Cannot configure WDS between Airport Extreme and Airport Express

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Level 1

21 points

Cannot configure WDS between Airport Extreme and Airport Express

If I understand this correctly (and I may not) I am trying to setup my Airport Express to wirelessly send my internet signal to my XBox 360 via WDS. Here is the setup I am trying to configure:
Cable Modem > (ethernet) > Airport Extreme > (wireless bridge) > Airport Express > (ethernet) > XBox.
I have set up the Airport Extreme in WDS mode as the Main Station and the Express as a Remote Station but when I click to configure the Express it says "Your wireless device does not have a valid IP Address."
I've been all over this site and other support sites and have tried a lot of setups to no avail. Am I missing something? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on Nov 15, 2009 9:27 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 15, 2009 10:37 AM in response to jrc362

You might want to review the setup procedure for WDS as it is easy to make a mistake on this complicated process. Reference pages 42-43.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/Designing_AirPort_Networks10.5-Windows.pdf

It's been some time since I've used WDS and I cannot remember for sure whether the ethernet port on the Express is active in this type of setup. Perhaps another user can clarify this.

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Answer 2

jrc362 Author

Level 1

21 points

Nov 15, 2009 4:41 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Bob,
Thanks for the reply. I have carefully followed the WDS procedure multiple times (even before I posted the problem) but I am still getting the invalid IP message when I try to update/configure the Airport Express. Is there any other setup to get the signal to go from the Express to the Xbox as outlined in my original post? It's frustrating because, from what I can gather, it whould be able to do what I want it to do!

Thanks,

John

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Answer 3

Duane

Level 10

124,267 points

Nov 15, 2009 5:28 PM in response to jrc362

Is the AirPort Express (AX) in a physical location where it gets a good wireless signal from the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS)?

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Answer 4

jrc362 Author

Level 1

21 points

Nov 15, 2009 8:56 PM in response to Duane

Hey Duane,

To answer your question, yes. As a matter of fact if I configure the Express to "join my network" it works fine. It is only when I try to configure the WDS that I get the IP problem. As I stated in the original post, I need the WDS setup to send the internet signal to the Xbox. At leats that is my understanding of what I need to do.

Thanks for your reply.

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Answer 5

Duane

Level 10

124,267 points

Nov 16, 2009 5:56 AM in response to jrc362

Is the AEBS configured to "share a single public IP address" or to be a bridge? If it is configured to be a bridge, change it to share a single IP address.

Are both of these devices 802.11n capable?

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Answer 6

jrc362 Author

Level 1

21 points

Nov 16, 2009 8:10 AM in response to Duane

AEBS is configured to share single IP address. AEBS is 802.11g, AE is 802.11n. Is that the problem? Is there a workaround or do both devices have to be 802.11n capable?

Thanks.

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Answer 7

Duane

Level 10

124,267 points

Nov 16, 2009 8:52 AM in response to jrc362

It should work. If they were both 802.11n capable there would be another solution available.

Ensure that the AEBS and AX have the same SSID (network name), channel, and wireless encryption type/level/password.

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Answer 8

jrc362 Author

Level 1

21 points

Nov 16, 2009 11:26 AM in response to Duane

Duane,

Thanks. Got it done. I re-set the password on the AEBS and that seemed to do the trick. Thanks for staying with me. The suggestion to make sure the settings were all the same was extremely helpful. There are a lot of ways it could go wrong! (At least for me!) Anyway, thanks again. Have a great day.

John

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