Unable to extend existing wireless network with new TC

I have an original 500GB Time Capsule that I've been using successfully for a long time. It is plugged into my modem/router (which acts as a DHCP server) in bridge mode.
As the TC is getting full (and the number of Macs in our house is increasing!), I decided to buy another TC - this time the latest 2TB model. I have set it up so it extends my existing network. However, as soon as I plug it into my network my Internet connection breaks (or goes very slow) and the modem/router activity light flashes like crazy. As soon as I unplug the new TC from my wired network, I get my fast Internet connection back and the modem/router goes back to normal.
I've tried using the LAN and WAN ports on the new TC to connect to my wired network but the result is the same.
Has anyone any ideas what the problem is? Is there a problem using the latest TC to extend the wireless network of an older model TC?

Welcome to the discussion area!
If you are connecting your Time Capsules using an ethernet cable, you would connect from one of the LAN ports on the "main" device to the WAN port on your new 2TB device.
The 2 TB device must be configured as a "bridge".
You would configure the 2 TB device to "create a wireless network" using the same network name (SSID), security setting and password as your "main" device. (The "extend" setting is only used if you are connecting your devices using wireless only...and you are using ethernet).
When you "create" the wireless network on your 2 TB device, you are configuring what is known as a "roaming" network. Your laptop will automatically connect the device with the strongest wireless signal depending on where it "roams".
To configure your 2 TB device as a bridge:
AirPort Utility > Manual Setup > Internet icon > Connection Sharing setting = Off (Bridge Mode).
Please post back on your results.

Similar Messages

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?

Extend existing wireless network with airport express..impossible?

I have tried to extend my existing wireless network with an airport express, but it seemd that I always need a ethernetcable...apple support insured me it is possible but the airport utility software only allows me to extend using a cable it seems....

Couple of thoughts here.......
The AirPort Express will only extend a wireless network if you have another Apple router providing the wireless network to be extended.
Is your "main" wireless router an Apple product? If yes, what model number do you have?
It would also help if we could get the model number of the AirPort Express. Some older versions are not capable of extending a wireless network.

I have a mid-2010 iMac and just purchased a 2TB TC, can't join existing wireless network with AC standard so attached to iMac via ethernet with TC wifi turned off. How do i access TC now? not showing up in disk utility or on desktop. working fine with TM

I have a mid-2010 iMac and just purchased a 2TB TC, I just found out that it can't join existing wireless network with new AC standard so attached to iMac via ethernet with TC's wifi turned off. How do i access TC now? not showing up in disk utility or on desktop. It is working fine with TM. My cheeper seagate drives etc kept crashing, so i didnt trust cheeper back up options anymore. Connected those drives to TM via firewire and could see the drives and access them.
Also, I didn't want to bridge TC with my new fios router that I paid 100 dollars for, to get N speed and also paying 10 dollars more a month for fast speed. I heard that bridging slows down everything and then there can be port issues with mail etc. I connect to the internet via airport only and it is pretty fast. Getting over 50mbs downloads and over 30mbs uploads. Plus everything in my home it connected to my fios router, airport express for music streaming, two apple tvs, vuezone camer system. I really didn't want to monkey around too much with my system. But are there other options to connect the new TC. Can't find info anywhere for this and called apple who gave me the info above. after hanging up, i see that i cant access my TC and I am wondering if i would have to reset it to turn wifi on again to make changes to the drive, turn off blinking light or repair it in disk utility if it should become corrupted.
For other with similar issues i did solve some other problems: when i connected it to my ethernet port on my iMac wifi stopped working. Found that I had to turn off the ethernet in the system>network screen, but then TM didn't see the TC so i restarted after changes and then it saw it.
Now a rant. I can't believe in this wireless age that Apple would make a product that cant join a wireless net work. The apple rep said i could return it and look for the previous TC that would join an existing wireless network. Are we going backwards?
Thanks!
lennydas

Ok... it is getting a bit clearer but there are still some questions.
I connect to the internet via airport only and it is pretty fast.
I was assuming airport in this statement in your first post meant the TC or the Express.. but I now realise we are still in the mass confusion stage where apple calls everything wireless an airport. So what you mean is the airport internal card of the computer??
Also, I didn't want to bridge TC with my new fios router that I paid 100 dollars for, to get N speed and also paying 10 dollars more a month for fast speed. I heard that bridging slows down everything and then there can be port issues with mail etc.
I think this is mistaken.
Putting the TC in bridge mode plugged into your FIOS will not slow the network.. nor will it cause mail or port issues.. in bridge the TC is just a fancy WAP and switch plus the network hard drive.
If the computer is close it will be faster than the FIOS.
You can run both wireless networks with different names.. so it is clear which is which. But you can also setup roaming so the computers themselves pick which is the best wireless.
I tried extending the wireless net work and tried joining wireless network, but the TC kept crashing and I had to keep resetting the TC. the Apple support person said these, extend wireless network and joint wireless network, are no longer a connection option with the new TC because of the new AC protocol.
Thanks again!
You cannot extend to a non-apple wireless router.
You cannot use join a wireless network because when you do the ethernet ports will be cut off.
But that has not changed.. I don't think Apple support is correct.. there has been no change with the AC model.. it is simply a fact that apple routers do not work in join wireless mode other than as a dumb client. The same applies to AC as to the earlier version.. but I have asked another person to check this.
Join in the express is the only apple router that still allows an ethernet connection.
For now you best use of the TC is bridged to the FIOS. Wireless you can sort out between several options.

This AirPort base station was unable to extend the wireless network.

I have an AirPort Extreme in the lounge connected to BT infinity.
I also have an airport express in the kitchen connected to a stereo system.
I have had this set up for around 12 months.
The airport express will not extend the wireless network.
I reset it, restart, factory reset etc and it will work fine for around 3 days, then I get the same error message saying
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.
The express is situated easily within range of the extreme. And the airplay between those two, my iMac and two apple tv's works pretty much as it should.
Can someone please shed some light on this?
Maybe I have it in a wrong setting or summut....

G Beach wrote:
I am also experiencing a recent failure in my Airport devices no longer extending my wireless network.
My Aiport Express and second Airport Extreme were extending my wireless network for more than a year
The only change that has taken place lately is that the firmware for both devices was upgraded to 7.6.4, however the upgrade was only in response to trying to resolve this problem. Needless to say, the firmware upgrade did not resolve anything.
If I didn't know better, I'd have thought I wrote the above.
I have a TC from a few years ago (last one before the tower, I think), plus the older AEBS that it replaced extending the network, plus a 1-year-old Express also extending. I had upgraded them all to 7.6.3/4 when it came out, but reverted them all to 7.6.1 when everything went crapways (others having the same issues of the LAN regularly croaking), and didn't bother upgrading again since.
Today I just tried 7.6.4 on all of them, and it seemed OK at first with green lights all around in Airport Utility. Then I made one change, which was to enable 5Ghz on the main AEBS/TC only (the express doesn't need it, and the older AEBS can't do it).
The latter two started flasing amber and giving the "unable to extend wireless network" error message.
So I'm wondering if you are similarly using 5Ghz?

Can I extend my wireless network with my old Airport?

Can I extend my wireless network with my old Airport? I have the airport extreme 802.11n & my old Airport (translucent white) base station. Can I mix the two to expand my range?

No problem; ask as many questions as you need to.
How do I reconfigure the Snow as a bridge to allow the AEBSn to continue to provide both NAT & DHCP services for the entire network?
I don't have a Snow to verify this, but it should be similar to the later base stations when using the AirPort Admin Utility.
To set up the Snow base station as a bridge, either connect to the Snow's wireless network or temporarily connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to the Ethernet port of the Snow, and then, using the AirPort Admin Utility (located in the \Applications\Utilities folder), make these settings:
Network tab
o Distribute IP addresses (unchecked)
o Apply the new setting.

Extending an existing wireless network with a new Airport Extreme(802.11n)

Is it possible to extrend a existing wireless network comprised on a Airport Extreme (g) and a Airport Express with a new Airport Extreme (n) ? and possibly accesss an airdisk? Have tried settng channel to the same (1) but no worky.
I have had real problems (at least 2 hours with Apple Care to no avail) at getting the new Airport Extreme(n) to connect to the internet (Ozemail/iinet) with PPOE. Authentication when changed to occur at ADSL modem and produces no errors (green light) but no internet still through AE(n). Not Hardware either as both ADSL modem and AE(n) have been changed.
So as a last ditch attempt, thought I might try extending the preexisting network that works fine so I can access an AirDisk.
Any reponses appreciated.

Search this forum for "WDS". Since I am having massive problems myself right now, I can only tell you: Try the two methods mentioned in this thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=944334&tstart=0
Maybe you're lucky!

Extending an existing wireless network with an airport express

My wireless signal is quite weak in my room so I'm looking for a way to extend the range of the network by using an airport express. I understand i can't do this wirelessly but is it possible to run an ethernet cable from my existing router to the airport express in my room and then have a stronger signal in my room?
Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the discussion area, Aaron!
If you connect an ethernet cable from your existing router to the AirPort Express, and then configure the Express to "Create a wireless network" with the same name, security settings and password, this will in effect, extend your current wireless network.
The Express must be configured as a "bridge" to operate correctly on your network when you do this, meaning that the setting for Connection Sharing on the Express will be set to "Off (Bridge Mode).

How do I extend an existing wireless network with a 2nd time capsule? I want to tether them with a gigabit ethernet connection.

I am having trouble with extending a wireless network using 2 timecapsules (1 is 1 terrbyte hdd, the other has a 2TB HDD.) The first one is connected to the WAN (cable modem) and our LAN. I would like to connect the 2nd one to the ethernet LAN and have it 'rebroadcast' the 1st ones wireless n network in order to expand the overall range of the network. Your help is very much appreciated.

Suggest that you download and install the much more useful AirPort Utility 5.6 for Mac OS X Lion.
I assume that Time Capsule 1 is operating correctly at this time.
Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility 5.6
Select Time Capsule 1 and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons and make a note of each of the setttings on this Wireless page.
Make sure that the Ethernet cable is connected to the WAN "O" port on Time Capsule 2.
Open up AirPort Utility and select Time Capsule 2 and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the icons and enter the exact same settings that you wrote down for Time Capsule 1
Click the Internet icon, then click the Internet Connection tab
Make sure that the settings look like this:
Connect Using = Ethernet
Connection Sharing = Off (Bridge Mode)
Click Update and allow 25-30 seconds for Time Capsule 2 to restart to a green light
Very important......perform a power cycle of the entire network as follows:
Power off every device in any order that you wish
Wait a minute
Power up the modem and let it run for minute by itself
Power up Time Capsule 1 the same way
Power up Time Capsule 2 the same way
Continue starting devices one at a time the same way until the entire network is back up

Extend existing wireless network (long house) with Airport Express

Help !! I am trying to reconfigure my airport express to extend my wireless network (Long House)through my wireless ISP (Bigpond)modem (2701HGV-W Gateway) following the sudden and unexpected death of my Time Capsule, whose router was doing this job previously.
I am not technically savvy, but can follow simple, idiot proof instructions. All I seem to be able to do is join a wireless network....is this the same as extending it?

Bob Timmons wrote:
Hi Jolly Giant,
+what you could do is run a (long) Cat5 ethernet cable from the Gateway to your Airport Express (AE) in the far away location. if you then join the AE to your wireless network, wireless clients could access it via the wireless access point the AE provides.+
Sorry, but this is not correct. The "join" setting is only used if the Express will be connecting to the wireless network by +wireless only+.
With the Express connected by ethernet, the correct setting is "create a wireless network". The wireless must be configured with exactly the same name, radio mode, security, password, etc as the Gateway's network. But, the channel on the AirPort Express should be set to a value that is at least 5 settings away from the channel that the Gateway is using to minimize distortion. This type of network is known as a "roaming" network.
Connection Sharing on the Express must be set to "Off (Bridge Mode)".
okay, got it. thanks for letting me know - i'll keep that in mind ! (:-)
my apologies to the OP for having been confusing

Can I use my airport express to extend a wireless network with a non-apple router?

I have been trying to extend my wireless network in my house. Right now I have a dsl modem/router provided by Century Link and an older AirPort express (not sure how old but it uses AirPort utility v5.6). I want to be able to share my printer and use AirTunes. Currently I have the AirPort plugged into the router and setup to create a new wireless network. I would like to combine them so I don't have to switch between to print and play music. I am not really sure where to start or if it even possible. Any info would be great!

If you keep the Express connected using Ethernet and configure the Express to "Create a wireless network" using exactly the same wireless network name, exact same wireless security and same wireless password as the Century Link network.....everything will behave as one "big" network, and you will have additional wireless coverage near the Express.
If you do not need extra wireless coverage, you can turn off the wireless on the Express.
The Express must be in Bridge Mode.
Most users know the name of their wireless network and password, so the really tricky part of doing this is that you must know exactly what type of wireless security settings the Century Link router is using....and then match up the same settings on the AirPort Express.
If the settings do not match up exactly, then you wind up with two separate networks that will each require their own log on.
If you can check the setting for wireless security on the Century Link router and provide that information to us, we can tell you how to set things up the way that you would like.

I have installed Airport Extreme on my iMac, but want to extend the wireless network with Airport Express. Everything is fine until I try to select Extend the wireless network. I select Extend Wireless network but have no success. Ideas?

I have installed Airport Extreme on my iMac, but want to extend the wireless to rooms with a weak signal. The internet connection is fine with the basic setup. As soon as I go into Airport Utility to select Extend Wireless Network and fill in what I believe is proper information, I get an error message that Airport Extreme no longer has an IP address, the internet connection is broken, and under Wireless, that there is a wireless network in existence that can't be found. Rebooting the modem only brings the Airport Extreme back to the starting gate so that the internet is once again available. I assumed (naively) that with the All Mac All-the-Time context, adding Airport Express would truly be Plug and Play. I got the plug, but no play. I asked a Comcast technical specialist about it and he said that I needed to reset the Airport Express settings back to their default, factory status. I looked that process up online and found out that the way to do that was to hold down the reset button, then plug Airport Express into the socket and wait for the green light to flash four times. Then wait 45 seconds and the default settings will return. I did all that, only to find out that after the initial flash of green, green never appeared again. I got a fast flashing yellow light, followed by the light going off. Apparently this didn't reset it properly. So, after hours trying to get this system to work, I appeal to someone who can see through this mess and provide the key to success!
highFly376

Let's see if I can get this straight.
You have an Airport Extreme base station that is set to "Create a wireless network" and you have the box checked for "allow this network to be extended"....
Then you have an Airport Express that is set to "Extend a wireless network" which you selected the name of your network in the box...
Correct?
See this Apple document:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4259?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
The wireless unit on the right of the diagram can be either of the newer Apple base stations.
Extreme, Express, Time Capsule

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?

Extend Existing Wireless Network

I am trying to extend my existing wireless network. I think I have it set up correctly, but I have a question about it. I initially had the network set up with a 2WIRE modem (AT&T) and an Airport Extreme. It has been really sluggish as of late, so I re-positioned the modem and AE (out of entertainment cabinet) and now it's more out in the open.
After doing that my Macbook which I use upstairs was running pretty fast, but the iMac which is downstairs and on the same level as the modem/AE was running very slowly. So, I thought I'd extend the network using an Airport Express. I think I have it set up correctly, since everything seems to be working just fine, BUT the question I have is...does the Express HAVE to be plugged int the modem in order to extend the network?
I thought the whole point of using the Express to extend the network is that you could have the Express in between the modem/AE and the computer - on the same level of the house or another level, or at least in another rom on the same level.
I hope I've explained my situation well enough for anyone to be able to provide assistance. Everything is working fine, but I guess I'm looking for some reassurance that I've done things correctly
and maybe a better understanding of how extending a network really works.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Julie

Hello Julie
To extend your wireless network I suggest you do the following;
Take the express and extreme into the same room. Ideally, plug the extreme into your modem using an ethernet cable and have the express hooked up to power on its own in the same room.
I would reset both device to their factory defaults and start over. To reset the devices to factory defaults, unplug them from their power source, hold down the recessed reset button while plugging them back into to power and continue to hold the reset button until the one LED begins to flash rapidly.
Do this with the extreme and the express. Now open airport utility, select your airport extreme and set it up from the start using the continue button and answer all the questions. Once the extreme is setup, you should see a large green checkmark. See the mac you set it up with can connect to the internet.
If you are on the internet through your extreme's wireless network you're almost there.
Step 1. Using airport utility select the airport express and click continue. The key here is to ask the express to join an existing wireless network when the question arrises.
This should do the trick for you.
Alternate to step 1. If you want to you can skip step 1 above and select your extreme using airport utility, go to the Base Station menu and select Manual Setup, click the Airport icon from the manual setup window, click the Wireless tab and put a tick next to "Allow this network to be extended". This will instruct the extreme to allow its wireless network to be extended. Update your extreme after turning on this option and give it about one minute to update itself.
Now, using airport utility, setup your express to using the continue button and instruct it to join an existing wireless network when the question comes up.
So you have two options, either should do.
Hopefully this was not too difficult. Airport utility will still see the two airport routers but from your airport menu you will always see only one network because the extreme and express behave as though they are one large network.
Consider unplugging the express now and moving it to the other floor. After you take the express upstairs, give it a minute and if it is in range of your extreme it will assume a green light, if on the other hand it continues to flash amber it's possible that it's too far from the extreme. In this case consider plugging the express into a wall socket nearer to the express.
Does this help?
Most of what I explained might be better explained by Apple, see page 43 of http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/Apple_AirPort_NetworksEarly2009.pdf. The steps on page 43 are what you would do with your extreme - to extend its wireless network.
Let me know how it goes.
If your devices are under 90 days old you still have complimentary phone support. If you have an AppleCare protection plan on your mac one of your devices are covered for hardware support and the 3 years phone support. If you are eligible AppleCare will be able to walk you through this.

Extend FiOS wireless network with Time Capsule

I have a FiOS wifi router and a 1TB TC (with latest firmware 7.6.3). I'd like to extend the wireless network to cover some dead zones. I've run ethernet from the LAN port on the router to the WAN port on the Time Capsule, and it's getting an IP and internet connectivity. However, when I follow the Apple instructions to extend a wireless network, I get the warning error "unable to extend network" and the flashing orange light. I've confirmed the SSID and password are correct and match the FiOS SSID and password, and I've confirmed that the TC is in bridge mode. I've also logged into the FiOS router and confirmed it's assigning IPs to the wired and wireless componets of the TC, and recognizes the wireless is in bridge mode. Any suggestions?
I've got it working currently as a separate SSID, but it's just a pain to have to jump from weak-network1 to TC-network2 whenever I'm in a dead zone. Thanks in advance!

Check to make sure that you have the TC configured to.....
Create a wireless network (not "extend".....as that is only used for wireless extension and you are using Ethernet)
Use the exact same wireless network name (SSID) as the FIOS router
Use the exact same type of wireless security that the FIOS router is using (Make sure that this is not WEP) It should be WPA2 Personal or WPA/WPA2 Personal.
Same wireless password as the FIOS
Bridge Mode configuration
Unless everything matches up correctly, you will have two separate networks that require two separate log ons.
Configured correctly, you will have a "roaming" network. Your Mac will automatically switch over to the wireless access point with the best signal quality as it moves from one area to another.

Unable to extend existing wireless network with new TC

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