Airport Extreme vs. Airport Express

Does anyone know if there is any difference between the two products in terms of power/signal strength?

No, they have the same power/signal strength.

Joel,

One difference that you might want to consider is that the Extreme has an external antenna connection to facilitate extending range. Also, an Extreme will extend the range of either an Airport Extreme or an Airport Express wireless network, whereas an Airport Express will only extend the range of an Airport Express wireless network. So, if you set up your main base with an Express, you can daisy chain with and Extreme or an Express. If you set up your main base with an Extreme, you will need another Extreme to extend the network range. I have both and found out the hard way - before reading the tech specs.

Art

lakeview, Welcome to the discussion area!

One difference that you might want to consider is that the Extreme has an external antenna connection to facilitate extending range.

The posts from people who have tried external antennas provide a very mixed bag of results. But the majority are disappointed on the results.

Also, an Extreme will extend the range of either an Airport Extreme or an Airport Express wireless network, whereas an Airport Express will only extend the range of an Airport Express wireless network.

That is not true. An AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) or an AirPort Express (AX) can extend the range of an AEBS or an AX. You can have a mixed network of any combination of devices.

If you set up your main base with an Extreme, you will need another Extreme to extend the network range.

Incorrect. You can do it with an AEBS or an AX.

Duane,
You are the mac daddy as I can personally attest to your information as being accurate. And Joel I would suggest you consider Duane's info as reliable. I know this to be fact because I have purchased one extreme as the base station off the modem and connected to my usb remote printer. I have two express units connected to two separate airtune/speaker set-ups and enjoy the music throughout the house. I also have one additonal express that is being used as a signal-enhancing unit at the other end of my house and directly adjacent to my imac.
Seek out advice through folks like Duane since multiple experiences at Apple care has only unearthed inexperienced techies that often lack the expertise to assist in larger WDS systems. David

Since right now this discussion is listed on the main support page, I just want to clarify that as of January 9th, 2007, the Airport Extreme Base Station has been updated to include pre-802.11n capabilities meaning it is faster and has a larger range than the Airport Express. It also now lacks the antenna hook up that is mentioned earlier in this discussion and has 2 additional 10/100 LAN ports. It is backwards compatible with 802.11 a/b/g and is supposed to be available this February.

feld, Welcome to the discussion area!

iFelix has updated the table at www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/1301.html to include the new square AEBS.

Just reviewed the link posted above, and noticed that the new AirPort Extreme (MA073LL/A) is listed as not supporting WDS... is this confirmed by an Apple source (as the product is not released yet) or do you think it is listed as 'No" because the poster is not certain of the functionality yet?



cheers!

Don


Intel iMac Mac OS X (10.4.8) also a WXP MCE2k5

I see the new Airport Extreme is nearly available. What exactly does "5 times faster" really mean? I just ordered the Express, and I plan to hook it up to my Bell Sympatico (Canadian ISP) high-speed DSL modem, and use it to stream music to my stereo and, eventually, a wireless printer. Thus, it will essentially be a network of one.

I assume that neither product can make my modem go any faster, so would there be a significant speed difference with only one user on the network at any one time (occasionally two users)? Secondly, has anyone successfully connected to their Express from outside their home (e.g. on the patio)? It'll be about 15 feet to the window from where the Express unit will be, and then a floor down. ANy chance I'll be able to connect from out there?


Thanks so much!

Jamie Ashby

What exactly does "5 times faster" really mean?

It is in relation to the new 802.11n capability. You must have 'n' capable clients to achieve that increase.

All of these posts seem to involve base stations. I have no base station -- just a router. A D-Link DI-624. My cable modem comes into the Route, and my main iMac workstation is hooked directly into the router via ethernet, so no issues there.
The problem is upstairs. (one floor up) Upstairs I have an iMac with an Airport Extreme card.(these are NOT intel Macs) It repeatedly drops the wi-fi single. Or it will "see" my wifi network but won't connect ("error trying to connect...try again"). I don't get it. The profiler says my Airport firmware version is: 405.1 (3.90.34.0.p18.

Do I have the latest firmware?
Or is it my router. Is the problem with the D-Link? The D-Link di-624 has one antennae. Would the two-antennae model make a difference.? -- david

All of these posts seem to involve base stations.

The terms "base station" and "wireless router" are used interchangeably.

Yes it looks like the latest firmware. The firmware is automatically and silently updated by Apple with AirPort software updates. Not every AirPort software update contains a firmware update.

More than likely the problem is RF interference. See KB 58543, AirPort: Potential sources of interference.

It is in relation to the new 802.11n capability. You
must have 'n' capable clients to achieve that
increase.

As in the modem itself must be "n" capable? I've had the same one for a while (my ISP sent it to me), so I doubt it. I ordered the fastest high-speed service available in my area when I signed up. My Express is now on its way anyway, so I hope that was the right choice!

As in the modem itself must be "n" capable?

The wireless router (base station) and the wireless clients.

Duane, Thanks. Have already eliminated all those RF frequency issues (phones, etc. AT least I've eliminated the ones listed. Do you think a dual-antennae Linksys will provide a stronger, farther signal than my single-antenna D-Link?

also, I'm not I follow the suggestions here about using AExpress to extend the range of my wifi signal. I have a couple AE's and use them successfull for wireless music. But I really don't need the second one. Would you mind walking me through the steps to take if I want to use AExpress with my "upatairs" Mac, the one that gets a weak signal. I am guessing that I would plug the AE nexts to the Mac and connect the two via the ethernet ports..? Then somehow reconfigure my WiFi network so that AExpress is on the same network? Is that how it works?-- david