Can you set up an Airport Express to create a wired network as part of a larger network that the Express is connected to wirelessly? Yes, you can.
I had a hard time tracking down this info so I thought I’d post it here for the benefit of others.
I recently added a Sony Blu-Ray player to my basement home theater system. I’m really pleased with the device; besides playing Blu-Ray discs quite nicely, it also supports streaming video from Netflix and Amazon. I had considered getting a second Roku, but this is fitting the bill nicely. The only problem I had was getting it connected to the network as it doesn’t have built-in wifi.
I had a similar problem with the PowerMac G5 I moved to the upstairs office which similarly doesn’t have wifi. Basically, I needed a way to get working wired connections to the upstairs and basement of my house. I knew this was theoretically possible with the hardware I already had (Airport Extreme base station and 2 Airport Express units), but I couldn’t find an overview of how to properly set it up.
So the first question is: fundamentally, can this work? The answer is yes.
Depending on how you have it set up, the Ethernet port can function as a LAN port (defined as either simple bridging or sharing your Internet connection via network address translation)… When it is set up as a WDS remote station, it can act as a LAN port.
I first tried to get an Express to extend the wireless network created by my DLink router. This will not work. While the Express will connect to a 3rd party wireless network for Airtunes, it will not extend a 3rd party network. In short, you can’t do what I want to do with a non-Apple wireless router.
In client mode AirPort Express does not offer itself as a wireless access point or use its Ethernet port.
In order to get the Express’ ethernet port live in extending the network, you must have it set up as a relay/remote on a WDS network.
A remote base station connects wirelessly to the main station and extends (or “rebroadcasts”) the wireless network to clients that are not in range of the main. A relay base station is like a remote, but it has the additional function of extending the wireless network to a remote which isn’t within range of the main. There can be only one relay between a remote and a main.
A couple of tips for setting up the WDS configuration:
- You will need to copy/paste the Airport ID of each airport into the proper location in the admin panels. You need to enter the Airport ID of the relays/remotes into the Main and the address of the Main into the remotes.
- You must make sure that the wireless network settings of the WDS relays/remotes match that of the WDS main. This means the network name, authentication settings, and the channel.
Once you have configured the Extreme as the WDS Main and the Expresses as WDS relays/remotes, the ethernet ports on the Expresses will also extend the network, just as desired. Works like a champ!
If you need to connect more than one wired device from the location of an Express, you can do so by adding a hub. Connect the uplink port on the hub to the Express, and the rest of the ports on the hub will now all extend the network.
Hopefully this will help someone with similar questions.
Thank you thank you thank you! I haven’t braved it yet, but thought this should be an option. Thanks again for the “proof of concept”. I already have my Express Bridging/extending (I thought) the wireless network, however it sounds like that’s not enough for a physical connection. I suppose changes to both Airport Extreme and Airport Express are necessary. Hopefully I’ll be tackling this soon, as if/when I pickup the 55″ Samsung LED, I’ll then need to get all the other items in place. Still old tube’ing it here. =)
[…] Xbox 360 Wifi capability so I was very pleased when I came across Alex King’s blog post about using the Airport Express to provide a wired connection. I already have an Airport Express that I use for Airtunes to my surround sound set up which is […]
[…] So apparently cinder may be driving down here tomorrow! goodness gracious. Â At least the room is pretty much ready to go, just need to clean some stuff out. Â I have to also clean off at least half the office to find usable desk space (this mostly involves a lot of filing and judicious trashing) and provide internet up there for her old G5. Â I bought …. this. Â An apple airport express. Â My hope is that this will latch onto the existing wireless network and .. make it better. Â For the upstairs. Â And also provide an ethernet port to plug in ancient machines of yore that lack the wireless capabilities. Â I believe this is possible. […]
I recently used this same method to wirelessly extend an ethernet port into my living room for use with a company provided VOIP Cisco phone. I have an Airport Extreme Base Station and two Airport Express devices. I configured one of the Airport Express devices as a WDS Relay. This is the Airport express that I have my Cisco 2960 VOIP plugged into…it connected beautifully, and I have dial tone. The other airport express is configured to simply join my wireless network in order to stream iTunes music wirelessly to my stereo receiver. I am giddy that I got this to work exactly the way I needed it to.
This is exactly what I want to do, but with another type of Cisco IP phone.
I have been looking for this to be proven before I buy the Airport Extreme.
Thank you so much for posting this!!!!!
I will come back once I have tried to get it to work / Jonas
Hi,
So from what I gather, if you use the airport express to extend the wireless signal from a non apple router (let’s say linksys), then there is no way you can use the ethernet connection from the airport express (have it active)?
Please let me know! i’ve been trying to get wireless printing for 4 months!
Offically Apple says ‘In short, you can’t do what I want to do with a non-Apple wireless router.’ but unofficially you can:
Why Apple’s Airport Express May Unofficially Extend Non-Airport Networks
http://gizmodo.com/0[...]ort-networks
IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!! BRILLIANT ARTICLE!!!
You don’t need an airport extreme base station. I created a WDS network with 3 airport expresses.
Didnt work the 1st time for me. Just keep messing around with it. Write down your airport id numbers before starting. I found it easier to reset all my airport expresses and start a fresh.
Put all your airports close to each other and don’t be afraid to start over if it doesn’t work. Persevere.
I have an airport extreme base station and an airport express. If I follow this setup to use the LAN port to connect to my TV, can I still use the airport express for airtunes?
I set up the Airport Express as if to only use for Airplay, and when I tested the Ethernet port with my TV, the connection already worked! No need to set up a WDS network.
In the Airport Utility after connecting the Airport Express to your existing network, go to “Wireless” tab, and just make sure that the box called “Allow Ethernet Clients” is checked. That’s it.
This is true….IF you have a newer Airport Express (model A1264 802.11n). If you only have an older non-N Express then the “Allow Ethernet Clients” checkbox is greyed out.
The “Allow Ethernet Clients” checkbox doesn’t seem to be in the latest version of the Airport Utility (6.0). Fortunately, I had an older mac with the 5.6, and this worked like a charm. Thanks, Leonard!
Thank you Alex. You saved me hours of fiddling about. Your solution worked first time for me with an airport express and a time capsule. It is, as others say, essential to capture the MAC addresses of each device before you start.
This worked perfectly!! Thank you. I tried several times on my own, then followed tips/instructions from other – to no avail. Your simple guide and comments did the trick. For me what was missing: I did not put the Airport ID of the Airport Express (Relay) into the Airport Extreme (Main). Once I did that it worked. Awesome.
Thanks so much! Needed a reminder on how to do this, and this was a one-hit solution to my problem.
Unfortunately, this method sort of defeats the purpose of having a wired connection or even a 802.11n (144mbps) connection. In WDS mode, the network operates only on “g” level wireless. To sustain the WDS network the biggest con is that it operates at half the bandwidth of the entire network. So in other words, half of what “g” is capable of, which is 54mbps / 2 = 26mbps. That’s 5 times slower than “n” wireless. To activate that single port on the receiving end of the network, you’re slowing the entire wireless network by 5 time.s
Every time I save my Extreme as the WDS Main it seems to work (although I get a blinking yellow light because there are no other WDS devices found)
Then, when I set up my Express as the WDS Remote and click update, nothing happens—just keeps saving and the Express never shows up again.
I clearly entered the correct IDs in their respective places as well.
Any thoughts/help would be greatly appreciated!