Use airport express to extend a bridged network

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Use airport express to extend a bridged network

I recently had google fiber hooked up at my house. Previously I had AT&T. With AT&T I had a time capsule and an airport express. I turned the wireless off from AT&T and was using the time capsule as my primary wireless and was extending the network with the airport express. The way that google set up the wireless was they are using two bridged networks in my house now. One uses the google router and the other uses the time capsule. Is it possible and if so how do I go about setting up the airport express to extend the network that the time capsule is using which is being bridged with the google router. I know that I have done this before but I don't remember how at this point and just plugging the air port express back into the wall does not work, in fact, it causes the network created by the timecapsule to crash completely when I just plug it back into the wall so I figured I needed to start over with the set up. It was explained to me before and I remember it being simple but that the order in which it was done was critical.

Thank you in advance for your help

Posted on Nov 25, 2015 9:06 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 25, 2015 9:20 AM in response to CrazyJoeMD

The Time Capsule appears to be working correctly when the Express is powered off, correct?

It is possible to "extend" a network using either a wireless connection or using a wired Ethernet connection, but the tips and tricks are different depending on how things will be set up.

Unfortunately, we can't tell from the information in your post whether or not the AirPort Express will connect to the Time Capsule network using a wireless or wired Ethernet connection.

Can you clarify on that, please?

We also do not know what operating system that you might have installed on your Mac or PC.....or.....whether you are planning to use an iPhone or iPad to set up the AirPort Express.....so we can't really provide much in the way of specific tips to set things up without knowing more about the device that you will be using to configure the AirPort Express.

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Answer 2

CrazyJoeMD Author

Level 1

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Nov 25, 2015 9:26 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Thank you for the response.

Yes, when the express is unplugged the express is working well.

To answer your other question:

Initially when I had set up the time capsule and the express they were hard wired together. Now with the new set up in the house I cannot get a hardwire to the express and was going to have it extend using wireless.

We are using all apple products (google fiber aside) and will probably use a mac book air to set up the express.

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Answer 3

Nov 25, 2015 9:38 AM in response to CrazyJoeMD

"Yes, when the express is unplugged the express is working well."

Scratching my head on that one. Not sure how the Express is working well when it is unplugged. Maybe you meant to say that the Time Capsule is working well when the Express is unplugged?

".....will probably use a mac book air to set up the express."

We asked what operating system was installed on the device that you will be using to set up the Express, and now understand that you will be using a MacBook Air. But, we still don't know what operating system might be installed on the MacBook Air. If you are not sure, click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen, then click on About This Mac and post back with the OS X Version number that you see there.

Once we have that info, we can provide a few tips to set up the Express again.

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Answer 4

CrazyJoeMD Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 25, 2015 9:43 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Sorry again, when the express is unplugged the time capsule functions well. When the express is plugged in the time capsule does not work.

The latest iteration of the apple operating system is on the mac book air - el Capitan I believe.

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Answer 5

Nov 25, 2015 3:08 PM in response to CrazyJoeMD

OK, thanks. Sorry for the questions.....but on an online forum.......we cannot see your network, so we really only know as much as a user can tell us.

Temporarily, move the Express to the same room as the Time Capsule

Power up the Express for a minute or two

Hold in the reset button on the back of the Express for 7 to 8 seconds and then release

Allow a full minute for the Express to restart to a slow, blinking amber light status

Click the WiFi icon at the top of the Mac's screen

Look for a listing of New AirPort Base Station

Just below that, click on AirPort Express

The setup "wizard" will open up and take a few seconds to analyze the network, then display a screen that looks similar to this, except that you will see your devices pictured along with the name of your Time Capsule network:

In the box next to Base Station Name, type in a short simple name that you want to call the AirPort Express

Click Next

The "wizard" will configure everything for you. When you see the message of Setup Complete after a minute or two, click Done and close the window.

Now move the Express to a location that is about half way between the Time Capsule and general area where you need more wireless signal coverage. The more that you have line-of-sight between the AirPort Express and Time Capsule, the better the network will operate.

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Answer 6

CrazyJoeMD Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 25, 2015 3:06 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Worked great. thanks for your help

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