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Use Airport Express for local wifi only

L

LERsince1991

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 24, 2008
1,245
37
UK
Is it possible to use the airport express for a local only wifi?
I can't have a wireless network due to restrictions from the stupid university accommodation so I want to use it to sync my iPhone wirelessly and to use my iPhone as a remote.

I've set it up but every time I turn to computer on airport utility prompts me to solve the problem that its not connected to the internet and even if I tell it to ignore it it still prompts me.

Also the iPhone doesn't seem to want to connect to a local wifi network as it just continuously connects then resets its connection to try and solve the problem that its not got the internet on the wifi.

So when I try to sync it cuts out and same with the remote!

Thanks
Luke
 
Yes, you can use an AirPort Express to create a wireless network, even if that network doesn't include internet access. Make sure the AE network is on your preferred network list. Your Mac and iPhone will look for an internet connection, but you can still use them without one.
 
But when I try to sync my iPhone wirelessly iTunes takes ages trying to locate the phone and then the iPhone disappears from the iTunes as if its lost its connection.

Also with the remote app it it mostly doesn't find the library.

Also the airport utility continually prompts to resolve a problem that it has no internet connection

None of which happen when the AE was connected to the net.

Is there a specific way of setting the AE to local only?
Thanks
 
instead of carrying the AE around, why not just create an ad-hoc network directly from your mac? I do this to run displayPad on my iPad when i'm not in a wifi area and then I can use my ipad as an external screen for my mac.

Simply go up to your connections icon and click 'create network' and walk through the steps, then just find that network with your iphone.
 
its just for my room, I don't carry it around.
Didn't know I could make an ad-hoc network though, interesting.
But I also want to use the AE for Airplay when my MacBooks off :)
 
AE works fine for AirPlay without internet connection. I do that at some events where I put speakers on a split floor.

I don't get an error on my Mac when AE is without internet.

You might want to see wether WiFi sync works without iCloud (aka internet connection).

Personally, I would set up a wireless network
- using your computer's MAC address
- password protect it
- hide the wifi network
and see whether the school can detect it. If they got a problem then do "oops, I didn't know". (Unless the punishment is severe, then don't)
 
If Airplay works fine then ok,

but how can I sort out the error message when I connect to the network on my mac, as well as getting the iPhone to sync and use as a remote properly?

Does any of this require an internet connection? I haven't found anything that says they do.

Is there a way to properly setup the AE for local only? any setting I need to turn off or change?

Not sure what you meant by "see if the school can detect it".

To make it clearer (sorry if I confused you), I'm in uni accommodation, this AE is in my bedroom and permanently stays here. I cannot connect it to the internet though as our isp has some advanced mac address control that renders wireless networks useless and if it senses a router or switch disables the connection -_-

But thats just the reason why I want to use it on local only :)
 
reset it to defaults and trying again,
when setting up the part about the internet should I select;

I want to connect to my Local network (LAN)
or
I am not ready to connect to the internet right now

I think I selected the second one last time so I went for the LAN option this time

------

update; only the last option works as the LAN option still requires the ethernet. I chose the last option then there was an option which had ethernet or PPoee (or something) so I chose that and selected connect manually. This seems to work well as the iPhone doesn't keep trying to connect to the internet on the wifi and accepts its local only. The remote app and airplay are stable and don't disconnect. But iPhone wifi syncing isn't working as the iPhone isn't popping up in iTunes at all
 
Last edited:
Ok everything within the local wifi now works! Yay.

But I've found another problem and haven't a clue how to get round this.
The iPhone doesn't use 3g when its connected to the wifi network!
So I can't use the internet at all on my phone unless I disconnect which isn't what I want to do every time!

Any ideas? :)
 
LERsince1991 said:
The iPhone doesn't use 3g when its connected to the wifi network!
So I can't use the internet at all on my phone unless I disconnect which isn't what I want to do every time!

Any ideas? :)
Click to expand...
The only way around that is to jailbreak your phone. Google will help you find details.
 
seriously?! Apple don't accommodate connects to local wifi at all unless jailbroken?! (not going to do)
Thats ridiculous...
 
LERsince1991 said:
seriously?! Apple don't accommodate connects to local wifi at all unless jailbroken?! (not going to do)
Thats ridiculous...
Click to expand...
Yes, you can connect to WiFi with your iPhone.
Yes, you can connect to 3G with your iPhone.
No, you can't connect to both at the same time with your iPhone, unless you jailbreak it.
 
yeh but obviously if your wifi has no internet connection then it should use 3g instead as its clearly a local wifi only.

Will phone them tomorrow
 
No error message with
Mac OS X 10.6 + AE with latest firmware.

I would say 99.9% of phones on the market will behave the same way when your network doesn't have internet connection.
 
GGJstudios said:
The only way around that is to jailbreak your phone. Google will help you find details.
Click to expand...

My iPhone is Jailbroken...do you have a hint as to what I need in order to make this work.

I have a WiFi network set up using my Airport Express...but my WiFi network is not connected to the Internet. Therefore, I need to use my cellular network in order to send/receive data....

Is this possible? Can I be connected to in "Internet-less" WiFi and still access data through the cell network (3G, Egde, etc.??)

Thanks!!
 
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