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WDS does it exist or is it a marketing ploy!!!!

D

dealmaker

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 24, 2010
270
68
So I purchased a Extreme base station and three Airport Express units - with the concept that I could distribute a strong wireless signal all around my house and utilize all three express units for Air Tunes.

I struggled for days trying to get all four units configured and "participating in a WDS network" all to no avail - I could not get them all working at the same time no matter what I tried. So I took it into my office and gave them to our IT manager in the hope that he could sort it - so after two weeks of trying he has now also given up!

We can get it working as a stand-alone regular wireless network with the three airport express units simply joining the network. However as soon as we try to configure the units as WDS (with the extreme as a base station and the three express units as "remotes") we see to lose one or more of the express units or they all go to the dreaded flashing amber!

Has anyone actually had any success configuring a system similar to this AS A WDS, with an extreme as the base and three or more express units acting as remotes - extending the network and allowing wireless clients??

I am about to give up and send the whole lot back!!
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
I have had much secess with an Extreme main and a few Extreme/Express remotes. Even in a chain of three.
 
AppleTools

AppleTools

macrumors member
Dec 12, 2009
76
12
You may try a few things:

1 - Reset every base station.

2 - Configure them independently (not in WDS) one by one and update the firmware on each base station to the latest version.

3 - Once they are all updated and you know they work fine, go into the Main (Extreme) base options and check the box that says "allow this network to be extended". Apply settings and confirm your network connections before extending your network.

4 - Reset the other Remote bases again one by one and get them to join/extend your network. Check your results before proceeding with the next Remote just in case you have a faulty unit.

I always try them close one to another in the same room to verify everything works fine.

5 - Place them on the desired locations.

Sometimes when they are not too close or you have thick walls the range can reduce by a lot so try them in different places to see if this is your problem.

Good luck.
Alec.

PD. At this moment I have a TimeCapsule with two Express Remotes and they work perfectly.
 
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