Time capsule to extend airport extreme base station

I have an airport extreme base station dual band that I use to create a wireless network. I use a first generation time capsule single band to extend the wireless network. In the area of my home where the time capsule is my ipad and macbook the signal strength of the wifi is great and works great however my iphone 4 works horribly on wifi in the same room where the time capsule is located. Why is this? And is there a better configuration that would work better?

The AirPorts are all designed to try to extend the 5 GHz signal because that is the fastest connection. But, because 5 GHz signals are not as strong as 2.4 GHz signals, it's usually the 2.4 GHz network actually that winds up being extended because it's the stronger signal of the two bands and the extending device is usually located at some distance from the main router.
If your Time Capsule is extending the 5 GHz band, that's impressive. The AirPort Express would also probably extend the 5 GHz band if you placed it in the same area. Unfortunately, the iPhone cannot connect to that signal and must get it's connection from the main router. If you set things up so that the Time Capsule extends 2.4 GHz, then the iPad and your Mac will be running at significantly lower speeds.
It can be done by assigning a different name to the 5 GHz network and I can give you the steps. Is that what you want to do?
If you reversed the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme, you'll have to set the Time Capsule up at 2.4 GHz and the AirPort Extreme will only extend 2.4 GHz. It cannot extend both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz since it won't "see" that signal from the Time Capsule. No reason to do this really.

Similar Messages

  • Adding time capsule to existing airport extreme base station

    I have an AEBS (1st generation) connected to my internet modem at the WAN port (PPPoE) and a wireless network set up and running fine.
    I've bought a Time Capsule (4th generation) to boost the signal of the wireless network at my bedroom and have a wireless backup.
    But I can't seem to make it work!!!
    Can someone point me out some precise steps I should follow or list of settings?
    (Maybe I need to reset the TC so to erase the mistakes I made. If is that so, how can I do it?)
    Thanks!
    Edgar
    PS: this is a Mac-only enviroment, running Snow Leopard.

    Here you go ...
    Dynamic WDS - Extending a Wireless Network Setup
    If practical, place the base stations in near proximity to each other during the setup phase. Once done, move them to their desired locations.
    Open AirPort Utility, and then, select the base station that will connect to the Internet.
    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.
    Click AirPort in the toolbar, and then, click Wireless.
    Choose “Create a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and then, select the “Allow this network to be extended” checkbox.
    Next, select the base station that will extend this network, and then, 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.
    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.
    Enter the base station network and base station password if necessary.
    Click Update to update the base station with new network settings.
    (ref: Pages 43-44 of Apple AirPort Networks.)
    (ref: Wi-Fi base stations: Extending the range of your wireless network by adding additional Wi-Fi base stations)

  • Error on Airport Express when using to extend Airport Extreme Base Station

    I have had continual problems trying to get my Airport Express (n) to extend my Airport Extreme Base Station.  The signal it is receiving is "good".  The settings are correct (as far as I can tell) and it was working for a brief period of a month or so.
    Now it is not working and I have a red 1 in a circle (like an update is needed... but it will not take me to an update) on the Sirport Express in my Airport Utility.
    Under "Status", it says "Extended Network" with a green crcle, but the main circle on by the name is flashing green, and will not send a signal.
    Also in "Status", it says this: "This AirPort base station was unable to extend the wireless network. Make sure the wireless network you're trying to extend was set up and is working correctly, that you entered a matching wireless network password into this device, and that this device is in range of the wireless network."
    I have done all of those and yet..... STILL not working. Ugh.
    Any thoughts?  Procedures?
    Thanks in advance.

    At this point, I would suggest that you perform a "factory default" reset on the AirPort Express. In its default mode, the Express will broadcast an unsecured wireless network with a network name of something like: Apple Network NNNNNN.
    Your Mac should recognize that there is a "new" AirPort Express present. You will find this on the dropdown menu from the AirPort icon on the OS X menu bar. Select the Express from the dropdown menu and the AirPort Utility should automatically start up to allow you to configure it.

  • HT4259 Extending AirPort Extreme BASE STATION range

    I am using an older (2006) 54Mbps AirPort Extreme Base Station and want to extend the range. I am experiencing issues with dropped or slow signals in rooms that I would consider tough to reach (basement for example). Can I use an AirPort Express to extend the range of the WI-FI and how exactly is this done? Or would I be better off updating the AirPort Extreme Base Station? It's worked flawlessly for 6 years, just have more wireless requirements.
    Thank you all in advance.

    I am using an older (2006) 54Mbps AirPort Extreme Base Station ... Can I use an AirPort Express to extend the range of the WI-FI and how exactly is this done?
    The short answer is yes; the longer answer is that the only way to "wirelessly extend" the range of your 802.11b/g-only Extreme is to create a Wireless Distribution System (WDS).
    Not only is a WDS a tedious pain to set up, even for experienced users, its performance is likely to be disappointing. It may not even solve your dropped signals or slow throughput.
    There are better ways to extend your wireless range. By far the best and least expensive alternative is to connect an additional base station to your existing Extreme with an Ethernet cable. If you don't want to do that, and you understandably decide against a WDS, then your remaining alternative is to buy a newer, 802.11n capable Extreme or Express. They can use Apple's "extend a wireless network" feature that will eliminate nearly all the disadvantages of a WDS.
    Read this to determine how to create a WDS: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4262

  • Can't Get Time Capsule to Extend Airport Extreme Wireless Network

    I've searched this forum and read dozens of listings, but nothing I've found gives me a answer for the problem I'm having.
    I had an existing network consisting of three Airport Extreme routers, one the master/DHCP server and the other two to extend the network. All of the routers were configured for 802.11n 5 GHz only service.
    After much frustration trying to use Time Machine to back up to external disks attached to Airport Extremes as well as disks attached to other Macs, I gave up and bought a Time Capsule.
    I have been trying for about six months on and off to get the Time Capsule configured as an extension to the main Airport Extreme as the other two Extremes are.
    Nothing I've tried will cause the TC to extend the network. It always comes up with a yellow light and error messages saying that there is a problem with the wireless network and a problem with the internet connection and, sometimes, a third message that I don't remember.
    After my initial efforts, I just gave up and plugged the danged TC into the remote AE that is closest to where I use my MacBook Pro and it worked. But I wanted it to REPLACE that AE instead of being an appendage to it.
    Due to TC/TM problems, I've twice lost the entire TM backup off of the TC, and tonight I decided it was time to start over. I've encountered the same problems as before, and so finally moved the TC to my home office rack where the main AE is located and plugged it into the AE directly. TM is now backing up, but at a snail's pace (which is why I wanted the TC to be located in the same room where I use the laptop).
    Has anyone had success or failure extending a multiple-unit AE network with a TC on 802.11n 5 GHz (not WDS)? If not, has your experience been similar to mine; if so, what did you do that I haven't?
    Any specific help will be greatly appreciated.

    Yes, I suppose I could do that. But if the wireless extension isn't working in one direction there's no guarantee it'll work in the other direction; and I was trying to avoid upending my entire setup.
    And no, I'm not bridging the units with hard-wired cabling; I'm attempting to use wireless to extend them...NOT WDS, which is for 802.11B/G mode, but the 802.11N wireless extension mode that's available on these Apple products.

  • TIme Capsule 2TB and Airport Express Base Station

    Hi,
    just received a new mac book pro, time capsule and airport express. I already had a older imac (Early 2008).
    my goal is to connect everything in a wifi at the highest possible speed. The airport express servers also as a itunes connection to my stereo.
    I followed basic instruction, all is working except that I can't have the speed a 5GHz (I verify the speed by holding the alt key and clicking on the wireless icon in the menubar) I have n but at 2.4GHz.
    what are the correct settings for this. I noticed that if I do not have the possibility to set radio modus to n 5GHz only. the version of airport configuration program that came with the time capsule is 5.5 and the time capsule is on 7.5 the airport express on 7.4.2.
    thanks for helping on this.
    Message was edited by: dannykite
    Message was edited by: dannykite

    This looks like you held down the "option" key while you clicked on the Airport icon at the top of your screen.
    You were asking about different Radio Modes for the Time Capsule
    Open AirPort Utility - Click Manual Setup
    Click the Wireless tab located just below the row of icons
    Now you will see the wireless settings.
    Hold down the option key when you click on the Radio Mode selection box to see more choices.

  • Airport Extreme Base Station as an wireless Extender to new Airport time capsule

    After many months of time machine back up problems. (verify back up failing) I am considering biting the bullet and getting a new 2TB Airport extreme time capsule. Can I use the old (late 2013 801.11ac) airport extreme to extend wifi network?
    A few other questions.
    1.Does extending reduce wifi performance?
    2. If using extreme as extender can I still plug in hard drive or hard drive to it?
    3.
    currently using imac 21.5 (late 2013) 1TB backing up to 6TB WD mybook live duo (connected to Extreme using ethernet), via airport extreme base station (ac wireless band to mac)
    Any guidance appreciated.

    Is it possible to quantify how much faster USB back up is compared to 802.11ac between mac and AirPort time capsule?
    600GB should take 10 hours by ethernet. And it will be somewhat faster by USB3.. exactly how fast is difficult to predict as the first TM backup itself is slow due to many small files. In terms of raw speed maybe twice but it will depend on the disk used. USB you can use an SSD and get super huge speed. (not that I think you will be buying a 1TB SSD anytime soon).
    In terms of raw speed it is cheese and chalk. The max speed of real world file transfer on AC wireless is around 430Mbps and that is using ideal world.
    http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/113-5-ghz-dn-c?see=MAX
    This has nothing to do with link speed.. this is how fast a file actually transfers. And that is assuming the iMac and the TC are in the same room. And everything is perfect with nothing else using connection.
    The real world speed of USB3 is around 100MB/s to a spinning hard disk..
    http://www.macworld.com/article/2039427/how-fast-is-usb-3-0-really-.html
    which may indicate the limit is the actual disk speed. In bits per second you x 8.. so the USB3 is 800Mbps. The advantage of USB direct connection is that speed is available at all time. Not when your close or the load on wireless is low.
    Further to your comments when extending. Is it only the area covered by extending that has reduced performance or all the wifi signal?
    The speed will depend on hops..
    So if the computer is using resources on a local router.. and only one wireless hop then it is fast.
    If it is using resources via a second router so wireless goes.. computer--- router2----router1-- resource.
    Your speed drops 50% at best.. at worst it is really bad.
    For example.. computer 1 on router 1 accesses computer 2 hard disk on router2 with everything wireless.
    Count the hops. C1-R1, R1-R2, R2-C2
    That gives 3 hops. So each packet is transmitted.. along that chain.. each transmission can only begin after it is received in full. Now add some other computers using resources.. say C3 is using internet via R1.. that has to be time sliced. So you get 50% of 50% of 50% of 50%. It is obvious that wireless networks have a huge handicap.. they cannot transmit and receive at the same time.. nor can they talk to more than one client at a time.. so add time slicing to wireless hopping.
    Now ethernet is entirely different. It can transmit and receive at the same time.. ie is duplex. And in a switch it can talk to several computers at the same time. That is why we say.. as much as you can ethernet.. and use wireless as the last single hop to a client that needs it.. ie iphone or ipad.. or laptop if you cannot plug in ethernet.
    Can the ac wifi format be extended using AirPort Extreme and time capsule.
    Over very short range yes. AC wireless is only on 5ghz and is poor penetration of solids.. so this will work but maybe only to the next room.

  • Older airport extreme base station as a network extender with new time capsule

    I just bought a new time capsule (802.11ac). Can my older airport extreme base station (model A1143) be used as a network extender with it?

    Yes, although it maybe disappointing..
    There are two kinds of extending.. wireless repeater type which is poorest as it has to transfer all packets in two steps instead of one.. hence will halve the speed.
    Or using ethernet to the old extreme and set it in bridge.. You can then setup roaming network... this is much better.. but getting ethernet to the right place could be messy or expensive or both.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260
    wireless extend doco.. mind all of this is out of date.. the basics are correct.. the methods via the airport utility may be obsolete.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145
    Documentation has rather lagged lately.

  • I have an Airport Extreme Base Station and have recently upgraded to Mountain Lion. Now airport utility won't work with my base station so I bought a Time Capsule. For the life of me I can't make the substitution work and only see a blinking amber light.

    I have an Airport Extreme Base Station and have recently upgraded to Mountain Lion. Now airport utility won't work with my base station so I bought a Time Capsule. For the life of me I can't make the substitution work and only see a blinking amber light. Can anyone who has made this change offer some advice?

    apikoros wrote:
    The Utility transferred all of the AE's settings, so I still have to change the password, which leaves me with only 2 other questions, I think:
    1)  I assume it's just a matter of using the Utility, entering a stronger password and checking for it to be remembered in Keychain Access.  But do I have to  change the password for each individual unit-- the TC, the Extreme and both Expresses-- or will changing it just for the TC alone work for the entire network?
    Resetting the password you will need to do for each device... the utility cannot even see those old units.
    So you will have to do it for each one.. think it through.. because as you change passwords the others will lose connection.. so start from the express which are wireless extending .. change those first.. and go back up the chain.. as each one changes it will drop off the network.. until you reach extreme and change that. Then you might need to reboot the whole network to get everything talking again. If something goes wrong.. just pluck that one out of the mix and plug in ethernet.. reset and redo the setup. That is my preferred method anyway.. do everything in isolation one by one. By ethernet and then nothing goes wrong.
    2)  Who's the treasonous SOB who spilled the beans to you about the ICBM in my back yard?!?
    N.Korean hackers.
    [Edit] Whoops-- one more question:  I want to partition the TC's disk, but Disk Utility doesn't see it.  What do I need to do?
    You cannot partition a network disk. And apple provided no tools for it in the TC itself. You can pull the disk out and partition it but that voids your warranty. (although done with care who is to know).
    Look at Q3 here.
    http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html
    Mixing TM and data on the TC is worth planning carefully. They don't necessarily sit happily together.

  • Airport Extreme Base Station as Extender to Airport Extreme Time Machine

    I have tried this a few times, but to no avail: Tonight I purchased an Airport Extreme Base Station (AE) to set up as an extender to my Airport Extreme Time Capsule (AETC).  The Airport Utility finds the router and goes through set-up seemingly fine, with green lights on both.  Then shortly after (within a minute) the AE reboots on it's own, followed by the AETC rebooting (again, on it's own) and this occurs repeatedly.  I reset the AE completely and run through the set-up and the same thing occurs.  I've also done soft resets to the AETC.  Long and short of it - the restarting discontinues once I unplug the power cord from the AE.  Then the AETC resumes as it has - providing fine wifi and speed.  It appears the AE rebooting on its own makes the AETC reboot.  Any ideas?  Thanks!

    howto - extending airport 802.11n networks
    Pre-Requistites
    1) Ensure all have most recent firmware - 7.7.3 for AC devices, 7.6.4 for 802.11n devices
    2) Have most recent Airport Utility (OS X 10.7 thru 10.9, use 6.3.2, IOS6/7 use 1.3.3)
    3) Only have the Primary Airport/TimeCapsule powered on for now
    Set up the Primary/Anchor Airport Base Station
    1) Do this over ethernet - ensure that the Modem and TimeCapsule/Airport is connected on the WAN port
    2) You'll be prompted by Airport Utility to name the Network and the Base Station
    Network is the SSID of the Wireless LAN
    BaseStation is the name of the Airport/TimeCapsule
    3) You'll be prompted for a password - this will be for both the WLAN and the Base Station on initial setup
    Note here - there are at least three passwords to worry about post setup
    a) BaseStation Management - in this how-to, this will be carried thru to the extended basestations
    b) WLAN Access
    c) Disk Access for TimeCapsule and AirDisk
    They can be same or unique, up to you...
    Configure the Airport/TimeCapsule for WiFi/Network
    4) Select the named BS in Airport Utility - click the 'edit' button
    5) Review 'Base Station' Tab
    5a) BaseStation Name
    5b) BaseStation Password - you can change this now if desired, this does not affect WLAN password
    6) Review Internet Tab
    6a) set as appropriate for your network - e.g DHCP or other depending on needs
    6aa) focus here is getting the primary BS set up first
    6b) Click Internet Options - this is IPV6 setup - for now...
    6ba) Set to Link-Local Only, click save, you can go back and change this later if needed
    7) Go to Wireless Tab
    7a) Set Network Mode to "Create a wireless network"
    7b) Check Wireless Network Name
    7c) Wireless Security - recommend WPA2 Personal - this is important as you'll need this later
    7d) Wireless Password - the password entered in step 5b above is what is used here, feel free to modify or not - if so, note this
    7e) disregard Enable Guest Network for now
    7f) Click Wireless Options
    7g) ensure 5Ghz network name is unselected
    7h) Country as appropriate - since I'm in California, I choose United States
    7i) Leave 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz Channels as "Automatic" for now, click save if needed
    8) Click Network Tab
    8a) if this is your primary router - use DHCP and NAT
    8b) Click Network Options
    8c) DHCP Lease - I use 12 hours
    8d) IPv4 DHCP Range - every here is a bit different, but my recommendation for most folks
    192.168.1.100 to 150
    Use what works for you, keeping in mind that the AP Extreme, TimeCapsule, and 2012 Airport Express can handle 50 clients, max
    8e) Ensure that Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol is selected
    8f) can worry about Enable default host at: [] later, this is the DMZ'ed host
    8g) can choose to enable IGMP Snooping or not - doesn't affect the primary setup
    8h) click save
    TimeCapsule Only - for Airport Extreme, worry about AirDisk later
    This is TimeMachine support, along with FileShares
    9) Select Disks - you should see a partitiion named "Data"
    9a) ensure that Enable file sharing is selected
    9b) ensure that Share disks over WAN is unchecked for now
    9c) Secure Shared Disks:
    Choices here -
    device password - noted in step 5b above
    disk password - this will be for all LAN clients that can see the Data Partitiion
    accounts - you can set up separate users and passwords - this is beyond scope of this how-to
    Recommendation if using as TimeMachine only, use a disk password - note this as you'll need it for timemachine on the clients
    Save Settings to the Airport/TimeCapsule
    10) Click the "update' button
    The Airport/TimeCapsule will restart
    Everything now should show green and shiny - open a web browser and attempt to go to Apple/Google/Yahoo, to ensure that you've got network connectivity
    Reviewing things in the Airport 6.3 utility, you should see your base station and the Internet - both with green status
    Once done here, let's extend the Wireless Network
    Note - again, it helps to be connected to the primary base station on ethernet, wireless makes things, erm, challenging
    11) with another decive - Mac/iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch or PC, ensure that Wireless LAN is working on the primary AP/Basestation
    Once this is done, then proceed to the next step
    Enable the "Extended" Airport - can be another TimeCapsule, Airport Express or Airport Extreme
    For purposes of this discussion - assume all ore 802.11n capable at a minimum, so this applies towards more recent gear
    a) Airport Extreme AC (2013)
    b) Airport TimeCapsule AC (2013)
    c) Airport Express 2012 Dual-Band (Looks like AppleTV)
    d) Airport Extreme 802.11n 5th Gen, TimeCapsule 4th Gen
    e) Airport Express 802.11n - similar to the 802.11g variant, looks like a MacBook Pro power adapter
    Assumptions here is that the extended airport is factory defaults - see link below for more info:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3728
    Once this is done, plug in the Airport that is intended for extending the wireless network
    after about a minute or so, you should see a blinking orange light, this is normal...
    In Airport Utility, you should see in the upper left hand, "Other Wi-Fi Devices (1)" - click this, if you don't see this, exit and restart Airport Utility
    12) clicking on the button, you should see an entry menu as "Airport Extreme xxxxxx", select this
    13) Once selected, you'll see "This Airport Extreme/Express/TimeCapsule will be set up to extend "Primary Base Station"
    14) Enter the name for this base station - it should be unique from the name of the Primary noted in step 5a
    15) Click "next"
    16) Should see "setting up this base station to wirelessly extend..."
    you'll see some progress messages.. this is the two basestations handshaking....
    If successful, you'll see the BaseStation named in step 14 as "is now wireless extending "base station named in (step 5a)"
    STOP - the Airport is now extended, repeat steps 11 thru 16 for each addtional Airport
    For advanced features - such as port forwarding, DMZ, IPv6 Tunnels, Back to my Mac, etc - perform this only on the Primary Base station outlined in steps 1 thru 8h
    Good Luck!

  • I have an 2tb time capsule 802.11n Wi-Fi base station can I use this as an external hard drive and use a new airport extreme  802.11ac Wi-Fi for my wifi?

    I have an 2tb time capsule 802.11n Wi-Fi base station can I use this as an external hard drive and use a new airport extreme  802.11ac Wi-Fi for my wifi?

    You can use the 2 TB Time Capsule as a network drive. That means that it must connect to one of the Ethernet LAN <--> ports on the new AirPort Extreme, or connect to the network using wireless.

  • How can I extend a wireless network with my AirPort Extreme Base Station?

    Today I purchased a brand new, dual-band base station to replace my Belkin N router, as I have had a handful of firewall, coverage, and other networking problems in my house lately. First off, I really like this router and it was very easy to setup. My MacBook Pro could use both bands and established a 300 Mbit/s link very quickly. After tweaking various settings to my liking, I was also able to maximize the connections on many of my non-Apple machines and devices. I noticed that the range of its network was better than my Belkin's, but unfortunately, it failed to completely saturate the area sufficiently. Since the Belkin still works well enough, I was hoping I could bridge them together one way or the other.
    The Belkin router does not support any bridge mode that I know of, but the AirPort Extreme should be able to join a wireless network and then extend that over WiFi and Ethernet, correct? I would like to place them at opposite ends of my home so I can get strong WiFi signals everywhere inside. However, when I try to get the base station to connect to my preexisting WiFi connection, it tells me that I can't extend the network and fails to join.
    So is this possible? And if it is, how would I go about setting it up? I know it would probably be easier if I had a simple range booster such as an AirPort Express, but I didn't buy one while I was at Fry's since I hoped I could make use of the older Belkin. This is its product page, if needed. Thanks for any suggestions.
    -MacUser

    The Belkin router does not support any bridge mode that I know of, but the AirPort Extreme should be able to join a wireless network and then extend that over WiFi and Ethernet, correct?
    Sorry, but no. The AirPort Extreme Base Station cannot "join" a network like the AirPort Express or Time Capsule, but you wouldn't want to do this anyway because in this configuration these devices will only perform as wireless clients ... not routers.
    Instead, the AirPort Extreme can either be extended or can extend another 802.11g or 802.11n AirPort ... or a very very few non-AirPort devices.
    One option for your Belkin would be to connect it to the AirPort Extreme by Ethernet but this may not meet your requirements or be a desirable situation. Otherwise, you would need to get another AirPort to extend your current one.

  • Airport Extreme Base Station N adjusts time, then drops WDS

    I have a WDS network with a +Time Capsule+ (TC = WDS Main) and an +Airport Extreme Base Station with 802.11n+ (AEBSn = WDS Remote). Everything works great - except when it doesn't. The AEBSn will suddenly drop the connection, and instead of a normal IP address (10.0.1.11) it will get a self-assigned one (e.g. 169.254.130.58). I have pawed through a number of log files, and I see that at the point that things go south, I get a whacky net-time update; for example:
    Jul 31 20:25:21 Severity:5 Internet Configuration leased -- host <10.0.1.11/255.255.255.0> gateway <10.0.1.1> dns <10.0.1.1> wins lease <14400> domain <dclient.lsne.ch>
    Jul 31 19:54:15 Severity:5 Clock synchronized to network time server time.euro.apple.com (adjusted -3606 seconds).
    Jul 31 20:55:35 Severity:3 No Address for NTP server time.euro.apple.com.
    Note the 1-hour backwards time adjustment; after that, the AEBSn has dropped the connection. Note that there was no user traffic on the network at the time - no one was home.
    Sometimes the status light on the AEBSn will go yellow, sometimes it stays green - I haven't been able to detect a pattern to that. The TC is zen: he's green no matter what happens. I thought he was supposed to be a caring master?
    I thought this was perhaps related to interference from other wireless networks - I live in the city and there are a bunch around me - so I moved to the least-used primary frequency band: no change.
    Help!!! This is driving me bananas. Thanks in advance.

    Bob,
    Thanks for the response, and sorry for taking so long to get back. I think I found how to fix the problem of the dropped WDS connections, and I wanted to give it a while to make sure the problem was really fixed.
    The drops got to be more and more frequent, until finally the WDS connection would drop pretty much immediately. At that point, the TC (the master in my setup) for the first time started showing signs of being unhappy: the status light would briefly flash orange at irregular intervals (I could see nothing relevant in the log file, though). I had always assumed the problem was at the AEBS end, and had always restarted him, but this time I tried restarting the TC - and bingo presto, everything started working, and has been working for over a month now, without ever restarting the AEBS.
    I would guess that there's something in the WDS implementation (at least on the TC) that gradually degrades over the period of many months - memory leak or fragmentation or similar.
    Thanks for the suggestion about the "extend a wireless network" option. When I read the manual, I got the impression that was just an automated way of setting up WDS; I didn't realize that it affects the band used. I now realize that the title of the section, "Extending the Range *of an 802.11n Network*," is not totally anodyne. Anyway, I just now set it up as you suggested, and so far, so good.
    Thanks again,
    -- Philip

  • What's the most recent opinion about Time Machine backups to Hard Drives connected to the USB port on the Airport Extreme Base Station (5th generation)?

    I have been searching the Apple communities and Internet for a final answer.  I just bought an Airport Extreme Base Station (5th generation) and LaCie d2 quadra 1TB external drive as a replacement for TWO failed Time Capsules, neither of which Apple would replace due to failed power supplies.  I formatted the 1TB drive using Disk Utility (Mac OS extended (journaled)) from my MacBook Pro, and then plugged into the Airport Extreme Base Station USB port.  The Airport Extreme Base Station see the Hard Drive, and my MacBook Pro sees the Hard Drive in my finder under shared resources.  Time Machine, however, does not see the drive.  Is there a solution for this problem?  If Time Machine will not work, is there another software product out there that will work, like Carbon Copy.  Having to plug the backup drive into the USB port of your laptop every evening kind of defeats the purpose of having a laptop.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    Keeping in mind that this is not supported by Apple, I have been successful at doing the following:
    1) Format the entire drive (1 Partition) as Mac Extended (Journaled). You must click in Options and set it as a GUID Partition Table (first option)
    2) Plug drive via USB to AEBS
    3) Using Airport Utility, use Manual Setup, then under Disks, select the new Disk and click File Sharing, then Enable File Sharing and Secured Shared Disks (recommended, of course). Other settings are up to you.
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