Airport Express as a relay Wifi

[metsjetsfan]

Has anyone used the airport express as a relay router for wireless to much success? thinking either this or powerline

Thanks

 

[whsbuss]

Has anyone used the airport express as a relay router for wireless to much success? thinking either this or powerline

Thanks

Airport Express can only relay/extend an apple network (extreme or time capsule). In any case, you can lose up to 45% wireless bandwidth. Best is (in this order):

1. direct ethernet
2. MoCA (coax)
3. powerline
4. wireless

 

[drsox]

AE can also provide a roaming network - I use this to allow WiFi devices to connect to a wired LAN at any point in a long tall house ( think L shaped ).

I have an Extreme in the attic and 3 Express units. All units connect to LAN switches and act as bridges with the same SSID but different channels ( and 802.11 types if required ).

 

[autocol]

If you're connecting multiple Airport Expresses by ethernet cable to the base station, do you have to have an Extreme operating as the base station to create a single, large network? Or can you connect two AE's to a random brand of modem by ethernet cable and match all their network settings to each other to create a single, larger wifi network?

I should clarify that I know you can't extend the Wifi network of a non-Apple brand router. What I'm asking is, if I disable the wifi aspect of my current modem/router, can I connect two airport expresses to it via ethernet, and have them create a single wifi network?

I don't really want to spend the money on the Extreme (which I don't really need) to go in the lounge room, when I'd rather the audio output from the Express to be available at that point instead.

 

[drsox]

I don't think so, but it's easy for you to test. Get 2x Express units and use one as the main unit with the second as the extender. If that works then adding a third etc is no big deal. If it doesn't, then you will have to get the Extreme.

 

[whsbuss]

You can't extend a wireless network beyond the first unit and you do need an extreme.

 

[drsox]

It's not extending a network - it's acting as a roaming network.

As a proof of concept I turned off the Extreme's Wireless, but I could still connect through one of the Express units.

(This post is being made through the Express linked by LAN to the Extreme)

 

[autocol]

drsox, with the extreme turned off, do *all* the express' still work? Do you experience any weirdness going from one end of the house to the other, or is the network experience basically the same (other than the dead spot which the extreme is supposed to handle, obviously

 

[drsox]

Yes, seems to be fine.
I walked my MBA around the house and checked in AirPort Utility to make sure it was linked to the nearest Express unit. The MBA switched three times (Extreme to Express 1 to Express 2 to Express 3).

Each time I checked on the Internet and connected to my NAS drives.