How to use another Time Capsule as a range extender

Is there any way to use the apple Time Capsule as a range extender?

Yes. There are two ways to do this, with one method much better than the other.

Method 1.....Locate Time Casule 2 where it will be needed to provide additional wireless signal coverage and then connect an Ethernet cable from Time Capsule 2 back to Time Capsule 1.

The upside with this method.....there is absolutely no signal speed loss through the Ethernet cable so both Time Capsules perform at maximum speed, delivering the best performance for your network. The downside....you have to run the Ethernet cable.

Method 2.....Locate Time Capsule 2 about half way between Time Capsule 1 and the general area where more wireless signal is needed, and set up Time Capsule 2 to wirelessly extend the signal from Time Capsule 1.

The upside with this method is that a wireless connection is used to allow the Time Capsule to communicate together. The downside here is that when you try to extend a network using a wireless connection, about half of the potential speed on the network will be lost, so backups, downloads, etc will be significantly slower than they are now.

Thanks Bob!

I've always wondered this about extended networks. Let's say:

• Connected to my cable modem I have my base Time Capsule (TC1)
• I have another Time Capsule (TC2) that is wirelessly extending the range of TC1
• TC1 does all the DHCP stuff.
• I have two Macs (Mac1 & Mac2) which are both wirelessly connected to TC2.
• I want to transfer a file from Mac1 to Mac2

How does the signal travel?

1) Mac1 -> TC2 -> TC1 -> TC2 -> Mac2 OR

2) Mac1 -> TC2 -> Mac2 OR

3) Something else...

And if it's the first answer, is it possible to have TC2 do all the DHCP stuff? Would it make a difference?

I'll admit, this is more of a curiosity question. It's just one of those things that pops into my head every few months.

Thanks.

How does the signal travel?

2) Mac1 -> TC2 -> Mac2 OR

Your answer is 2.

DHCP server in TC1 is only needed when the lease is renewed .. once a day usually.

It is also the gateway to the internet so when you go out to the internet.. or communicate to a computer or device linked to TC1.

The TC2 will handle all local connections between devices that connect to itself.. even if it is wireless to ethernet clients.

You can test this rather simply..

Turn off TC1 during a file transfer and see what happens..

Sometimes strange stuff does happen.. for reasons which are not obvious.. and it is worthwhile to ensure the network is doing what it should.

Would be a better deal if you could connect both of the Macs to TC2 using Ethernet connections, since the TC is acting like a Gigabit Ethernet switch. Wireless speeds won't come close to Ethernet.