Trouble extending my WiFi network with older Airport Express

Hi,
As the question states, I have an older Airport Express which I have dug out to try and extend my WiFi network in a new house.
I am on Virgin Media (fibre optic) in the UK and get a good WiFi service but one room in the house (which I have just turned into a cinema/media suite) has no reception.
I have successfully managed to 'create a new network' via the Airport Express and the signal strength is 100% but for some reason if I try to reconfigure the device to extend the existing network I get no improvement at all from the (zero) signal I was receiving before.
Am I doing something wrong? Or is there an additional step I am missing?
I could live with having a secondary network but what I would really like to achieve is Home Sharing from my main computer, so that I can access my photos, movies and music etc. from iTunes on the big screen. If the computer exists on another network my iPad, iPhone and AppleTV can't see/use the media from that room.
Many thanks in advance,
Colin

Are these the steps you used?
To create a wireless extended network, you must place any extended Wi-Fi base stations within range of the primary Wi-Fi base station.
Start with the device that will be configured as the primary Wi-Fi base station. Then configure your extended Wi-Fi base stations, ensuring that each is within direct range of the primary Wi-Fi base station.The physical location of extended Wi-Fi base stations will vary according to the building environment and may require some experimentation.
If you have configured your Wi-Fi base stations in the past, it may be helpful to do a factory default reset of each Wi-Fi base station that will be part of the wireless extended network before you begin.
Configuring the primary Wi-Fi base station
Power on all 802.11n Wi-Fi base stations and allow them time to appear in the AirPort Menu Extra.
Open AirPort Utility (On a Mac, choose Go > Applications from your desktop, click the Utilities folder, then open AirPort Utility. In Microsoft Windows, choose Start > All Programs > AirPort to start AirPort Utility).
Select the primary Wi-Fi base station in the Base Station Chooser, then click Continue. Note: If you see a message appear that indicates that the Wi-Fi base station has been reset, click Cancel to continue.
Click Manual Setup. Enter the base station password if necessary.
Click AirPort in the toolbar.
Click Wireless.
Choose “Create a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode menu.
Select the “Allow this network to be extended” checkbox.
Enter a Wireless Network Name.
Optional: By default, Wireless Security is set to None so that no password will be required to join the network. We recommend you click on the Wireless Security menu, select WPA2 Personal, and create a password between 8 and 63 characters long.
From the Radio Channel Selection menu, select Automatic.
Click Update.
The next window may indicate that there are some problems. Resolve the problems, then click Update.
You are now ready to add extended Wi-Fi base stations to your network.
Configuring an extended Wi-Fi base station
Place any extended Wi-Fi base stations within range of the primary Wi-Fi base station
Ensure that all 802.11n Wi-Fi base stations are powered on and allow them time to appear in the AirPort Menu Extra
Open AirPort Utility (On a Mac, choose Go > Applications from your desktop, click the Utilities folder, then open AirPort Utility. In Microsoft Windows, choose Start > All Programs > AirPort to start AirPort Utility).
Select the Extended Wi-Fi base station in the Base Station Chooser, then click Continue. Note: If you see a message appear that indicates that the Wi-Fi base station has been reset, click Cancel to continue.
Click Manual Setup. Enter the base station password if necessary.
Click AirPort in the toolbar.
Click Wireless.
Choose “Extend a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode menu.
Choose the network you want to extend from the Network Name menu.
Enter the network and device password if necessary, then click Update.
The next window may indicate that there are some problems. Resolve the problems, then click Update.

Similar Messages

Ist it possible to extend a wifi network with sevral Airport Express's?

Hi, I live in a house with 3 floors. My router and my timecapsule are located on the 2nd floor and I want to extend my network wirelessly to the first floor and the ground floor by adding several (2) Airport Express stations to my network. Is this possible?
Basically like on the picture linked:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g8mvrbgo4r38lzr/5uCsbQ5E2w?v=1mci
Somehow it works brilliant but, once I add the second AE my MacBook won't sign into the second AE but will stay in the first. Resulting in just not extending my network.
Thanks

Somehow it works brilliant but, once I add the second AE my MacBook won't sign into the second AE but will stay in the first. Resulting in just not extending my network.
That's because you can only wirelessly "extend" the network one time, not two.
Apple's "extend" setup works like the hub and spokes of a wheel. The Time Capsule would be your hub. There can be multiple AirPort Express devices, but each Express resides at the end of a separate spoke...and it communicates directly to the hub....not to another device at the end of another spoke.
The second extender is "joining" the network, but it provides no additional wireless signal coverage when it "joins".
You will need to move the second AirPort Express closer to the Time Capsule.....to the point where the display indicates that both Express devices are connected to the Time Capsule.
Another approach might be to move the Time Capsule to the central area on the 1st floor, then locate an AirPort Express above and below that area. That would work.
If that is not possible, then you will need to think about a wired Ethernet connection from the AirPort Extreme to the location of the second AirPort Express.

Trouble extending a wifi network with 2nd Airport Extreme base station.

I have added a second Airport Extreme in order to extend a network. I connected it to the network via an ethernet cable into one of the three ethernet ports. I have configured it using these instructions (http://systemsboy.com/2009/02/extending-an-airport-network.html). I get green lights for both units.
My network works until I update the second unit. As soon as I update the second unit, my entire internet connection goes down. Even computers in the office that are connected via ethernet cannot access the internet. As soon as I unplug the second base station, the internet connection is "live" again. I don't know how to proceed. I think my brain is fried. Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks,
Rich

Based on the information in your post, the article that you referenced will not provide the correct configuration that you need for your network. In summary, the information in the article is for extending wireless network using wireless only. You are connecting your two routers together using ethernet, correct?
To confirm, your post indicates that +I have added a second Airport Extreme in order to extend a network. I connected it to the network via an ethernet cable into one of the three ethernet ports+
If this is correct, the Wireless Mode for your "main" router should be set to "Create a wireless network".
For the second AirPort Extreme, you will use exactly the same setting, "Create a wireless network". The network name, security and password should match the settings of your main network exactly. This is probably confusing to you, but these are the correct settings when you have the second AirPort Extreme connected to the first using an ethernet cable.
It is critical that the second AirPort Extreme be configured as a "bridge" in order to function correctly on your network. When you are in AirPort Utility - Manual Setup, click the Internet icon at the top of the setup page. Look for the Connection Sharing setting at the bottom of the page. This must be set to "Off (Bridge Mode)". The configuration to "bridge" should be the last step before your click the Update button at the lower right of your screen.
Post back if you need more information or details.

Trouble extending my wireless network via (4) Airport Express'

I am having difficulty extending my wireless network - I have a Airport Extreme as the base station - I was hoping to daisy chain the express devices throughout the home but I'm losing signal strength as I get further away from the base... is it possible to link each device so that i can have one network running with multiple Airport Express' wirelessly? Any help you can provide would be appreciated...
Thanks
Steve

If you have the newer AirPort Extreme 802.11n and newer AirPort Express 802.11n devices, it is not possible to "daisy chain" the AirPort Express devices. That's because each AirPort Express communicates directly to the "main" AirPort Extreme....not to another AirPort Express.
The "extend" setup is like the hub and spokes of a wheel. Your AirPort Exrreme is the "hub" and each AirPort Express resides at the end of a "spoke".
The "best" way to extend any wireless network is to run Ethernet cabling to the location of each AirPort Express. If it is not possible to run the Ethernet cable, your next option would be Ethernet power line adapters to send an Ethernet signal over the AC power lines in your home.

Extending an Airport Extreme (6th Gen) network with older Airport Express models

I just purchased the latest Airport Extreme (6th Gen) base station to be my main wifi router. I have two airport express models that I used in the past to extend my network with my (very) old retired Airport Extreme (2nd Gen): the 2nd Gen model A1264 (you plug into the wall directly) - I've had it for several years, and the newest 3rd Gen model A1362 (small square that lies on a desk or table) - I just purchaed a couple of months ago.
My question is - will extending my network with either of these Airport Express models diminish my overall network speed (Especially the older model)?
I don't have any AC capable clients yet - so everything is running on the "n" band - and the older Express is an "n" model, but I just have this (perhaps irrational) fear that attaching older routers will slow everything down.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks!

will extending my network with either of these Airport Express models diminish my overall network speed (Especially the older model)?
The A1264 model will be able to extend only one band of the new dual band AirPort Extreme. Normally, the A1264 will extend the 2.4 GHz band since it is stronger than the 5 GHz signal.
The A1392 will be able to extend both bands since it is also a dual band model, providing that it is located where it can receive a strong wireless signal from the new AirPort Extreme.
Here, I am assuming that you are asking about extending wirelessly.
You might want to keep in mind that extending wirelessly always involves compromises and loss of bandwidth. The main reason for this is that an extending device can only "extend" the quality of signal that it receives.
The wireless signal from the new AirPort Exterme will slow down and lose strength the further that it moves away from the main AirPort. So, the extending device gets a slower, weaker signal to extend. The result is signficantly slower wireless performance in the extended areas.
The way to solve this is connect the extending AirPorts to the main AirPort using a permanent wired Ethernet connection. There is no signal loss in a wire, so the extending AirPort receives a full bandwidth signal to broadcast. The result is higher and more uniform speed on the entire network.

How do I extend the range of my existing Belkin WiFi network with an Airport Express Gen 2?

It is my understanding that the second generation of the Airport Express can be used to extend an existing non-Apple WiFi network. From all I read, it was very difficult to do with the Gen 1 Airport Express, but I don't find anyone referencing the Gen 2. My router is a Belkin Share F7D3302 V1 (updated to current firmware as of yesterday). I am able to attach to the Belkin network and stream music to my home theater, but would also like to extend my WiFi. Any help is appreciated.

It is my understanding that the second generation of the Airport Express can be used to extend an existing non-Apple WiFi network.
Not sure where this information has come from....and it would be extremely surprising if this were true. Do you have a link to an official announcement from Apple that would confirm this?
As far as we know, Apple's "extend" setting remains a proprietary feature that is designed to work only with other Apple routers. The "new" Express appears to carry on that tradition.
As such, it would be very unlikely that any of the Apple routers would be compatible with a Belkin product....or any other manufacturer's product for that matter.....if you are thinking of extending using wireless only.
If you figure out how to do this.....it will be a breakthrough of major proportions. Please let us know if you are successful.

Trying to extend my airport extreme network with an airport express

I´m trying to extent my network with an airport express 802.11g.
I´ve been fallowing the guide:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4259
however, when I´m trying to configure the extended wifi base station ( point 8.) it won´t let me choose "extend a wireless network".
The only options I have is "create network", "join network" and "participate in a wds network".
I´ve been trying to find a solution all day.
Is there anyone out there who has hade the same problem or knows what it could be?
I´ve made sure that my base station connected to the internet through ethernet has checked the "allow this network to be extended"

however, when I´m trying to configure the extended wifi base station ( point 8.) it won´t let me choose "extend a wireless network"
Unfortunately, the older AirPort Express 802.11"g" model does not have a setting to "extend a wireless network", so it cannot be used the way that you want.
The article that you reference should be clear about this:
This article explains how to set up an 802.11"n" extended wireless network.
You need to use one of the newer AirPort Express 802.11"n" models to gain the ability to "extend a wireless network".

I'm trying to extend my wifi network with time capsule but it can't find the existing wifi network

I'm trying to extend my wifi network with time capsule but it can't find the existing BT wifi network even though it is there with a good signal strength. The Time Capsule is connected to a Netgear router via ethernet.

You will need to start over on the setup of the Time Capsule as follows:
Disconnect any Ethernet cables that might be connected to the Time Capsule, but leave it powered on
Hold in the reset button on the back of the Time Capsule for 8-10 seconds and release. The reset button is located next to the AC power socket.
Allow a full minute for the Time Capsule to restart to a slow, blinking amber light
Connect the Ethernet cable from a LAN <--> port on the Netgear to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule. The Ethernet cable must remain connected at all times.
Click the WiFi icon at the top of the Mac's screen
Look for a setting of New AirPort Base Station
Click on Time Capsule
The example below shows an AirPort Express. You will see Time Capsule on your screen.
That will get the setup wizard going. It will take a minute to analyze the settings, then display a screen that looks like this, except you will see a picture of the Time Capsule
Network Name..........Type in the exact name that the Netgear wireless is using
Base Station.............Type in a name that you want to call the Time Capsule. Use something short and simple. Mine is TC, for example
Password..................Type in the exact password that the Netgear wireless requires
Verify.........................Verify the Password again
Click Next
The setup wizard will configure everything for you automatically. When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done.
That's it. Now you have one big "extended" network. Technically, this is called a "roaming" network.

Networking with Multiple Airport Express'

I am using a new Airport Extreme 802.11n as a router in a home network that is in an extremely large house. I also have 3 new Airport Express' connected to the network. My question is should the settings in the Airport Utility be "Join an existing network" or 'Extend an existing network' for each Airport Express' or some combination of either based on which express is first in closest proximity to the Airport Extreme.
Thanks, JB

I've only got the two running now, and the signal at the far end is dramatically better than without.
I don't think it decreases bandwidth for each device. Each machine's bandwidth decreases a little for the overhead, but it is not cumulative.
On a side note, when I added the New Airport Express, I had an absolutely horrible time getting it all to work correctly and I think I had similar symptoms as you are describing. I was able to differentiate which base station I had connected with because the new Airport Extreme was n-band and the main stations is an old g-band. So, by holding down the option key when selecting the airport menu, I could easily see the bandwidth going above 54. I hope you're laughing as I later realized that the MAC address of the base station you are connected to shows up in the menu with option held down, also.
Everything seemed to be connected right, but it just wasn't working. I ended up resetting both devices and started from scratch. Just about when I was going to give up and just extend the network, my WDS connections worked and I haven't had any problems.
Before I realized that the network wasn't configured correctly, I thought my old Airport Extreme was going bad. It was freezing up and I had to restart it to get an internet connection. Ever since I fixed the WDS network, I don't have any problems with it. I think the two base stations were jamming each other.

HT4259 I have a Netgear wndr3400 and I can "join a wireless network" but can not "extend a wireless network" on my Airport express. Does anyone know why?

I have a Netgear wndr3400 and I can "join a wireless network" but can not "extend a wireless network" on my Airport express. Does anyone know why?

Sorry, but "Extend a wireless network" is a proprietary Apple setting that will only work if you have another Apple router.
It is not compatible with devices from other manufacturers.

I am unable to join my existing wireless network with new AirPort Express

I am unable to join my existing wireless network with new AirPort Express.
I am using a DLink DI-524 Router, Windows 7 (64), and the AirPort Express.
AirPort Utility will not recognize the AEX wirelessly, it will only recognize it when it is connected by Ethernet. I can then configure the AEX and verify that the settings stick once disconnected and then reconnected. However, even after that, it will not recognize the AEX once disconnected from the Ethernet cable.
I followed the suggestions of several other threads on these forums. But I am unable to get the AEX to work.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the discussion area!
It's almost always a security setting that causes problems when the Airport Express (AX) tries to join a third party wireless network. The AX usually does not "join" correctly and that's why you can't see it on your wireless network using AirPort Utility.
Using an ethernet cable is still the more reliable way to configure and adjust the AX, but if you are want to try to configure it using wireless, you must return the AX back to factory defaults as follows:
Power down the AX
Hold in the reset button +and keep holding it in+ as you plug the AX back in to power
Release the reset button after 10 seconds
When it is set to factory defaults, the AX broadcasts a wireless signal with a network name like "apple network xxxxxx" where the "x's" are either letters or numbers. You must look for this network by clicking on the fan shaped Airport icon at the top of the screen. If you don't see this network, then click Join Other Network to search that way. Unless you connect to this network, you will not be able to configure the AX using wireless.
Do you know the exact security type that your D-Link router is using? That is the key element in the process.
Open AirPort utility, click Manual Setup
Click the Base Station tab to establish a name for the AX, device password and adjust time zone settings
Click the Wireless tab
Wireless Mode....Join a wireless network
Wireless Network Name...must exactly match your D-Link wireless network name
Enable ethernet clients if you want the port to be active (your D-Link must be compatible with ProxySTA for this to work)
Wireless Security...exact setting of the D-Link network. WEP security causes a lot of issues. Try to use WPA/WPA2 Personal, which is far more secure.
Wireless Password...must match the D-Link network
Click the Music icon to enable AirTunes
Click Update to save settings
Any luck?

Unable to create a wireless network with my airport express. Please help!

I am trying to setup a wireless network with an airport express, and connect to it with my Macbook. I just bought both of these and haven't been able to get wireless to work.
I initially plugged the ethernet cable from my cable modem into the airport express and plugged it into the wall. The macbook detected it when I opened airport utility, but the express had a flashing amber light and I was unable to connect. I then unplugged the express and re-started the cable modem. This time, the airport express showed a solid green light -which should mean that it is working correctly. However, the macbook did not find the airport express device when i searched for it using airport utility. I am able to connect the macbook directly to the cable modem, after re-starting the modem, and access the internet so at least some of the systems are go.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your help.
Tom

Is the issue that you cannot access the 802.11n AirPort Express Base Station (AXn) with the AirPort Utility that is running on your Win7 PC? ... or that once you have configured the AXn, the PC is unable either to find the new wireless network or can find it but cannot connect to it?

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.

Creating and Extended Network with 2 Airport Express Units

I had an extended network using 2 express units but one of them broke. The old network was setup with an older version of Airport Utility and I can't seem to repeat the set up a new network with the new express unit I have bought.
The simple setup procedure using Airport Utility 5.5.1 only appears to allow you to 'join' the remote Express unit to an existing network, there is no 'extend remotely' option.
I remember doing it last time by creating a WDS network which agrees with instructions I have found here - http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2009/03/taming-an-airport-express-wds.html
I set up the first Express as a base station with a network and select 'Participate in a WDS network' and 'Allow this network to be extended' under the wireless tab. Under the WDS tab I 'Allow wireless clients' and add the hardware address of the second express unit.
I then update the express unit but I get a WDS error which states, "This Airport wireless device is set up as part of a WDS network but no other AirPort wireless devices were found."
This seems to be a chicken and egg situation.
Any help would be appreciated.
Alan

Alan, welcome to the discussions!
It appears that you want to set up a WDS arrangment, correct?
But, I can't figure out whether you want to configure it with a "base" and two "remotes", or whether you want to configure it with a "base", "relay" and "remote"
Can you clarify? I'll send you a link with instructions from forum expert user Tesserax with step by step instructions. Just need to know what set of instructions to send.

How to extend range of my wireless network with an Airport Express connected by ethernet with Airport Utility 6.0

Hi everyone,
I have AirPort Express 802.11n (1st Gen) firmware 7.6.1, that is connected to my main wifi base station (a TimeCapsule) by ethernet. I would like to extend the range of the Wifi Network but am not clear on how to do so using the new interface of Airport Utlity 6.0.
Does anyone have any tips on how to do this?
BR
AK

Hi Everyone!
Many thanks for the tips. I have downloaded 5.6 and have set my Airport Express in the "Extend a wireless network" mode. I was still having a few problems with the quality of the wifi connection in different parts of my apartment (by no means a very large one, but walls seem to be made of extra dense concrete here in Singapore) and went out and bought a few powerline adapters by TP Link (http://www.tp-link.sg/products/details/?categoryid=1862&model=TL-PA211#spec).
If you don't mind a slightly long post, I would be very grateful for any tips:
My setup is now as follows:
Main room
Time Capsule - connected to a Cisco DPC3925 Modem (http://www.cisco.com/web/consumer/support/modem_DPC3925.html) both connected to a TP Link adapter 1.
iMac - connected via Ethernet to TP Link adapter 2 and wifi enabled
Airport Express 1 - connected by Ethernet to TimeCapsule (and thus TP Link adapter 1) used to stream audio to a stereo that doesn't have an optical cable input. Since it is an Ethernet connection, I have wifi turned off.
Apple TV 1 - connected by Ethernet to TimeCapsule (and thus TP Link adapter 1)
Bedroom A
Airport Express 2 - connected via ethernet to TP Link adapter 3
Bedroom B -
Apple TV 2 - connected by Ethernet to a TP Link adapter 4
After following the tips on setting up the extended wifi network, I find that when I use a wireless client (e.g. iPad, Macbook air, etc) in either Bedroom B or Bedroom C (both don't have wifi in the room) the connection is very poor. Even more odd is that the connection in Bedroom A, one that does have Airport Express 2. To be clear when I mean very poor, I mean Skype/facetime skips frames and freezes... this doesn't happen when I am in the main living area.
I would be very grateful for tips on how to set up the most robust network given the configuration above. Specifically, I am wondering about:
When I select Extend a wireless network option on Airport Utility 5.6 the summary page states that it is connecting using "Wireless Network" vs what I would expect it to say "Ethernet connection".
Is there any advice on whether to enable 5Ghz network and if so, should I try to use that for the various wifi clients?
Does anyone know if I can somehow use Apple products to extend the reach of the Cisco DPC3925? Frustratingly the signal is quite strong (compared to Apple routers), but I cannot properly stream audio/video if that wifi network is used (as my iMac that hosts the content is on the Apple one... and I'd have to walk over to switch it to the Cisco one).
Any other tips would be much appreciated!
Cheers!
AK

Trouble extending my WiFi network with older Airport Express

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