Old airport express extending virgin superhub 2

Question

Old airport express extending virgin superhub 2

I have the current Virgin Media SuperHub 2 (first available late 2014, I think) and a very old Airport Express (from possibly 2006) and I would like to use the Airport Express to extend my SuperHub's wireless throughout my house, at it gets a bit weak in some places. I have managed to get the Airport Express to provide internet through the SuperHub and to share a set of speakers. This is only because it is wired into the SuperHub with an ethernet cable and configured using the legacy AirPort Utility from here: http://coreyjmahler.com/2013/10/24/airport-utility-5-6-1-on-os-x-10-9-mavericks/

Of course, what I would like is to properly extend my SuperHub's wifi without cables, but the Airport Express (as seen in the utility) can't seem to see the SuperHub's wifi networks. Here is what it shows when I try to "Extend the range of my ... network":

Does anyone know what I should do to get the SuperHub's WiFi visible in the Airport Express's list of networks or if I can manually configure it? The SuperHub security is set to WPA Auto - so I'm not sure what security setting to use when manually configuring the Airport Express.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Jan 9, 2016 8:38 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,138 points

Jan 9, 2016 8:47 AM in response to matthewfromnew malden

A 2006 AirPort Express has no settings to "extend a wireless network"......since that feature was introduced in 2008 with the 802.11'n" version of the AirPort Express.

But....even if you had a newer version of the Express, Apple's "extend" feature is proprietary......designed to only work with other Apple routers.......so it would be extremely unlikely that the newer version of the Express would be compatible with a Virgin product for the purpose that you ask about.

Reply

Answer 2

Jan 9, 2016 8:59 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks for the info and I understand what you're saying. I also get that the Airport Express is configurable only because it is wired in and seeing the router directly as a networked device, but my previous SuperHub (the previous version of the same device from Virgin Media) was able to extend the WiFi network without all this messing around. Of course, that was 2 or 3 years ago and I was directly configuring it using the iPhone App, which no longer talks to the Airport Express. All I really want it to do is make a set of speakers work in another room, but for that I need either the WiFi extended or a very long ethernet cable (which entirely defeats the purpose of the exercise.)

Reply

Answer 3

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,138 points

Jan 9, 2016 9:19 AM in response to matthewfromnew malden

You might have thought that the Express was 'extending" the signal from the SuperHub, but more likely the Express "joined" the network. It can be used for AirPlay or to connect a remote USB printer when it "joins" a network, but it does not provide any additional wireless signal coverage when it joins a network.

When users state that their Express is extending a 3rd party network, we ask them to perform a few checks to confirm this.....and, invariably, the user then finds out that the Express is not extending the network at all, even though they thought that it was.

Reply

Answer 4

Jan 10, 2016 1:33 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks again - does this mean that I am out of luck and simply not going to be able to get the Airport Express even to wirelessly join my network and provide AirPlay access to speakers? The image I posted above still shows even when I don't try to extend my network.

Reply

Answer 5

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,138 points

Jan 10, 2016 7:19 AM in response to matthewfromnew malden

Assuming that it is working correctly.......(the average useful life of the older AirPort Express models was about 4-5 years).......and that you know the exact name of the Virgin SuperHub wireless network, the password for the network.....and.....the type of wireless security that the SuperHub is using......there is a chance that the older AirPort Express can "join" the network.

The Express will not "join" the network unless all 3 settings match up exactly.

We will assume that you know the name of SuperHub wireless network and the password.....but....do you know what type of wireless security that the SuperHub is using? If you know.....post back with that info......(it will likely be something like WPA-PSK-TKIP, or WPA2-PSK-AES, or WPA/WPA2 Personal, etc.).......and we'll give you a setup that might work.

Reply