Ethernet on Airport Express

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Ethernet on Airport Express

Here is my issue:

I have at home the latest generation Airport Extreme plug to the internet cable and I also have an Airport Express.

I need to activate the ethernet port on my Airport Express in order to plug it to an AV receiver.

The Airport Express will then connect to my home wifi network and pass the connection to the AV receiver through the ethernet port.

Very simple.

After reading some instructions online, I chose for the Airport Express to participate in WDS network as a remote station with the Airport Extreme being the main base station.

After I confirmed the changes on the Airport Utility configuration panel, the Airport Express updates and restarts but for unknown reason can't join the wifi network, neither the regular nor 5Ghz version of my home wifi network.

The Airport Express keeps blinking orange and the Airport Utility does not detect it.

Please note that I tried with both the MacID of the Airport Extreme for 2.5 Ghz and 5 Ghz but the end result is the same.

Any idea?

Thanks!

Macbook Air, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Dec 18, 2011 11:51 AM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

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148,447 points

Dec 18, 2011 12:07 PM in response to Mikeelive

Is your AirPort Express Base Station (AX) an 802.11g or 802.11n model?

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Answer 2

Mikeelive Author

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Dec 18, 2011 2:44 PM in response to Tesserax

Hi, it is an 802.11n model.

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Answer 3

Tesserax

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Dec 18, 2011 3:18 PM in response to Mikeelive

With both AirPorts being 802.11n models, you basically have two choices that allow them both to be interconnected wirelessly with the Ethernet port enabled on the 802.11n AirPort Express Base Station (AXn): 1) Configure the AXn as a wireless Ethernet bridge, or 2) Configure both base stations into an extended network.

If you goal is to only provide Internet access to the AV receiver via its Ethernet port, then the first option would be simpler and the one I would recommend.

To configure the AXn as a wireless Ethernet bridge (note: Apple calls this configuration a ProxySTA), you would use the AirPort Utility and make the following two configuration changes:

Wireless Mode = Join a wireless network
Allow Ethernet Clients (selected)

Note: Both of these options are on the Utility's Wireless tab.

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Answer 4

Mikeelive Author

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Dec 18, 2011 4:15 PM in response to Tesserax

Thank you Tesserax! I tested it on my laptop and I get a connection through the ethernet.

Since you seem very knowledgeable, I would like to ask you an additional related question.

I do have a second AX 11n (same model) that I want to use to have my home wifi network extended in other part of my home. Can I set this second AX as Extend a wireless network along with the configuration you described above?

Thanks!

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Answer 5

Tesserax

Level 10

148,447 points

Dec 18, 2011 5:18 PM in response to Mikeelive

I do have a second AX 11n (same model) that I want to use to have my home wifi network extended in other part of my home. Can I set this second AX as Extend a wireless network along with the configuration you described above?

The second AXn, used to extend the wireless range of the AirPort Extreme, would need to be configured a bit differently. Please check out the following Apple Support article to get an idea on how it is done.

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Answer 6

Tajman

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Aug 16, 2012 12:20 PM in response to Tesserax

hello,

I am running into a similar issue, see post -> https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4214081. Was wondering what version of the Airport utility you are using, I have 5.6 and do not see the option " Allow Ethernet Clients (selected)"

Airport Extreme 802.11n 5th & Airport Express is 802.11g

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Answer 7

Aug 16, 2012 1:15 PM in response to Tajman

Airport Extreme 802.11n 5th & Airport Express is 802.11g

Unfortunately, the AirPort Express 802.11g model that you have does not have the type of capability referenced in the article provided by Tesserax

You need the AirPort Express 802.11"n" version to see this feature.

It might be possible to configure both the AirPort Extreme and Express into what is known as WDS setup, but this is a much "older" type of setup that would rob your AirPort Extreme of 75% of its performance. On top of that, it is a very diifficult setup for most users.

I would not recommend this type of configuration, but if you want to take a look at it, Apple's instructions are here:

WDS network

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Answer 8

Tajman

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Aug 19, 2012 9:04 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks Bob, so basically the version I have is not ideal for what I want to do (enable Ethernet port), except maybe add to my wifi, connect speakers to it to play music throughiTunes? Or will this not work either since my extereme is N and express is G? thanks in advance

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Answer 9

Aug 20, 2012 6:07 AM in response to Tajman

basically the version I have is not ideal for what I want to do (enable Ethernet port), except maybe add to my wifi, connect speakers to it to play music throughiTunes?

That's correct. You will not be able to enable the Ethernet port with the device that you have, but it can be configured to work with AirPlay and a remote printer.

If you need to enable an Ethernet port on an Express, you need the newer "n" version of the Express for that type of capability.

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