Extend Airport Extreme Network via Ethernet to Airport Express

First of all, thank you all for devoting your time

And effort to my issue. It is greatly appreciated.

To add complexity to the Issue,

I have connected an Apple TV to

The airport express and it is functioning

Fine, and shows an Ethernet connection!

So I don't know exactly where I have gone wrong.

Again my setup is

Cable modem to

AirPort Extreme to

Switch to

Airport express to

Apple TV

Using bobs method the express functions

As extending my extreme network but on

Airport utility it reads connection as good

Via wifi. But yet the Apple TV connects via Ethernet.

Open AirPort Utility and click on the Airport Express icon, then click Edit.

Click the Wireless tab at the top of the window.

What is the setting that you see for Network Mode?

If you see Create a wireless network, the Express is connecting to your AirPort Extreme using Ethernet....not wireless. The Express is still producing a wireless network though, so you would expect other wireless devices to be able to connect if they are in close proximity to the Express.

Devices can connect to the Express using either Wireless or Ethernet depending on their capabilities.

If the setting for Network Mode is Extend a wireless network, the Express is connecting to the AirPort Exteme using wireless....not Ethernet. But, the Ethernet ports on the AirPort Express are enabled when it connects this way.

So, what do you see there?

ok it says extend a wireless network

Try the setup again after you hold in the reset button on the Express for 9-10 seconds.

Connect as a test from a LAN <-> port on the AirPort Exteme to the Express.

Make sure that you have the Ethernet cable connected to the WAN port on the Express before you attempt to reconfigure it again using the wizard in AirPort Setup.

If you get the same "extend" result after another try or two , you either have a bad Ethernet cable or a bad port on the Express.

If you get a good result, you can now move the Express to the location of the switch. If it does not work now, then you likely have a bad port on the switch, assuming that you know that the Ethernet cabling is good.

ill try thx.

but just to be clear, the end result should be an ethernet connected express that is not a whole new wireless network, correct? IE the express should functionally still be expanding the coverage of my extreme network, not creating a second network, right?

and as a by the way, if you move around your home, should a device automatically connect to the strongest signal it finds?

For example if you start in the basement where there is an express then go to second floor where your extreme is, what exactly does your laptop do? Stay connected to the express? Jump over to the extreme? or am i not understanding how this actually works?

I must say this is the first apple product that i have purchased that is NOT easy to fully understand or get to work correctly. All others have been great.

Go ahead and get things working.....and you will have answers to your questions. 90% of the time, it is a bad cable, or a bad port on a switch. It is rare, but possible to have a bad port on the AirPort Express.

When you find the answer, everything will seem much simpler.

"Extend" means that you will see the same network name in different areas. Each AirPort creates a wireless network using the same name, security and password as the other AirPorts, so everything will behave as one "big" network.

if you move around your home, should a device automatically connect to the strongest signal it finds?

A Mac will do this, but an iOS device like an iPhone, iPad probably will not.

ok so after some trouble shooting i have determined that the ethernet cable is not functioning.

This is disheartening because it was thread by our electrician from the first floor to the basment during

recent construction. I will have to figure out how to fix this problem!

I will try your suggestions with a functional cable!

Also, if you move your iOS device from one airport Express to another, it will switch to the Express with better signal. I have tested it at my house. If I walk away from my Express on one end of my house the signal begins to slowly drop until I get close to the other Express. Then my signal strength will change from one bar to three indicating it is seeing the other Express. I have the new iPad.

ok so after some trouble shooting i have determined that the ethernet cable is not functioning.

Yep, about 95% of all issues like this are wiring problems. Bad cable, miswired connector, etc. Hopefully it is not a broken cable behind a wall...and is something simple like a miswired RJ45 connector.

Although, the "tech" should have tested each connection with a cable testing device.

I have the new iPad.

iPads seem to switch access points better than iPhones.....something I do not understand because they use the same operating system. There may be a difference in antennas on the devices.

My iPhones do not switch from one access point to another all that reliably. If yours do, count yourself among the lucky ones.

I would have your electrician come back and check the cable with a cable tester. I bet that they wired the connector incorrectly or the connector is bad. I have Ethernet cable run all over my home. I had two cables ran to my built in TV cabinet. I couldn't get my new XBox to connect through the Ethernet. Sure enough, the connector was bad on the end to my multiport switch.

Bob,

Your directions worked great when I connected the AP Express directly to the AP Extreme. I was able to extend my network using ethernet. The problem I'm having now, is after I unplug the express and move it to the switch. It seems to lose all it's settings and can't connect to the network.

My set up is cable modem -> AP Extreme -> 24 port switch -> AP Express.

suggestions?

Well, if it works when the Express is connected directly to the AirPort Extreme....you know the Express is working correctly...and the Ethernet cable you are using is working correctly.

If the Express does not work when you move it to connect through the switch, you have the same issue as above.....there is a problem with the port on the switch or with the Ethernet cabling from the switch to the AirPort Express.

I assume that you have an unmanaged switch......it does not require programming, correct?

Have you verified that the port is working correctly on the switch?

To do that, move a laptop close to the switch. Turn off the wireless on the laptop and connect the laptop to the same port on the switch that you are using for the Express. If the port is working and the Ethernet cable is good, then you will be able to get an Internet connection on the laptop. The Express should work as well.

If you can't, you have a bad port, a bad Ethernet cable, or in rare cases both are bad.

I had trouble with Bob's technique at first.

I hardwired my Express out on my porch, where there is only a very small wifi signal from the base station (a Time Capsule). Running my MacBook Air in the house, the wifi menu never showed the Express after it was reset, even though I waited a long time.

I tried temporarily moving the Express next to the Time Capsule, and Bob's procedure worked exactly as described.

I then moved the Express back to the porch, and it worked as desired - my iPhone switches automatically between the base station and Express as I walk around.

When I look at the settings now, they are per the "Roaming Network" article and John's description:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260

In essence set the Express exactly the same as the base station, creating a network using the same name/security settings.

There is no "use Ethernet" setting, that is implicit when you "create a network". I'm guessing that "roaming" occurs naturally went the mobile device looses the weaker signal, tries to re-join and finds the stronger network. As long as they have the same network name and security settings (including password), the iPhone never knows what happened.

My iPhone will stick with the weaker network, and sit with 1 bar from the Express for some time after crossing into a strong signal area for the base station. If I walk a bit further, the signal strengh jumps up to full bars.

I'm hoping there is enough signal for the Time Capsule and Express to stay out of each other's channel when set to auto. Or else they just chose different channels this time. If I weren't so lazy I'd experiment with setting them to the same channel, just to see what happens. But I've already spent way too much time on this problem.

So either technique works. For me, it would have been marginally easier to just duplicate the settings.

The first rule of network problem diagnostics is…

It's the cable.

The second rule of network problem diagnostics is…

It's the cable.

The third rule of… well I think you probably guessed it… it's the cable!