Extending Extreme 5GHz signal with Express?

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Level 1

36 points

Extending Extreme 5GHz signal with Express?

I have a airport extreme setup in the bedroom running dual band 2.4ghz and 5ghz. I'm trying to force my macbook pro in the living room to only use the 5ghz band but it falls to the 2.4 band because I believe there are too many walls from point A to point B.

Would getting an airport express help me "extend" the 5ghz signal? If so, how do I set this up? There are so many tabs and options in the Airport Utility and really would appreciate step-by-step instructions.

The reason why I'm doing this is because I stream movies to my macbook (connected to HDTV) from an imac hardwired to the AExtreme in the bedroom, and some of the time I can get smooth video, other times it lags and stutters. I'm thinking I'm getting interference from other devices on the 2.4ghz band.

Any thoughts?

MacBook Pro 15" 2.66Ghz Intel, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Mar 2, 2010 5:20 PM

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Answer 1

adsfushi72

Level 4

1,115 points

Mar 2, 2010 7:52 PM in response to Dennis Quant

AirPort Utility can configure the Dual-Band Extreme to create a separate 5GHz network. Open AirPort Utility and select your Extreme in the sidebar. Press "Manual Setup" and authenticate if necessary. Go to the "Wireless" tab and press "Wireless Options." Check the checkbox next to "5 GHz Network name" and enter a different name. Press "OK," press "Update," and allow your Extreme to restart.
Then you can tell the MacBook Pro to connect to your 5GHz network and the other devices to connect to the 2.4GHz one.

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Answer 2

Mar 2, 2010 7:55 PM in response to Dennis Quant

+I'm trying to force my macbook pro in the living room to only use the 5ghz band but it falls to the 2.4 band because I believe there are too many walls from point A to point B.+

Did you setup a separate 5 GHz only network?
If not, open AirPort Utility, click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons
Click the Wireless Options button
You can assign a separate name for the 5 GHz network. By default, "(5 GHz)"will be added to the name, so you can use the same name as your 2.4 GHz network if you prefer.
Click Done and then click Update to save your settings.

Now, click the fan shaped airport icon at the top of your computer screen and look for the "xxxxx (5 GHz)" network that you established.

This will tell you whether or not you have a strong enough 5 GHz signal to work with at the computer location. If it's too weak, you will need to log onto the 2.4 GHz network.

An AirPort Express might help extend the 5 GHz signal, but 5 GHz is "iffy" after a wall or two. It's really a "line-of-sight" type of deal. If you can position the AirPort Express with close to line-of-sight to the AirPort Extreme and your computer has close to line-of-sight with the Express, it might work OK. If you try this, make sure you understand the store's return policy in advance.

Also, you might consider a pair of ethernet powerline adapters instead of the AirPort Express to transport an ethernet signal rather than wireless. Best of all for HD streaming is a straight ethernet cable. Next best is probably the ethernet powerline adapter route as this will almost always be a faster and more stable connection than wireless.

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