Can additional wireless access points be added to my existing wireless network? I have my Airport Extreme router on the second floor of my house and am having trouble getting a good signal in my basement. Thanks in advance!!
If you have a dual band AirPort Extreme, you can add another to "extend" both bands of your network to provide more wireless coverage.
The "best" way to do this is to connect the "remote" access point back to your main AirPort Extreme using an Ethernet connection. This preserves bandwidth on the network better than any other method...and...you can locate the "remote" Extreme exactly in the area where more coverage is needed. Instructions for thhis are here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260
You might be able to connect using wireless only, but this is always "Iffy".
In general, the Extreme would need to be located approximately half the distance from your main router to the general area that needs more coverage. But, walls, ceilings and other obstructions usually come into play, requiring some experimentation. Instructions are here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4259
If you elect to try wireless, you really won't know if things will work until you try. Recommend that you have a "Plan B" if wireless does not work for your purpose.
Thanks for the tips. I have an Airport Extreme router and the wifi has become very finicky. In fact, this is the 2nd Airport Extreme I've owned, and they both ended up having wireless issues after several months of use. The wired ethernet ports of the router continue to work fine. Rather than replace the router again, I am want to try to add an Access Point by connecting that to one of the ethernet ports, and turn off the internal wifi radio of the Airport Extreme. Before I try, any thoughts about this? Should this work?
The latest airport extreme should be fine on the wireless side.. if it does show poor performance it is faulty and I would return it to Apple for replacement under warranty. I have had one AC wireless TC that was very poor wireless.. so it happens.
As long as you have ethernet between upstairs and downstairs areas you can use almost any wireless router or access point on the market. It is important that you set it up correctly.. that means IP is established by DHCP to the main router or correct static IP is used.. and the AP creates a wireless network ..
Now it is up to you if you want to use a roaming network or otherwise.. most of us with this sort of arrangement will use roaming, ie identical SSID (wireless name in applespeak) and identical security settings (WPA2 Personal being the only right choice now.. with decent password).
Roaming is not guaranteed to work however.. it can work really well on some clients and poorly on others where it will attempt to remain connected to the weaker unit rather than swap. Unfortunately iOS devices fall into this category and are known to roam poorly.
Make sure your setup of any Apple router is correct.. people often make a mistake when using wired ethernet connection of attempting to use extend wireless. This is wrong.. totally wrong.. and will cause a loop in the network.. and it will go crazy.. Extend wireless only with fully wireless connection. In the wired setup you can create a number of wireless networks in different areas of the house.. hence roaming setup.
how can i add a wireless access point to my existing network?
