Airport Express with Netgear router

Thanks for the info. The AirPort Expresses are not "showing up" in AirPort Utility because they have not been configured to "join" the new Netgear network.

Temporarily, move one AirPort Express to the same room or close proximity to the Netgear router

Make sure that your Mac is currently connected to the Netgear WiFi network

Power up the Express and let it run for a full minute

Then, hold in the reset button on the Express for 7-8 seconds and release

Allow a full minute for the AirPort Express to restart

The Express has now been reset so that it can be configured again with a new setup

On your Mac......

Click on the WiFi menu at the top of the screen

Look for a listing of New AirPort Base Station

Just under that listing, click on AirPort Express

When you click on AirPort Express, that will start up the AirPort Utility setup "wizard". It will take a few seconds to analyze the network and then suggest the correct setup of the Express to "join" the Netgear wireless network.

The window on your screen will look similar to the example below, except that you will see your Express pictured and the name of the Negear wireless network displayed.

In the screenshot below, you can see that an AirPort Express is being set up to join a WiFi network named 2Wire902

Base Station Name........Type in a device name that you want to call the AirPort Express. For example......Express1

Password.......Type in the WiFi password for the Netgear wireless network

Verify.......Type in the same password again to confirm

Click Next

The "wizard" will set up the AirPort Express to "join" the Netgear wireless network. When the Express "joins" a network it is automatically configured to be a client of that network, so you don't have to worry about Client Mode or anything like that

When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done......and you are done.

Now relocate the Express to the area where it will be needed and power it up again.

Set up the other Express exactly the same way, except give it a different name.......for example, Express2

IF......you want to use an iPhone or iPad for the setup.......

Go to the iOS device Home Screen

Tap on Settings

Tap on WiFi

Look for the listing of Set Up New AirPort Base Station

Tap on AirPort Express

Follow the prompts similar to the setup with a Mac.

I concur with Bob that you do not need to use your AirPort Extreme in this case, especially if your goal for the AirPort Express base stations is for streaming.

The following article describes how to set them up for client mode: AirPort Express: How to join an existing Wi-Fi network in client mode - Apple Support

Since you have a new Netgear product working as your main WiFi router, there would really be no reason to use the AirPort Extreme going forward unless you are simply determined to do so until it fails.

So, the first question here......because it will determine how you set up the network........ would be whether you want to continue to use the AirPort Extreme on your network?

If you do.......do you want the AirPort Extreme to continue to also provide a wireless network in addition to the Netgear network? In other words, do you want to have two wireless networks with the AirPort Expresses continuing to connect to the AirPort Extreme WiFi network?

Or.......is it your goal to have the Netgear router replace the AirPort Extreme?

If this is what you want.......then the AirPort Expresses will need to be reset back to their default settings and set up again to "join" the WiFi network that the Netgear router is providing. The Expresses "should" work for AirPlay in this type of client setup. An Ethernet cable would not be needed for this type of setup.

In the past, if you had the AirPort Expresses set up to wirelessly "extend" the WiFi network provided by the AirPort Extreme, they will no longer provide that type of service if you connect them wirelessly to the Netgear WiFi network, because the "extend" feature will only work when the Expresses connect to another Apple AirPort router.

In theory, the AirPort Expresses "should" be able to work for AirPlay with the Netgear router, but please understand that the word "should" is not the same as the word "will". You will have to try things out to see whether things work the way that you want.

Last question......If you decide to set up the AirPort Expresses to "join" the Netgear WiFi network as clients.....would be whether you plan to set up the Expresses using an iPhone or iPad, or whether you will be using a Mac for this.

Try a Hard Reset if you have not already done so. The Hard Reset is easier for users, since a Factory Default Reset almost requires that you have 3 hands, and it is easy to make a mistake during the process.

Power up the Express for a minute or two

Hold in the reset button for 7-8 seconds and then release

Allow a full minute for the AirPort Express to restart

You don't indicate which version of the AirPort Express that you have, but if it is an older model that has only one Ethernet port, this product is at least 7 years old and as much as 10 depending on when it was placed into service.

4-5 years is about it as far as average useful life for the Express, so the product may simply be past its time, even though it might not have been used that much in the last few years.

can you recommend a simple dumbed-down Wi-Fi router that would do the same thing as this old Airport Express?

The Gen2 version of the Airport Express is a lot better than Gen1. Honestly the express is a unique product.. and I would recommend you grab a very recent gen2 from ebay etc. Nothing else combines a wireless router with audio output.

I am not sure how you got the Gen1 working in the first place.. as you say.. it is one of those marvels that rational thought will never explain. But that it fell over and won't come back.. that is very easily explained.. it is just too old.

Since it's solid-state circuitry there's not much to "go bad" on it.

Your old amplifier might live under the rubric not much to "go bad." But wifi routers there is loads of stuff.

The one secret to how you reconfigured .. ie using ethernet.. to me is the other solution. The Gen1 Express is probably OK as long as you can get it connected by ethernet.. your problem is location.. so instead of trying over and over to get wireless working, go the other way.. get ethernet to the Amplifier. You can do this with proper structured cabling.. but that is expensive.. or try out a pair of Powerline adapters.. these are reasonably cheap method to setup ethernet over house electrical wiring.. unless the two points are on different power phases it should work.. buy a cheap pair of AV500 type.. TP-Link, Netgear, Tenda all popular. Once you have ethernet the setup of the airport is trivial.

I would still recommend buying a Gen2 Express.

Once you lose the convenient cojoining of router and audio there are no more replacements.

I'm having much the same problem as solarspirit and followed your instructions - even to the point of moving my AirPort Express within 5 feet of my own (FiOS) router and connecting it (the AirPort Express) directly to my FiOS router with an Ethernet cable. The AirPort Utility setup wizard reconfigured my AirPort Express correctly and the LED changed back to it's normal green status.

I then took the AirPort Express back up to where my stereo's located (floor directly above where my FiOS router is), hooked it up to my stereo and plugged it in. Back to the slow amber blinking LED and when I click on the AirPort Express icon in the AirPort Utility setup screen, it now says that "Device Not Found AirPort Express was previously part of your network. Check that is still in range of your network and is plugged into a power outlet. Forgetting this device removes it from this network."

I only moved the Express up one floor from my FiOS router - I get Wi-Fi on my iPhone upstairs so the location for the Express can't be "out of range" of my FiOS router - and yes, the Express is plugged in to a power outlet.

In the AirPort Utility screen where my AirPort Express shows up, if I open it up, under the "status" section I see towards the bottom:

[amber] Ethernet Unplugged

[amber] Internet Connection

[amber] No DNS Servers

wireless clients (my iMac's name)

Now I'm totally confused.

Yeah... before I tried connecting it via an Ethernet cable I did the setup through the wizard doing a wireless network setup. The wizard created/generated/configured a new "2wire902" type of wireless network but when the AirPort is connected via that, it still yields the same three "error codes" and refuses to "go to green". Will keep trying to do factory resets and new setups though in hopes of somehow resolving this extremely vexing problem.

It worked once upon a time - and very simply I might add - didn't have to jump through all these hoops - so I know it can be done. Just very frustrating...

It's one of the older 1st gen ones with a single Ethernet port (Appple A1264). I'll keep monkeying around with it for a while longer. Since it's solid-state circuitry there's not much to "go bad" on it. Like I said before though, the maddening thing is that when I got it, maybe a year ago, it started right up and I stood there amazed that my antique stereo was streaming audio from my iTumes account (I'm old so I amuse easily 😉).

If all else fails, knowing that all I want to do is to stream audio to my old receiver, can you recommend a simple dumbed-down Wi-Fi router that would do the same thing as this old Airport Express?

Thanks.

Thanks. If all else fails... I'll try the Gen 2 Express.

I suggest that you first perform a "factory default" reset on both of your Express base stations.

Ref: How to reset your AirPort base station - Apple Support

Then perform these steps:

1. Connect one of the base stations, temporarily by Ethernet, to any available LAN/Ethernet port on your Netgear router. Connect the other end to the WAN (circle-of-dots) port on the Express OR the single Ethernet port if you have the 1st generation 802.11n model.
2. Plug the base station into power and allow it to initialize. Once initialized its LED status light should slowly flash amber.
3. Your Mac or iPhone should now see the base station in the AirPort Utility. Go ahead and follow the instructions provided in the article to set it up for client mode.
4. You can now remove the base station from power and disconnect the Ethernet connection from the base station. Finally, you can place the base station where you want it and plug it back into power.
5. Repeat the above steps for the other base station.

I'm having much the same problem as solarspirit and followed your instructions - even to the point of moving my AirPort Express within 5 feet of my own (FiOS) router and connecting it (the AirPort Express) directly to my FiOS router with an Ethernet cable. The AirPort Utility setup wizard reconfigured my AirPort Express correctly and the LED changed back to it's normal green status.

If there was an Ethernet cable attached from your FIOS router to the AirPort Express when you set the Express up, the AirPort Utility setup "wizard" would have detected that and it would have set up the AirPort Express to "create a wireless network". This type of setup assumes that you will leave the Ethernet cable attached between devices permanently.

So, if the Express is no longer connected with an Ethernet cable, it cannot connect to the FIOS router. That is why you see the message of Ethernet Unplugged, etc.

If your goal is to have the AirPort Express connect to your WiFi network using a wireless connection, you would NOT use an Ethernet cable at all during the setup. That way, the setup "wizard" will not detect an Ethernet connection, so it will set up the Express to connect wirelessly to your WiFi network.

When you set up the Express this way, the setup utility "wizard" will indicate that the Express is being configured to "Join a wireless network", similar to the illustration shown below. In this example, the Express is being set up to wirelessly join a WiFi network that is named 2Wire902. You will see the name of your WiFi network when you set up the Express again.