Best Setup To Network Three Devices

If you are connecting it with Ethernet, you need to "Create a wireless network" rather than "extend". However, I don't know how that is going to affect the Airport Extreme that is extending over WiFi, since there will be two network creators (it would just work if all three Airports were connected via Ethernet and all created the same SSID). Someone more familiar with wireless extension options (paging Bob Timmons) can tell you if that will work or not.

This seems the best way to go, but doing it just screwed up all my Airport Utility settings. I can go into detail about that if needed.

Maybe you should post the details. As I mentioned above, I've seen extended and roaming networks created, but never a combination. The Extreme might be getting confused seeing two originators of the wireless network it is supposed to extend.

As a test, you might try giving the Time Capsule a completely different SSID and see if that network can live side-by-side with your existing extended network.

Another question: is it possible to connect your Extreme to the "router" Time Capsule via Ethernet also? If so, having all three AirPort devices connected via Ethernet would be the ultimate solution.

I don’t want to create another network. I don’t see how that would help.

The idea would be to see whether that works or not - it isn't meant to be a final solution, just a test. If it does work, then there does seem to be an issue with doing both roaming (having multiple "create a network" AirPorts) and extending going on at the same time. If that does not work, it means there is something else wrong.

Again, if you can post the details of the sorts of error messages or whatever you are seeing, that might help with the troubleshooting.

I would suggest that you setup a roaming network instead of using the traditional method of extending your network. If you use the Time Capsule for Time Machine Backups, you are going to want to use this as the primary router in the network.

A Roaming network is what schools and big offices use to create large networks.

1. Setup the Time Capsule up to create the network.

2. Connect the airport extreme via ethernet to the Time Capsule. You are going to want to place the airport extreme in a location that is away from the time capsule and closer to the area that you are losing your connection.

3. Setup the Airport Extreme to create a network as well. Use the exact same network name and password as the Time Capsule. Make sure the Airport Extreme is in Bridge mode.

This will allow clients to connect to the device that provides the best connection at a given time.

Refer to https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204616 for more info.

Cheers,

Dekker

This set up works well for most of the house, but there is a bedroom on the other side away from the modem that’s the signal is weak. So I’m hoping I can extend it there using my second time capsule.

Let's back up a bit here and go over the basics of how Apple's "extend" feature works, then apply those guidelines to see if there might be a way for you to increase the range of your network.

Apple's "extend" feature works like the hub and spokes of a wheel. So, your first Time Capsule is the "hub". Now imagine that the wheel has four spokes....one going to the top, another to the bottom and the other two going to each side. You can locate another AirPort or AirPort Time Capsule at the end of any of the four spokes, so you could have four devices extending the signal of the Time Capsule "hub".

But, notice that each extender resides at the end of a separate spoke.....and.....each extender connects directly to the hub. It is not possible to "extend" the network further by having another AirPort connect to a device (at the end of a spoke) that is already extending the network. Stated another way, you can have multiple devices extending a network, but the network can only be extended one time.....not two.

So, in order for your second Time Capsule to be able to extend the network using wireless....as you want....the second Time Capsule needs to be about the same distance away from the "hub" Time Capsule as the AirPort Extreme......and.....the second Time Capsule needs to be closer to the "hub" than it is to the AirPort Extreme (at the end of another spoke).

Whether or not this is possible on your network, we cannot say, since we are not familiar with the layout of your home and where you want to locate devices.

Is the correct "hub and spoke" setup something that you could accomplish in your home?

The express is about 20 feet away from my main TC

OK, got that.

I can place the second TC about 15 feet away in between them.

That won't work. The second TC and the Express both need to be further away from each other than the distance from either of them to the "main" TC.

The bottom line here is that the Express needs to pick up a stronger signal from the "main" TC than the second TC. And, the second TC needs to pick up a stronger signal from the main TC than it does from the Express.

To give you a different example.......

The "main" TC is in the center of your house. The Express is at the far North end of the house. The second TC ideally needs to be at the far South end of the house, although it could be located at the far East or Far West.

OK, just as long as the second TC is not located "in between" the main TC and Express.....as you had indicated above.....things should work as planned.