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AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Fast, easy, simple - or should that be express?

Written by PG from LONDON

Mar 25, 2008

Easy to install, 100% more reliable than the BT Home Hub we were using before. I think it's a little quicker but that could just be some Apple magic in the air.

Airtunes will revolutionise the way we listen to music at home and can't understand why it's not standard on all Apple routers. Printed from the garden yesterday and we live on the upper ground floor of a central London apartment complex.

All I need to do now is find a way of getting it out of the sideboard and on display because it's a funky little bit of kit. Thanks Apple.

472 of 595 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

easy peasy!

Written by LH from Southampton

Mar 19, 2008

insert the c.d., install the stuff! follow on screen instructions, to join your existing network have the way you are encrypted to hand and your w.e.p key or whatever. and you done.

O.k, not the most technically detailed description, but then I'm not. works a treat

460 of 651 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Easier than expected

Written by AG from Weedon

Jun 5, 2008

After months of deliberation, I decided a few days ago to order an Apple Express. The sole purpose is to stream my iTune music from my PC (windows XP) located in the kitchen all the way to the stereo in the living room on the other side of the house, using my wireless network (I have a Belkin wireless card in the PC and a Belkin wireless modem/router which is actually situated on another floor of the house - long story)

The buying process on the Apple Store was easy enough and I was pleased to see the little package in the postbox when I arrived back home tonight. The question was: Shall I wait until the weekend to have a few hours ahead of me before I start the install or should I just give it a try tonight? I opted for the second option (I've never been known to be a patient man) and here I am, 30 minutes later, music blasting into the living room.

The steps I took:
1) Remove packaging
2) Plug airport to main and stereo (note: cables for the stereo connection are not included, you need to have your own or buy separetely)
3) Turn on computer and launch install CD
4) Launch Airport Programm (I downloaded latest upgrades in the process)
5) Stress a bit when Airport Express is not appearing in list of wireless network and setup is not getting anywhere
6) Turn Airport Express off then on again
7) Hurray, it's recognised! Follow the setup process
8) Launch iTune, select to stream on stereo speakers and it works !!! 30 minutes after opening the package.

It was easier than expected and I am a VERY happy man.

91 of 109 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Not as good as I had hoped :o(

Written by GM from ALTON

Jun 30, 2008

I've had this for a couple of weeks now and have worked out most of the niggles and marvelled at its redeeming features...

Good points
-Great for streaming music to remote speakers. Never dropped the signal with instant playback - it is exactly like having the stereo connected with a cable. 5/5stars
-Wireless printing works well and is only slightly slower than if connected via USB. 4/5 stars

Bad points
-Despite spending an hour with a 'Genius' in an Apple shop, we just couldn't get it to restart using WEP encryption. So now I use WPA and can't connect my work laptop to it wirelessly. 0/5 stars
-Multi function printers will only print wirelessly, meaning you can't scan, or fax unless you connect via USB to your computer. 0/5 stars

Overall, I don't think that the 65quid pricetag is justified and there is still some way to go before it gets to Apple's usual 5/5 star standard.

I remain committed but disappointed.

79 of 101 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Setup not so easy, but...........

Written by MV from Nr. Monmouth

Apr 30, 2008

Firstly, I have to say that I agree with the sentiments of many reviewers - this is not such an easy piece of kit to setup a WDS or extend a wireless network with. However....

I decided to replace my faithful Netgear WPN824 with an Extreme base station (no more than 5 minutes to setup and just as easy on XP/Vista machines as the Mac). After that, I thought it would be a piece of cake to add the Express to the network, but no. Like many reviewers, about 2 hours of frustrating flashing amber lights followed, with AirPort utility sometimes recognising it, sometimes not. Several resets required.

However, to cut a long and boring story short, it did work, and I could have made life easier for myself. Here is my advice:

- have your Mac, base station and remote/relay station all in the same room temporarily, for setup purposes, so there is no possibility of your computer failing to 'see' the new station
- go with the automatic options for setup - it will work. The manual setup option is challenging and will confuse unless you are quite familiar with setting up home networks
- use an Ethernet connection for the setup procedure - this seemed to avoid the 'stalling' effect when waiting for the Express to restart after updating.

It now works fine and has very effectively removed a dead spot in the house. Despite the initial difficulties, the system does work well and I will certainly look to buy a further Express in due course for the same reasons. Good luck!

64 of 84 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Great while it lasts

Written by DT from London

Oct 9, 2008

I got mine working very quickly but more by chance than design. I had read several reviews saying that they die after 18 months. Mine is almost 18 months old and has now started to cut out mid-tune. More and more frequently it has to be unplugged and plugged back in again along with wireless hub to resume normal function. Looks like its untimely demise is imminent.

40 of 41 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Straightforward and uncomplicated

Written by SD from Leicester

May 9, 2008

I purchased a Belkin wireless modem/router a few weeks ago and was sadly disappointed as it wasn't very friendly with my Macs. It cost £79.99 too! I don't know why I didn't purchase the AirPort Express Base Station (with 802.11n & AirTunes) initially. It was extremely simple to set-up, I created a wireless network and was streaming music from iTunes to speakers in my bedroom whilst printing wirelessly in about 15 minutes, honestly. If you want to create a small wireless network for your home/business this is ideal. Very small and compact with almost identical looks as the power adaptor for the MacBooks. Another fantastic product from the genii (plural) at Apple.

51 of 66 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Ideal Wireless Bridge

Written by CG from BIRMINGHAM

May 9, 2008

I use the AE as a wireless bridge between my Netgear DG834N and the on-board internet radio of my Yamaha RX-V2700 (ethernet connection) - without buying the additional Extreme Base Station. On the Netgear, once you have entered the MAC address of the AE, and the MAC address of the device attached to the AE, into the 'Wireless Station Access List' - plus the MAC/IP address of the AE in the 'LAN/IP' pane - stable connection is assured (and you have joined an 'existing wireless network' on the AE). I made the same successful connection with my ethernet-enabled Xerox Phaser 6180DN printer.

44 of 53 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Works perfectly with pc and mac

Written by TV from Kgs. Lyngby

Nov 20, 2008

I bought the Airport Express a week ago and it works perfectly on my network consisting of both Mac's and PC's. I have tried several Belkin and Linksys wireless routers and have always had trouble staying connected with my notebooks (PC's). Now they just stay connected all over the house. At this moment my IBM Laptop (T61p) is connected with 99% signal strength and 144 Mbps where as it would previously be connected with 20-30 Mbps and around 40% signal strength.
And the configuration tool was a joy to use (took only 2 minutes to get everything up and running).
I strongly recommend the Airport Express for users who want a minumum of trouble and a maximum of pleasure using and setting up wireless networks.

35 of 37 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

AirPort Express-Air tunes

Written by DC from preston

May 2, 2008

Just bought my AirPort Express to night from the Trafford Centre Manchester, I'm playing music on my Bose sound system in under 20 minutes.

My sole reason for buying this was for the Air Tunes feature, The sound quality is just what I expected from Apple, AWSOME

Set up was very easy, I only say this after having trouble setting up my time capsule last week. Once you get your head around the apple software, set up is child's play. (just plug it in and follow the instructions, I know this is difficult for some people!)


message for the people giving this a poor review READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!!!

Simply, If you have Itunes and a decent sound system,

YOU MUST BUY ONE OF THESE.

45 of 62 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Working fine.

Written by RV from LONDON

Oct 30, 2008

Was worried if this would work with my new Virgin Media Cable Broadband, but it arrived this morning and I had it up and running within about 10 minutes. Pretty easy to use, with just one confusing moment to negotiate... (Using the Airport assistant you get to one point where it asks you to choose between two different gobblegook type options about what sort of internet connection you have... the one that worked for me was the default one at the top and the only box that needs filling in, I just left it blank) and everything just worked fine... Easy, again. And people wonder why we buy Macs!

30 of 33 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Great, but you can spend hours configuring.....

Written by DL from Newburgh

Sep 19, 2008

......if you are trying to join a WEP encrypted wireless network. So if you have a BT Home Hub or such, then you will have to change the encryption on the hub to something other than WEP. It's a real pity that the documentation doesn't tell you this - several hours of frustration and a trawl of the net leads you to that piece of wisdom. Then it works instantly.

30 of 33 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Failed out of warranty

Written by GF from Wimbledon

Dec 17, 2008

I have had three of these now and each has failed, the last two just out of warranty, so overall i am not very happy and would be hard pushed to recommend these.Of the two i have left one is completely dead and the other lights up but wont do anything. I was using them for airtunes, joining my network and using them to send music around the house.

45 of 64 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Excellent product, but please Apple listen!

Written by SL from Urmston

Nov 21, 2008

These are excellent. I have 2 and I am about to buy a 3rd. They work brilliantly and when combined with Remote on my iPod Touch, I now have a great set up. My laptop stays hidden in the cupboard, charging up, I have a network hard drive (also in the cupboard) and my router is there as well (not an Apple product). So everything is hidden away, but i can sit with my iPod and play anything from by library on my stereo in my dining room, or in my kitchen, or both. A couple of years ago, that would have needed thousands of pounds of cables, etc. to all be hidden.

But....Apple, please read how many people complain about the set up. Come on, its a simple device, just give us some clue on how to set it up and provide some reasonable instructions.

30 of 34 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Nice idea, but...

Written by MV from Manchester

Jun 11, 2008

...in reality its flawed. I can't fault it for being a printer server, or the airtunes feature. The big problem - and Apple need to change this page to make a big deal about this - is that it won't work as a wireless extender unless you have Apple Airport kit or a 3rd party wireless router that supports WDS. I'm thinking of a full N setup so in time this won't be a big deal, but right now its not value for money.

56 of 86 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Poor sales advice

Written by RA from Stowmarket

Mar 31, 2008

I bought this from the Regent Street store in London last week and will be returning it this week for a refund.

I explained in great detail to the salesman that I had an existing wireless LAN ( not Mac based) with 3 PC's connected upstairs in my house. My MacBook ( which is superb ) successfully connects except when I'm downstairs when its at the edge of my NetGear based wireless network.

I read up about the Airport Express 802.11n and thought that this might be a great solution for extending the range of my network, but had concerns about compatibility.

The salesman was 100% confident that the Airport Express would do exactly what I wanted.

2.5 hours of telephone time with Apple support later (much of it hanging on whilst the support people consulted colleagues) I was told that the NetGear router was not compatible as it didn't support WDS.

My rating is really aimed at the lack of careful advice, especially when I went armed with the precise details of my network and products used, and a layman's view that the Airport Express may not be compatible. To be told very quickly that it was, and without any doubt at all has left me questioning the quality of the advice on hand.

This is a shame as It looks like a great product for those with an apple-only wireless network setup.

34 of 42 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Networking perfection

Written by AD from HOLYWELL

Jan 6, 2009

This machine has blown me away... in its first 15 mins! I got more than I thought I was buying. Let me try and explain........

I just wanted to stream my music to my hi-fi and wasn't 100% sure whether I could do it, without connecting this directly to the router; with an ethernet cable. Despite reading tonnes of reviews before purchase. Let me clarify, you can, in fact the manual has a number of flexible set up options. But if you do connect it to an existing wired/wireless router or modem its even better.

I had.....
Talk talk Wireless router 54g.
Belkin USB hub with my printer and a 160gb Lacie HDD (for Time Machine) hanging off it.

I read the instructions (5mins - very well written). Plugged in ethernet cable, lead for hifi and I took the printer out of the Belkin hub and plugged it into this too. Turned on the power and booted up the Mac.

Setup couldn't have been easier. Despite a couple of configuration error messages, which simply required an 'either/or' answer. It worked perfectly. I now have an always on N network with increased range (wireless on the old router is off). Music streaming and better printing flexibility.

On top of that, I plugged my belkin hub back into the old router and now, I've got time machine running on a N network too!!

Absolutely over the moon. Best 64 quid I spent on a PC accessory. This is why I am now an Apple advocate. Simple perfection.

Checked with the other Mac's and PC's in the house and they all connect up to the network exactly the same as they did before AND itunes sees the speakers plugged into it so they can stream music to the hi fi too. Only theirs will be High School musical and Mamma Mia! (groan).

26 of 27 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Great Product

Written by SW from COVENTRY

Dec 16, 2008

Having read other reviews I was unsure about the reliability of this product, I have however been using an airport express for nearly 2 years without any issues. I have lost the wireless signal in the past but have found that turning the router and airport off and back on fixes this. I have my stereo plugged into the airport and use itunes to steam music around the house whilst using my ipod touch as a remote control. For £65 this item is a must have.

29 of 33 people found this useful