it seems my macbook pro always connects to the AE that's the extender

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it seems my macbook pro always connects to the AE that's the extender

i have a new aiport express set up as 'create a wireless network' and an old airport express set up to extend this network (it used to say 'extend wireless network' but it seems after this latest update that is not a choice and it now says 'join wireless network'). the new airport express is sitting on the same desk as my macbook pro but when i go to 'system profile' then 'airport' on my macbook pro, it looks like it's connected to the extended AE. why would that be? it shows it's connected to channel 1, if i scroll down to other networks in system profile it shows the network of the same name but with channel 52, 1. how can i make my macbook connect to the new AE? thanks. if this helps, when i look at the network on airport utility on my iphone 5 it shows internet on top, the new AE right below connected by a solid line, then below that the old AE connected by a dotted line.

Mac OS X (10.6.8), iPhone 5 iOS 6.1

Posted on Feb 12, 2013 6:14 PM

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Answer 1

JoeMY

Level 1

120 points

Feb 12, 2013 11:40 PM in response to iinami

The new AEX supports simultaneous dual band 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Do a PRAM reset (which I believe may fix comething here). Macbook should connect to the 5GHz if its available which is better anyways.

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Answer 2

iinami Author

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Feb 13, 2013 2:47 AM in response to JoeMY

JoeMY wrote:

The new AEX supports simultaneous dual band 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Do a PRAM reset (which I believe may fix comething here). Macbook should connect to the 5GHz if its available which is better anyways.

Thanks, but i don't think that will help, i found this in the reset pram support article:

Note: OS X does not store network settings in NVRAM / PRAM. If you are troubleshooting a network issue, resetting it will not help.

Does anyone else have a suggestion?

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Answer 3

JoeMY

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120 points

Feb 13, 2013 6:37 AM in response to iinami

Well it solved a similar problem for me. My iMac would only connect to the 2.4GHz band (second router which is dual band) and not the 5GHz band (primary router). Running network tools, it seemed that the iMac only sees 2.4GHz wifi networks also. A PRAM reset fixed the issue and it is now happily connected to the primary. When I read the PRAM documentation it seemed like an unlikely solution but it fixed things.

On your original post you mentioned connection to Channel 1, which is on the 2.4GHz band. And also connected to the extended router of yours.

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Answer 4

iinami Author

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Feb 13, 2013 8:08 AM in response to JoeMY

frustrating, cannot get the network to properly extend. looks like it's creating 2 networks...

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Answer 5

JoeMY

Level 1

120 points

Feb 13, 2013 9:20 AM in response to iinami

If its setup to extend the network its pretty much straightforward. On the extender the primary network is selected therefore creating 2 networks should not arise. Which version of Airport Utility are you using?

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Answer 6

edex67

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Feb 13, 2013 9:21 AM in response to iinami

Extending a wireless network doesn't create two networks, it is only if you use Ethernet that this can arise.

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Answer 7

iinami Author

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Feb 13, 2013 9:37 AM in response to edex67

i have the new airport express set up as create wireless network, i used airport utility 5.6.1 on my 2010 macbook pro. i then plugged in and reset my older airport express and set it up as extend wireless network. this was all before the latest updates. now, every time i open airport utility and highlight the older airport express and just go thru the settings as if i want to change them, but without changing any, when i get to the part where i can pick what i want to do with it, it has somehow put a check next to create a wireless network, not join a wireless network. i recheck join wireless network. there is no option to extend wireless network so i've been using join. it goes thru and says everything is okay, but when i go thru again it is back to create wireless network.

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Answer 8

JoeMY

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120 points

Feb 13, 2013 7:10 PM in response to iinami

Connected my old 802.11g Express using Airport Utility 5.6.1 and the option to extend or participate in a WDS network is there. Try a reset and see if it fixes this for you.

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Answer 9

edex67

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3,255 points

Feb 14, 2013 12:10 AM in response to JoeMY

One problem with WDS, it halves speeds for each router and is limited to 11g speeds. Also, newer 11n routers don't support WDS I believe.

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Answer 10

JoeMY

Level 1

120 points

Feb 14, 2013 3:05 AM in response to edex67

Agreed. WDS is not supported on the newer routers. Extend a network is used when I need to boost the signal in isolated spots for the G network (old devices) when there are the rare moments with too much interference from nearby wifi networks. The nice thing about the old AEX is it plugs nicely into a wall socket with no power cable.

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Answer 11

iinami Author

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Feb 14, 2013 3:16 AM in response to edex67

What is WDS? And are you saying i shouldn't extend my new AX with an old AX?

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Answer 12

JoeMY

Level 1

120 points

Feb 14, 2013 3:26 AM in response to iinami

No. You can setup your old AEX with the new one. Only use "extend a wireless network" option for the older device.

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Answer 13

iinami Author

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Feb 14, 2013 3:50 AM in response to JoeMY

Thanks, that's what i did, the only problem is, like i said, the old one keeps somehow switching back to create a wireless network. anyway, i've pretty much given up, i am able to connect all my devices in the house to one or the other of the airports somehow. the heck with it. i just wish i knew if i was getting the best performance i can. i appreciate the effort by both of you.

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Answer 14

John Galt

Level 10

141,060 points

Feb 17, 2013 9:43 AM in response to JoeMY

WDS remains supported using current production AirPort Base Stations (AirPort Utility 5.6 screenshots):

Hold an Option key whilst selecting Wireless Mode.

Click the WDS tab to configure the participants:

WDS is an awful choice for a wireless network. Use it strictly for educational purposes or when there simply is no other option (e.g. pre-802.11n AirPort Base Stations or with non-Apple routers - WDS never became an established standard so it may not be reliable).

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Answer 15

iinami Author

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Feb 17, 2013 12:18 PM in response to John Galt

I don't know why WDS even came up in this thread, i didn't mention it, and don't know what it is. i was just trying to find out why my older AX is joining network instead of extending.

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