Wiring Two AEBSs to Improve Home Network Coverage?

I've been tearing my hair out at home over our spotty network, and I'm hoping someone might have some sage wisdom.
I have two Airport Extremes (802.11n) and an Airport Express (802.11n). Downstairs, one Extreme (we'll call it AEBS1) is connected to our cable modem, and creating a wireless network. Upstairs, in my wife's office, a second Airport Extreme (AEBS2) is wirelessly connected to (spotty connection), and extending, the network being created by AEBS1. The Airport Express is upstairs, sort of halfway between the two, extending the network as well. The goal was to provide a reliable wireless signal to my wife's office -- I was hoping that the Express would fill the gap between the two AEBSs, since AEBS2 doesn't seem to reliably connect to AEBS1 without the Express (maybe our walls and floor are made of lead). So...
(Cable Modem) -wire-> (AEBS1) - - wireless - - (Express) - - wireless - - (AEBS2)
But even this just doesn't provide a very good signal to my wife's office. She'll have full bars most of the time (sitting right next to AEBS2), but bandwidth is really sluggish (compared to our 21Mb connection), and sometimes not there at all.
So last night I brought home a set of Netgear Powerline adapters. My thought was that if I could hard-wire AEBS1 and AEBS2, hopefully that would speed up the wireless network upstairs. I plugged the downstairs adapter into an open LAN port on AEBS1, and the upstairs adapter into the WAN port of AEBS2. I didn't change any of the settings on either AEBS, and unplugged the Extreme to make sure it wasn't adding any additional wireless help. And... chaos. Okay, not chaos, but certainly not better connectivity. I got an occasional blip of bandwidth (could have just been the two AEBSs talking to each other wirelessly), and I couldn't even use Airport Utility to see either station while they were plugged into the adapters. Once I unplugged them, they returned to their (spotty coverage-d) selves. I tested the adapters by connecting AEBS1 to our DVR, and that worked without a hitch, so I'm pretty sure the adapters themselves are fine.
Whew. Bottom line: would wiring the two stations together help my situation? If so, I obviously did something wrong. If this doesn't work, I'm running out of options. I've considered a Hawking network repeater, or going back to tin cans and string, maybe.

+"So, just to confirm, if I connected both AEBSs via Powerline-enabled Ethernet, I'd actually be creating two separate wireless networks, correct? One from each AEBS?"+
You will use the ethernet adapters to come out of one of the LAN ports on your main router and other adapter will plug into the WAN port on the remote router.
You have two options: One is to create two separate networks which would require you to log into each separately, or second option, create what is known as a "roaming" network. I suggest "roaming" for ease of use as you will not need to do anything if you move around the house with your laptop. The entire network will function as one entity.
You will configure the remote router using AirPort Utility and make these changes when you click Manual Setup and then click the Wireless tab below the icons.
Wireless Mode: set to "Create a wireless network:
Wireless Network Name: exact same name that your main router is creating
Radio Mode: Exact setting as the main router
Channel: Automatic
Wireless Security: Exact setting as the main router
Password: Exact setting as the main router
Click the Internet icon and check the Connection Sharing setting at the bottom. It must be set to "Off (Bridge Mode)".
Update and you should be all set. See how that works. We may need to manually change the Channel on both routers for a little better performance. Post back on your progress and then we can tackle that.

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See here.

Can I configure a wireless home network with two cable routers (both with separate connections to the same cable company)? Issue is poor signal strength even with multiple Airport Expresses added to the network.

I have a wireless home network consisting of a time capsule, two airport expresses and a cable modem. Even with this configuration I get a very weak signal in much of be condo - the walls, etc. are solid concrete. I want to see if I can add another separately connected cable modem and connect one of the existing airport express to it by Ethernet cable. If so, this would give me two wired hubs and greatly improve signal strength. I do not know if this configuration will in fact work or if I will just wind up with two, separate and unrelateable networks. Unfortunately, there is no way to run any additional Ethernet cable and I doubt simply adding more Airport Express will help. Thanks.

Try Ethernet over Power adapters.. these are very popular for your kind of environment.. being able to make non-wireless link to another area where you can setup a wireless access point.
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The comparison chart here.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/58-2_4-ghz-dn?see=P_F
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Advice on improving wireless home network

Hello,
I've got a wireless home network set up, but it isn't performing as well as I would like. I have 2 computers I want using the network, 1 powerbook G4 and 1 sony vaio. I purchased a time machine with built in airport extreme (5Gz N) as my base station. I've also purchased 2 airport extremes to extend my network and add a printer to the network. Now, I want to try to improve my performance.
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Thanks!

Now, what would be the best and quickest way to improve my wifi coverage and bandwidth throughout the house, especially in that bedroom on the west end. Should I moved the time capsule out of the basement? Does being down there weaken the coverage? Can I connect my time capsule to my cable modem through the ethernet network?
Yes, for the best overall bandwidth performance, you will want to take advantage of the Ethernet backbone. What you will want to do, in this case, it to create a "roaming" network with each of the base stations connected to this backbone.
Where you place the base stations will depend on where there will be Ethernet jacks available.
If possible, I would suggest the following:
o Leave the Time Capsule (TC) connected to the modem and run an Ethernet patch cable from one of its available LAN ports to the Ethernet jack.
o If you will be doing most of your computing on the third floor, place the AirPort Extreme Base Stations (AEBSn)at both ends and (of course) where there are Ethernet jacks available. Connect an Ethernet patch cord between the jack and the WAN port of the AEBSn.
Both AEBSns will need to be reconfigured as bridges as you will want the TC to be the main router providing both NAT & DHCP services for the entire network. Use the same Network Name for each base station, but be sure to use a different radio channel to prevent interference.
Also, I assume I'm only using the 2.4 Ghz spectrum, since my computer's airport card is a little too old to take advantage of the 5 Ghz spectrum, or am I miss understanding something?
If you can provide me with the exact Machine ID for your Mac, I can let you know if its supports 802.11a ... which operates on the 5 GHz band. You can find this through the System Profiler. It would be something like PowerBook2,1.
You will have a number of options here, depending on the exact models of your base stations. Are any or all of them the simultaneous dual-band versions?

Adding wireless router to wired home network

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Cleck this link out. The only thing I would do is make sure you connect the cable from a numberd port to ort number 1 on the wireless router and set up the SSID and wireless security. Make sure you have the latest firmware on the wireless router because in this configuration you will not be able to access its user interface.
http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3733&lid=3726837401B...
Message Edited by Ikester on 07-09-2007 11:44 AM
Richard Aichner (Ikester)

Error: there is a problem connection to the GPRS service in your registered home network, error trying to make data connection. this may be casued by a voice call, a wired activesync connection or inncorrect network setting

like 2 weeks ago i called in to att to see how much is the data plan and it would end up costing $30.
so i was like screw that. well they figured that i got a new phone replacing the LG shine. so they asked
for to call this number so they can recieve data which would updated the system that i have a plam treo 750.
ever since this conflict i can't send picture messages. i get that problem. everytime i attempt to send a picture
i recieve this.
- there is a problem connection to the GPRS service in your registered home network.
- then i get a test that says error trying to make data connection. this may be casued by a voice call,
a wired activesync connection or inncorrect network setting.
please someone help me.
btw. hard reset and soft reset did not work for me.
Post relates to: Treo 750 (AT&T)

problem fix, i had to call in. customer serivce. and when i called to ask about the plan. they blocked it. so i had to unblock my internet.
Post relates to: Treo 750 (AT&T)

Two new apple tv's in the home network...

Hi,
Recently i bought both my kids an apple tv. I am worried now that my home network will get jammed or get really slow as the both watch films from the shared iTunes library on my iMac. The actual media files are on an external hard disk, witch is connected to my iMac via fast usb.
We all share the same iTunes library.
Is there any way to make a second home network that also connects to our iTunes library that the kids can use?
Maybe by making two identical libraries on two separate drives?
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thanks

Is there any way to make a second home network that also connects to our iTunes library that the kids can use?
The problem is the library is useless without a computer running itunes.. apple TV cannot stream from a library.. that is the itunes job.. and in fact the Apple TV is really just a streamer.
So to fix the problem you really need a media computer.. since Apple offers nothing in the way of a media aware box.. but a mac mini.. (2010 or 2011 or 2012 models) you can buy a cheapie second hand.. the advantage of later (2012) is USB3, otherwise you are kind of stuck with the small internal 2.5" drive.. although it is relatively easy to change to a pair of 1TB laptop drives.. I would stick with using something external, like FW800.. or even look around for thunderbolt1 like WD duo.. And make the Mini both a media computer and NAS for your network.
The mini is very quiet and very low power.. you can use it centrally in the house and use a different wireless network.. to keep everything separate.
You don't need a huge drive to start with .. the normal internal 500GB is a pretty lousy slow 5400rpm drive. If your itunes library is bigger than that you will need a bigger drive. Still it gets you started. Certainly if you replace it look at fast laptop drives.. or even use an external SATA drive plugged in by extension cord.. bit messy but a great idea. USB3 on the later ones of course is fast enough.
You have entered a world of pain without realising it.. giving kids their own ATV..

Not Connecting to Wired Network and Forcing the loss of all Connections on the Home Network

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I also rebooted with the wireless search shutoff and got the same problems as on the wired attempt. Thought it might have been the NIC card so I exchanged the system back at the store. Sorry, same problem!!

I have a very similar problem... New Lenovo G550, running Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Right from the start it causes my TrendNet TEW-432BRP router to crash every 10 seconds. I bought a new DLink WBR-1310 and experience the same problem. Connecting to either router through either a wireless connection or a LAN cable connection causes the router to crash every 10 seconds. The router crashes, reboots, establishes a connection with the laptop, communication starts and then the router crashes again.
I am looking for help.

I am considering purchase of Airport Express to extend / improve my network at home. I have read that AE will not work with a non apple set up. Does this mean my BT Homehub will not work with AE?

I have poor router connection to my iphone in one part of my three storey home. I have a BT Homehub router. I am considering purchase of Airport Express to improve my network connection. Will AE function with the Homehub. I have read that it may not! Any advice please?
Geoff Snr

The AirPort Express will work with the Homehub if you establish a permanent Ethernet connection from one of the LAN <-> ports on the Homehub to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort Express.
The AirPort Express will not work if you are planning to connect the Express to the Homehub wirelessly to extend the network.

Want Wired for Internet, Wireless for file transfers on home network

I live in Dubai where internet in my house is connected straight from an ethernet port in the wall in numerous rooms. I have one wired connection hardwired from port to airport extreme which creates a wireless network for my laptops for internet.. apple tv et al. (home network 10.0.1.1 etc)
In the other room i have a mac mini which is directly hardwired to a second ethernet port. I use this machine for hard wired internet as its essentially downloading continuously for work.
Looking at network setting states..
Wired connection states in network details : (To be used purely for hardwired internet)
router address of (91.74.X.1)
and ethernet port ip (91.74.x.21)
Wireless connection states in network details : (To be used purely for connection to home wireless network and streaming of files within internal networks)
Router (10.0.0.1)
IP4V address is (10.0.1.4)
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I would like to force the mac mini to only use the wired ethernet connection for surfing/downloading, and also have an IP from the home network (10.0.1.2 etc) purely for file sharing/streaming with other computers on my home network.
Is this possible ?

NAS is the right tool for this job.
It is expensive but the market leaders.. synology and QNAP have really been doing it for long time and the ability to do file store/sharing and most importantly backup in these is excellent. Pick the best you can afford.. and buy disks that are in the recommended list. ie the cheapest are not always the best.. indeed they seldom are.
Plan very carefully for rotation of USB drives (easy and cheap now with 4TB single drives). Rotate backups with offsite location on weekly basis.
I would buy a 4 disk case.. you can use 4x3TB which are the best value at the moment.. that gives you 9TB of storage.. plus redundancy for a dead drive.
Alternatives are using a Mac Mini as a server.. with a large stack of disks on it.. generally should be thinking thunderbolt if you want speed. Hideously expensive though for now.
You can buy an Extreme or TC.. either would work well. TC allows you easy TM backups without using your NAS..
Edit very large files on the computer. ie copy to computer.. edit.. copy back to the NAS.
Editing very large files over wireless.. not good. Multiply that by mutliple computers.. not even fair.
Copy a large project to the computer.. work on it.. copy back to the NAS.. in the meantime Time Machine should be able to take care of incremental backups.
There are heaps and heaps of solutions.. as long as it is logical and easy to you.. and covers what you need.
Don't skimp.. spending a $1000 for a NAS with disks.. plus extra for the backup disks.. that represents how many day's work for you plus anyone you have helping.. $$$$ ????
A mini as a server is a good alternative.. You don't need to run server OS.. but share files to the network. Very hard to build the capacity of the NAS though.
And a Mac Pro is now a joke without internal slots and cages for drives. (nice machine but wrong for this).
And Apple have nothing in between.. a short tower case.. been missing for a long long time.

IChat won't work on mixed wired/wireless home network

This is probably a stupid obvious question, but I can't figure it out, and it's late.
My wife just got a new Macbook for Christmas. Yay! I still have an old old G4. Boo, and an even older iBook (clamshell). She also got an Airport Express so she can network wirelessly.
Trouble is, it's a network of one. I can't figure out what button to push so that I can get her onto the home network so that, say, we can iChat via bonjour or she can transfer her files off this computer and all that fun stuff.
I know my way around a network pretty well, but wireless is a bit of mystery to me, so any suggestions'll be appreciated.
Merry Boxing day, and good deals.

Figured it out.
For those of you with the same problem:
Go to Airport Admin Utility. Select Airport device, and click configure.
Select network.
Uncheck Distribute IP addresses. This forces the network back to the router. With one computer it worked. Can't speak to two, though, but should.

We are a two iPhone family, both on the same service provider. My wires iPhone is unable to connect to the home network where as mine is! In the settings her phone has no details for the IP address etc where as mine does! I cannot even enter the details.

We are a two iPhone family, both on the same service provider. My wires iPhone is unable to connect to the home network where as mine is! In the settings her phone has no details for the IP address etc where as mine does! I cannot even enter the details manually.
I have done resets on off and nothing? HELP!

What is that and how. I have 3 airports all configured identically and connected to one router via ethernet!
A power cycle is powering down for ~ 1 minute and powering back up.

Extending a home network with two WRT160N routers.

Hey guys,
I have a WRT160N and a WRT160N v2 router. I would like to extend my home network so that I have stronger bandwidth throughout different areas in my house. Would I have to set one of these routers up as a repeater or maybe even a bridge? If so, how would I go about doing that?
Thanks!
-Jay-
Solved!
Go to Solution.

1. If you are referring to Wireless bridging, this router's are NOT capable of that. You need to use separate wireless bridge to connect to the 2nd router;
2. Wired bridging, though is possible. Here's the setup of that one;
3. Instead of a 2nd router, use a wireless access point instead

Wiring Two AEBSs to Improve Home Network Coverage?

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