Q: Airport Express as main hub with Airport Extreme as Extender?
I currently have the most recent Airport Express (AX) and just purchased a refurbished Airport Extreme (AE). I have a two-story wired home with the cable modem in the walk-in closet of the master's bedroom. In order to connect the two routers via Ethernet cable and the ports in the wall, I'll need to have one of the routers in the closet. My plan is to have the second router downstairs. It seems like it'd be a waste to have the AE in the closet where the signal would be weakened. Would it be possible to have the AX connected to modem and the AE connected via ethernet cable to the AX? Would there be any negative ramifications of having the less powerful router (AX) as the main hub? Thanks in advance for your help.
Posted on Apr 20, 2016 4:24 PM
Would it be possible to have the AX connected to modem and the AE connected via ethernet cable to the AX?
Yes.
Would there be any negative ramifications of having the less powerful router (AX) as the main hub?
Unfortunately, yes there is at least one negative ramification for doing so and that is that the AX only has 100 Mbps Ethernet ports. The Extreme (except the 1st gen model) & Time Capsule employ 1 Gbps ports.
Neither base station's wireless would perform well in a closet. You may be better served by using a wired-only router in the closet, and then, connect both base stations back to it.
Posted on Apr 21, 2016 8:00 AM