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#APPLE AIRPORT EXTREME EXTEND WIRELESS NETWORK FREE#
If you can't find what you're looking for with the search function please feel free to post a new question after reading the rules. Multiple access points for the same SSID?ĭoes it make sense to keep different SSIDs for 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless networks?Īlso, very helpful is the AirPort base station status lights (LED) listing from Apple, if you want to know what the color and state of your AirPort’s LED means.Please use the search function to look for keywords related to what you want to ask before posting since most common issues have been answered.This article is mostly based on my own experience as well as the following links: Also, most cheap notebooks don’t support 5 GHz either. For example, only the iPhone 5 supports the 5 GHz band while all older iPhones do not. You should also know that only the newest (at the time of writing) and more expensive devices support the 5 GHz band. This helps on devices where you can’t prioritize your Wi-Fi networks (like on iOS or Android) to always pick the 5 GHz band. If your access point support both bands at the same time, use the same SSID for both (if you have the option to choose). The AirPort Express Base Station (2nd generation), for example, does support this, while my FritzBox 7270 only supports either 2.4 or 5 GHz (but not both at the same time). Not all Wi-Fi access points can use both bands at the same time. So, Wi-Fi speed is usually higher in the 5 GHz band than in the 2.4 GHz band. The advantage of the 5 GHz band is that it’s (currently) less crowded. All access points support the 2.4 GHz band, while most newer access points also support the new 5 GHz band.

Wi-Fi channels are selected from a so called “frequency band”. Computers recognize Wi-Fi networks by their SSIDs, not by the channel they use. I have reset the Airport Express and given it the same wireless network name as the main one and place it into bridge mode. However, if you really want to manually select the Wi-Fi channels, use different channels for each access point (if possible). Most modern Wi-Fi access points can choose their Wi-Fi channels automatically and you should usually let them do this. As far as I understand it, on the first generation you need to plug your Ethernet cable into the (only-existing) Ethernet port instead.

Note: I’ve only tested this with an AirPort Express Base Station of the second generation. You need to plug your Ethernet cable into the WAN port – not the Ethernet port. It’ll then pick the one that’s best suited (usually the one with the best signal strength). In “Wireless” section, don’t use “Extend a wireless network”! Instead, use “Create a wireless network” and enter the same SSID and Wi-Fi encryption as the network you’re extending.īackground info: If a computer finds multiple Wi-Fi networks with the same SSID, it’ll assume they represent the same network.This is called roaming and has existed since the earliest days of Wi-Fi.įor the AirPort Express Base Station (and maybe other Wi-Fi access points as well) there are three things you need to know: Extending Wi-Fi networks over Ethernet (roaming) ∞įortunately, there is an alternative: extending Wi-Fi networks over Ethernet (cables). While this will probably have no real effect on your surfing speed, the speed of copying files from one computer to another will be drastically reduced. The disadvantage is that this will reduce your wireless bandwidth (by 50% in the worst case). The advantage is that you don’t need any cables to extend the range of your network. So, the AirPort Express Base Station will communicate with your other access point(s) over Wi-Fi. The catch here is, though, that this will extend your Wi-Fi network over Wi-Fi.
