following instructions to extend the wireless network from this Apple Support article.
The key to success if extending the Extreme is to place the Express within a 25+ dB SNR range of the Extreme as it can only repeat the signal with the same bandwidth that it receives it. If the signal is very weak the Express may not even be able to extend it at all.
Check out the following AirPort User tip for details on optimal base station placement. Please post back your results.

Can i connect an airport extreme (us version) with a new airport express (euro version) ?

Hi, I lived in the USA for a while and moved back to Europe.
I have an airport extreme (US purchased) which i would like to link with a new airport express (EURO purchased) in order to extent my network.
Is this possible ?
I have multiple problems doing so, which leads me to believe the US and EURO product might not be compatible.
Thx for your kind assistance, G.

Connecting routers wirelessly to extend a wireless network is known as a Wireless Distribution System (WDS). Although AirPorts can extend other AirPorts in a WDS, they only work with a few non-AirPort ones...like some Linksys models.
Here are a few articles on the subject:
- http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=222773&start=0&tstart=0
- http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=607414
- http://rgbdream.com/?p=44
- http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php?title=WDSLinked_routernetwork
Another option, although maybe not as practical in your circumstance, is to connect the AirPort base directly using an Ethernet cable to the Linksys. Then setting up the AirPort as a bridge.

Brute force solution: new Airport Express and old (ca. '04) Airport Extreme

This is a long post, so I apologize in advance for that. However, I have been trying for the better part of three days to get my new Airport Express (802.11n) to connect to my ca. 2004 Airport Extreme Base Station (802.11b/g) (my old Express died after a little less than 4 years of service). I had searched all over this site and elsewhere on the Internet for ideas/suggestions/others' experiences/anything with no luck. (I am still not sure if the old Extreme is not fully compatible with the new Express or not.) I thought that perhaps my Express was a lemon. Basically what was happening was that I could not get the Express to be recognized, or, more accurately, Airport Utility would inform me that the network could not be extended. I tried changing the security on my Extreme, changing passwords, moving the Express and Extreme closer to each other and a bunch of other things. I must have reset the Express two dozen times. Finally, to see if the Express was faulty, I connected it to my DSL modem and used it as a Main Base Station. With that configuration, it worked fine.
Aha! I thought - Maybe I could use the Express as my main base station and my old Extreme as my remote station, so that is what I did. It took a bit of finagling with Airport Utility, but I did get the Extreme and Express to talk to each other and - miracle of miracles - green dots on both in Airport Utility! I also had to delete and re-add my Epson C62 printer to get the Extreme to recognize that. But now (fingers crossed) things are back to normal.
I must say that this has been the most frustrating experience I have ever had with an Apple product, primarily because there are probably hundreds of "blinking amber light on Airport Express" messages out there, but most of the answers (particularly the ones from Apple) are not particularly helpful. I hope that this post will help someone. Apple's suggestion to "follow the onscreen directions in Airport Utility" is very frustrating, because the information provided by Airport Utility is not very helpful at all (e.g., telling me that my network is not recognized when every other computer in my house - 5 in all - is finding it doesn't make sense).
Sorry, again, for the long post. I hope, however, that it proves to be helpful to someone (like me, who was searching for something like this for the past three days!).
Happy New Year!
Bob Q.
P.S. If I am missing something and someone has information to add, please do so!

If your old Extreme is an 802.11n model, then please check out this Apple Support article for details on how to configure them both for an extended network.

MacBook Pro loses wifi connection upon wake since I bought a new AirPort Express

Hi. I've been using Apple devices and computers since february 2008 and had no problems until now. I currently own an early 2011 13" MacBook Pro and a PC running Windows 7 and Ubuntu 12.10. Until early February, I used a 2nd gen AirPort Extreme to connect to wifi upstairs, being connected via Ethernet to my ISP's modem located downstairs which provides a weak wifi signal (of course my ISP says it's impossible since their modem is the best on the market), not even compatible with Apple's wifi systems (all other French ISPs modems are compatible with it), that's why I had to get a 30 ft ethernet cable running down the stairs. My connection was lost everytime I went upstairs/downstairs so I bought a new Airport Express to replace my ISP's modem wifi signal and I'm using my AirPort Extreme to extend the wifi network upstairs. Now all my devices and computers have a strong wifi signal anywhere in my house with only one downside: My MacBook Pro (and only it) loses the wifi connection upon wake after sleep and I have to disconnect/reconnect it manually. I didn't bother installing Windows on it as I removed the Superdrive to setup a DIY Fusion Drive a few months ago so I can no longer boot optical medias and I can't know if it's a hardware or software problem. Again, everything was working all right on it until I changed my Wifi network configuration a month ago when I bought my Airport Express.
Can anyone help me ?
Thanks in advance.

Well this isn't making sence.
What is the model # on your extreme?

Brand New Airport Express-Green Light Wireless, Dead Green Wired

I just bought a brand-new airport express device. I have a cable modem connected to a dual band AirPort Extreme base station in my basement. My house is wired with Cat5 Ethernet cable. In a far bedroom, I am replacing an airport express-N (previous model) that was hard-wired to the Extreme. Always worked perfectly in extending and supplying 2.4ghz band wifi to that part of the house. I bought the brand-new AirPort Express to utilize the dual band bridge.
After many hours of trying, this new airport express will only work properly if I do not plug in the Ethernet cable. It seems to be performing well, but i was under the impression that an ethernet cable should be used to physically connect the AirPort devices each other.
Currently, in this wireless setup, I do have both bands available. I feel that if I used the cable, I would have much stronger better signal.
Interestingly, when I do ether-connect the airport devices together. My AirPort Utility looses all of my AirPort devices and shows (with a yellow dot) that my Internet (modem) is not available. At the same time, all of my AirPort devices continue to show a green light. I am unable to connect anything with any of my wireless devices.
Also, when everything seems to be working fine, my AirPort Utility does depict the wireless set up with a dashed line between the two AirPort devices representing that it is wireless connection.
With my last AirPort Express, a wireless set did extend the range, but only while slowing everything down. An ethernet cable, when introduced, made everything work perfectly, during which time the AirPort Utility depicted that setup with all solid line indicating wired connectivity.
I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who might be able to tell me why when I introducing ethernet to the new AirPort Express, it takes down the entire wireless network.
Hi, of course, try all of the normal troubleshooting suggestions. I recycled all devices I have rebooted everything.

It's always a good idea to do a complete power recycle when switching out network components ...
Try the following, in order, checking for Internet access after each step, until resolved:
1. If the modem has a reset switch, use it to reset the modem. Wait at least 5-10 minutes for the modem to initialize.
2. Remove power from the modem. If it has a backup battery, remove this as well. Wait 5-10 minutes. Replace the battery, and add power back to the modem.
3. Perform a complete power recycle of your network components as follows:
Modem/Router Power Recycling - Quick
o Power-off the modem, 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn), & computer(s); Wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-on the modem; Wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-on the AEBSn; Wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-on the computer(s)
If this fails to get the modem to "recognize" the Internet router, then try the "Full" version.
Modem/Router Power ReCycling - Full
o Power-off the modem, AEBSn, & computer(s). (Wait at least 30 minutes. If possible, leave the modem off overnight.)
o Power-on the modem; Wait at least 15 minutes.
o Power-on the AEBSn; Wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-on the computer(s)
4. Contact your ISP to have them perform a "modem reset."

Brand new Airport Express (base Station)

I have an Airport Extreme hooked to a cable modem. This is my base AP.
I have an old Airport Express hooked to my HiFi only doing iTunes
I have an old Airport Express as a WDS remote. (And tied to an Epson printer.)
I have a MB and MBP.
Everything is great.
Now I plug in a brand new Airport Express with 802.11n. I ether set it up manually or via the Airport Utility 'manager'. No matter what I do it does not 'hook' up to my WiFi network. It is always flashing but I can never have it give me internet access.
BTW - I noticed that unlike the other boxes this one (AX-n) does not give the "Wireless Clients" graph in the log screen.

Hello Albert,
Go to: Utilities/Airport Utility then when you setup your new airport express, on wireless tab, check "802.11n (802.11 b/g compatible) and it should work. If you check 802.11n and your network is in g mode, it won't work. I have a dual network, Time capsule, 2 MBP, 2 MB and airport express iTune on 802.11n and another airport extreme with 2 airport express on 802.11n(b/g compatible) for iphone use. Every thing work seamlessly.
Good luck.

Brand new Airport Express (n) worked once and now stuck on orange

Just bought an Aiport Extreme Base Station (n) and new Airport Express (n).
Using my MacBook Pro and Airport Utility I replaced settings on my existing wireless network for the AEBS and things seemed fine. There was no question in setup by the way about WEP or WAP security...
Then, wanting to add Airport Express to the network for iTunes streaming I plugged it in.
At first, airport utility recognized the AEx: so I added it to the existing network, this time being asked about security, I set up WPA personal.
Then, airport utility finishes the task and my AEx disappears from view. Stays stuck on orange light.
Resets have not helped.
My AEx is therefore to all intents and purposes useless.
At least I can use the AEBS for internet access.
What has happened?
Apologies if I have duplicated a topic, but this is weird.

You do need to hold the reset button for 10 sec to factory reset the unit (see page 32-33 of the Setup Guide for detailed instructions). And then your AX will be visible from Airport Utility again. If you still can't see the AX, try using a ethernet cable to connect to the AX instead.
Let us know how you get on!

New Airport Express is not discoverable by Airport Utility

Hello,
After searching the forums for a while and not finding any posts that really address the issue I'm having, I've finally decided to create my own post.
I received a brand new Airport Express from my girlfriend for Christmas. I've finally gotten some time to set it up, but I seem to be having some issues with Airport Utility even seeing it. I haven't even been able to set it up because I can't access it. Airport Utility simply says that it cannot find any Apple Wireless devices and continuously asks me to rescan.
The first time I plugged in the Airport Express, it flashed the green light once like it's supposed to, then the light turned to solid amber for a couple of minutes, then started blinking. It still does this even after I do a factory reset.
Very rarely Airport Utility will see it, but it takes a lot of rescans before it finally does. When Airport Utility does finally see it after several rescans, I enter manual setup, enter my information and click Update. After I click update, I'm no longer able to connect to the Airport Express at all until I do a factory reset. Then it takes a lot of patience and several more rescans until I can finally connect again.
I first placed it directly below my desk, but have since tried many other locations throughout the house to see if it was location that was the problem. That is not the issue.
The intention is to have it join my current wireless network, so I do not have an ethernet cable plugged into it. I've tried plugging one in, but with the exact same results (Airport Utility still can't see it).
Any ideas as to what may be the problem?
Thank you!

Bob Timmons wrote:
If AirPort Utility is still having trouble "seeing" the Airport Express (AX), temporarily connect an ethernet cable from your computer to the AX. You may need to move the AX close to your computer for this and restart both your computer and the AX.
Once you have the AX configured, you can move it back to the desired location.
So I am able to connect to the Airport Express via an ethernet cable and configure it like that, but I am still unable to connect to it wirelessly. I wonder if there could be something wrong with the unit itself? After configuring it, I can't even see it in the Airport menu on the menu bar on top.
Any other suggestions?

New Airport Extreme & Airport Express Setup Query

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