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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

25-Mar-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.

471 of 594 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Greatness in a little white box

Written by DN from Bradford

27-Mar-2008

Well worth the money! I bought this as a quick fix to extend the wireless network in the old house I live in. The problem I'd been having with my wireless router was that due to the density of the walls the wireless signal was not reaching all parts of the house, and so the only way of using the internet/network in some areas was via ethernet cable for each and every device that needed it. However, this little box has changed all that! I now have a single ethernet cable running into the Base Station, and this provides wireless coverage where I need it. It also is great for broadcasting music wirelessly to a stereo, which is a benefit as I use a MacBook Pro, and don't want potential trip hazards everywhere!

As for setting up the device, things couldn't be easier. It worked straight out of the box (although was an unsecured network), and once the software had been installed on my Mac and PC, I was able to set a WEP or WPA/WPA2 password to secure everything. It also works fine connecting with a PS3!

A light on the back of the Base Station displays different colours depending on the status of the device, and any problems can be sorted from the Apple software that you install on your Mac or PC. Broadcasting to your connected speakers is also simple, with a quick and easy change of settings in iTunes.

All in all an excellent piece of kit, with little to fault!

790 of 910 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Amazing

Written by NA from FORFAR

27-Mar-2008

I plugged my stereo and printer into the base station, installed the software and it gave me a step by step guide into setting up everything.

I can now print things from my macbook wirelessly, listen to music through my harman kardon soundsticks and the device also boosts my wireless signal.

It even found my network and connected to it!

Makes life so much easier without wires :D

20 of 23 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Good but needs more detailed instructions

Written by DK from London

29-Mar-2008

I currently have a 'n' base station and wanted to extend the network and add sound to a few rooms. In theory, easy, in reality not quite so. The extend network option and the configurations required should be simple but after a very long afternoon I can still not get the ISP to share across the entire network. iTunes and the wireless speakers are working great. Dynamic IPs, WDS and DHCP are things I thought I would not have to get my head around but it would appear that having some knowledge of networking due to the less than detailed instructions is required. This is an excellent bit of kit just not quite plug and play for the creation of more complex networks.

5 of 6 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Much better than my router

Written by SC from BIRMINGHAM

30-Mar-2008

O.k. it's not replaced the router, just the wireless part of it (because different Wifi devices kept failing).

Configuration is very easy, no hassles to setup. It even seemed to auto enable 802.11n on my laptop without me doing anything to it.

Only 4 stars as I would have liked a mains cable included rather than just the plug adaptor (which is fine unless your planning to use Airport in a tight area). Currently unable to fine a mains cable on a the apple website (same type that plugs into the MacBook PSU).

Other than a fine product.

6 of 8 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Poor sales advice

Written by RA from Stowmarket

31-Mar-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

A Heads Up...

Written by TF from Bury St Edmunds

02-Apr-2008

Firstly, the service from the Apple Store was great. I received a text message from Apple the evening before the delivery date; which itself was the next working day after my order date!

After reading lots of positive reviews regarding the set-up process, I wasn't worried about it - but mine took several hours, because of a wireless security problem. Basically, eventhough its not mentioned here, there are loads of issues on other forums regarding this issue with the Express not being able to access the wireless network, and I found out that on some wireless routers (Like my BT-HomeHub), make sure you change your security settings (On the router) to WPA format (Instead of WEP) wireless security. I'm sure there are loads of people who this won't affect, but there is a problem with this, which eventhough isn't directly Apple's fault - will stop the Express from working at all!

Working fine now - Easy set-up apart from these security issues. Good transmission, sound quality and responsivity to my macbook for airtunes via iTunes. Highly recommended, just a heads up concerning connectivity! Hope this helps!

17 of 21 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Not so easy to set up

Written by RF from London

04-Apr-2008

My rating is purely based on the fact that this little device is not as easy to set up as Apple gives the impression. Plug and Play it's not!

I have spent hours trying to get this thing to work but to no avail. Ithought it would have been quite easy as I was running a new Extreme Base station and a Macbook Pro with 802.11n enabled. My current network settings works well but does not detect Airport Express in spite of numerous scans.


The Apple support for setting up this product could best be described as very poor! Iam a fan of Apple products and I am confident that once I get past the set up stage, this device will do its job.In the meantime I am waiting for the availibility of a couple more free hours before I attemp to set it up again.

Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

14 of 28 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Cannot get it to work

Written by RM from SUTTON COLDFIELD

05-Apr-2008

Flashing amber light (indicates problem), sometime seen by Airport Utility, sometimes not (even when connected by ethernet cable). Tried the many fixes recommended including unplugging, resetting. Not obvious how it interacts with an Airport Extreme. Useless and very disappointing. It's going back!

12 of 16 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Not quite what it says on the tin

Written by DF from London

06-Apr-2008

I think with this product, we sit firmly in the middle of a good and a bad product. A few weeks ago we bought an AirPort Express and after much frustration got it to work and now, it streams Itunes to speakers in the living room and can be 'seen' by all the macs and lap top in the flat wirelessly, though admittedly the device is connected to our home hub by an ethernet cable, but it works brilliantly, so it was with no qualms of going out to buy another one in order to extend the network further around the flat. However, after even more frustration and having the new AirPort Express in the same position as the original one to try and set it up range wise that it still doesn't work, and will be winging it's way back to Regent Street for a replacement, i'll give them the benefit of the doubt that you do get the odd bad one in a batch. Watch this space!!!

12 of 16 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

disappointing

Written by SH from BRISTOL

06-Apr-2008

After struggling with the initial setup i called applecare who were very helpful.It took 3 hours with the help of a lovely apple lady on the phone to get it working. I bought this apple product as an upgrade from an old netgear wireless router thinking it would be as user friendly as all the other apple products i've used.The most disappointing thing besides the setup problems was that it's range is by far inferior to the old netgear.The range is less than half the range of the old netgear which meant connectivity didn't extend far beyond the room it's setup in.Additionally the reception seems to fluctuate in strength while stationary. We have reverted back to the old netgear router. What a disappointment.

11 of 22 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Easy to set-up & very fast!

Written by RN from ASHTEAD

06-Apr-2008

I've just added an AirPort Express to my existing WiFi network to offer a fast link to my MacBook Air via 802.11n

It took less than 10 minutes to set up, including making it a bridge to my existing network and picking up my ISP's IP addresses (normally quite complex).

It then worked straight away! The speed of download to the Air is as quick as via a cable!

A great piece of kit and the set-up software is first-class.

18 of 21 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

2 out of 3 dont work

Written by DW from BRIDPORT

09-Apr-2008

Great idea, but ive had 3 and only one works.

I cant recommend a product that only works after trying 3 new units.

Also, the sound quality isnt very good - even using B&W speakers and Rotel amp - there is a background hiss.

Having to travel 40 minutes in each direction to get an exchange has only compounded my frustration.

20 of 34 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Quick and easy

Written by DH from London

10-Apr-2008

Managed to set up the Airport Express in a matter of minutes. I didn't have to use the cd, just the AirPort utility on my Mac. Printer, speakers and internet connection were up and running in no time. Definitely a good purchase.

16 of 19 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Woeful

Written by AH from BASINGSTOKE

10-Apr-2008

Firstly I'd argue with the premise that you can create a wireless network. This aludes to the fact that it has far reaching functionality. It really doesn't. Great for Airtunes using remote speakers - but why not simply connect your iPod to your stereo in the first place, all you need is a standard phono lead! You can't surf the net when Airtunes is selected as Airtunes creates a different network address. Secondly, yes you can link a couple of macs up no probs. but you'll capture the data if the're wireless enabled anyway. Couldn't get my windows laptops to print wirelessly either. Bonjour was a joke in that respect. Tech support we're as much use as a chocolate teapot as well. Very dissappointed- sent it back for refund. I was actually trying to give it no stars it was that bad but you had to submit one at least and I am doing so under protest.

22 of 72 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Arguably the easiest way to network your house.

Written by SM from Middleton on sea

13-Apr-2008

I've got two of these plus and airport extreme and I'm about to add a third. I have found them a doddle to set up and within minutes, you can extend the range of your network and add useful features like streaming audio and network printing. I have a mixture of macs and pc/laptops and all work perfectly and are able to print wirelessly to the Express in the office. Sound quality from the audio out is excellent and the integration with iTunes very simple. Can't really think of a negative.

11 of 14 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

not so woeful

Written by SH from WORTHING

14-Apr-2008

just a comment on the previous post, you can actually stream itunes music to your stereo and surf the net at the same time, you have to join this to your existing wireless network not create an additional one.

22 of 28 people found this useful

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Best Ever!

Written by TR

17-Apr-2008

This was the best router I have ever bought. The APE was also very easy to setup. Defiantly reccomended to anyone.. Even if they have MAC or PC.

2 of 6 people found this useful