How to extend your Linksys WRT54G with AE
First, my thanks to Suspect0, Henry B and moliu, who's original posts allowed me to finally, after making every mistake possible, successfully extend the range of my Linksys WRT 54G with my AirPort Express. I've taken all their info and added even more clarification to the steps. Follow closely and you too can accomplish this feat of modern wireless magic. Just for the record, my network includes a couple of Mac towers and a Mac PowerBook, all running OSX, 10.3.7. My final, successful run at getting the AirPort Express on-line was accomplished on the PowerBook.
1. First of all, firmware on the Linksys. To check your Linksys firmware, address the unit through your browser by typing its IP address - 192.168.1.1. Skip the "User ID" field, the default password is "admin" (no quotes). Look for the firmware version in the upper right of the Linksys window. As of the date of this posting, the latest version of the Linksys firmware is 3.01.3. That works. No special hacks, patches or upgrades needed. If you're not at the 3.01.3 level, you'll need to update your firmware. That's done by going to Linksys.com/Technical Support/Product Pages. In the pulldown menu chose Driver/Firmware. Under "Choose a Product," I chose WRT54G -- Wireless-G Broadband Router v2.2. Actually, all of the WRT54G choices seem to take you to the same firmware download - Firmware Date : 10/12/2004, Version : 3.01.3. Once you've got the right firmware, go back to your Linksys in the browser window, Under the Administration tab, choose Firmware Upgrade and follow the directions.
OK, on to your AirPort Express.
2. If you're like me you tried everything to get the AirPort to work before finding a step-by-step like this (again, thanks everyone). So, to go into this process with a clean slate, I suggest doing a Factory Default Reset. This is accomplished very simply by holding in the reset button on your AirPort Express while plugging it in. Continue to hold the reset button until you see the yellow light flash green four times. Let go and allow the unit a few seconds to work through its reset. If you don't feel you need to clean out all your settings, there are less severe resets described here -- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044. But, why take a chance? Use an Ethernet cable to connect the AirPort Express to your Linksys router.
3. Now, it's time to get some needed information from your Linksys. Hopefully you've still got that browser window open and you're addressing the Linksys. Now, I can't tell you "why" you need to do some things I'm going to tell you to do but, trust me, I read them somewhere, they worked for me, so I'm passing it along to you. For instance, the first thing you should do is, choose Wireless/Basic Wireless Setting and under the pulldown menu for Wireless Channel, chose channel 11. Name your network and be sure you remember the name you used exactly -- this is your SSID. Move to the next tab, Wireless Security. Most people suggest choosing 128 bit, WEP security, so that's what I did. Invent a passphrase and hit "generate." Write down the number generated under "Key 1." Be sure you've gotten it absolutely correct or you're gonna be hopelessly confused later. OK, one last thing, choose the Status tab. Under Status chose Wireless. Write down the Mac address. This is NOT, as I learned in a very time-consuming way, the Mac address you find on the bottom of the router, under the Router tab or under the Local Network tab!
4. Continued in next post ...
1. First of all, firmware on the Linksys. To check your Linksys firmware, address the unit through your browser by typing its IP address - 192.168.1.1. Skip the "User ID" field, the default password is "admin" (no quotes). Look for the firmware version in the upper right of the Linksys window. As of the date of this posting, the latest version of the Linksys firmware is 3.01.3. That works. No special hacks, patches or upgrades needed. If you're not at the 3.01.3 level, you'll need to update your firmware. That's done by going to Linksys.com/Technical Support/Product Pages. In the pulldown menu chose Driver/Firmware. Under "Choose a Product," I chose WRT54G -- Wireless-G Broadband Router v2.2. Actually, all of the WRT54G choices seem to take you to the same firmware download - Firmware Date : 10/12/2004, Version : 3.01.3. Once you've got the right firmware, go back to your Linksys in the browser window, Under the Administration tab, choose Firmware Upgrade and follow the directions.
OK, on to your AirPort Express.
2. If you're like me you tried everything to get the AirPort to work before finding a step-by-step like this (again, thanks everyone). So, to go into this process with a clean slate, I suggest doing a Factory Default Reset. This is accomplished very simply by holding in the reset button on your AirPort Express while plugging it in. Continue to hold the reset button until you see the yellow light flash green four times. Let go and allow the unit a few seconds to work through its reset. If you don't feel you need to clean out all your settings, there are less severe resets described here -- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044. But, why take a chance? Use an Ethernet cable to connect the AirPort Express to your Linksys router.
3. Now, it's time to get some needed information from your Linksys. Hopefully you've still got that browser window open and you're addressing the Linksys. Now, I can't tell you "why" you need to do some things I'm going to tell you to do but, trust me, I read them somewhere, they worked for me, so I'm passing it along to you. For instance, the first thing you should do is, choose Wireless/Basic Wireless Setting and under the pulldown menu for Wireless Channel, chose channel 11. Name your network and be sure you remember the name you used exactly -- this is your SSID. Move to the next tab, Wireless Security. Most people suggest choosing 128 bit, WEP security, so that's what I did. Invent a passphrase and hit "generate." Write down the number generated under "Key 1." Be sure you've gotten it absolutely correct or you're gonna be hopelessly confused later. OK, one last thing, choose the Status tab. Under Status chose Wireless. Write down the Mac address. This is NOT, as I learned in a very time-consuming way, the Mac address you find on the bottom of the router, under the Router tab or under the Local Network tab!
4. Continued in next post ...
