Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
How far apart should 2 AirPort Extreme base stations be placed in a wired roaming network? I’m concerned I might be placing them too close(that is a thing? Correct?) ...also I want to hook up my Apple TV 4K via Cat6. Is it better to run it to the router connected to the gateway or is connecting to the wired base station extension sufficient?
OK, thanks. Things look good.
Temporarily, power off the second AirPort Extreme and move it close to the first or main AirPort Extreme.
Temporarily, connect a spare Ethernet cable......any length will do....... from one of the three LAN <--> ports on the main AirPort to the WAN "O" port on the second AirPort Extreme.
Power up the second AirPort Extreme let it run a minute
Hold in the reset button on the back of the second AirPort Extreme for about 7-8 seconds and then release......it is the small button next to the AC power cord socket if the second AirPort is also the tall or tower version of the product
Allow a full minute for the second AirPort Extreme to restart to a slow, blinking amber light status
On your Mac.......
Click on the WiFi menu at the top of the screen and look for a listing of New AirPort Base Station
Just under that listing, click directly on AirPort Extreme
When you click on AirPort Extreme, that will start up the AirPort Utility setup "wizard" automatically. The wizard will take a few seconds to analyze the network and new AirPort and then display a screen that looks like the example below, except that you will see an AirPort Extreme pictured instead of an AirPort Express and the name of your wireless network will be displayed as well.
Type in a device name that you want to call the second AirPort Extreme. Keep it short and simple if you can.
Watch the next screen very carefully to see if the AirPort Extreme is being set up to extend using Ethernet. This will confirm that the setup wizard is automatically applying the correct settings to the second AirPort Extreme.
When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done and you are done with the set up.
Power off the second AirPort Extreme and move it back to the desired location. You can connect the network Ethernet cable to the WAN "O" port or to any of the three LAN <--> ports. Normal practice would be to connect to the WAN "O" port.
Power up the second AirPort Extreme and you should be all set. Now you have what is known as a "roaming network". The setup wizard has automatically extended the main and guest networks for you. No further action should be required on the AirPort Extremes.
If you are curios though and want to see the actual setting for the second AirPort Extreme, you will see that it has been set up to "Create a wireless network" This is the correct setting.
If your iPhone still displays two different Wi-Fi networks, it picked up conflicting information from your previous setup. We'll need to delete the settings for both networks on the iPhone and then you can set up a new connection on the iPhone again.
OK, thanks. Things look good.
Temporarily, power off the second AirPort Extreme and move it close to the first or main AirPort Extreme.
Temporarily, connect a spare Ethernet cable......any length will do....... from one of the three LAN <--> ports on the main AirPort to the WAN "O" port on the second AirPort Extreme.
Power up the second AirPort Extreme let it run a minute
Hold in the reset button on the back of the second AirPort Extreme for about 7-8 seconds and then release......it is the small button next to the AC power cord socket if the second AirPort is also the tall or tower version of the product
Allow a full minute for the second AirPort Extreme to restart to a slow, blinking amber light status
On your Mac.......
Click on the WiFi menu at the top of the screen and look for a listing of New AirPort Base Station
Just under that listing, click directly on AirPort Extreme
When you click on AirPort Extreme, that will start up the AirPort Utility setup "wizard" automatically. The wizard will take a few seconds to analyze the network and new AirPort and then display a screen that looks like the example below, except that you will see an AirPort Extreme pictured instead of an AirPort Express and the name of your wireless network will be displayed as well.
Type in a device name that you want to call the second AirPort Extreme. Keep it short and simple if you can.
Watch the next screen very carefully to see if the AirPort Extreme is being set up to extend using Ethernet. This will confirm that the setup wizard is automatically applying the correct settings to the second AirPort Extreme.
When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done and you are done with the set up.
Power off the second AirPort Extreme and move it back to the desired location. You can connect the network Ethernet cable to the WAN "O" port or to any of the three LAN <--> ports. Normal practice would be to connect to the WAN "O" port.
Power up the second AirPort Extreme and you should be all set. Now you have what is known as a "roaming network". The setup wizard has automatically extended the main and guest networks for you. No further action should be required on the AirPort Extremes.
If you are curios though and want to see the actual setting for the second AirPort Extreme, you will see that it has been set up to "Create a wireless network" This is the correct setting.
If your iPhone still displays two different Wi-Fi networks, it picked up conflicting information from your previous setup. We'll need to delete the settings for both networks on the iPhone and then you can set up a new connection on the iPhone again.
First I was using the iOS airport utility but I’m now using on my Mac, definitely easier
2./3Guest network is set up, and it has a different name EGuest (I only set this up this morning so that I could get my ring equipment closest to the new router to connect to that one versus the original one in the back of the house)
4/5there is no check next to 5ghz or Hidden network
6.Yes both frequency's are set to Automatic
7.It is set to DHCP & Nat
You are the man!!! I guess i should have used my mac utility in the first place. With the capalities of the phones these days I use my macbook less and less.
2.Just a thing I noticed I am using an iphone 11pro these days and it seems to be bouncing between the airports like the macbook, maybe they finally got their S*&t together.
3.My final question! Is it possible to just have the guest network setup on one of them? I was only thinking this because after the setup and reboot of the new one my Ring devices latched on to the weak signal of the Airport far away and I had to unplug and remove the batteries to get them to pick up the closer network. For those devices it may be easier to give them only one option. But if that is not possible, i'll survive (first world problems).
4.THANKS AGAIN I will be sure to pay it forward. ....I just decied to do this after powering off my Airport and going to an Orbi mesh system for about a week; NIGHTMARE that thing was. So after doing HW I first ran the cat6 to my AppleTV 4k (wow, what a diffrence that made), so since I was crawling around the attic anyway I ran another cable and bought another Airport on ebay. I suppose this set up should give me some quality years. It really is too bad Apple got out of the Airport buisness, these other devices just don't compare. In addition, us Apple fan boys need these wondefrul toys.
How far apart should 2 AirPort Extreme base stations be placed in a wired roaming network?
With the luxury of an Ethernet connection, you can locate the AirPorts virtually anywhere that you want, since there is no signal loss through the Ethernet cable up to 300+ feet.
So, locate each AirPort right in the middle of each general area where Wi-Fi devices will be using the network. The only thing that you would want to avoid would be locating the AirPorts too close together, like in the same room.....unless it is a very large room with an AirPort located at either end of the room.
.also I want to hook up my Apple TV 4K via Cat6. Is it better to run it to the router connected to the gateway or is connecting to the wired base station extension sufficient?
The signal will be virtually identical at either AirPort with an Ethernet connection, so connect the Apple TV to the most conveniently located AirPort.
So I set up mine network with two airport extremes. There were conflicting set ups but I gathered some were based on an old version of the AirPort Utility. It appears somewhat I saw that rather than choose extending I chose set up a new network using identical name and password. However I noticed looking at the client list they were not switching to the new router I was closer to even if I toggled Wi-Fi on and off. I then went into my Wi-Fi settings on my iPhone and I have two different choices with the identical name when I clicked to the other one it then switched to the new router. I also set up a guest network on both of them with matching names for my ring devices. That name only appears one time on devices where is the regular network is appearing twice what am I doing wrong.
Whoa. We are going to need to simplify things first.....before we can work on the finer details of a roaming network.
So, my suggestion would be to temporarily power off the "remote" AirPort Extreme and spend some time checking things on the "main" AirPort Extreme. We are going to be asking some questions......which may lead to more questions, so some patience will be required.
Then, we will set up the "remote" AirPort Extreme again using the AirPort Utility setup "wizard". The wizard will set things up correctly with the second AirPort Extreme for a roaming network.
Now the disclaimer. Please be advised that mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad do not behave all that well with a roaming network. For example, I have two AirPort Extremes here.....one in my office and the other in the den about 3 rooms away. I normally keep my iPhone in the office. But......if I walk the iPhone to the den.....the iPhone will stay connected to the AirPort Extreme in the office, even though a stronger signal is available from the den AirPort. Nature of the beast with iOS devices, I am afraid, since they do not have the brains of a Mac computer as far as wireless is concerned. More about that a few paragraphs below.
Sometimes.....the iPhone will switch over to the den AirPort Extreme after a few minutes....and sometimes it won't. I can make the iPhone switch over to the den AirPort signal by temporarily turning on Airplane Mode on the iPhone and then turning it off again. That will almost always make the iPhone switch to the den AirPort signal after a few seconds.
Then, if I walk the iPhone back to my office near the other AirPort Extreme, the iPhone will usually stay connected to the den AirPort signal. Sometimes it will switch over after a few minutes as well. Sometimes, it will not switch back over. So, I have to do the same thing with the iPhone by temporarily toggling Airplane Mode on and off again if I want the iPhone to connect to the closest AirPort.
If I walk my Mac laptop from the office to the den, the laptop will switch over to the den AirPort Extreme even before I reach the den. Same thing in reverse......if I head back to my office, the laptop has already switched to the office AirPort Extreme before I reach the office.
The bottom line here.......the roaming network might be set up perfectly after we run through some checks and set up the "remote" AirPort again......but.....there are no guarantees that Wi-Fi devices.....especially iOS devices......will automatically switch from one AirPort signal to the other as they move about the house.
Post back if you are willing to spend some time answering questions and checking things.
Thank You for the reply I really appreciate your help!!! ....I do understand through doing my homework that not all devices especially iOS stuff doesn’t smoothly transition; but as you can see something bigger is clearly amiss!! ....I am actually relatively tech savvy so walking me through it will be more like speaking to me in a gypsy brogue opposed to speaking in a foreign language, so tell what I should do next and I’ll start
messing around. ...and again I really appreciate you taking the time to help!
Temporarily, power off the "remote" or "second" AirPort Extreme so only your "main" AirPort Extreme is operating
Question One: Do you have the "tall" or "tower" shaped version of the AirPort Extreme or an older "flat" or "square" version? If it is an older version, we need the model number located on the bottom of the AirPort, usually embedded in the foam pad base. The model number starts with an "A" followed by four numbers. Post back with that info. We do not need a serial number.
Open up AirPort Utility on your Mac, click on the "main" AirPort Extreme, and then click Edit in the smaller window that appears
Click the Wireless tab at the top of the window
Here you will see the basic info about the Wi-Fi network. Hopefully, the name of the network is not long, and does not contain any special characters like an apostrophe, asterisk, dollar sign, etc.
Question Two....Is there a check mark in the box next to Enable Guest Network?
Question Three.....If the Guest Network is enabled, is the name of the network different than the "main" network?
Next, click on the Wireless Options button near the bottom of the button
Question Four: Is there a check mark in the box next to 5 GHz Network Name?
Question Five:: Is there a check mark in the box next to Create Hidden Network?
Question Six:: Are both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Channels set to Automatic?
Next, click the Network tab at the top of the window.
Question Seven: What is the setting for Network Mode......DHCP and NAT....or Off (Bridge Mode)?
Post back when you can. You can also power the "remote" or "second" AirPort Extreme back up if you want.
Question Eight: Is the "remote" or "second" AirPort Extreme the tall or tower version or the older flat and square version? Would help to get the model number if is an older version.
I did skip a step however, my orginal airport is on a celing mount and i just wasnt interest in taking it down to bring the other one right next to it, so i didnt do that part? It seems to be working fine, did I make a bad decision skipping that step?
No, things are fine. Using a short spare Ethernet cable is a suggestion to eliminate the possibility of a problem in the "long" Ethernet cable wiring. In other words, about half of all problems with multiple AirPorts can be traced to the Ethernet wiring.....a bad connector, a broken wire that is not visible, etc. The temporary connection takes the house Ethernet wiring out of the setup in case there is a problem with the wiring.
In other words, it is amazing how often users report act the setup works perfectly with a short Ethernet cable, but the AirPort still does not work correctly when it is installed at the other end of the house. In these cases, the problem is not the AirPort.....the problem is the wiring.
Just a thing I noticed I am using an iphone 11pro these days and it seems to be bouncing between the airports like the macbook, maybe they finally got their S*&t together.
Good news. My wife has a new iPhone as well and it definitely works better than my older iPhone as far as picking up the best signal available at different locations.
.My final question! Is it possible to just have the guest network setup on one of them?
Yes.....IF......the guest network is set up on your "main" AirPort....since the "remote" AirPort must get its guest network information from the "main" AirPort. If other words, if there is no guest network on the "main" AirPort, the "remote" AirPort cannot receive the information that it needs from a network that is not there.
Post back if you need the instructions to turn off the guest network on the "remote" AirPort.
Happy to help and glad that you got things working!
AirPort Extreme network station placement
