Setup an Extreme and the following day used an express to extend the network. All devices connected but after an hour or so all mobile devices fail to authenticate WiFi. However the Macbook Pro connects fine without issues. Why?
iPhone 4S, iOS 8.1
Why?
Much better operating systems and antennas on the Macs.
Hopefully, you are "extending" by connecting the AirPort Express back to the AirPort Extreme using a wired Ethernet connection.
Trying to "extend" by having the AirPort Express connect using wireless will lower the performance of your network. The range might improve....but the throughput on the network will drop by about half.
In addition, the iPhone, iPads, etc get confused about which AirPort to connect to, so they disconnect.
Good info here in the Apple support document about "extending"
Adding Wi-Fi base stations when it is unnecessary can reduce Wi-Fi throughput because the Wi-Fi network will require more data management overhead. The network configuration also becomes more complex. In the case of a wirelessly extended network, throughput may be reduced to less than 60 percent of that of a single device. The general rule is to keep the Wi-Fi network as simple as possible. You can accomplish this by using the minimum number of Wi-Fi base stations required to service the physical network area and by using Ethernet wherever possible.
Extending the range of your Wi-Fi network by connecting Wi-Fi base stations together using Ethernet is always the best option, and will provide the best throughput.
Mr Timmons,
I'm glad you took the time to reply. We are unable to connect the Extreme to the Express through Ethernet. It is being extended through the Airport utility and all devices can see the network fine.
I'll try to describe the scenario a bit better. Due to the limitations of the home the airport extreme is located next to the modem in the lower left side of a 2500sqft home. The Express is located just about middle of the household so it can cover part of the yard as would be liked. There are extended wireless. After adding the express we connected the MacbookPro which is still connected, and the iPad 2. Both functioned great. We added the iPhone 4S and noticed an authentication issue. Out of curiosity I restarted the iPad and now it does the same thing. Restarting the MacbookPro does not deliver the same result, it can always connect.
As I agree that there are way better antennas in the computer than in a phone or other handheld, it does not answer why a phone cannot connect to a network broadcasting a signal of -40dBm (Sorry had to correct).
Is there anything I can provide to try and brainstorm a resolution?
Thanks much for your reply.
If you cannot connect the AirPort Express to the AirPort Extreme using a wired Ethernet connection, then a pair of Ethernet powerline adapters might be able to send the Ethernet signal over the AC powerless in your home.
The computer / electronics superstore near you will have a selection of devices from which to choose. Ask the guys there what works well in your area.
The theory with these devices is that you already have the wiring in place, you just need the adapters. In practice, things do not always work as well as the theory might suggest, so if you decide to try a pair, it would be a good idea to understand the store's return policy in advance.
As you already know, trying to extend by using a wireless connection will degrade the performance of your network. As more devices try to connect, the problems accelerate. I've been there, tried this a number of times. it does not work very well in my opinion. If there is a secret, I have not found it, but maybe another user has and they will post here.
in the meantime, If you want to continue to try to extend using wireless, all that I can suggest is that you experiment with different locations for the AirPort Express. Keep in mind that the Express can only extend the speed of signal that it receives, and the signal has already slowed down quite a bit by the time that it reaches the Express. The whole setup acts like a big antenna, so interference from other networks and cordless phones is picked up easily extending using wireless....another item that affects performance that we have barely touched upon here.
Ultimately, you will have to make a choice between performance and convenience. It's your call. Good luck.
Thanks for the promptness, I will be visiting the location soon so this really helps having these answers so timely.
Convenience is the choice, but something else is at play here than just a signal. If we remove the macbook and have a singular device, the iPhone. It still fails to authenticate. That does not seem probable when the signal is reporting so strong. I understand that the speed (up/down) may be lesser because it's all wireless but can't even gain the connection?
Signal strength is almost never the real issue. It is noise and interference.
I don't know who first said that wireless was half science and half voodoo, but they nailed it.
The best investment that I ever made, performance wise.....far better than any new router(s) or computer.....was pulling the Ethernet cable to major areas of the home and setting up wireless access points there. The network.....using 3 and 4 year old routers.....is really fast and I haven't had a drop in months.
Haha, that's true. With this instance I'm thinking more than half voodoo. They mobile devices were able to connect fine until a sudden loss. I can't think of what it could have been.
Drops are almost always caused by noise and interference. The trick is to find it.
As Bob suggested, you have to eliminate the source of the interference....
YOu wrote you lost the mobile devices when you added the express as an extender, that's your interference. move it further from the extreme. this may take some playing around, use the airport utility app on an iPad or iPhone.
I Just finished doing the same thing - had to place the express close enough to pick up the signal from the extreme, but far enough not to be interfering with it.
My apologies, I thought I stated it as such; with the extreme and express the MacBook and iPad could connect but once attempting to connect the iPhone 4S it had authentication issues and then restarting the iPad caused the same on it.
I'm going to be back on location tomorrow and I'll try to play around and gather more information. Thank you so much guys for your input and knowledgeable advice!
Handheld devices (Phones, iPads) fail to authenticate, yet the MacBook pro works without an issue.
