Q: Older Airport Extreme with new Airport Express
I have a new Airport Express and an older Airport Extreme (I think 1rst gen). I have been using the Extreme for a few years now and just got the express to help me extend the extreme. The Extreme's signal is very weak in some parts of my house. I cannot hook the two together via ethernet. Needs to be wireless. What's the best method? I only use the wi-fi for internet access and tv (netflix, HBOGO, etc). I do not share printers or hard drives. I'm wondering if the new express is better (range) than my older extreme? Should I use the express as my main base station?
AirPort Extreme 802.11n (1st Gen), Mac OS X (10.4.11)
Posted on Dec 9, 2013 2:12 PM
Your Extreme should still provide better overall range over the 2nd gen 802.11n AirPort Express Base Station, so I would still recommend that you leave the Extreme as your "main" router.
You will want to use the following instructions to extend the wireless network from this Apple Support article.
The key to success if extending the Extreme is to place the Express within a 25+ dB SNR range of the Extreme as it can only repeat the signal with the same bandwidth that it receives it. If the signal is very weak the Express may not even be able to extend it at all.
Check out the following AirPort User tip for details on optimal base station placement. Please post back your results.
Posted on Dec 9, 2013 2:16 PM