Questions & Answers for AirPort Extreme Base Station
1713 Questions from the Community
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Extending Roaming Network, Airport Extreme with APPLE TV
I have a Time Capsule on the third floor of my house in the office. I use this as the DHCP router. Wireless coverage is good on the top and middle floor, however when I get to the bottom floor the signal is weaker, slower and prone to drop outs.
The bottom floor is where I have my older second iMac, a MacBook Pro, and my home theater which has Apple TV. They all can get a weak wireless signal from the Time Capsule, but like I said it is slow and unreliable. I want to create a roaming network by adding an Airport Extreme to the bottom floor. I have heard that a solid connection from Time Capsule to Airport Extreme with Cat6 or Cat5e ethernet cable is the much preferred and more reliable way to do this.
I would need to run the Cat6 cable on the outside of the house, approximately 120 feet down from the office. There is already a Coax cable that makes that same run to provide cable TV to my bottom floor home theater. I would plan to set the Extreme in bridge mode to act as another Wireless Access Point.
Questions:
1. Is exterior grade Cat6 cable available to make this outside run?
2. Will the transmission be affected if the Cat6 runs close to the Coax cable?
3. The Apple TV device will be in close proximity to where I plan to place the Airport Extreme, should they be connected via ethernet port or connected wirelessly?
4. Would I need to set the Time Capsule and the Airport Extreme to different channels?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.- Asked by David H from Vancouver
- Nov 1, 2012
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Answer
I already do this in myself, all of it but run the cat6 on the outside of my house. But there was a time when I looked into running network cable on the outside of a house.
1. Yes, you can buy cat6 that is rated for outside installation
2. Absolutely not, both the coax and the cat6 are high grade cabling. Coax is made with shielded wiring and will not affect your network cabling.
3. My Apple TV is situated about 20 feet from my AirPort Extreme in my basement and it is wireless. It runs Great. Although a wired connection is always nice if easily connected and will provide even faster speeds if you are streaming video to your Apple TV from your computer or an iOS device..
4. In regards to the channels, I just left whatever the defaults were set at and my roaming network works beautifully.
I've also got many other things that are part of my entertainment system hooked up to the wired network downstairs. Hooking up that second airport downstairs gives the added advantage of giving you 4 more wired ports downstairs as well.- Answered by Robert S from Palatine
- Nov 16, 2012
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Is the AirPort Extreme compatible with At&T DSL modems?
I have a Siemens Speedstream 4100 B DSL modem from At&t. Do you know if the AirPort Exteme is compatible? I'm trying to get a little more range. I get a weak signal in one of my offices using a Linksys E2000 router. Will I see an improvement?
- Asked by Mark L from Hayward
- Nov 5, 2010
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Best Answer
"I have a Siemens Speedstream 4100 B DSL modem from At&t. Do you know if the AirPort Exteme is compatible?"
Absolutely, I'm using that setup.
"Will I see an improvement?"
Yes, you should. AirPort Extreme's signal will provide greater throughput.- Answered by Andrew H from Carmel
- Nov 5, 2010
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Will Airport Extreme work with ADSL from any ISP
I have a ADSL modem with a built in wifi and router, can Airport Extreme replace this unit.
- Asked by Wesley G from Orlando
- Jul 21, 2011
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Best Answer
It may be possible to use your ADSL wifi modem/gateway with the Airport Extreme Base Station. If you are using a 2Wire DSL modem/gateway it is possible to disable the gateway/router function and the onboard DHCP. The device will then forward the DSL modems ip address to the Airport which then handles DHCP and all routing functions. I used this set-up at my girlfriends house successfully for the last two years. I would imagine that this should be possible on most DSL modem/gateways as well.
- Answered by Michael W from Rancho Santa Margarita
- Jul 28, 2011
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Can the Extreme Base Station be used as a range extender?
I already have a wireless router in the basement but I don't get good strong signal upstairs. Can I install this base station and set it up as a range extender to boost the signal upstairs?
- Asked by Michael S from Gander
- Nov 8, 2009
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Best Answer
Yes you can provided that your existing router already provides WDS services.
For more information on how to setup search the Apple knowledge base (HT2044).- Answered by George K from Granville
- Jul 15, 2010
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is an Apple TV wireless or do you have to hook it up to a modem or use an ethernet cord?
I am considering purchase of an Apple TV
My TV set is in another room from my iMac.
How do I hook it up?- Asked by Gene R from Ardsley
- Jun 3, 2012
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Best Answer
the apple tv is wireless, though you can connect it via ethernet if you want.
- Answered by Joel H from Normanhurst
- Jun 23, 2012
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Does anyone know the power consumption for this ?
- Asked by Keith M
- Nov 10, 2009
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Answer
That appears to be an Airport Extreme Base Station, version unspecified.
A 1st and a 5th generation version both measure 7 W. I would imagine that the versions between are similar.- Answered by George S from Torrance
- Dec 13, 2012
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where is the best place to place the airport extreme to get the best signal? and is there a way to improve signal?
- Asked by Christy C from Austin
- Oct 12, 2010
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Best Answer
Place your AirPort Extreme in an open area where there are few obstructions, such as large pieces of furniture or walls. Try to place it away from metallic surfaces.
If you place your AirPort Extreme behind furniture, keep at least an inch of space between the AirPort Extreme and the edge of the furniture.
Avoid placing your AirPort Extreme in areas surrounded by metal surfaces on
three or more sides.
If you place your AirPort Extreme in an entertainment center with your stereo
equipment, avoid completely surrounding the AirPort Extreme with audio, video, or power cables. Place your AirPort Extreme so that the cables are to one side. Maintain as much space as possible between the AirPort Extreme and the cables.
Try to place your AirPort Extreme at least 25 feet (7.6 meters) from a microwave oven, 2.4 or 5 gigahertz (GHz) cordless phones, or other sources of interference.
The farther away from an interference source, the less likely it is to cause a problem. The following items can cause interference with AirPort communication:
Microwave ovens
Direct Satellite Service (DSS) radio frequency leakage
The original coaxial cable that came with certain types of satellite dishes. (Contact the device manufacturer and obtain newer cables.)
Certain electrical devices such as power lines, electrical railroad tracks, and power stations
Cordless telephones that operate in the 2.4 or 5 GHz range. If you have problems with your phone or AirPort communication, change the channel your base station or AirPort Extreme uses, or change the channel your phone uses.
Nearby base stations using adjacent channels. For example, if base station A is set to channel 1, base station B should be set to channel 6 or 11.- Answered by Andrew H from Carmel
- Oct 13, 2010
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Can any access points be used with the Apple Airpot Extreme?
I plan to use the Apple Airport Extreme as my main router downstairs. However I need further access points upstairs. Is it possible to use other access points by other brands with the Airport Extreme or do you need to use apple products e.g. the base station?
- Asked by Sam S
- Nov 24, 2012
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Can I use the AEBS with a Mac G4 533 running 10.4.11 or is it mandatory that 10.5 or later is on the Mac used to set-up and administer the AEBS?
- Asked by Ernest B from Goleta
- Jan 17, 2011
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Answer
Well, the stated minimum system requirements are Mac OS X 10.5.7, so there's no guarantee it will work. If you manage to get it work on 10.4 you're still on your own re support, etc.
- Answered by Kenneth D from Ottawa
- Jan 22, 2011
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Can I connect an Ethernet based HD off the Airport Extreme and access it like any other network storage?
- Asked by Kurstin M from Walnut Creek
- Nov 24, 2010
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Answer
Yes, this is basic networking and the Extreme will participate as you hope.
- Answered by Andrew H from Carmel
- Nov 25, 2010
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Can I get free support for setup?
- Asked by Kathryn H from Salt Lake City
- Feb 22, 2010
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Answer
Yes, at Apple's Support website for AirPort. Multiple AirPort manuals are also available for download at the site.
- Answered by Andrew H from Carmel
- Feb 23, 2010
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Can my iPad open and save files to an airport disk?
- Asked by Tucker B from Saint Helena
- Aug 10, 2010
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will my Western Digital My Book Live work on the Airport Extreme
- Asked by Dave E from Oldhurst
- Dec 1, 2012
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Is the APE only as fast as the weakest link? I have 1 iBook that's 11G and 3 Macs that are 11N so will I only get the 11G speeds?
- Asked by Steve F from Troy
- Nov 11, 2009
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Answer
Generally it is. There are a couple of ways to go about this. You can either utilize the simultaneous dual band setup, or you can broadcast signal in both 2.4GHz frequencies as well as 5.0 GHz frequencies.
I had the same problem. I was connecting Wireless G devices and Wireless N devices to the Airport Extreme, and my Wireless N devices could only get speeds comparable to Wireless G.
First I setup the dual band networks and connected only Wireless N devices to one, and my other devices to the other. My Wireless N devices were now seeing speeds up to 144 Mbps. However, I knew that I was capable of seeing speeds up to 300 Mbps. So I did some research and found that you can broadcast the same network on different frequencies. I connect my Wireless N devices to the 5.0 GHz frequency and see speeds up to 300 Mbps on my MacBook Pro and AppleTV. I connect all of the other devices to the 2.4 GHz frequency.- Answered by Christopher M from Burlington
- Nov 20, 2009
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Can I use my existing keyboard and monitor and printer by buying this product? (Airport Extreme Base Station)
- Asked by Beverly N
- Dec 31, 2009
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Answer
I think you might be talking about the mac mini and not the AirPort Extreme. This is a wireless router as such doesn't require a keyboard/monitor.
- Answered by Desmond L
- Jan 6, 2010
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Is the airport extreme or airport express compatible with TM Unifi? I'm planning to connect the extreme/express to TM Unifi router wirelessly.
- Asked by Ong B from Kuala Lumpur
- Nov 21, 2011
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Best Answer
Most on self router.. including Airport eXtreme.. are not directly compaitable with Malaysian TM Unifi.. especially for the direct dial up and stuff...
So mostly... you can add it as the 3rd equipment after the Unify Router and set it as an Access Point only.. AP...
to connect it directly to the modem.. and dial like the Streamyx setting can do.. mostly No..- Answered by Aidel K from Miri
- Nov 13, 2012
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I use to travel to countries where power is 220 volts. Is Airport Extreme compatible with that voltage ?
- Asked by Jose Ramon G from Miami
- Nov 1, 2009
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Best Answer
The base station power adapter will take 110 - 240V 50-60 cycle. So it will work just fine in 220V countries.
- Answered by Steven Wenyang S from Calgary
- Nov 4, 2009
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AirPort Extreme acting as an access point and sharing a printer
I have a OpenBSD-router who provides DHCP and NAT and mostly everything else I need connected directly to the internet, but I want a better solution for sharing my printer, and providing wireless access to a growing set of computers.
Is the AirPort Extreme suitable for this? I'm not interested in it controlling the entire network…- Asked by Per Christian V
- Jan 14, 2011
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Best Answer
In addition to the above excellent reply, when in AirPort Utility > Internet Connection, and the "Connection Sharing" popup is set to "Off (Bridge Mode)," the single Ethernet WAN port is automatically converted to act as the fourth Ethernet LAN port instead of as a WAN port.
- Answered by Andrew H from Carmel
- Jan 14, 2011
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will an airport express work with an airport extreme?
- Asked by Patricia G from Grosse Pointe Farms
- Dec 25, 2010
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Best Answer
Yes, generally there is a choice of a couple ways they can work together, and they will use the same version of AirPort Utility if your computer meets the minimum System Requirements.
- Answered by Andrew H from Carmel
- Dec 30, 2010
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i am looking to have TPG with ADSL2+, is the airport extreme base station will be compatible ?? do i have to have a special modem ??
i am not sure if they will work well together, because ADSL2+ users needs special modem, please answer me thanks you
- Asked by Kengy C from Carindale
- Nov 27, 2012
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