An Unusually Bad Experience

as i suggested earlier there is a much simpler way to make this all work. the posters above are way smarter and more advanced then me. i did this in 3 steps.

1. plugged the AEBS into my cable modem

2. configured it for n only 5 ghz

3. plugged the old g router into AEBS ethernet port (changed nothing)

done everything works. AEBS for dummies

Has anyone tried setting the AEBS up with WPA only, not WPA & WPA2? Is that possible on the new AEBS? I just got my AEBS yesterday and have not had a chance to set it up yet.

While setting up an xbox 360 wireless with an Aiport Express for a client, I had to specify "WPA only" in the Airport Admin Utility. Otherwise the xbox would not recognize the network.

MW

You can set up the WPA option up in the AEBS 'n' but you first need to option-click on the "Radio Mode" drop down and select a transmission type that does not use 'n'. For example I have mine set to 802.11b/g compatible. You can then option-click on the "Wireless Security" drop down and WPA Personal will be all alone. On a side note, this also allows you to bypass the WEP (Transitional Security Network) mode and select the familiar 40 or 128-bit encryption. This little trick has allowed me to take my network out of WDS mode and use WPA Personal with my Xbox 360.

In an update to my solution, while browsing the post I found that another user used option-click to open option that were hidden otherwise. With option-click on "Radio Mode" you can select a transmission type that does not use 'n'. Once restarted you can then option-click the security tab and get hidden option there. I now have my network out of WDS mode, WPA personal security and my Xbox 360 in great. I can confirm this works.

Powerbook G4 1.25 (FW 800) Mac OS X (10.4.8) PowerMac G4 Dual 1Ghz

I can confirm this works.

The problem of course is that 'n' devices are then limited to 'g' bandwidth, just like everything else on the network. This isn't a big deal yet for most people but as AppleTV and similar boxes start showing up more and more, everyone is going to want those faster speeds and unless Apple or M$ issues a fix, those of us with 360's will be stuck with kludgy solutions like mine or using no encryption on our wireless LAN's (NOT a good solution).

Well, this is what I did...

Since, I have no N client yet (all g devices), I set my AirPort Extreme N to WPA Personal and 802.11g only. Now all my g devices work (including the XBox 360).

Normally, these settings are not available in the "Radio Mode" and "Wireless Security" menus. As a previous post indicated, you must hold down the "Option" key to get more items in the menus. I think Apple did this because these are old protocols and they want to you to use the new negotiation protocols by default.

Now, in this scenario, you will need to setup up a "dual-band" network if you want to use both N and G clients. This is described in Apple's "Designing AirPort Extreme 802.11n Networks". For example, when I eventually get an N based Mac, I will use an AirPort Express connected to the AirPort Extreme N via Ethernet to handle the g clients at 2.4GHz. The AirPort Extreme N will handle N Clients at 5.0GHz.

Hope this helps everyone.



MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4)

I am in total agreement with you Herb. As of right now I don't have any 'n' based devices, but I probably will when AppleTV comes out and of course I will when my Powerbook passes away.

Now I am really starting to believe Apple is the problem. They better come up with a fix before Apple TV is bumped or have they already bumped the release???????

David. Read the dual band solution above. And all the problems go away.

Furthermore the n-enabled clients work at the full 270megabits.

Hey Glyn...

Glad to see the workaround but I've already returned my Airport Extreme. I was having other problems too. After several hours spanning over a couple of days with an Apple engineer, I decided to return and get something else.

I guess I could have waited for a fix but the experience really left a bad tast in my mouth. Hopefully, Apple will see the number of returns and issue a fix soon.

This really helps confirms that it's N spec implmentation.

I have a couple questions about the dual band solution. Can the "n" computers and the "g" computers share files over the network? Do they share a network of the same name, or have unique networks?

In the "dual band" solution, the AirPort Express is connected to the Airport Extreme N via ethernet. The Extreme distributes IP addresses (if you are using DHCP) to all clients. The Express basically acts as a bridge for the Extreme.

So, yes you can share files between N and G clients.


MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4)

Thank you. I have two more questions about the dual band solution if you don't mind.

1. Let's say I have a USB airdisk connected to the new airport extreme. Can a computer from the "G" network access the airdisk, or only computers on the "N" network?

2. Let's say I have airport express for airtunes hooked up to the G network. Will computers on the "N" network be able to use them also?

Sorry for so many questions!

If set-up correctly, the dual-band network works exactly as you would expect. All machines and services are visible to all others.

Not tried Airdisk yet.
Here's my diagram...



Mac Pro + Powerbook G4 + Intel Mac Mini + iMac G3

I can't believe I didn't think of this. What a great idea. Thanks! Now I have just my one N Network, no security, so my TiVo, Xbox and Macs are all happy, with MAC address filtering for (some semblance of) security.