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Greetings all, I have recently replaced my cable company-supplied modem with a Netgear Orbi modem/router combo.
I would like to continue to use my old AirPort Extreme somehow with the external WD 4TB as the Time Machine backup disk.
Can I connect the AirPort Extreme to the new router (ethernet), turn off the WiFi and still be able to use it for wireless backups for all of the MacBooks in the house?
Thank you
Can I connect the AirPort Extreme to the new router (ethernet), turn off the WiFi and still be able to use it for wireless backups for all of the MacBooks in the house?
You should be able to do this If the Ethernet connection from the Netgear mesh unit connects to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort Extreme......AND.....the AirPort Extreme is set up to operate in Bridge Mode, which Apple calls Off (Bridge Mode) for some reason.
Note that the word "should" is not the same as "will", since Apple does not officially support this type of setup.
Turning off the Wi-Fi on the AirPort Extreme is a simple matter as the final step.
Finally, since you are changing the path that Macs will use to back up to the AirPort Extreme / hard drive, you may need to reset things in Time Machine Preferences by deleting the old path and setting up a new one.
Can I connect the AirPort Extreme to the new router (ethernet), turn off the WiFi and still be able to use it for wireless backups for all of the MacBooks in the house?
You should be able to do this If the Ethernet connection from the Netgear mesh unit connects to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort Extreme......AND.....the AirPort Extreme is set up to operate in Bridge Mode, which Apple calls Off (Bridge Mode) for some reason.
Note that the word "should" is not the same as "will", since Apple does not officially support this type of setup.
Turning off the Wi-Fi on the AirPort Extreme is a simple matter as the final step.
Finally, since you are changing the path that Macs will use to back up to the AirPort Extreme / hard drive, you may need to reset things in Time Machine Preferences by deleting the old path and setting up a new one.
Bob, thank you. This worked and was very easy.
I reset the AirPort Extreme before plugging it into the network and set it up as part of the network, that automatically set the Router Mode to Off/BridgeMode.
Set Network Mode to Off for wireless.
Plugged in the WD external drive and backups are running.
Thank you!
Netgear Mesh WiFi - use old AirPort Extreme as a base for Time Machine
