can you connect airport extreme to at&t wifi hotspot

I was hoping for any options where I could take another device and insert it between the AX and ATT which would allow me an opportunity to connect both devices through it.

In theory, something like this might work, but it would be complicated at best. One of those deals where you won't know how well......or if......things will work until you try. If I were going to attempt this, I would look for an AirPort Express for the best chance of compatibility with the AirPort Extreme.

The theory would have the AirPort Express configured to "join" the wireless signal provided by the AT&T hotspot and convert that Wi-Fi signal to an Ethernet signal to appear at the Ethernet port on the AirPort Express.

(The AirPort Extreme does not have the same type of "join" option as the AirPort Express).

Apple has not offered the AirPort Express for about 4 years, but you can find used products on Ebay.com. Try the A1264 version or the A1392 version of the AirPort Express. Avoid the A1084 or A1088 versions.

The simplest solution by far would be an AT&T product......or an AT&T compatible product......that included at least one Ethernet port, so it would be very easy to connect the AirPort Extreme to that type of product.

I don' have an AT&T hotspot to test with, but I did check out the option of having an AirPort Express "join" an existing Wi-Fi network. It worked with no issues and it did provide the Ethernet port on the AirPort Express with an active signal that I could use to connect my laptop the Express using an Ethernet cable, so things should work connecting an AirPort Extreme to the AirPort Express this way.

If it were me, I would gamble $30-40 or so and try an A1264 version of the Express. If you decide to try this, we can tell you how to configure the Express to connect to the AT&T hotspot and also how to connect the AirPort Extreme to the AirPort Express.

The AIrPort Extreme was designed to work with a wired Ethernet Internet connection, so your AT&T hotspot would need to provide a wired Ethernet connection option to work with the AirPort Extreme.

Another way to say the same thing would be to state that the AirPort Extreme cannot connect to the AT&T hotspot using a Wi-Fi connection.

To clarify my previous post.......

"The simplest solution by far would be an AT&T product......or an AT&T compatible product......that included at least one Ethernet port, so it would be very easy to connect the AirPort Extreme to that type of product."

This type of product would replace your current AT&T hotspot. It would not be an additional product in the chain.

Also, similar to the theoretical use of an AirPort Express mentioned by Bob Timmons, you could perhaps have a look at one of the operating modes of a simple travel router such as the TP-Link TL-WR902AC (https://www.tp-link.com/en/home-networking/wifi-router/tl-wr902ac/) in an attempt to create a temporary/experimental link between the existing AT&T hotspot and the AirPort Extreme.

Hi,

Would it be correct to assume that the A&T personal hotspot is a wireless-only device? Any information about the exact model? Also, knowing the AirPort Extreme model/year may help. Please do not post any serial numbers, MAC addresses, access codes, or passwords.

Ideally, you would need a mobile broadband router with at least one Ethernet port (replacing the existing hotspot). This would make a wired connection between the mobile broadband router and an AirPort Extreme possible, and may (with both devices properly configured) allow you to achieve what you want.

My test setup is using an iPhone that is set to provide a hotspot signal. The AirPort Express joins the hotspot network using only a wireless connection and the Express provides an Ethernet signal to an AirPort Extreme which is set up as a separate DHCP and NAT router to create a separate network.

If I am connected to the AirPort Extreme WiFi or Ethernet network, the display in AirPort Utility looks like this:

This is expected, since my Mac is connected to the AirPort Extreme network and the AirPort Extreme is not on the same network as the AirPort Express......because the AirPort Extreme is set up as a separate DHCP and NAT router.

If I connect my Mac directly to the hotspot signal provided by the iPhone, the display in AirPort Utility displays the screen below......because the Mac is connected to the hotspot network and so is the AirPort Express as a bridge.

Bottom line.......If you want to see the settings in AirPort Utility for the AirPort Extreme, then you will need to make sure that the Mac is connected to the AirPort Extreme network either by WiFi or Ethernet.

Another way to say the same thing is that you have two isolated networks........the AT&T hotspot network and the AirPort Extreme network. You won't be able to "see" devices on the AirPort Extreme network if your Mac is connected to the AT&T hotspot. And.....you won't be able to see "see" devices on the hotspot network if you are connected to the AirPort Extreme network......because you have enabled the NAT firewall on the AirPort Extreme to allow it function as a separate router......not a bridge.

Another benefit to this type of setup is that because the AirPort Extreme network is isolated from the hotspot network, you have an extra layer of security. If someone hacks your hotspot network, they won't be able to see the AirPort Extreme or any of the devices on the AirPort Extreme network.

So, a goofy type of setup with some upsides and downsides. Upside is that you can connect as many devices to the AirPort Extreme as you want without running out of IP addresses and the extra isolation provides another layer of security.

Downside is that will always be some loss in the conversion from Wi-Fi to Ethernet and the entire AirPort Extreme network is totally dependent on the quality of a WiFi connection to the AirPort Express.

It's not the best type of setup......personally, I would never do this........but it is the best setup given the circumstances.

The AT&T hotspot needs to have an Ethernet port. If it does, you can connect an Ethernet cable from the Ethernet port on the AT&T hotspot to the "O" Ethernet port on the back of the AirPort Extreme. In this case, the AT&T hotspot will act as if it were a modem and the AirPort Extreme can be configured as a Wi-Fi router.

Configured this way, the AirPort Extreme will be able to support up to 50 Wi-Fi devices and up to 3 Ethernet devices can be connected to the remaining 3 Ethernet ports on the AirPort Extreme.

Jan and I had both suggested replacing the AT&T hotspot with a suitable travel router, but earlier you said that replacing the AT&T product was not an option, so I took that statement at face value and suggested a type of possible workaround that might work given the available connections and products.

If you decide to go with the TP-Link product, chances are you won't even need the AirPort Extreme although it could technically be set up to work from the Ethernet port on the TP-Link travel router in a dual router setup that I was mentioning earlier. The AirPort Extreme would need to be set up as a DHCP and NAT router in this type of setup.

Personally, if the TP-Link product works well, I would not see a need for the AirPort Extreme unless there is some special feature on the AirPort that you require.

Thank you for the information.

Just two examples of mobile broadband routers with one or more Ethernet ports:

https://www.att.com/device-support/index/Netgear/NetgearMR1100/

https://www.tp-link.com/en/home-networking/3g-4g-router/archer-mr600/

It sounds like the AirPort Express is connecting to the network correctly, but it would be a good idea to connect a computer directly to the Ethernet port on the Express and run things that way for a bit.

I imagine that the computer will remain connected just fine, and if that is the case, I suspect that the AirPort Extreme is set up in Bridge Mode, which would require that the ATT hotspot must provide IP addresses to all connected devices. Most hotspots will only deliver a few IP addresses and you will likely need 10+ for all of your devices.

If the AirPort Extreme is set up in Bridge Mode......Apple calls this "Off (Bridge Mode)" just to confuse folks, we will need to change the router mode setting on the AirPort Extreme to another setting......."DHCP and NAT".......to allow it to provide IP addresses to all of the devices that will be connecting to the AirPort Extreme network.

Then, the hotspot only has to provide one IP address......to the AirPort Express and the AirPort Extreme will take care of other IP addresses to other devices.

You don't have to connect the AirPort Extreme to the AirPort Express to run a quick check to find out how the AirPort Extreme is set up. Just power it up and connect your Mac to the Wi-Fi network that the AirPort Extreme is providing. The amber light may be blinking.....don't worry about that for now.

Open AirPort Utility, click on the AirPort Extreme, then click on Edit and another window will open with tabs for the major settings on the AirPort Extreme. Click on the Network tab and check the setting for Router Mode.

It will be either Off (Bridge Mode) or DHCP and NAT.

Please report on the current setting, but do not make any changes to the settings yet.

Getting 2-3mb download speeds not good with Express connected.

Unfortunately, this is normal when the Express is set up this way. I would expect any other device that is performing the same type of task to behave the same way as well.

So, even if the AirPort Extreme can be set up correctly to work with this type of setup, the speeds on the network are going to be on the slow side.

I suspect something needs to be done on the Internet tab, DNS server identification.

Not really. Your router is at 192.168.1.1. The DNS reading on the Express of 192.168.1.1 simply means that the Express is using the same DNS server settings as your hotspot router. This is correct, unless for some reason you want the Express to use different DNS servers than the hotspot router.

I seem to remember setting Static IP address for some items within my local network from years ago.

It would not hurt to have the hotspot router assign a fixed IP Address to the Express if the Express continues to have connection issues. But, this will not do anything to help the connection speed of the Express.

I pulled out an old Express here that I do not use any longer to run a few checks with Express set to "Join a wireless network". My normal Internet connection speed from the provide is 200 Mbps. When I connected a laptop to the Ethernet port on the Express to check the connection speed that way, the speed checked in about 70-80 Mbps, a drop of more than 50%.