Using USB hubs on airport express

I discovered that by using an airport express with the 802.11n network (most recent update model as of this post) is capable of using a third party USB hub for multiple printers. I have an all in one EPSON as well as a wide format EPSON and two DYMO thermal printers. All work fine using the Kensignton PocketHub 7-Port USB which includes an AC adaptor to power devices. I previously had an older Airport express on 802.11g network that could only handle a single printer and was NOT able to support the USB hub. I hope this helps anyone that is searching for network solutions.

Hi spwolfman,
Thanks for posting this, this is exactly what I was needed to know, as I need to make 2 usb-based printers wireless.
I have 3 addtional questions........
1) You mentioned you have a powered USB hub. Do you need a powered hub to make this work?
2) Are there any special settings that need to be made to get this to work, or is it straightforward in the airport setup utility?
3) I have a Linksys Wireless-G hub, will the 802.11n airport express work with this hub?
Thanks

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Possible/Safe to use a usb hub on Airport Express?

I'm about to purchase my second external hard drive for backups and I was wondering if it is safe/plausable/possible to plug a usb hub into the USB port of the Airport Express to connect my two hard drives (and maybe a printer) to connect all three of these devices to my local network? Has anyone tried this? I'd to know before I get the usb hub

I was wondering if it is safe/plausable/possible to plug a usb hub into the USB port of the Airport Express to connect my two hard drives (and maybe a printer) to connect all three of these devices to my local network?
Unfortunately, the AirPort Express will not support a hard drive connected to its USB port. Only compatible printers are supported.
So, while you could connect a powered USB hub to the AirPort Express, it would only function correctly with multiple printers.
To support a hard drive, you would need an AirPort Extreme.

Multiple Printers on USB Hub with Airport Express

I have been testing all day and I think my question is already answered. However, I would like to confirm with the gurus in here: Can AE be hooked up to a powered 4 port USB hub to which three printers are connected?
In the hardwired situation, there seems to be no problem. All three individual printers are recognized by Printer Setup Utility on the computer to which the USB hub is attached. When I attach the USB hub to the AE and restart the hub, only the first (closest to the USB out cable) is recognized, no matter which one I place in that first socket. And only that first one is seen over the wireless network.
I was looking for a way to allow other computers in the house to be able to utilize these three different speciality printers (labelmaker, DVD printer and LaserWriter), without having to have the connected computer always on as host.
Any suggestions would be appreciated-short of buying two more Airport Express units.
g5 dual 2.0 Mac OS X (10.4.8) multiple monitors, internal RAID 6GB SDRAM

Can AE be hooked up to a powered 4 port USB hub to which three printers are connected?
Sorry, but no. The USB port on the AirPort Express Base Station (AX) can only accept a single USB printer. (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107857)

Can i connect USB hub to airport express

can i connect USB hub to my airport express & sharing 2 or more printer with one airport express ?!!

It works for me, but I cannot predict if it will for you.
Be sure to try a powered USB that has its own power supply.

USB printer on Airport Express via Bonjour: print queue no longer works

This is a variation of similar postings on this forum, but hopefully provides more information to allow others to pinpoint the problem.
Have been using Intel iMac 10.4.8 now upgraded to 10.4.10. Two printers attached: 1 via USB and a 2nd via USB/Bonjour on Airport Express. Both working flawlessly. 2 days ago, an ADSL Internet outage occurred. When this was reestablished an hour or so later, everything was back to normal, EXCEPT that the USB/Bonjour/Airport printer no longer works. When jobs are sent to it, the printer queue stops and a red "!" appears in the dock on the queue. Restarting the queue just brings back the red "!" again.
Have done all the usual things:
1. Checked cables, restarted iMac, restarted printer, reset Airport.
2. Have confirmed the printer works find if moved to a direct USB port. So the problem is not the printer.
3. Have upgraded the Airport firmware to 6.3. Works just fine as a network access point. So the problem is not the Airport itself.
4. Have deleted, added the printer, renamed the printer - none of these things helped (this was suggested by some postings on the forum)
5. Have tried every combination of which item is powered up first (this was suggested by some postings on this forum)
Have confirmed (by checking CUPS Error Log, as well as by Internet Connection Diagnostics) that the problem is that the iMac can no longer connect to the printer when printing on the local host if it is connected via USB/Bonjour/Airport. However, it can find the printer for adding a printer during setup. So Bonjour is working, but the printing is not.
There are lots of similar postings of people having problems with printers previously working, but then stopping working on an Airport Expresss/Extreme. I hope the above scenario, which is a very simple network topology, and the fact that the iMac and printer and Airport all work correctly on their own, is of help. It does look as if the problem is in the Airport Extreme, and was triggered by the WAN outage, and not fixed by printer reinstallation or firmware upgrade.
Looking forward to someone with a clever suggestion...
LeslieB

What did you use to discover the printers on both Mac and PC. Did you use Bonjour for both?

Windows can't find harddisk (connected through usb-hub to airport extreme) although airport utility can

windows can't find harddisk (connected through usb-hub to airport extreme) although airport utility can

There are a number of posts related to copying issues between Windows Vista / 7 and AirPort Disks. Two potential solutions being forwarded are: 1) Changing the LAN Manager authentication level, and/or 2) Disabling the Windows Search feature.
To change the LAN Manager authentication level:
From the Windows Vista / 7 desktop, click Start
Search for: security
Click 'Local Security Policy'
Goto Local Policies > Security Options
Under Policy, double-click 'Network security: LAN Manager authentication level'
Change level to: Send LM & NTLM responses
Under Policy, double-click 'Network security: Minimum session security for NTLM SSP based (including RPC) clients'
De-select 'Require 128-bit encryption'
Click OK
To disable Windows Search:
Start > Control Panel > Programs > Programs & Features
On the right-hand side, click "Turn Windows features on/off"
Scroll down, and de-select "Windows Search".
Press OK, close all windows and restart.
A third "solution," that has worked for me, is verify that both the AirPort base station and the Win7 PC are using the exact same Workgroup Name. In my case, I use "WORKGROUP" (without the quote marks) for this name. From the AirPort Utility, you would enter this value on the Disks > File Sharing tab. On Win7, Start > Control Panel > System and Security > System > Change Settings > Change > Workgroup

BT Home Hub and Airport Express

Although the BT Home Hub is 'Mac' compatible, there is still little information on using it with Airport networks. I hope that the following makes sense (I am no expert) and is useful?
Connect the Airport Express via Ethernet cable to the Ethernet 1 port of the Home Hub
Open Airport Admin Utility
Airport Tab>Base Station>enter a base station name
Airport Tab>Airport Network>Wireless Mode>Create a Wireles Network(Home Router)
Airport Tab>Airport Network>Name>enter a network name
Airport Tab>Airport Network>Wireless Security>enter your preferred security level and ensure it matches the Home Hub security level
Airport Tab>Airport Network>Channel>choose the same channel as your hub, do not use automatic
Airport Tab>Airport Network>Create a closed network>leave this unchecked
Airport Tab>Airport Network>Mode>if you have a mix of 11b and 11g cards leave the mode at 892.11b/g Compatible
Airport Tab>Airport Network>Wireless Options>leave these alone if you want to avoid problems
Internet Tab>Connect Using>Airport (WDS)
Internet Tab>Configure WDS Host>MAC Address>enter the MAC address of the Home Hub(i.e the primary WDS base station
Internet Tab>Configure WDS Host>MAC Address>tick the box Also allow wireless client computers
Internet Tab>Configure WDS Host>Configure>Using DHCP>the IP address will be assigned in the range 192.168.1.6*and the Subnet mask should read 255.255.255.0 and Router address should be 192.168.1.254
Network Tab>Uncheck Distribute IP addresses
WDS Tab>Enable this base station as a WDS>check this box>from the drop down list choose>remote base station
WDS Tab>Allow wireless clients on this base station>check this box
WDS Tab>Main AirPort ID> enter the MAC address of the Home Hub or use Select to scan for the Home Hub wireless network and you should pick up the MAC address etc automatically
Click to Update these settings.
Go to bthomehub.home and ensure that you have WDS dis-ABLED in the settings. You will have to log on as admin (password is defaulted to ‘admin’, but it is worth changing it!).
To do this after logging on as admin go to>Home Network>Interfaces>WLAN At this point you should be presented with Wireless Access Point click on Configure (top right) Scroll down the screen that follows and click Configure WDS and you will be presented with the Wireless screen. Click Scan for wireless access points. The BT Home hub will scan for available networks and once it has found these you should click apply but DO NOT ENABLE WDS! Click back from this screen to Home Network and you should see your wireless Mac(s) and their various connections
Best wishes and hope this works for you! My iMac/Mac Mini and PowerMac G4 now connect perfectly through the Airport Express and I have extra Extreme and Dual Ethernet Airports for printer and Windows file sharing. I am running OS X 10.4;10.3 and 10.2 variously without seeming conflict. Airport firmware is 6.3
Power PC 400 G4 AGP 10.2.8 Mac OS X (10.4) iMac G4 800 10.2.8; Mac Mini 1.42 10.3.6;Airport Dual Ethernet BS
Power PC 400 G4 AGP 10.2.8 Mac OS X (10.4) iMac G4 800 10.2.8; Mac Mini 1.42 10.3.6;Airport Dual Ethernet
Power PC 400 G4 AGP 10.2.8 Mac OS X (10.4) iMac G4 800 10.2.8; Mac Mini 1.42 10.3.6;Airport Dual Ethernet BS
Power PC 400 G4 AGP 10.2.8 Mac OS X (10.4) iMac G4 800 10.2.8; Mac Mini 1.42 10.3.6;Airport Dual Ethernet BS

I have now changed settings as you advised from WDS to Ethernet for the Express>BT Home Hub connection.
I know from previous posting that the ABS Snow does not support WDS.
Hers is what I want to achieve, however so far, with the exception of the Mac Mini (untested/unconfigured for use with Extreme)it all works?:-
Power PC 400 AGP OS 10.2.8>Airport Extreme PCI Card>Wirelessly connect via Express(connected via Ethernet to BT Home Hub)
Mac Mini 1.4 OS 10.3.6>Ethernet>ABS Extreme>Wirelessly connect via Express (connected via Ethernet to BT Home Hub)
iMac G4 Flat panel OS 10.4>Airport Original Card>Wirelessly connect via Express (connected via Ethernet to BT Home Hub)
Samsung PC Windows XP(SP2)>802.11G Card>Wirelessly connect via Express (connected via Ethernet to BT Home Hub)
All four of the above connect to the ABS Snow on a separate wireless network for file sharing and printing.(I set this up via help/info from the discussion forum and given it works without hiccup have left it as it is!)
Hope this helps and any further assistance/advice is appreciated-I am keen to get it right since the BT Home Hub is relatively new-UK based Home Hub forums http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=77
Thanks,
Graham
Power PC 400 G4 AGP Mac OS X (10.2.x) iMac G4 800 10.4; Mac Mini 1.42 10.3.6;Airport Snow;Airport Express;

Can I connect a Vonage / Basic Talk pjone to the USB port on Airport Express that is connected to a cable modem?

Can I connect a Vonage / Basic Talk pjone to the USB port on Airport Express that is connected to a cable modem?

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Third party USB products and Airport Express

If I hook up a USB splitter to my Western Digital hard drive, then plug one USB into my Airport express and the other in my XBOX 360 will my files on my hard drive become available wirelessly for use on my computer and also be available to be retrieved wired to my 360?

No. The AirPort Express (AX) does not support USB hard drives.
The second thing is that you can't connect two computers (the Xbox and AX) to the same USB bus.

How do I use a Mac Mini + Airport Express + Time Machine disk to backup another iMac

How do I use a Mac Mini + Airport Express + Time Machine disk to backup another iMac?
The question pretty much says it all.
I have a Mac Mini with an attached 3TB Hard Drive used for Time Machine Backups.
I have an Airport Extreme base station which services that machine plus several others.
I would like to backup my new iMac and a MacBook Pro to the Mac Mini.
What do I need to do on the mini to export that hard drive so that it can be used as a Time Machine target from the other systems?
All systems are running 10.6.8.

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Best cable to use to connect an Airport Express to a Sony DE 1075?

Hi, Does anyone have suggestions on the best kind of cable (RCA etc) to use to connect an Airport Express to a Sony DE 1075 receiver (the receiver was purchased about 10 years ago)...I have the receiver hooked up to a Bose Acoutimass 15 sound system. Thanks,

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Can the WAN port be used as LAN when AirPort Express (2nd Generation) is setup to join a wireless network?

Can the WAN port be used as LAN when AirPort Express (2nd Generation) is setup to join a wireless network? (IE: 2 LAN ports)
I haven't been able to get a clear answer on this. I believe the 1st generation would act as WAN/LAN depending on setting, but what happens with the 2nd generation?
Thank you for your time.

If the Express joins a wireless network wirelessly, in other words its WAN port isn't connected to anything, the correct way to connect a wired client to it is by using its LAN port.
I don't know what would happen if you were to connect a wired client to its WAN port instead — it's just not supposed to be used for that purpose. It won't permanently break anything if you were to try it though. If you were, the worst that would occur is that your network would become unresponsive as packets continuously traverse its WAN port in a circular fashion, which might require that you power down your router to reset your whole network.
If you are already using your Express's LAN port and you need another, the way to provide more ports is to purchase an inexpensive ($10 or so) switch. Connect it to the LAN port and as many other pieces of equipment as the switch's available number of ports.
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I can see my Canon MP600 usb connected to Airport Express through Bonjour on my Windows XP. But, when installed by Bonjour, the printor time-out and can't print anything. Any idea what to do?

I can see my Canon MP600 usb connected to Airport Express through Bonjour on my Windows XP. But, when installed by Bonjour, the printor time-out and can't print anything. Any idea what to do?

Thanks for the quick reply.
So am I correct in saying trying to utilise the Airport Express to access the printer over the network was a wasted effort due to the latest iOS? I had read up on the express before purchase and believed that was one of it's main purposes.
Thanks again for the help.

TS4597 I am using an Airport Extreme as my base station and I want to extend its range using a recently purchased AirPort Express. However neither device is showing up on my AirPort Utility on either my older MacBook Pro or my IPad 4. What do I do?

I am using an older AirPort Extreme as my base station and I want to extend the range by using a recently purchased AirPort Express. When I try to find either device using the AirPort Utilities function on either my new IPad 4 or my older MacBook Pro neither device is detected. However the utility is seeing that we are connected to the Internet which is through the Extreme. What am I doing wrong?

For now, leave the AirPort Express powered off.
Power off the entire network....all devices.....in any order that you want
Wait a few minutes
Power up the modem first, and let it run 2-3 minutes by itself
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Open AirPort Utility and check to see if the AirPort Extreme is visible.
If it's not, click the AirPort Utility menu at the upper left of the screen, then click About AirPort Utility. Post back with the version number of AirPort Utility that you see there....which should be AirPort Utility 5.6.1.
Post back on your progress.

How can I set up a guest WiFi network using Time Capsule and Airport Express extension?

How can I set up a guest WiFi network using Time Capsule and Airport Express extension?

Sorry, but it is not possible to "extend" the Guest Network using either wireless or an Ethernet connection.

Using USB hubs on airport express

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