Hi guys, this may seem like a really strange situation and question but my I am helping a friend set up a Airport Express to join his either Time Capsule or Virgin Media Superhub 2 (depending what hes decided to be using when I get there) to extend the wireless signal of his already established network. Currently he has Time Capsule 3rd revision and a new Superhub 2 (beta tester) so they run 2.4 and 5Ghz simultaneously. Now the strange part comes is that he wants the range of the network extended but only for one wireless device to be able to connect to it. Is this possible? I was thinking that if only the 5Ghz signal could be extended and not the 2.4 that would help as the device he wants to access the extension is an iPhone 5 possibly his iPad 4. Now the normal network he still wants all wireless devices currently able to connect to still do so. Can this physically be done? He has bought an Apple Airport Express which is on it way. Thanks and I am sorry for the crazy scenario.
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Hiding extended network
- Thread starter gstevie
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Yes, it should be limited to those devices which connect to the repeater, if you do MAC filtering at the repeater, not at the main router/WiFiAP.
To set up MAC Address Filtering, open Airport Utility and after setting it up the way you want to configure your network, go to the Network tab. Enable access control and add a computer (+). Enter its MAC and set it for unlimited time. Disable all others.
you will only be able to extend the time capsule's network, and not the one from the superhub
(i'm not 100% it will work, it might though) But, If you are able to put a MAC filter on the extended portion seeing as the extended network has to be the same SSID as the main network, you may run into issues on your other wireless devices, since they will try to connect to the extended netwok, but will be denied.
also with wireless extension, you will loose speed on devices connected to the remote network. might not see it in internet speeds, but definatly in network speeds, it all depends on what he wants to use the network for.
your best bet is wired ethernet to the remote express, if that's not possible a good option is using powerline networking.
with either of those 2 options, you will get good speeds on the remote network, and can set up the remote network however you want.
(i'm not 100% it will work, it might though) But, If you are able to put a MAC filter on the extended portion seeing as the extended network has to be the same SSID as the main network, you may run into issues on your other wireless devices, since they will try to connect to the extended netwok, but will be denied.
also with wireless extension, you will loose speed on devices connected to the remote network. might not see it in internet speeds, but definatly in network speeds, it all depends on what he wants to use the network for.
your best bet is wired ethernet to the remote express, if that's not possible a good option is using powerline networking.
with either of those 2 options, you will get good speeds on the remote network, and can set up the remote network however you want.
I would recommend using a different SSID for your hidden extension, and disable SSID broadcast while you are at it.
I agree 100% about using a wired connection to the Airport Express.
Hi and thanks for all the replies. Now its up and running great. Didnt seem to like the Superhub 2 so I put it into Modem Mode for him and used his Time Capsule. Working great and the extension is great (wifi was awful in the house before it), only thing is that its allowing all devices to connect to it. I used MAC access but when I add any devices to the list it adds it to both. Then when I deleted a device's MAC address from the express it would remove it from the Time Capsule as well. And the cycle would continue when you added and removed! Am I missing some setting? The solution I have came up with at the moment is making it only extend the 5Ghz network and not the 2.4 is this really the only way? As sometimes 2.4 can be a bit better.
nope, i was thinking something like this would happen, if you're using wireless extension, in theory it's all one network, so you can't exclude a device from one portion.
wireless extension only works when the main base is an airport express/extreme.
QUOTE=weegrim;17342972] is this really the only way? [/QUOTE]
short of making a "wired backbone" by either running an ethernet cable, or using powerline networking, and creating a completely separate network that's how it will work.
*although it would be a bit odd, you could also add a second express, have that one join the main network, run a short ethernet to the other express, and have it create a new network.