LValley5
Level 1 (4 points)
Wireless

Q: Wifi dropping consistently: have (2) Airport Expresses and (1) Airport Extreme. Stumped

Wifi dropping: have (2) AirPort Expresses and (1) AirPort Extreme. 2-story home. Our "daisy chain" linking the AirPorts just isn't successful - Downstairs' wifi drops consistently. Very frustrating for anyone working downstairs or playing games (Xbox)

 

Neighbor uses TP Link WiFi Range Extender in their downstairs, but reviews warn doesn't work with AirPort.

 

All advice appreciated!

Posted on Jul 7, 2016 4:55 PM

Close
LValley5

Q: Wifi dropping consistently: have (2) Airport Expresses and (1) Airport Extreme. Stumped

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Jul 7, 2016 4:59 PM in response to LValley5
    Level 10 (120,655 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jul 7, 2016 4:59 PM in response to LValley5

    Hi,

     

    Try a reset on both the Expresses and Extreme.

     

    Start with a Soft reset first >  Resetting an AirPort base station FAQ - Apple Support

  • by BigGee42,

    BigGee42 BigGee42 Jul 7, 2016 5:11 PM in response to LValley5
    Level 2 (253 points)
    Jul 7, 2016 5:11 PM in response to LValley5

    Yeah, I had this same problem when I moved to a new house.

     

    In the old house which was smaller I used my Airport Express devices to extend the network to other rooms from my Time Capsule in the main room.

     

    In the bigger house, the signal wouldn't stay consistent and often the Airport Express units lost the connection.

     

    The problem with extending the network is that each wireless device has to be in range of the others, and you lose some of the signal strength the further apart they are. It's also highly susceptible to interference from walls & roofs, especially if you have an upstairs/downstairs house

     

    What I had to do was set up a roaming network: Wi-Fi base stations: Setting up and configuring a roaming network (802.11 a/b/g/n) - Apple Support

     

    Essentially, every wireless device provides access to the same network, but their connection to the base is not wireless. Each airport express is connected to the Time Capsule / Airport Extreme via Ethernet which ensures that the network is always available and the wireless units do not need to be in range of each other.

     

    Now, my house was not built in the last 5 years so it doesn't have Ethernet ports in every room, but what I was able to use was a set of Powerline adapters.

     

    These use the power circiuits in your house (which do go to every room) to create a network connection. They're not too expensive and it's worth it to have a stable network that works at full speed wherever you have a wireless router. No loss of signal!

     

    So, the setup is:

     

    Main room - Time Capsule connected to Internet router. Ethernet cable connected to Powerline adapter in a power socket.

    Secondary room - Airport express plugged into a socket, and the powerline adapter plugged into a socket next to it. Many powerline adapters have pass-through sockets so you don't lose a power socket. The Airport Express can be plugged into this so that both devices share a single socket.

    Before you switch them on, connect the Airport Express ethernet port to an ethernet port on the powerline adapter.

     

    Repeat this for each airport express. Then follow the guide in the Apple document above.

     

    Hope this helps!