Airport Express and Guest Network

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Airport Express and Guest Network

Hello.

I'm using two different Airport express in my flat.

The first one is a first generation and it's locate at ground 0 of my flat.

The second one is a second generation and it's locale at the 3rd floor of my flat.

They both are connected via Ethernet and the second one is joining a WiFi Network configured on the first one.

I'm trying to configure a Guest separated network for my guests at the third floor, in order to don't allow them to get in in my private network with unknown devices such as infected PC, jailbreacked iOS devices and so on...

Talking about the two airport express bases:

This is the firts one:

and this one is the second one:

Airport Utility shows that they both are OK

but when I connect to the guest network it says that there's no internet connection.

No problem with my default WiFi network (Cybernetwork)

I don't understand why because they both are on my IP class and I don't have any Firewall (such as Watchguard,...) blocking outgoing packets from IP in general.

Can you give me some ideas about how to solve this problem?

Many thanks and best regards.

Posted on Aug 14, 2019 6:23 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 14, 2019 6:57 AM in response to Lorenzo fongaro

If you check the settings on either or both of the AirPorts, you will see that each of them is configured to operate in Bridge Mode, which Apple calls Off (Bridge Mode).

AirPort Utility > Click an AirPort > Edit > Network Tab = Off (Bridge Mode)

The AirPorts need to be in Bridge Mode because they detect that you have another device on your network that is acting as a router. You might call this device your modem, but it is also acting as a router.

The AirPort(s) cannot be configured to create a guest network correctly when they are configured to operate in Bridge Mode.....because devices that try to connect to the Guest Network will not be able to connect to the Internet.

I am not recommending that you do this, but It might be possible to change the settings on the AirPort Express that has two Ethernet ports to provide a guest network, but this type of setup will result in what is known as a Double NAT network error, which may or may not allow correct operation on your network. Normally, you would want to avoid a Double NAT error on a home network.

If you decide to try this, the AirPort with only one Ethernet port will now need to connect directly to the AirPort with two Ethernet ports because the AirPort with two Ethernet ports will be on a different subnet than your main router.

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Airport Express and Guest Network

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