Using an Airport Extreme with my AirPort Express as a new network?

Hello.
I am looking into buying an airport extreme as a replacement for a Netgear router that does not seem to work. I have an Aiport express already.
So let me see if I can get this straight...
I can have 6 computers (all PCs) connected (and a couple other devices like a TIVO) all connected to an airport extreme base station to the internet and 1 airport express set as a remote base station. All devices will be able to connect to the internet (3 computers plugged in via Ethernet on Airpot Extreme) and share printers/files/etc? Is there a limit to the number of computers that I can have (even if i am extending with an Airport Express?
I would appreciate any help steering me in the right direction.
Dell Laptop Windows XP

Andrew,
Yes you can do all those things.
There is a limit on the total number of connections but it is very large.
The Airport Express can be used in a number of ways.
...For music only - which is not a problem.
...Or as a wireless relay - using something called WDS. In this mode you can connect further computers to the ethernet port of the Airport Express. Or extend the wireless reach of the network.
If your ONLY use for the Express is to connect a computer, its probably better to get a wireless card for it.

Similar Messages

Using Airport Extreme with a Airport Time Capsule to update Blu-Ray player

I was wondering if it were possible to hook up a blu-ray player to a second Airport Extreme to update the player? I have a Time Capsule in my home office and a blu-ray on the other end of the house. The blu-ray needs updates. I am wondering if I can use an Airport Extreme as an "extension" wireless unit hooked up to my blu-ray player to have it connected to the net?
Thank you!
John

Welcome to the discussions, John!
You have a few options to do what you want.
Perhaps you were thinking of the AirPort Express when you mentioned AirPort Extreme. The AirPort Express can be configured to "extend" the main wireless network created by the Time Capsule and the ethernet port will be "live" so that you could connect to your BluRay player via ethernet.
An AirPort Extreme would work as well, but you may not need the other extra ethernet ports on the Extreme and extra expense for features that you may not use.
I take it that running an ethernet cable to the BluRay player is not feasible in your current situation.
You may not have thought about the next option, which would make use of a pair ethernet powerline adapters. One device plugs into an AC socket at the head end and another plugs into AC at the BluRay end. The adapters use the wiring in your home to transmit the ethernet signal. You would run a short ethernet cable from one of the LAN ports on your AirPort Extreme to the adapter and do the same at the BluRay end.
This type of connection will almost always provide a faster signal than wireless, so you may want to check these out as an option. Best Buy will have several to choose from.

I had an Airport Extreme with and Airport Express used as a extender. My Airport Extreme died, so I bought a new one and when I installed it I renamed my network.

Now my new Airport Extreme doesn't see my Airport Express. Can I fix this?

The easiest way to do this is to reset your airport express to the factory configuration/default by unplugging it and then holding down the small reset button on the back, plugging it back in. Once the amber LED begins to flash quickly you can release it. after a minute, when the amber led is flashing slowly you can bring up the latest version of the Airport utility. When it starts, it will connect you to your network and indicate that there is a new device that needs to be set up. Simply follow the prompts and answer yes when it asks if you want this new device to extend your network.. It will then do all of the configuring for you.
Pretty cool.. I just got a new Airport Express and it installed perfectly the first time. If you have problems post back.

CAN"T EXTEND RANGE OF NEW AIRPORT EXTREME WITH OLD AIRPORT EXPRESS

Hello Everyone,
I am having a heck of a time getting my new network setup with this new 802.11n Airport Extreme... Here is what I currently have going on:
I have a G5 1.8 it is my main computer and in ROOM #1... Connected to it is my NEW AIRPORT EXTREME via an Ethernet cable to one of the available ports. Also connected to the NEW AIRPORT EXTREME is my CABLE MODEM... This works great, It is setup and I have internet via Ethernet... I CAN EVEN CONNECT IN ROOM #2 with a PC and an Apacer wireless adapter...
Here is the problem
When I try to add an Airport Express V6.3 to extended the range of my network it can NEVER seem to connect to the network. I have checked the option to allow extension of the NEW AIRPORT in AIRPORT UTILITY and tried both with WEP security and with NO SECURITY... I cannot get the Express to extend the range of my network period... It has an error when joining the network???
Can Anyone Please Help Me?
PS. The reason to extend the network is so I can use the Notebooks in ROOM #3 and so a TIVO can see the Network! It is not far away!
G5 1.8 (2003) Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Also am having problems with my roomates HP Laptop... It connects for only a few seconds/minutes then has an issue... Really shady??? Any Ideas? He is Running Windows XP
G5 1.8 (2003) Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Set up Airport Extreme with 2 Airport Express connected by CAT5??

I recently bought an Airport Extreme base station and an Airport Express. My plan was to use to Airtunes with my AV receiver in my basement. Unfortunately, because the distance between these two areas is long (and separated by two floors) I'm not able to get a strong enough signal with the Airport Express to use Airtunes. I bought another Airport Express to put on the middle floor of our house but the signal in the basement was still not strong enough even with this addition.
I do have a way of connecting the middle floor of our house with the basement area by a CAT5 ethernet cable. My plan now is to connect the two Airport Express modules by their ethernet ports with this cable. The Airport Express on the middle floor connects with the Airport Extreme base station wirelessly without any problems. My question is what is the proper setup for the 2nd Airport Express connected by ethernet in my basement.
Airport Tech support said this could be done. They recommended setting up a new wireless network with the 2nd Airport Express by "fooling" into thinking it was connected directly to the router but using the same network name with a different wireless channel as my Airport Extreme base station. This setup actually works for several hours but then the Airport Express module that is connected to the Airport Extreme blinks amber. Interestingly the 2nd Airport Express with usually remain with the green light on.
Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to set this up regarding network configuration with the Airport Utility?
Thanks

wmskaggs, Welcome to the discussion area!
They recommended setting up a new wireless network with the 2nd Airport Express by "fooling" into thinking it was connected directly to the router but using the same network name with a different wireless channel as my Airport Extreme base station.
That will work with as long as the AirPort Express (AX) is connected via Ethernet. The only other setting you need to make is to configure it to act as a bridge (not sharing a single IP address).
If this one looses connection, then something is wrong with the AX or the Ethernet connection (cable and/or connectors).

Can I extend the range of my Airport Extreme with 2 Airport Express units?

I am using Airport Extreme as my basic router. I have connected 2 airport express units (all new since 12/09) to extend the network about 300 ft into another building to a PC. I am receiving about 65% signal and only one of the express units is extending the signal. Previously I was able to extend the network with a Netgear router and one D-Link extender and achieved 85%.
I would like to use the 2nd express to extend the signal of the 1st express which is extending the Extreme.
If this is not possible, can I use something other than an express with the extreme to extend the wireless network?

Here are the basic steps in setting up a static WDS. Please compare them to what you have done to see if there are any differences. Hopefully, this will give you a clue on what to try.
AEBSn - WDS Setup
(Note: To facilitate the WDS set up, place the base stations within near proximity of each other during the set up phase, and then relocate them to their desired locations when complete. Also, jot down the AirPort IDs (MAC addresses) for each of the base stations to be used in the WDS. The AirPort ID and is printed on the label on the bottom/side of the base station.)
Main Base Station Setup
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as the main base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the main base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base
Station menu, or double-click the base station to open the configuration in a separate window.
o Enter the base station password if necessary. If the base station is using the
default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Click Wireless in the toolbar, and then choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and then choose “WDS main” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
o Select the “Allow wireless clients” checkbox if you want client computer to connect to this base station.
o Click the Add "+" button and enter the AirPort ID of the base station you want to connect to this base station.
o Click Update to send the new settings to the base stations in the WDS.
Remote Base Station Setup
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as a remote base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the remote base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
o Enter the base station password, if necessary. If the base station is using the default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
o Click AirPort in the toolbar and click Wireless. Choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and choose the same channel as the main base station from the Channel pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and choose “WDS remote” from the pop-up menu.
o Enter the AirPort ID of the main base station in the WDS Main field.
o Click Update to transfer the settings to the base station.
Relay Base Station Setup
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar to join the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as the relay base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the relay base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
o If the base station is using the default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
o Click AirPort in the toolbar and click Wireless. Choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and choose the same channel as the main base station from the Channel pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and choose “WDS relay” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
o Enter the AirPort ID of the main base station in the Main AirPort ID field.
o Click the Add "+" button and enter the AirPort ID of the remote base station this relay base station will connect to.
o Click Update to transfer the new WDS settings to the relay and remote base stations.
(ref: Pages 42-46 of "Designing AirPort Networks.)

Airport Extreme with Two Airport Express Stations

Alright... It's been a while since I turned to the community for help, but here I go.
I've got an Airport Extreme Base Station (Dual Band) purchased a little over 1 year ago. I also have two Airport Express Base Stations (Let's call them AX 1 and AX 2 for short) purchased in the last 6 months. I am trying to configure everything as follows. Wireless signal originates from AEBS in one corner of the house, gets picked up by AX 1 downstairs, and then broadcast to AX 2 upstairs which in turn broadcasts the network to our computers upstairs. Instead what is happening is that it goes AEBS > AX 1 and then AX 2 acts as a client only to AX 1 and will not extend the signal any further. I've been trying to use the default "Extend a network" option, avoiding the WDS setup because i've read that WDS will drop everything to 802.11g instead of 802.11n. Is this true?
Signal in the house is fairly poor and I can't move the AEBS from where it is due to wiring constraints with the cable modem.
Any help would be appreaciated! I'm just trying to get decent 802.11n coverage throughout all the house :/

Christopher Sant wrote:
I've got an Airport Extreme Base Station (Dual Band) purchased a little over 1 year ago. I also have two Airport Express Base Stations (Let's call them AX 1 and AX 2 for short) purchased in the last 6 months. I am trying to configure everything as follows. Wireless signal originates from AEBS in one corner of the house, gets picked up by AX 1 downstairs, and then broadcast to AX 2 upstairs which in turn broadcasts the network to our computers upstairs. Instead what is happening is that it goes AEBS > AX 1 and then AX 2 acts as a client only to AX 1 and will not extend the signal any further.
I believe that "extending" a network can only use one "hop", so that you can't have AX 2 extend the network from AX 1. WDS would allow you to have one AX as a "relay" and the other as a "remote", but as you mention, there's a performance penalty for that.
Signal in the house is fairly poor and I can't move the AEBS from where it is due to wiring constraints with the cable modem.
That may actually be your best option. Consider using PowerLine devices to "extend" the Ethernet connection between your broadband modem and your AEBS:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/power-network.htm
Then put the AEBS near the center of your house and if needed, configure each AX to extend the network from the AEBS.

How do i connect my airport extreme with my airport express

how do i link my Airport Express with my Airport Extreme?

Hello Bob -
I have an Apple Extreme (5th Gen) and I have tried to extend my network with an Apple Express Model No. A1264 with the ethernet connection. It does not seem to work, and has crashed my network twice. When I did get it to work, the wireless crawled. When I took the AirPort Express off of the network the speed went back up.
Can this be done to extend the network, as I have the Extreme in the basement where the cable comes into the house, and I have two other floors that need wireless access. Any suggestions for this older model AirPort Express?
Thanks.

Can i extend the range of an airport extreme with another airport extreme and use the ports on the airport extreme i used to extend the network?

That seems like a complicated question.
I have a Time Capsule (which the HD *****, but that is matter for another discussion) and want to extend the range with an Airport Extreme because I have 2 devices in one room that do not do wireless but have Ethernet ports.
The room has iffy WiFy connectivity too.
I want to know if the 3 ports on the Airport Extreme still work after configuring it as an extender rather than a router.

The thing is that I want to know if I can put the Airport Extreme at the edge of the room where the existing Base does not reach.
This will not work.
Remember, an "extending" AirPort can only extend the quality of wireless signal that it receives. For that reason, it must be located where it can receive a strong wireless signal in order to work effectively.
For example, let's say that your "main" router was on one end of the house and you want to extend the signal to reach the other end of the house. In this case, you would locate the "extending" AirPort about half way between the main router and the other side of the house.

Using an apple extreme with an apple express as a wired bridge for roaming. Thinking of adding a wireless express to extend network.

Hi
I have an Apple extreme AC installed with an Apple Express N setup as a bridge through ethernet to extend my network. Im thinking of adding another express to a location that has no ethernet.
All I should need to do is set the extreme for "extend my Network" and setup the express that way as well?
Thanks!

You should not have to make any changes at all on the AirPort Extreme.
Temporarily, locate the new Express near the AirPort Extreme and power it up for a few minutes
On the iPad....
Tap Settings on the home screen
Tap WiFi
Look for a listing of Setup a new AirPort Base Station
Tap on AirPort Express
The setup utility will take a minute to analyze things, then announce that the Express will be configured to extend the AirPort Extreme network
Enter a device name that you want use for the Express and tap Next
Wait a minute while things are set up for you, then tap Done when you see the Setup Complete message.
Now move the Express to a location that is about half way between the AirPort Extreme and the area that needs more wireless coverage and power it back up
Everything above assumes that the AirPort Extreme was set up correctly by 10.6.8. It would have been better to use the iPad for the setup of the new AirPort Extreme, but what is done is done.

I cannot reach my Airport Extreme with the Airport Utility.

I used to have my Airport Extreme as a LAN Switch and I had an USB-2TB-Disk plugged.
Now I wanted to use my APE as an extension to my WLAN, so I choosed my APE in the Airport Utility and wanted to set it to its default settings.
After that I'm not able to reach my APE again. Always I choose in the Utility the APE by «Other Airport-Basicstations...» it ends to an error. :-/
Can anyone help me pls?

Acually I don't know how I fixed the problem, but I was able to make the settings by my iPhone 4s.
After several restarts by press the reset-button of the APE.

Replace Airport Extreme with new AE(802.11n) on G5?

My existing wireless network includes the last version of the Airport Extreme (b/g?) and an Airpot Express is working fine. But since I'm planning to go to an Intel-based Tower sometime in the near future, I bought the new AE(n). I haven't installed it and wanted to check here first to see if it's worth the trouble before I have a MAC that can take advantage of the newer tech.
Is there any advantage for PPC-based MACs? Is there a way to safely save the configuration so I can revert to my existing setup if the new one proves problematical?
Thanks!

well,
my network is exactly the same as your so I'll give it a try. First update to the latest version of the OS (10.4.8) & run software update till you have nothing else to update. I configured mine using the setup and then going back and tweaking some of the settings. 1, find a channel that no-one is using in you area. sometimes wireless base stations on the same channel cause interference with each other. 2, after i set up my new airport extreme and setup the express to extend the network. i did find that the setup program setup the express as 802.11b only and it did slow up my network a bit (bump it to 802.11B/G). overall the performance was ok. I was getting 700kbs with my old extreme set up my way and with the new extreme I've been averaging 750kbs to 800kbs (iTunes tv show download)on my iMac G5. about the only thing that concerns me IMO is that with the old extreme, you could set the base station to any type you wanted to in my case "802.11G only" was the way I set up my old extreme. with the new one you only get 2 choices 802.11N or 802.11N B/G compatabile.
either way, I'm happy with my new base station. and I'm sure that when you do buy your next mac you'll certainly see a speed increase.

Airport Extreme with Airport Express for extending WiFi Network...

I have had an iMac for quite a few years now and never needed WiFi until this week. I purchased a Macbook Air, an Airport Extreme and an Airport Express over the last 24 hrs. I opened the Airport Extreme first and followed the somewhat easy installation procedures. My iMac is wired via Ethernet cable to my Airport Extreme. The Airport Extreme is connected to a Motorola Cable Modem using Time-Warner. I also happen to have a Verizon Network Extender connected via Ethernet cable to the Airport Extreme. The spot where I most frequently would be using the Macbook Air, is about as far away from my iMac and Airport Extreme Base Network Router as you could be. The WiFi works, shows only one bar on the Airport icon. Consequently I want to plug my Airport Express in near this location to give me a better WiFi signal (and thus perhaps faster performance). I have read both the Airport Express Manual and the Airport Extreme Manual but neither talks all that much about the network extension function with the exception of connecting a stereo to an existing WiFi network. I am wondering what the specific steps are to add the Airport Express as a Network Extender. I also wonder if my Macbook Air will be able to access my iMac as the iMac is connected via Ethernet to the Airport Extreme vs. using the Airport Network. Any help will be most appreciated.

Julie Kruyne wrote:
I am trying to do the exact same thing and am having some difficulties.
It was easier for "WiseJD" because he was using two Apple base stations, instead of your AT&T router.
I select Manual Setup, it just sits there thinking - I can't get into the actual set up.
So you see the Express in AirPort Utility, but when you select it and select "Manual Setup", nothing happens?
When setting up the Express to extend my existing wireless network (AT&T 2WIRE modem and Airport Extreme), do I initially connect the Express, via Ethernet cable, to the modem or the Extreme?
I'll guess that the AT&T device is connected to your broadband connection. Is the 2WIRE device either without Wi-Fi support or is that turned off? How is the Extreme configured, in particular in the AirPort/Wireless panel "Wireless Mode" setting and in the Internet/Internet Connection panel, "Connection Sharing" setting?
If anyone could provide a step by step process on exactly how to set up the Express to extend my existing network, I would be grateful.
I have very little experience with mixed-vendor home networking, but someone should be able to help.

Airport Extreme with Airport Express--unable to connect to internet

I am using an Airport Extreme and 4 Airport Expresses to extend the range of the Extreme which is connected to my modem. As long as I am in the immediate area of the extreme the internet connection works perfectly. When I move to another part of the house, ie upstairs the internet does
not work. Diagnostics tells me that the ISP has failed and the internet and server lights are amber.
I have a green light on all the airports and a strong signal strength on my computer. Sometimes
diagnostics tells me that my airport does not have an IP address. I have the Airport Extreme and
two Airport Expresses downstairs and two Airport Expresses upstairs. HELP!

+however I did not use the ethernet cable. Would you please explain why this+
+works as I am using a laptop to connect wirelessly+
I'm guessing here that you are talking about using an ethernet cable to connect the Express directly with the computer to help with configuration.
When you do this, AirPort Utility and the Express are on the same network, so they communicate together. It seems that a lot of users have trouble trying to configure the Express using wireless...probably because it is sometimes necessary to "switch" networks to find the Express. I think the ethernet method is much easier and there's just less to go wrong. But...other users swear by the wireless configuration method, so I guess the bottom line is whatever works best is best.

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.

Using an Airport Extreme with my AirPort Express as a new network?

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