[Dan Frakes]

Sevenfeet said:

ProxySTA is exactly what I need since I couldn't find any way to do a wireless bridge. I instead did a WDS network with an existing 802.11g Airport Express because it has a wired connection. The problem in the article is that it doesn't explain that there isn't any way to tell the AE to go for a 5 ghz network...that apparently is automatic. The problem is on the other side. In my home, I have a Belkin N1 router which has been trouble from day 1. There doesn't seem to be any way to tell it to just handle the 5 ghz range. So when the I reconfigured my new AE for ProxySTA, it couldn't find the Belkin, and thus disappeared from my network.

It turns out ProxySTA works with a, b, g, or n networks, and both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency ranges; it also works with both Apple and third-party access points. In ProxySTA mode, the Express simply acts like a wireless client. (Apple provided this additional information today; we're updating the article to clarify.)

[Dan Frakes]

jdhayes117 said:

Your comments about ProxySTA beg additional questions. If it is undocumented, where do I find out more?

Good question ;-) Apple apparently hasn't updated the Express's Help files with the latest information. (Another example: The Help files explicitly say you can't connect multiple printers to the Express's USB port using a hub; Apple told us today that you can, provided it's a powered hub.)

jdhayes117 said:

The situation you describe appears to be exactly what I want to achieve...use the Airport Express to bridge to an old Dell laptop from my Airport Extreme. I want to be able to use 802.11N, 5 Ghz and Wide Channels. My intent is connect my wife's old laptop via ethernet to the Airport Express, then let the Express talk to the Extreme. This way, I don't bog down my wireless network with a "g" connection.

Sounds like a good job for the Express.

jdhayes117 said:

I've got the wireless on the laptop turned off but I can't seem to keep a connection on the laptop despite having a strong signal from the Express to the Extreme. Is this the correct situation for ProxySTA? Is there more to configuring this setup then to "set up the Express to join a 5GHz network and then enable the Allow Ethernet Clients setting"? Thoughts on why I keep dropping the connection? (BTW--when I do have a connection, it is wicked fast!)

It worked for me using this setup:
* AirPort: Wireless: Join a wireless network, choose the network, Allow Ethernet clients, provide the password for the main Base Station (be sure the right security mode is chosen).
* Internet: Configure IPv4 Using DHCP (Connect Using Wireless Network should be chosen automatically.)

[Sevenfeet]

Thankis Dan. I'm still not sure why that the AExpressN can't do a ProxySTA connecting to my Belkin N1. But in truth, the Belkin has been the lousiest wireless product I've ever seen. Although a WDS network was kind of a pain in the butt to setup between my two AExpresses, at least it did work.

The only thing I did differently than your setup was to use manual network setup on my internet connection versus DHCP since I like to know the hard IP address of all my routers and servers on the home network. I'll see if it makes any difference.

[taujranata]

Another great review, Dan. I appreciate your thoroughness. In terms of buying advice, what really interests me is AirTunes to stream iTunes content to my stereo from my MacBook. I currently use the Airport Extreme and don't want to give up the performance. Would it be possible to run them in tandem - use Extreme for all internet and Express for audio? Or is there another solution?
Gregg

[VoxLocus]

Dave wote he can't get the Airport Express to "play nice" with his Airport base station by extending networks.

I fought the same thing and read all the papers and looked online. My original Airport Express will only extend WEP networks, not WPA. That's the way it is designed and built. That's al, folks.


So since I have some N gear now, I use the "old" Airport Express as a separate B/G network and reserve the N Airport Extreme for N gear as a separate wireless network. Fortunately the throw of N is long enough to solve the range problems I was having with the old Netgear B wireless router.

Does anyone know if the new N Airport Express will extend N networks with WPA encryption?

[pln]

The old Airport express supported WPA with WDS for at least the past two years. Did you keep your Express's firmware up to date.

[brucepeck]

I have a wireless network with an iMac (via ethernet), two printers(one USB, one wireless), a new MacBook Pro and an Airport Extreme 11N which sits on the second floor of my house. The signal in the basement is a little weak when I use the new laptop. Could I buy this new Airport Express 11N, and plug it in on the first floor to pick up the wireless signal from the Extreme on the second floor and wirelessly boost it down to the basement? If the answer is yes, how do I configure it to do all of this wirelessly?

[brucepeck]

I have home network with an iMac (via Ethernet), two printers (one USB and one wireless), a new MacBook Pro and an Airport Extreme 11N on the second floor. The signal in the basement is a bit weak when I use the MacBook Pro. Could I get a new Express 11N and plug it in on the first floor to wirelessly boost the signal from the Extreme to the basement? If yes, how do I do the setup? I do not want to run any cables from the Express 11N.

[pfcurtis]

The Airport Express power plug is removable, the same as the power brick used for Macbooks or other Apple products. The link in Dan's reply says the same.

You could use the power exrension cable from your Macbook to place the Airport Express in a more suitable place. I have mine raised up higher to get better reception.

The pwer extension cable and some other cables are available as an accessory from Apple.

[Dan Frakes]

taujranata said:

In terms of buying advice, what really interests me is AirTunes to stream iTunes content to my stereo from my MacBook. I currently use the Airport Extreme and don't want to give up the performance. Would it be possible to run them in tandem - use Extreme for all internet and Express for audio? Or is there another solution?

Yes, you could use them that way, but you'd want to set up the Express as a client for the Extreme network rather than set up a second network. The Express even has a mode where it works only for USB printers and audio from AirTunes.

[Dan Frakes]

brucepeck said:

I have a wireless network with an iMac (via ethernet), two printers(one USB, one wireless), a new MacBook Pro and an Airport Extreme 11N which sits on the second floor of my house. The signal in the basement is a little weak when I use the new laptop. Could I buy this new Airport Express 11N, and plug it in on the first floor to pick up the wireless signal from the Extreme on the second floor and wirelessly boost it down to the basement? If the answer is yes, how do I configure it to do all of this wirelessly?

Yes, you can do this. AirPort Utility actually walks you through the setup process.

[rwolfman]

I'm a bit confused as to whether this device can extend my existing Airport Extreme wireless network wirelessly (i.e., boost-n-retransmit). Here's my situation. I currently have the Airport Extreme on the 2nd level of the house. My kids each have a Macbook and use it wirelessly 100% (usually on the 2nd level). I would like to move the Airport Extreme to the basement (so I can hook up an external HD for TimeMachine backups at night - have to do this in the basement because the external drive makes too much noise & keeps my wife awake). My fear is that, once I move the Extreme into the basement, my kids will get poor/no wireless signal for their laptops. So, I'm wondering if this new Airport Express installed on the 2nd level will boost the signal of the Express in the basement so that the laptops will get a solid signal. (I do not plan to connect any wired devices to the Airport Express.) Can the Express do this? Thanks.

[SSGoku]

On the surface, the Express would seem to be a useful addition to a Home Theatre set-up.

With AirTunes, I?d be able to stream music to my audio receiver. With the ProxySTA feature, I?d be able to use my game console on a wireless-n network. The question is can I really do this? Can AirTunes and ProxySTA operate at the same time?

Another question is what happens if I were to get a Blu-Ray player with an Ethernet port. The Express only has one Ethernet port. If I were to get a switch/router, can I bridge more than one internet enabled device using the Express?