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cwesty

Express + Extreme = ???

I'd love to hear from someone who uses an Airport Express as a range extender with an Airport Extreme as their main router. I've got the new dual band Extreme, and it works much faster than my old router. I do use a non 802.11n device on my network (my iPhone), so I'm wondering if I would lose the dual band benefits if I added the Express onto my existing network. I want to use the new router for AirTunes, and add a printer to the USB port.

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SK1LL5

SK1LL5

I don't believe that the Express is going to be able to provide both N & B signals at the same time.
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wmrashidi

wmrashidi

I love my extreme especially when traveling. Most Hotels in China uses the Cable but it is too short . With the Extreme I can use anywhere in the room.

Have not figured out how to use it as an extender though.
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drebes

drebes

If you your iPhone (@2.4GHz) connects to the Express (also @2.4GHz) and the Express talks to the dual-band Extreme at the same band, you'll still be able to connect to the extreme @5GHz from other devices. If you set the Express to 5GHz, the iPhone won't be able to connect to it, only to the Extreme (@2.4Ghz).

When selecting bands on the AirPort Admin Utility, if you press Option while clicking the widget, it will show you advanced options to use the bandwidth for each of the 802.11 versions.
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edmcquade

edmcquade

You can use the Express to extend either your 2.4GHz band network OR your 5GHz one. You'll need to decide which devices you want to extend (iPhone vs laptop) to choose which to extend.
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cwesty

cwesty

This is exactly what I needed to hear. My follow up question is if I set it to the 2.4 GHz option to extend the range for my iPhone, will I still be able to connect to the device from my laptop for AirTunes and remote printing?
Thanks to everyone for replying, this has been a great help.
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Seiven

Seiven

I use a 2ng gen extreme with a first gen express and I find that, with one upstairs and one downstairs in a 4 bedroom house, I have MUCH better range than before with a draft N Netgear, and a tested draft N linksys. I can hit wifi in all rooms and almost all of the backyard even.
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GoldenSilver

GoldenSilver

To get an airport b/g/n network running at both speeds without slowing your n network down. Works a treat:
luo.ma­/52­/dual­-band­-airport­-network/
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drebes

drebes

I guess so. The two networks created by a dual band extreme are only separated up to the MAC level. In the IP level they are the same (that is, each band is like a network connected to a different port in a switch).
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stevster

stevster

If you don't need the "extend" function (which cuts the bandwidth in half), you could configure the express in "client mode" and attach the printer and the speakers
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