WDS compatibility, ABS Extreme & Motorola WR850G

Hello. Does anyone know if the WDS functionality in the ABS Extreme and the Motorola WR850G router are compatible? The Motorola WAP is the primary AP and I am trying to get the ABS Extreme to connect to it. So far my tries have been unsuccessful, but it may just be my settings combined with me not setting it up right. Since I've heard of WDS interoperability issues I thought I would see if anyone has done this with success.
Thanks!!!

The Motorola WR850G does not support Apple's flavor of a wireless distribution system (WDS).
The practical reality is that if you want to set up a WDS, you should have a main base station that is either (a) another Airport Extreme Base Station, (b) an Airport Express, or (c) a Linksys WRT54G or WRT54GS - one of the very few non-Apple wireless routers to support Apple's WDS implementation.

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Problem setting up WDS with MSI RG54GS2 & Motorola WR850g

Problem setting up WDS with WR850g & MSI RG54GS2
Hi,
I'm trying to bridge 2 routers: Motorola WR850g & MSI RG54GS2 .
I set the MSI as the main router (it works better for me as a router than the Moto), and the Moto is the repeater. I have set it up exactly as the guide on Broadbandreports.com for the Motorola , and on Tom's Networking http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2004/04/14/how_to_wds_bridge/
The Moto sees the MAC of the MSI (Status is UP), the MSI doesn't have a page that shows WDS MACs . I know the routers are connected because when I connect a laptop to the Moto wireless network, it gets an IP (and the DHCP on the Moto is disabled) and the default gateway of the connection is the IP of the main (MSI) router.
The problem is I can't surf anywhere. I can't even ping the MSI router - which should be possible if the WDS works properly.The Moto Wireless Bridge Operation is set properly to Access Point/Wireless Bridge .
Can anyone solve this?
Thanks.

David, welcome to the discussions.
Are you refering to Airport Extreme Setup as the Extreme base.
Or are you using a 3rd party Router as your primary Base, or the Express as the primary base.
Read the supplied link, Not all 3rd party routers are WDS compatible.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2785566
Who is you Internet Service Provider?
What brand and Model Modem did they furnish?
Are you using Dial-Up...DSL...or Cable?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303595
See if there is any help from this link.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=607414
Cheers Don

Stream audio to airport express from motorola wr850g xp pro sp2

I picked up a used airport express in hopes of streaming music from itunes. I installed the airport express utility and it seems to be geared towards setting up a base station. The software complains that windows is not setup to control my wireless network. I plugged the AX directly into my router (motorola wr850g) and it connected and began kicking out a signal (I logged in via my ipod touch). So I know the AX works but I'm curious how difficult it is to set this up with my router. I have access to my router now and access to the AX via the utility when connected via cat5. I don't need AX to repeat the signal if that is any help. Thanks for help.

Hello repke95. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
What you want to do is reconfigure the 802.11g AirPort Express Base Station (AX) to "join an existing wireless network."
Here's the basic steps ...
Perform a "factory default" reset of the AX
o (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044)
To set up AirTunes on the AirPort Express Base Station (AX), either connect to the AX's wireless network or temporarily connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to the Ethernet port of the AX, and then, use the AirPort Admin Utility to check these settings:
AirPort tab
o Base Station Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Wireless Mode: Join an Existing Wireless Network (Wireless Client)
o Wireless Network: <select the existing Motorola's wireless network>
Music tab
o Enable AirTunes on this base station (checked)
o Enable AirTunes over the Ethernet port (optional)
o iTunes Speaker Name: <whatever you wish>
o iTunes Speaker Password (optional)
In iTunes:
iTunes > Preferences... > Advanced > General
o Look for remote speakers connected with AirTunes (checked)

Airport express used as external card to connect to motorola wr850g

i have a g4 with no airport card and i also have a motorola wireless router wr850g for wired and wireless connections. everything works fine however i want to connect my g4 to the airport express using the ehternet plug on ,y airport express. I have read other post that people have done this with there airport extreme base station and express. I just need to know how to configure my express card to connect to my network.
I read here that people did it successfully please tell me how
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=275083

i can set my wireless router to wds and airport x to wds. in the link in my post someone did it without an airport extreme. so i really need to know how to setup my airport express. i have been able to get it to connect to the airport express and give me a green light but no internet connection. it gives me an ip address from thedhcp server in my network preference pane.

How to connect A extreme to A express in WDS so i can use A express as LAN port with RJ 45. A express is old and does allow WDS, but A extreme is n technology and doesnt allow wds anywhere in configuration. do i hvae to buy a new A extreme or new A expr

I have an airport extreme 4th generation (n) and airport express i think model 1084, which is not n technology. I want to connect the express to extreme base station wirelessly and then use the port on express to connect a non wireless PC or TV to the internet. I do not want to run a wire from base station to the computer and wanna use express's ethernet port as LAN port. I understand this can be done in wds mode, but my extreme (n) does not allow anywhere to set up a wds under the airport utility.
do i need to buy a new express or a new extreme? If i buy a new extreme can i connect the new extreme to old extreme base station without a wire and then use the LAN ports on the new extreme to connect to a computer or tv using rj45.
thanks

but my extreme (n) does not allow anywhere to set up a wds under the airport utility.
Suggest that you download and install the more functional and useful AirPort Utility 5.6 for Mac OS X Lion , which can be used to administer both the older "g" and newer "n" devices.
Open AirPort Utility 5.6
Select the AirPort that you want to administer
Click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the icons
Hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the Wireless Mode selection box and the WDS setting will appear so that you can make further adjustments as needed.

Cannot create WDS with Airport Extreme 802.11n and Airport Express b/g

I have gone through all the steps to set up a WDS with my Airport Extreme Dual Band and my Airport Express b/g.
Every time I try to set it up and update the AX the AX disappears from the airport utility and I can no longer see it. I can however set it up to "join a network" just fine.
Anyone have any idea why I cannot do this? I haven't seen anything saying that the AE is not compatible with the AX.
Ideally what I would like to do is have the AX extend the network and then use an ethernet cable to connect it to an imac g4, thus giving the computer "wireless" internet.
Any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks

So just to clarify even if I was to buy a new "n" AX I would still be relegated to "g" speeds?
That's correct if you use the WDS settings on both the AEBS and AX.
But, if you had the "n" AX, you could configure it to "extend a wireless network" and maintain "n" speeds on the network. There would still be some bandwidth loss...10-15% or so...that's unavoidable unless you go to an ethernet connection method.
Do you think for my application it might be better to just buy a reputable wireless usb dongle?
If I understand correctly, you need an ethernet connection for a computer. Why not consider a pair of ethernet powerline adapters? One device plugs in near your AEBS and the other near the device that needs the ethernet connection. The pseudo ethernet signal is conducted over the AC powerlines in your home. This is the next best choice when you can't run an ethernet cable through the house.
This would be a faster and more stable connection than any type of wireless application. It's plug and play. In addition to the powerline adapters, all you'll need are two short ethernet cables to connect one adapter to a LAN port on the AEBS and another short ethernet cable to connect from the adapter to the G4's ethernet port.
Any electronics superstore will have a selection to look at. The cost is approximately $75-125 for a pair depending on how much speed you choose.

Configuring WDS w/ Airport Extreme Dual-Band 802.11n & Express 802.11g

I currently have an Airport Extreme Dual-Band 802.11n Model: A1301 (located downstairs) and an older Airport Express 802.11g Model: A1084 (located upstairs) which I had been using to stream iTunes to my upstairs stereo (which worked flawlessly). Recently a friend of mine recommended that I reconfigure my network to a Wireless Distribution System setup which would allow me to create a remote wireless node which improves my wireless signal strength upstairs, allows an interface to Airplay to play our music from our iPod's/Pad's and also provides an hard-wired Ethernet connection for my newly delivered Network Extender for my cell phone. So I followed the URL: support.apple.com/kb/HT4262 to assist in this conversion and found that I was unable to configure my network as desired. While this documentation is very good, there is one snafu that I worked out that finally allowed a successful setup. Follow the instructions for:
- Connecting a WDS main base station to the Internet
- Configuring a WDS main base station
- Configuring a WDS remote base station (See last line of instructions for the correct WDS Main ID)
Ensure all Wi-Fi base stations are powered on and allow them time to appear in the AirPort Menu Extra.
From the AirPort Menu Extra, select an 802.11g Wi-Fi base station to configure as a WDS remote.
In AirPort Utility, select the WDS remote Wi-Fi base station in the Base Station Chooser, and click Manual Setup.
Select the AirPort icon from the Toolbar, and click on the Wireless tab.
From Wireless Mode select Participate in a WDS network.
Click on the WDS tab.
From WDS Mode, select WDS remote.
Enable Allow wireless clients (see the first note below).
If not already supplied, enter the 2.4Ghz AirPort ID of the WDS main, then click Update.
There are two Apple ID's for the dual-band Extreme (2.4 & 5.0Ghz). Be sure to use the 2.4Ghz ID which is listed under the "Summary Tab" of the utility. What is confusing is that in the AirPort Utility, when you position the mouse cursor over the graphic of the Extreme on the left-hand side of the GUI, you are presented with a yellow dialog box which displays the 5Ghz ID and this can be misleading especially when you are trying to connect to an older 2.4Ghz Express ...

My Express is the A1264 802.11n model. My Extreme is the A1354 model.
The most crucial issue is the the Tivo, because the Premiere only works with Ethernet (I dont' have and wont' buy the upgraded wireless doohickey), but of course I would prefer that the Express also act to extend the signal, and I particularly want it do so using WEP access (or nothing, see below), since I have a second Tivo which ONLY works wirelessly and which ONLY works using WEP, not WPA.
Since there were so many different issues and needs going on, I was excited about the Dual Band because it meant I could potentially get 5G speeds for my iPad and perhaps the Tivo Premiere connection, while allowing a completely separate band for the OLD Tivo.
The other option I've been trying out (to accommodate the Tivo2 that can't handle WEP) is having no security, but making the networks hidden.
A third option I tried to make work was to create a "guest network" for just the Tivo2.
But what I'm finding out (it's what I always struggle with...networking is a nightmare.) is that if you take one from Column A, Column B disappears, so to speak.
The way it used to work on the non-dual band Extreme was as I mapped above, and the Tivo2 and my iPad used the wireless signal with no problem while the Express was Ethernet connected to the TivoPremiere, but it did so using WDS, which doesn't even seem to exist as a possibility, forget teh fact that it undermines the speed boost (so I read)
I've frankly never been able to understand the differences between the various modes and structures, and believe it or not I'm very smart and very comfortable with computers and Macs, having worked on them for 25 years.
And one of the biggest reasons I've had such a hard time is because of the many times that I have updated after making changes, Airport Utility tells me it worked, but nothing happens and then after too much frustration I end up unplugging and shutting down every single piece of equipment and rebooting everything and then it DOES work. Sometimes. But I can't be doing that every time I make one tweak, I'll go insane!
And the number of pin-resets I've done on the Express, the Dual band, and even the cable modem would make your head spin!
So there's my story. Kinda. Does it make any sense? At least in terms of my goals?
Your help is more appreciated than you can imagine.

WDS and the Extreme + Extreme using latest airport utility.

Hi everyone... checked out the latest airport utility? Couple of new features but one's annoying. I set up peoples networks and prefer to use Airports because of the ease and awesome raw power. (i used to use linksys WRT54GL's and dd-wrt or tomato)
I need some of your help with this one.
I would like to use 2 Extremes to WDS my house. It's long. I use the wizard on the first, then go back and manually set wireless options to WDS, add ID of remote, name remote then update.
I go to remote, log in, set settings, WDS point to main, and thus create a whole nother network with the same name.
as you know, the expresses "wizard" will allow you to extend by joining and updating both ways.
if anyone can help me with the secret to unlocking WDS on AEBSn+AEBSn I will be forever grateful.
Greg Mayer at gmail.com
ACDT/ACPT/AASP

I FOUND the answer to extreme + extreme WDS. You can't really do that. BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO...
Set up your first airport extreme with wireless and a connection to your internet connection.
go to the wireless tab on manual setup and "allow this network to be extended"
check to see if you have any other errors to address then get online and bring up a web page.
i prefer nebraskasheep.com but you can use google or whatnot
ok, so then go to your other Extreme and join it.
set it up manually. give it a name like homeremote or a unique name so they're easy to identify. I call mine main and remote or homeremote now that the airport utility remembers all your previous setups.
go to the wireless tab, extend a wireless network, and wallah!
done.

Setting up a WDS with airport extreme and Belkin router

Hi,
I had my airport extreme base station set up with a linksys router (the common one everyone has) and it worked fine. I moved and now am trying to set it up with a Belkin F5D7234-4, and have not been able to get it to work. I have tried both the WLAN and the LAN MAC addresses. Is there something I am missing? Thanks

Unfortunately, most non-AirPort routers are not compatible with Apple's implementation of Wireless Distribution System (WDS)...so it very unlikely that your Belkin router can be extended wirelessly with the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS).
The few Belkin routers, that are known to work are models: F5D7230-4 and F5D7231

Can't Setup WDS with Airport Extreme "N" and Airport Extreme "G" & Express

Hi!
I'm trying my best and have done this stuff with the last model Airport Extreme "G" models, but cannot get my new "N" model to setup WDS. I log in to the new Airport and start configuring, it gives me the option to setup WDS, but it doesn't detect the Airport Extreme "G" model nor the Airport Express I have. The only way I can get them to be recognized is to configure them all identically with the same network name, password, etc. and have each hard-wired into an ethernet plug. Sort of defeats the point of going wireless. In the new Airport Utility, how do I get it to recognize the remote base stations? In the old Tiger Airport Utility, it used to configure the other airports for you. The Leopard one doesn't seem to do that. Any help?
Thanks in advance!
Corey

OK-so after more than a month of having to put up with my Airport Utility popping up whenever I started my computer or came home and joined the network, I finally had the time to sit on hold with Apple and work with a Network Specialist--had to get the ticket "Escalated" first. What the problem turned out being was I set up the Extreme "N" o use WEP (Transitional Security Network) because I occasionally have friends with older PCs coming by that need old WEP instead of WPA. The net specialist helped me walk through the whole setup (from scratch) with the Extreme "N" as my main base station (like I wanted) setup using WPA/WPA2 Personal for password encryption. The older Airport Extreme "G" and the Airport Express do NOT support the WEP (TSN) mode, so they couldn't join the network properly--thus the constant error from the Extreme "N" that no WDS base stations could be found.
Hope this info helps people in the future! I haven't seen anything around that says Extreme "G" and Express don't support this newer Transitional mode. Even the ever-so-helpful Apple Tech didn't know why that new Transitional mode was invented.
Thanks for the reply, dhanneman.
Corey

Create a WDS with Airport Extreme and Belkin Pre-N

I would like to setup a WDS using my Airport Extreme Base as the main router and a Belkin Wireless Pre-N (F5D8230-4) as a remote client. I have done this successfully using Linksys WRT54G and WRT54GS routers (using Sveasoft's firmware upgrade which has WDS), but haven't been able to get a good configuration for the Belkin, nor have I been able to locate a firmware for it.
At this point I'm not concerned about encryption, so leave that variable out. I just can't determine what settings the Belkin router needs to work. I've tried a lot of combinations based on my experience with the Linksys models.
Thanks,
Wes

The Linksys models you reference are some of the few items that will work with Apple's implementation of WDS.
I don't believe that the Belkin device has that ability.

Configure WDS w/ older Extreme & Express?

I'm trying to configure a WDS using an older snowdome Extreme (Model #A1034) with an Express (Model #A1084) to extend the internet connection and also use the AirTunes.
Per previous posts, I've connected the Express (remote) to the Extreme (main) and configured using Airport Utility. However, when I disconnect the Express and relocate near my stereo, I lose the Extreme altogether as an option and no longer have internet access.
Help!

Schaak wrote:
I now have both base stations plugged into separate wall outlets in different rooms. This is where I will ultimately use them.
That's not what I suggested. I recommend that you keep them in the same room close enough to your computer to be able to connect to either one with an Ethernet cable.
I do see the Express listed as a wireless client for the Extreme: Signal -52, Noise -1, Rate -36.
Those are odd values for noise and rate. I would expect noise to be in the range of -50 to -99 and rate to be a positive number.
I suppose you saw the Express in the "DHCP Clients" list of the Extreme.
The Express Modem does not appear in the Airport Utility window to select.
That's why you need to be prepared to use an Ethernet cable until everything works.
I had the two plugged in together when I did the hard reset. Might this be the issue?
Not necessarily. By the way, from my experience with WDS configuration, it's essential that several things match: wireless network name, encryption type, network password, band (2.4 GHz in your case), and channel. Are these identical for both stations?

WDS compatibility and ProxySTA feature

Hi,
I wasn't able to find documentation about this...
Does anyone know if I can connect the airport express to a Comtrend HG536+ modem-router using WDS?
And, if the result is not as good as expected, would I be able to use the ProxySTA feature with the same modem-router?
Because I'm not sure if any, or both, of the feature only work, or work properly, with an airport extreme...
Thanks in advance!!

Forum expert Duane posted this list of known compatible WDS devices some time ago.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2065344&tstart=0
+So, to enable and use the ProxySTA feature, it doesn't matter what router is providing the wireless connection to the Airport Express?+
According to several articles that I've read, you can connect the 802.11n Express to any wireless network at either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz and it will connect to enable the ethernet port. The Express does not provide any additional wireless coverage when it "joins" a wireless network, it simply becomes a client of the network.

WDS Issue - Airport Extreme works great, Airport Express slow

Extreme v 7.5.1
Express v 7.4.2
I have the express set up as extended network in my office. Clients connected to the base station have spectacular connection (ie, 20 Mb/s to internet), clients connected to Airport Express have TERRIBLE connectivity (ie, 300 Kb/s to internet).
Restarting the Airport Express seems to fix it, but this is happening on a regular basis.
All firmware is up to date.
How can I troubleshoot and/or fix this?
Thanks

Hi beaknit
I've encountered such issues as well. The reason was that I misconfigured the whole WDS network because I completely misunderstood the concept of WDS (I had transfer rates from 30 to 100 kbps).
I had several APX's interconnected to each other but that's actually not the way to do it. You have to "guide" or "route" the traffic.
Let's say you have this WDS layout:
MAIN
APX1 APX2
APX3 APX4 CLIENT2
CLIENT1 CLIENT3
You have to make sure that ie APX1 and APX2 ie ONLY connected to MAIN; APX3 to APX1; APX4 to APX1; APX2 to MAIN etc.
You MUST consider topology!! DON'T connect ie APX4 to APX3 or APX2!! DON'T connect APX1 to APX2!!
If you make wrong interconnections you can cause signals transmitted between MAIN and CLIENTS to roam through different paths at the same time causing not only slow speed.
After I have analyzed my network and set up WDS according to my topology I could increase the speed of my network from about 30kbps to 3.5Mbps (>100 times faster; whole network running on 802.11g - if you create a 802.11n network, that would mean even more bandwidth of course).
Hope this helps!!
Michael

WDS between AirPort Extreme Dual-Band and old AirPort Express

I've had a WDS network between two older Airport Express (802.11g version) units for a couple of years, one connected to my DSL-router, and the other one connected to my desktop computer. This way I was able to get my desktop computer on the wireless network.
Yesterday I decided to upgrade the one connected to my DSL-router to an AirPort Extreme, because I needed the extra Ethernet connectors. Since the new AirPort Extreme Dual-Band has some fancy new features, I decided to go ahead and re-configure it all.
However, I'm having issues with the Airport Utility for Windows and WDS when I try to add my Express' Apple-ID to the Extreme's list of WDS externals. My Extreme is the unit I've decided to use as a WDS main. When I try to configure the hardware, I get an error saying in Norwegian (as I run Norwegian Windows and Airport Utility) that translates into something like "WDS requires multiple Apple wireless devices. Add at least one WDS peer." in English. That's pretty bizarre, because I just added a WDS external, and it is indeed an Apple product. Just to be sure, I tried with my other Airport Express - same error.
Now, I've tried to work around this issue by setting up the Express as the WDS main instead, since I don't get the same error message when configuring it. The Extreme was still connected to the DSL-router, but the Express was now set up as a WDS main. This didn't help much. I still got the same error message when setting up the Extreme as a WDS external. And yes, I entered the Airport-ID correctly - I've double and tripple checked them all.
To me it looks like the Airport Utility either doesn't recognize the Apple-ID as an apple one when configuring the Extreme, or it's seriously bugged when handling the list of WDS externals. But I could be wrong.

I am having the exact same problem here.
Any solutions yet?

WDS compatibility, ABS Extreme & Motorola WR850G

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