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Use Airport Extreme to extend a non-Airport wifi network

I have a DSL modem/router currently with wifi that doesn't reach all the areas in my house. We do however have an in-house wired network that my current router is connected to.


I just received a free Airport Extreme Base Station (4th generation) and would like to try to extend my wifi coverage in the house. I was planning on plugging it into one of the wired jacks in the wing of the house that currently doesn't have good wifi coverage.


Is this possible, and how do I configure it?


We do have an iMac that's plugged into the home network, 3 iPhones, and 1 PC running Windows 10.


Thanks for any help!

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017), iOS 11.4.1

Posted on Sep 15, 2018 10:46 AM

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Posted on Sep 15, 2018 11:36 AM

Since you plan on connecting the AirPort Extreme base station back to the DSL gateway by Ethernet, then you will want to configure both devices for a roaming type network.


In this type of network, the following would be required:

  1. The wireless access points must be interconnected by Ethernet.
  2. The "main" Internet router, in this case your DSL gateway, must perform as a router.
  3. The "extending" wireless access point, in this case the AirPort Extreme, must be reconfigured as a bridge. That is, both its NAT & DHCP services must be disabled.
  4. Both devices must broadcast their own Wi-Fi network, but use the same Network Name (aka, SSID) and use the same wireless security type and password.


Pre-setup assumptions:

  • The DSL gateway is your "main" router and the Extreme will be extending it for this roaming network.
  • The Ethernet cable, coming from the wall outlet is to connect to the Extreme's WAN (circle-of-dots) port.
  • Perform a "factory default" reset on the Extreme base station. Once completed, connect the Extreme to power.


Setup steps:

  • With the Extreme now connected to power, on your Mac, click on the Wi-Fi icon on the macOS menu bar. The Extreme should show up under the title: New AirPort Base Station in the Wi-Fi's dropdown menu.
  • Click on the Extreme and the AirPort Utility should now start up.
  • Enter a base station name for the Extreme, and then, click on Next. I suggest using a name that uses 16 alphanumeric character or less and does not include either spaces or special characters.
  • The next screen should have the title: Setting up the AirPort Extreme to extend using Ethernet. This is telling you that the AirPort Utility has determined that you will be extending using an Ethernet connection between the devices. This is what yo want for a roaming type network.
  • When you get the "Setup Complete" message, click on Done.
4 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Sep 15, 2018 11:36 AM in response to morettina98

Since you plan on connecting the AirPort Extreme base station back to the DSL gateway by Ethernet, then you will want to configure both devices for a roaming type network.


In this type of network, the following would be required:

  1. The wireless access points must be interconnected by Ethernet.
  2. The "main" Internet router, in this case your DSL gateway, must perform as a router.
  3. The "extending" wireless access point, in this case the AirPort Extreme, must be reconfigured as a bridge. That is, both its NAT & DHCP services must be disabled.
  4. Both devices must broadcast their own Wi-Fi network, but use the same Network Name (aka, SSID) and use the same wireless security type and password.


Pre-setup assumptions:

  • The DSL gateway is your "main" router and the Extreme will be extending it for this roaming network.
  • The Ethernet cable, coming from the wall outlet is to connect to the Extreme's WAN (circle-of-dots) port.
  • Perform a "factory default" reset on the Extreme base station. Once completed, connect the Extreme to power.


Setup steps:

  • With the Extreme now connected to power, on your Mac, click on the Wi-Fi icon on the macOS menu bar. The Extreme should show up under the title: New AirPort Base Station in the Wi-Fi's dropdown menu.
  • Click on the Extreme and the AirPort Utility should now start up.
  • Enter a base station name for the Extreme, and then, click on Next. I suggest using a name that uses 16 alphanumeric character or less and does not include either spaces or special characters.
  • The next screen should have the title: Setting up the AirPort Extreme to extend using Ethernet. This is telling you that the AirPort Utility has determined that you will be extending using an Ethernet connection between the devices. This is what yo want for a roaming type network.
  • When you get the "Setup Complete" message, click on Done.

Sep 23, 2018 4:07 PM in response to Tesserax

So I'm attempting to follow your instructions. I've gone through the steps to do the factory reset twice - press with a pen while turning on power & waiting until the light flashes amber - but when I go to look at this through the Airport utility, I still see the previous owner's name & asks for a password. Is there some trick to doing the factory reset that I'm missing?

Sep 23, 2018 4:31 PM in response to morettina98

Ok - I figured it out. I had to hold in the button until it stopped flashing. So it is now powered on and plugged into my home network, so it has a connection to my DSL modem/router through the network.


I have given it a new name & password, however, I do not see any option like "Setting up the Airport Extreme to extend using Ethernet". I have the choice Internet, Wireless, and a few other things across the top. I tried extended the wireless, however, it's too far away from my current DSL router to get a signal (the main reason I want this to extend my wifi!).


I was able to set it up as a new wireless network with its own name & password and we can see it when we're in that wing of the house and it seems to work fine that way.


However, if there is a way to actually extend the existing wifi network using the same SSID & password, I would prefer to do it that way, unless having it run as its own network is fine with me too.


Thanks!

Sep 23, 2018 5:34 PM in response to morettina98

if there is a way to actually extend the existing wifi network using the same SSID & password, I would prefer to do it that way

Simply change the name of the wireless network and password that the AirPort is now using to the exact same SSID and password that your "main" router is using.


This will set up the "roaming" type of network that Tesserax mentioned in his previous post.

Use Airport Extreme to extend a non-Airport wifi network

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