Extend Airport Extreme Network via Ethernet to Airport Express

Bob

My AirPort Extreme's signal is attenuated in my house during colder temperatures. So, my AirPort Extreme (named Ferrari) feeds by Ethernet an Airport Express (named Sunroom). Excellent signal strength there. I think this configuration is just one network: or is it two? Thanks.

Ken

it's two networks, but if you are using the same wireless network name and password on both AirPorts, your Mac and other devices will "see" just one network.

If you use a WiFi utility like WiFi Explorer or WiFi Scanner, you will see two networks that are both using the same wireless network name.

Technically, your setup is known as a "roaming network", with the theory that you can "roam" with your Mac laptop from one area to another and the Mac will automatically switch from one AirPort to another to pick up the stronger signal.

In practice, Mac laptops will usually automatically switch from one AirPort to another as the laptop moves about and pick up the stronger signal that is available....but...most iPhones, iPads, and other portable devices do not do this very well....if they do it all.

Many thanks for your prompt reply. The struggle iOS devices may have automatically using the stronger wifi signal was an eye opener! A curious question - with my present configuration, is there any particular advantage in using the same name and password for both networks?

The advantage to having both AirPorts use the same wireless network name and password.....in theory.....is that devices will automatically switch to pick up the strongest signal as they move from one area near one AirPort to another area near another AirPort.

As I said, Mac laptops generally do this very well. iOS devices, not so great, but you don't know until you try. Why? the iOS operating system does not have a lot of brains, and the iOS devices use much simpler antennas.

For example, my iPhone sometimes switches fairly quickly as it changes location, and other times it might take the device a few minutes to switch. At other times, the device does not switch at all, so it stays connected to the original AirPort to which it originally connected....even if the iPhone moves close to another AirPort.

As a general rule with an iPhone or iPad, you will probably need to get in the habit of temporarily turning off the WiFi on the iOS device when you move it from one location to another. Then, turn the WiFi back on and the device will usually pick up the stronger signal from the closest Airport.

If you use different wireless network names for each AirPort, then you will of course need to manually choose the network to which you want to connect. Some users prefer this type of set up, and some do not.

Let's tackle the second question first, since it will logically lead to the answer to the first question.

After repeated attempts to configure my hardwired Aiport Extreme, I get the following yellow status error:

Yellow Internet Connetion

Yellow No DNS Servers

Yellow Conflicting DHCP Range

This tells us a couple of things....1) the AirPort Extreme is not in Bridge Mode (it should be) and .....2) that you are not likely using Apple's very simple setup wizard in AirPort Utility to configure the AirPort Extreme. If you use the wizard, you don't have to worry much about details.

Assuming that you have verified that the Ethernet cable connections and ports on the switch are operating correctly, and you have hard reset the AirPort Extreme by holding in the reset button for 10 seconds, releasing and then allowing a full minute for the Extreme to restart.....

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 on AirPort Extreme. The example below shows an AirPort Express....you will see AirPort Extreme.

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 your main network.

Enter a device name that you would like to use for the Extreme and click Next

Wait a minute while Airport Setup configures everything for you. You should see a message that the Extreme is being configured to extend using Ethernet.

When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done.

Now, to your first question.......

The current setup will configure the Extreme to use the same wireless network name, security, password, etc so that it will extend the network and devices will not have to change networks to pick up the signal from the Extreme.

If you want to go back in and assign a different wireless network name and password to the Extreme's network, you can do so.

This will force computers in close proximity to the Extreme to manually change networks to log on to the Extreme's network. Then they will have to manually log back onto the "main" network if they change locations.

Please clarify if you want to assign a separate wireless network name for the Extreme to use.

Correct me if I am wrong but in order for my airport extreme to appear in the menu as you describe, I would need to reset it which I am not going to do.

Correct, you need to reset the Extreme if you want to use the AirPort Setup utility.

I have 2 dozen port settings in the extreme that I don't want to loose.

The AirPort Extreme needs to be in Bridge Mode if you want it to extend the network.

This is the first time in the discussion that we have heard about port settings for the AirPort Extreme. You cannot have port settings enabled when the AirPort Extreme is in Bridge Mode.

So, maybe we have confusion with terminology here. If we understood exactly what you want the AirPort Extreme to do, we maybe we can offer a solution without breaking too many networking rules.

We are going to have to go very slow and be very patient at this point, please.

I would like to run an airport extreme on the lower level and two airport expresses on the upper level.

Got it. AirPort Extreme downstairs.

I find that the airport expresses on the 2nd level of our stucture have diffuclty holding a solid connection to the extreme which is set up on the lower level of the property if wireless. Therefore, I want to hardwire ethernet the 2 expresses on the second level to a 24 port ethernet switch which is fed by an airport extreme located on the lower level.

Got that, understand that using wireless to extend is not the way to go and that you want to use wired Ethernet connections for better bandwidth with the two AirPort Express devices.

After repeated attempts to configure my hardwired Aiport Extreme, I get the following yellow status error:

Yellow Internet Connetion

Yellow No DNS Servers

Yellow Conflicting DHCP Range

This made me think that you had an AirPort Extreme upstairs, so my reply with configuration instructions used the term Extreme, which is really your router downstairs.

So, understanding that you do not want to do anything to the Extreme downstairs, should we use the term Express to describe the device that you want to configure upstairs?

The Express is the device that will need to be reset and set up again using the instructions that I detailed above.

Are you OK with hard resetting an AirPort Express back to default settings and then setting it up again?

If yes, be sure to connect the Ethernet cable to the WAN port on the Express before you begin the setup process by clicking the AirPort icon. Since you will be configuring an AirPort Express, you will see AirPort Express exactly like it appears above in the instructions.

Once the Expess is set up, it will use the same wireless network name and password as your AirPort Extreme network. If you want to change the name of the network, you can do so.

You might also read this Apple document on adding single or multiple roaming devices.

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

Thanks, this is good general info, but has no detail on using AirPort Utility 6.x, which we must use here. The document is really about 3 years out of date at this point.

Even though the express was hardwired to the extreme during the set up process it was choosing to "extend" the 5 ghz network which I have activated on my extreme. I assume this is okay. It seems to be. It offered me no other option during the set up.

Both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands will be extended if the extending device supports dual bands.

I configured the express by plugging it directly into the LAN port of the Extreme. Once configure, I plugged the express into my 24 port switch. It worked.

That's a good way to do things. If the Express works when connected directly to the Extreme, and doesn't when you connect it elsewhere on the network, then you know that you have a wiring or switch issue somewhere.

I choose to keep the express network name and base station name the same as those on the extreme. They worked. Since I really want to keep track of which network I am logged into, I later changed both the network name and the base station name for the express and it seems to all work under the new names.

Either will work, as long as you don't mind logging on and off of networks to switch. Most users prefer to have one "big" network. Then, they can walk a laptop from one area to another, stay on the same network and the Mac will automatically switch to pick up the strongest signal from the closest access point.

I activated the 5 ghz on the newly configured and newly named express. It seems to work.

As it should.

While configuing the express I got the error message metioned above a couple times. I kept trying the same procdure with out changeing anything and eventually it worked.

I can't duplicate that issue, but glad that things worked after a few tries.

Since my AppleTV on the second floor has difficulties connecting with the extreme, I am thinking of plugging it in to the express directly. How do you feel about this? WOuld I be better off running another separate ethernet wire off the switch?

Always the best plan to connect any network devices using Ethernet if you can. The best networks are the ones with an Ethernet "backbone". You can connect the Apple TV to the Express or the switch, whichever is easier. Personally, I prefer to connect devices to a switch if possible just to keep things simpler and make any troubleshooting easier.

This whole system with an extreme, 3 expresses, 3 appletvs, 12-14 cameras, a 24 port switch and up to 50 devices on the network at one time (computers, phones, ipads, etc, etc) works reasonably well considering the demands I put on it.

That's quite a home network. Glad that things are working. I am sure that you notice better wireless performance now with the two AirPort Express devices wired into the Ethernet backbone.

If we could get more users to set up their networks this way, most of the complaints that we get about slow wireless, intermittent connections, etc would go away.

It's not easy to run the Ethernet cable for some users, but I have yet to hear from the first user who ever regretted doing it.