How do I set up an Airport Extreme Base Station (v. 7.6.1) to allow wireless network extension?

All of the documentation I can find on Apple Support states that I should have an option I can check to allow the wireless network to be extended while in the wireles setup section for the Airport Extreme in Airport Utility; but, that check option isn't there.

You are likely looking at older documentation, which would not apply to AirPort Utility in Lion or Mountain Lion.

No doubt, you are using Lion or Mountain Lion on your Mac, correct?

If yes, post back for more instructions.

Close AirPort Utility if it is open.

Temporarily, move the Express to the same general area as your AirPort Extreme and power it up and wait a minute.

Hold in the reset button on the Express for 9-10 seconds and then release. Give the Express a full minute to restart to a slow, blinking amber light.

Click the AirPort icon at the top of the Mac's screen and wait a few seconds for a listing of New AirPort Base Station to appear

Click on AirPort Express just below that and AirPort Utility will automatically open

Wait a minute while AirPort Utility analyzes the network and announces that the Express will be configured to "Extend" the AirPort Extreme network.

Enter a device name for the AirPort Express and click Next

Wait another minute to allow the configuration to occur.

When you see the Setup Complete message, click Done.

Now move the Express to a location that is approximately half the distance from the AirPort Extreme and the general area that needs more wireless coverage

Power up the Express and you are all set. Trash those old instructions.

I am having a heck of a time getting my AExpress (bought today, current rev) to extend my Airport Extreme v2. I thought it best to comment on this thread rather than open a new one.

I have done all of the set up procedures described in the manual and in this post multiple times and I seem to always end up with a flashing yellow on the AExpress.

I have set the AExtreme so that it may be extended and I have reset the AExpress numerous times.

My network is an unsecured. Does that matter?

Thanks, Bob! These instructions worked perfectly for me and I was able to extend my existing wireless network (Time Capsule as the base station and Airport Extreme as the "extended" station").

My problem (since resolved) was that the AE is somewhat sensitive as far as its ethernet/network wired port is concerned. The connection I was using had previously run a networked printer on the same network without issue. I connected the AE to the same Cat5 cable and the AE would not obtain an IP. As soon as i tried another in the house it worked fine. Wish I would have tried that first.

Worked great thanks!

Bob: I, too, am trying to extend my wireless network using an Apple Express. My main base station is a Time Capsule connected via ethernet to my Mac-mini. The wireless signal from the router works great except in the far end of the house where it drops off and the iPads drop connectivity. Thus, I wanted to use the Express to extend the signal a bit further. I followed your instructions but when I select Airport Express under the new base station tab on the wireless icon and Airport Utility begins to analyze the network, i get a message that says "An unexpected error occurred. Try again later." Of course I've tried again later, several times. All to no avail. The Airport Express is new, I reset it before attempting to connect and it has a slow blinking amber light. My Time Capsule has a solid green light and all my other devices are connecting. If I try to get to the Express through the graphical representation of the network by selecting the Express from the "other wi-fi devices" tab in the upper left hand corner I can see the Express, but I get the same error message when I click on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This thread has been inactive for 8 months, and your problem is not related to the topic of this post.

Please start a new thread with a title of something like "AirPort Express -- Unexpected Error During Setup", and be sure to include information on what operating system you are running on the device that you are using to try to set up the AirPort Express.