New Airport Extreme and Old Airport Express

1) How do I connect the old Airport Express (A1088) with the new Airport Extreme (tower)

AirPort Utility 6.3.1 in Lion and Mountain Lion does not support this older version of the AirPort Express.

You will need another Mac that is running the Leopard or Snow Leopard operating system, or a PC to be able to configure the old AirPort Express.

The older Express could be configured to "join" the AirPort Extreme wireless network....not extend....so that you could use a remote printer or AirTunes.

IF.....you connected the old AirPort Express to the AirPort Extreme using a permanent wired Ethernet connection, the Express could be configured to provide more wireless signal coverage that way.

If you do not have an older Mac or a PC to configure the older AirPort Express, some users have reported that they are able to use a fairly involved workaround to install an older version of AirPort Utility on a Lion or Mountain Lion Mac.....not supported by Apple.....so there are no guarantees that this would be successful. Post back if you want more details on this possibility.

2) Can I use my old Airport Extreme and connect it via WiFi as a network extention?

I think you probably meant to say old AirPort Express here, correct? If yes, the older version of the AirPort Express that you have is not compatible with the new AirPort Extreme for this purpose.

You would need either the A1264 or A1392 version of the AirPort Express to extend the signal from the new AirPort Extreme via WiFi. If you want full 802.11ac capability on the wireless extension, you would need to use another new AirPort Extreme 802.11ac to extend the network.

I have exactly the same situation as Tincup67 - thanks for addressing the old Airport Express issue. Still wondering if I can use my old Airport Extreme Base Station to extend the network. I understand it will slow traffic but a larger range would be welcome.

Thanks

Still wondering if I can use my old Airport Extreme Base Station to extend the network.

If you are asking about extending with the AirPort Extreme using wireless only......

Yes, if you have any version of the "square", flat Extreme.

No, if you have the older "round" dome Extreme.

2) I really ment the Extreme for the second question - and I have the square, flat A1134 and would like to extend the wireless only

Then you can do this very easily using the most recent version of AirPort Utility 6.3.1 on Lion and Mountain Lion. Post back if you need tips on this setup.

Locate the AirPort Extreme about half way between the Time Capsule and the area that needs more wireless coverage and power it up and let it run a few minutes.

With the old AirPort Extreme still powered on, hold in the reset button on the back of the device for 9-10 seconds and release. Allow a full minute for the AirPort Extreme 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. Just below that, click directly on AirPort Extreme.

The screenshot below shows an AirPort Express. You will see AirPort Extreme on your screen.

AirPort Setup will open up automatically and take a minute to analyze the network, then announce that the AirPort Extreme will be configured to extend the Time Capsule network.

Enter a name that you want to use for the AirPort Extreme and click Next

Allow another minute for AirPort Setup to configure the AirPort Extreme. When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done. That's it.

Thanks so much for this post. I struggled with this issue all day but after reading your comments I had my old extreme up and running in a couple of minutes! 😎