Set up roaming with Airport Extreme N and Airport Express N

The Apple pub "Designing Airport Networks" states you can connect an AirPort Extreme Base Station or a Time Capsule using Ethernet to create a roaming network.
I need someone out there to confirm that I can create a roaming network using an Airport Extreme N and an Airport Express N. Remember the two will be connected via Ethernet. All I want to do is walk from end to end of my (very long) house and have my laptop connect to the strongest signal. However, most publications and postings here seem to always focus on installing two Extreme Base Stations (not an Extreme and an Express).

OldNGray, Welcome to the discussion area!
Yes you can do that. When you connect 2 base stations via Ethernet, you can easily create a large wireless network regardless of the manufacturer or model of the base stations.

Similar Messages

Creating a bridge with airport extreme (base) and airport express

i am having trouble creating a bridge with airport extreme (base) and airport express. i got the airport express to connect to my network. Airtunes sees it fine. i have an iMac (running Tiger) connected to the airport express via ethernet which i was hoping to get internet on (the iMac doesn't not have built in wireless and i had a spare airport express). now the airport express is no longer visible to the airport setup assistant on that iMac. but, like i mentioned, Airtunes is working fine, and the light is green.
i'm new to the wireless stuff. i am sure i just missed a step. how do i get the iMac to connect to the internet via my airport express bridging to my airport extreme wireless network?
your help is appreciated.

You can do this with the equipment you have. Configure the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) to act as a WDS main base station and configure the AirPort Express (AX) to act as a WDS remote base station. That will allow you to use the Ethernet port on the AX.
Unfortunately WDS also causes the available wireless bandwidth to be cut in half.

Can't Setup WDS with Airport Extreme "N" and Airport Extreme "G" & Express

Hi!
I'm trying my best and have done this stuff with the last model Airport Extreme "G" models, but cannot get my new "N" model to setup WDS. I log in to the new Airport and start configuring, it gives me the option to setup WDS, but it doesn't detect the Airport Extreme "G" model nor the Airport Express I have. The only way I can get them to be recognized is to configure them all identically with the same network name, password, etc. and have each hard-wired into an ethernet plug. Sort of defeats the point of going wireless. In the new Airport Utility, how do I get it to recognize the remote base stations? In the old Tiger Airport Utility, it used to configure the other airports for you. The Leopard one doesn't seem to do that. Any help?
Thanks in advance!
Corey

OK-so after more than a month of having to put up with my Airport Utility popping up whenever I started my computer or came home and joined the network, I finally had the time to sit on hold with Apple and work with a Network Specialist--had to get the ticket "Escalated" first. What the problem turned out being was I set up the Extreme "N" o use WEP (Transitional Security Network) because I occasionally have friends with older PCs coming by that need old WEP instead of WPA. The net specialist helped me walk through the whole setup (from scratch) with the Extreme "N" as my main base station (like I wanted) setup using WPA/WPA2 Personal for password encryption. The older Airport Extreme "G" and the Airport Express do NOT support the WEP (TSN) mode, so they couldn't join the network properly--thus the constant error from the Extreme "N" that no WDS base stations could be found.
Hope this info helps people in the future! I haven't seen anything around that says Extreme "G" and Express don't support this newer Transitional mode. Even the ever-so-helpful Apple Tech didn't know why that new Transitional mode was invented.
Thanks for the reply, dhanneman.
Corey

Setting up airport extreme card and airport extreme base station

I have an ibook G4 about 3 years old with osx10.4.10 recently installed. I have recently bought an airport extreme card and have also bought an airport extreme base station.
There seems to be a problem with the set up of the card. It does not seem to find any wireless networks at all, including the base station. The base station seems to be working as I went through setting this up with Apple phone support and we managed to do it by connecting the laptop to the base station with an ethernet cable.
I think the problem is with the card. I think I need to reinstall and set up the card again from scratch, but can't figure out how to do this -aiport utility and airport setup assistant don't seem to help here as they take you straight to the stage of setting up a base station. I seem to remember when I originally installed the card for the very first time (before attempting to set up the base station) that it did find other wireless networks, so I don't think there is a physical problem with the card.
Any suggestions on getting the card working appreciated.
Many thanks

Hello bblairlondon. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
First, verify if OS X "recognizes" the card, by using the System Profiler utility. Select the AirPort Card option under Network in the column on the left. The "Wireless Card Type" should be "AirPort Extreme (nxnnnn, nxnnnn)."
If no card appears, I suggest that you double-check your AirPort Extreme Card installation by using the following Apple Tech article: iBook G4: CIP Instructions
If the card does appear, then try the following ...
Reset the PRAM
o Shut down the computer.
o Turn on the computer.
o Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
o Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
o Release the keys.
(ref: Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM)

Airport Extreme n and airport express ... No security ???

I have a new Airport Extreme N and two of the Airport Express ones, both using the 6.3 firmware. I can configure everything okay, all airports can be found and connected together.
My problem is that the network is open and anyone can join it ... The Extreme is configured to use WPA2 Personal but neither of the express ones are shown as using any encryption ... If I try to encrypt either of them they dissappear and I can't play my music remotely or find them in the utility.
I've tried the post that suggests removing the encryption on the extreme and then enabling the express, before finally enabling the extreme again. it didn't work ...
Any ideas what I'm doing so wrong ???

Right ... went to the Genius Bar who kind of pointed me in the right direction ... They told me however to use the old setup software ... This works fine with the express but not the extreme ... So basically use the new software.
My problem was cause by choosing the wrong option when setting up I started off aright by wetting up the extreme first with encrption enabled I was adding my express to the existing network but then choosing the next option that mentions Airtunes when I should have choosen the 'extend my network' option. This still allows you to use Airtune but doesn't say that ... The wizard then asks you to point to the base station and put in the password and then poblem solved ....... thanks for all you help ... and hope this helps someone else ..
Macbook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Expanding BT HomeHub (g) with Airport Extreme (n) and Airport Expresses (g)

Hi - I hope someone can help me... My brother has recently moved house and has asked me to set him up a cool wireless network. This is what he has already:
Intel MacBook Laptop (g & n)
PPC G4 Laptop (g)
BT HomeHub (Router (g))
Airport Extreme (n)
Airport Express (g)
iPhone (g)
I have currently setup the BT HomeHub as the main router and that is working fine - yet due to his house been quite sizable the signal is very weak in most rooms. I was hoping to wirelessly connect the Airport Extreme and place that in a seperate room from the router (BT HomeHub) and use WDS to expand the signal, yet I'm really struggling setting this up (Is this even possible?).
FYI, Due to him having a iPhone and a PPC, I need to keep the network on a 802.11G.
On top of this, I then would like to add a number of airport Expresses to also expand the signal via WDS and others to connect to media players to play music via airtunes.
I was hoping someone could help me with setting this up etc. Do I need to do anything special etc.
Many thanks.
Nick

Hello Mally505. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
I was hoping to wirelessly connect the Airport Extreme and place that in a seperate room from the router (BT HomeHub) and use WDS to expand the signal, yet I'm really struggling setting this up (Is this even possible?).
Unfortunately, most likely not as very few non-AirPort routers are WDS-compatible with the AirPort and vice versa. However, you could connect the 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn) directly to one of your BT HomeHub's LAN ports via an Ethernet cable, and then, create a WDS between the AEBSn and the 802.11g AirPort Express Base Station (AX).

Extend wireless network with Airport Extreme n and Airport Express g

I have a 4th generation Airport Exteme (n) and an older Airport Express (g) and would like to use the Airport Express to extend my network to the other end of my house, where the signal is very weak. When I tried to set it up tonight, my Airport Extreme disappeared all together and I had to do a hard reset to get it back. I am using a macbook pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo running OS X 10.7.2. Are there any current insturctions to do this?

Here's a Youtube video of how to do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3EdbRfX1_w
I had the same set up you do. I did not have success with the Express g. And in my case I had much better success when I sold the Express g on ebay, bought an Express N from the refurb store, so it only cost around $20 get something that is much more reliable.
I quickly tried to find an Apple Support tech note for you but didn't, post back if you need more.

Airport extreme(n) and airport express (b/g) problems

hi,
i have for a few years an airport express (b/g). the airport express is connected to my cable modem.
i also have a newer airport extreme (n) which was still in the box but i want to use (as it must have a bigger range ?). in fact i want the extreme to reach my playstation 3. (the connection from ps3 to express sometimes drops as its signal is too weak)
if i also connect the airport extreme to the cable modem, it shows with apps like "airradar" (on my macs) or "wifitrak" (on my iphone) that the strenght of the airport express is higher than my airport extreme. even if i set the extreme to 5ghz. both express and extreme are placed near each other. am i doing anything wrong here ?
below devices need to be connected.
1 macbook g4 (b)
2 macbook pro (n)
2 mac pro (n)
1 wii (b)
2 nintendo ds (b)
1 ps3 ?
with other words i need some advise in how to set up both a airport extreme and express network on the same cable modem.
thank, michiel

question: i below what should i do ?
1) put a cable from my cablemodem to the airport extreme bs;
2) put a cable the airport extreme bs to the airport express bs.
Yes on both. Your network configuration would look something like the following:
Modem > (Ethernet) > \[WAN port] AEBSn \[LAN port] > (Ethernet) > AX
do i have to reset the modems and are there any setting i should be aware of ?
Yes, it's always a good idea to both reset both base stations and, after doing so and before configuring them, perform a complete power recycle of your network equipment.
So in this case ...
o Power-down the modem, AEBSn, AX, & computers. (Order is not critical.)
o Reset both the AEBSn & AX. (Again, order is not critical.)
o Power-down each base station after performing a successful reset.
o Power-up the modem; wait at least 15 minutes.
o Power-up the AEBSn; wait at least 10 minutes.
o Plug-in the AX; wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-up your computer(s).
o Use the AirPort Utility to reconfigure both base stations as required.

Airport Extreme (n) and Airport Express

Hi Guys,
I have an airport express, and am looking to purchase an airport extreme, and run the airport extreme on the faster (n) setting, but if i do this am i right in thinking that my older airport express won't be able to be a part of that wireless network?
Are apple intending to release an updated airport express do you think?
I want to store my itunes library on an external HD connected to the airport extreme via ethernet, and have the airport express connected to a stereo in the other room, so hard-wiring the express to the extreme and turning off the wireless function of the express is a no-no.
Am i right in thinking that i can't have both worlds? a fast n speed wireless network, with the slower express also on it?
advice please guys
thanks

Are apple intending to release an updated airport express do you think?
As you know from reading the "Help & Terms of Use" for this area, this discussion group is a user-to-user discussion area and we don't have any more information than you do. Also as you know from reading the "Help & Terms of Use" for this area, speculation on future Apple products or plans is forbidden.

Airport Extreme / TimeCapsule and Airprot Express base stations

So if I use an Airport Extreme (using 802.11n) for my main internet access, can my Airport Expresses join that network to maintain access to stereos and printers around the house.
I guess Im asking can the 802.11g devices join an 802.11n network....? Any help would be good news.
Crispian

The side effects of having to use the b/g compatibility mode will be a slight decrease in the speed that your wireless network would get in n-only mode. Of course, none of this is important unless all of your computers are capable of "n" connections so that you could even contemplate running an n-only network.
If you are currently able to max out out internet connection speed (that your ISP claims you should be getting) with a direct ethernet cabled connection between a computer and your DSL modem, then there is no need to change your DSL modem.

Airport Extreme N and Airport Express G

I have an Airport Extreme version N with which I connect to the Internet and and old Airport Express G that I use to stream music to my living room.
I recently went on a trip and used the Airport Express to connect to the Internet. I had to reset it but was successful (with the help of this forum).
Now I'm back home. I can see two networks on my airport menulet (in the menu bar). When I connect to the old network, I can't see the Airport Express with Airport Utility. On holding the option key I see I am connected by 802.11n.
I can also connect to the "new" network, the one I created to connect to the internet with the Airport Express and I can connect to the Internet via the Airport Extreme, to which my cable modem is connected. On holding down the option key on the Airport Menu item it shows 802.11g but I can stream music to the airport express and I can see both airports in the Airport Utility. Strangely the airport express is blinking amber.
Is the blinking amber light normal? I believe it was green before I reset it to connect to the Internet. Am I connecting to the Internet at the lower G speed as noted?

I recently went on a trip and used the Airport Express to connect to the Internet. I had to reset it but was successful (with the help of this forum).
Now I'm back home. I can see two networks on my airport menulet (in the menu bar).
If you had performed a "hard" or "factory default" reset, the AirPort Express Base Station (AX) would fall back to its default mode which is to provide a wireless network. This is the reason that you are now seeing two networks when you brought the AX back.
If your goal with the AX is for only streaming, then I would recommend that you reconfigure it to "Join a wireless network." In this case the wireless network created by the 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn).
The following would be the basic instructions to configure your AX for iTunes streaming:
Either connect to the AX's wireless network or connect directly, using an Ethernet cable, to the Ethernet port of the AX, and then using the AirPort Utility in "Manual Setup" mode, make the following changes:
AirPort > Wireless
o Wireless Mode: Join a wireless network
o Network Name: <existing AEBSn's wireless network>
o Wireless Security: <select the encryption type of the existing wireless network>
o Wireless Password: <enter the existing wireless network password>
o Verify Password: <re-enter the existing wireless network password>
Music
o Enable AirTunes (checked)
o iTunes Speaker Name: <enter desired speaker name>
o iTunes Speaker Password: (optional)
o Verify Password: (optional)
o Click Update to write the new settings to the AX
In iTunes:
iTunes > Preferences... > Advanced > General
o Look for remote speakers connected with AirTunes (checked)

How many Airport Extreme's and Airport Express can extend line for distance

I am trying to link multiple AEBS/AE's together to cover a fairly long distance between two houses....Is this possible? I already have the 2 AEBS's linked together between two houses going across a street. However, the link is not that strong and I am seeing packet loss. I am thinking to plug at least one AE in at the far end of the house closest to the window to possibly help get a stronger signal going across the street.
Would this work? Will it just add too much latency?
DSL Modem---AEBS-1>>><<<AE>>><<AE>><<<AEBS2---iMac on gigE

Welcome to the discussion area, 0dB!
+Would this work?+
The short answer here would unfortunately be a "no". Read further for explanations.
If this is a newer AirPort Extreme (AEBS) "n" device and you are using a newer AirPort Express (AX) "n" device, you will not be able to configure the network as you describe. The reason for this is that the AX communicates directly to the main AEBS in the "extend a wireless network configuration". So the setup would look like this:
Main AEBS > Remote AX.
That's the limit of this type of setup, although you could have multiple remote devices if you wish. It's like the hub and spoke of a wheel. The AEBS would be the hub and AX would be at the end of a spoke. No further extension is possible from the AX, although you could have several devices communicating to the AEBS if needed.
Apple's older WDS configuration allows the following:
Main AEBS > Relay AX > Remote AX.
That is the limit of this type of setup. Keep in mind that there will be a tremendous loss of performance with this type of setup as follows:
1) The entire network will operate at "g" level wireless
2) The bandwidth of the network will drop to only 25% of the original bandwidth
With WDS, in effect, you will have a "g" wireless network operating at 25% of its normal capability.

Difference between Airport Extreme 2011 and Airport Extreme Model

Is there a difference between Airport Extreme MD031LL/A and Airport Extreme MC340LL/A?

To get a detailed review of the 5G AirPort Extreme please check out this SmallNetBuilder article.

HT4262 I'm an installer customer has an airport extreme upstairs and airport express downstairs in office approx. 210 ft. away. trying to get a wireless signal to a sony Bluray to stream netflix about 30 ft. from express. signal inconsistent with lots of

Hi' y'all.trying to avoid running cat5e/rj11 hardwire from upstairs to Bluray for consistent streaming of Netflix. someone mentioned possibly reconfiguring the Airport Express downstairs to make the signal stronger for steaming. Client has Macbook Pro next to Express and it seems to work fine.good signal..........
the Bluray is on opposite side of a building ,(not electronic computer type) firewall, and stereo equipment is between Bluray and Express......thoughts?
going back to clients to resolve tomorrow. help is greatly appreciated.
thanks!
Vid

A CAT5e or CAT6 cable would provide the performance and capability that you need.
Next choice would be a pair of Ethernet powerline adapters to send an "Ethernet" signal over the existing powerlines in the home. This would be "iffy" in that you will not know how well it will work until you try.
Dead last choice would be wireless. Even under ideal conditions.....(line-of-sight with no obstructions in the signal path)....wireless is good to only about 150 feet or so. Even then, the signal will be weak and borderline as far as its useability and reliability.
Add in 4-5 walls and maybe a ceiling in the signal path, and the effective capability of wireless will be reduced down to maybe 40-50 feet in a normal home.

Setup Guest Network with OS X Server and Airport Extreme - NEED HELP!

Hi All,
So I have a small business with a Mac Mini Server (10.6.5) and an Airport Extreme. The Airport is handling the routing and DHCP duties, while the Server is handling the DNS. The Airport is pointed to pull DNS from the Server. All internal systems work great accessing the internet and folders on the Server.
I need to setup a Guest network for internet access, so I turned this function on in the Airport Extreme. It sets up fine, but if you connect to that new Guest Network the system hangs trying to open a web page. My thinking is since the Server is the one handling the DNS it is not working for Guest computers since they are not part of our internal network. At least that is my theory, I could be wrong.
With this type of setup what do I need to modify to get this working? Anyone have any ideas?

After trying for days to figure this out I was finally able to get a working solution and I now have my APE providing a guest and main network while using my lion server as the Dsn server for the main network.
The setup is a bit of a hack and does require you to have at least two devices with staticly assigned ip information on the main network but it does allow you to serve dhcp for both networks from the server and make some services available to the guest network such as iTunes remote for parties.
1) delete your custom Dns entries from the Internet settings in the APE and set two dhcp reservations for .2 and .3 (in this case my Mac mini server and my airport express)
2) reduce the dhcp range to only have 2 available IPs (10.0.1.2-10.0.1.3) and save settings
3) on a computer connected to the main network install wireshark and begin sniffing for packets. Connect at least one device to your guest network and look for any packets that have an ip from your guest network (usually 172.16.42.x) once you capture one of these packets expand the vlan information. This should list a vlan ID ( in my case this was 1003. I would suspect this is universal but do not know)
4) on your server open network preferences, click the gear at the bottom and click "manage virtual interfaces", add a vlan that matches the vlan ID from above. Click ok and apply your settings. The vlan interface should get an ip in the guest network range from your APE.
* if you are running lion you will need to install server admin tools before proceeding*
5) open server admin and add the dhcp service. Create an entry for your primary network (ex: 10.0.1.x) make the dhcp range one higher than the settings in step 2 ( ie: 10.0.1.4 to 10.0.1.253) assign this to the physical interface. Make sure this entry has your internal DNA servers
6) add another entry for the guest networks ip range (ex: 172.16.42.x) again set it one ip higher than step 2 ( 172.16.42.4 to 172.16.42.253) save and activate both ranges. Assign this range to the vlan interface. Make sure this entry either contains your isps dns servers or another public dns server. Turn on dhcp.
Because you have now assigned the only two addresses in the APEs pool for your primary network to static entries there will not be any addresses to assign and the APE will not respond to requests. This will allow your server to pick up the work of assigning IPs. As for your guest network, the APE will assign IPs for two host and then stop. Your clients may either get an IP from the APE or the osx server so both should have the same info. Just make sure the two static clients on your main network have the local DNA servers entered manually.

Set up roaming with Airport Extreme N and Airport Express N

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