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User profile for user: apple_customer
apple_customer Author
User level: Level 1
75 points

Connect an Airport Extreme to an existing WiFi network and use it to share a printer.

Hello,


I need to connect my Airport Extreme to an existing network (Google WiFi) so I can connect a non-WiFi printer to it and use it as a wireless printer. I have searched for tutorials on this but haven't found anything helpful. I have been able to setup the Airport Extreme to create a new wireless network and assigned it the same name and same password as the existing network but it doesn't appear to have worked. Whether this is a coincidence or not I am able to find and install the printer on two computers that are connected to my network with ethernet cables (wired) but two of my notebooks connecting to the network via WiFi (wireless) can't find or display the printer.


Is there a clear tutorial or instructions on how to accomplish this task? Can anyone offer some help?


Thank you in advance.

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Aug 6, 2020 1:42 PM

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User profile for user: Bob Timmons
Bob Timmons
Community+ 2024
User level: Level 10
168,044 points

Posted on Aug 6, 2020 4:49 PM

The Google router......like the AirPort Extreme.....must be set up in Bridge Mode. Otherwise, devices on the Google network are on a different network than the Netgear and AirPort Extreme.........even though.....you can get Internet access on the Google network.


Everything......Netgear, AirPort Extreme and Google must be on the same network.


Connect a Mac laptop to the Google WiFi and make sure that you can "see" the AirPort Extreme using AirPort Utility. If you can't, then you won't be able to print to the AirPort Extreme location until you can.


IPv6 is used for some local communications over the network. The setting that you need to use with the AirPort Extreme is Link Local Only.


Open AirPort Utility

Click on the AirPort Extreme

Click Edit in the smaller window that appears

Click the Internet tab at the top of the next window

Click the Internet Options button at the bottom of the window

Make sure that the setting for Configure IPv6 is set to Link Local Only

Click Save, then click Update





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User profile for user: Bob Timmons
Bob Timmons
Community+ 2024
User level: Level 10
168,044 points

Aug 21, 2020 5:29 PM in response to apple_customer

As I temporarily power off the Airport Extreme so the printer can connect to the Google WiFi, won't there be a conflict once I turn the Airport Extreme back on?


Not if the Google WiFi has a significantly stronger signal than the AirPort Extreme at the location of the printer. Ideally, you would set up the printer with a static IP address, but I don't know if your printer can do this.


If the printer is located closer to the AirPort Extreme than any of the other Google access points, then you would want to set up the printer to connect to the AirPort Extreme WiFi while the Google WiFi is temporarily powered off.


There are no guarantees here though. Things can get confusing when you have routers from different manufacturers trying to produce the same WiFi signal, since they will never be exactly the same. That's part of the voodoo. Obviously it really helps if all of your WiFi access points are from the same manufacturer. Mixing brands can sometimes work, but the odds are not great.


Ethernet has always been faster, simpler and more reliable than WiFi. That won't change.






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Connect an Airport Extreme to an existing WiFi network and use it to share a printer.

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