AirPort Extreme Base Station

Reviews for AirPort Extreme Base Station

Customer Reviews and Ratings

4.5 out of 5 stars

Based on 404 reviews

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Needs some work...

    • Written by from MUNDELEIN

    I read many reviews before purchasing the 5th Gen Airport Extreme base station, after more than a decade of Linksys. If it just worked like it should, I'd have been happy. It's not the speed or the strength of the signal, but the reliability that mattered to me. I just want something that works.
    The first months or two it worked really well. I thought I made a smart decision because the Linksys always drops out for no discernible reason, and I was so sick and tired out the power-off and power-on to make it work again. But the AEBS did not last long.
    The first time the AEBS dropped out, the light was green. There was no sign of any problem other than that I have no net connection. When I started Airport Utility, it could not find the base station at all.
    I find the Airport Utility to be one of the most useless piece of software of all. It never solved any problems when you have one, and it only works when there are no problems at all.
    Apple is no better at building routers, only its hardware looks better and costs more.
    The first unplug/plug lasted 22 days, the 2nd, 8 days. The last two resets were only 2 days apart.
    There are something fundamentally challenging to all the base station makers. I am not sure if it is the heat, accumulation of data or something, they just need to be powered off every once in a while. I am so use to it now that when the AEBS can not be found by Airport Utility, I just power-off and plug it back in. In less than two minutes, everything will go back to normal.
    That, ladies and gentlemen, is something you should understand before you buy.

    19 of 22 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice piece of hardware but software lacks key required features for me

    • Written by from Long Island city

    While I like the feature specifications and performance, Apple seems to be going down their usual road of we'll do everything we _think_ you need and you can't do any more yourself. Most notably, the Airport Utility version 6 and up does not allow you to see what IP addresses the device has assigned on your network.

    So, if you buy a new toy, plug it into your network and then need to know its IP address you can no longer find it. There are hacks out there for installing an older version of Airport Utility but in the Apple world those will break sooner or later and you're stuck with this very horrible experience.

    I bought a new NAS device, booted it and now have no idea how to get to it to set it up. Boo Apple, Boo!!

    If these situations do not affect you, then I would recommend this piece of hardware. If they do, look elsewhere. I personally have had many good experiences with D-Link.

    11 of 17 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Set Up: No Good

    • Written by from Bainbridge

    I received this in the mail on the proper time.

    When it comes to setting up, I had trouble.
    1. It did not come with the CD that the Setup Guide said ...
    2. I have to find the proper AirPort Utility online in order to setup this properly ...
    Disappointed with the set up process ...

    8 of 16 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Know Why You Are Buying This

    • Written by from Melbourne

    The AE has to be one of the simplest products to set up. The hardware is well designed but the software is what makes this a gem. You can be a novice and make a very simple yet extensive network or a pro who needs range, shared disks, 5ghz networks etc. and it is also very easy to do.

    I bought this under the impression it would act as a hub to plug a USB hard drive into and then back up over the air. As I had a 2tb hard disk it seemed unnecessary to buy a time capsule. Bad idea. This will not work as a time capsule at all. So make sure you are buying it for its sharing capabilities not as a time machine/capsule. Get a Time Capsule for backup, an Airport Extreme for a superb wifi unit.

    48 of 65 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Worked 2yr

    • Written by from Parker

    I have really enjoyed and used my Airport Extreme Base station, that is until it died this morning with no ability to resuscitate. Have been using an external drive and printer with easy set up, and was able to set up Time Machine on it. Only wish it was more reliable! This is my second one in 8 years AND now I will have to buy another one. Get Applecare -- I wish I had!

    21 of 23 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    when it works its great when it works....

    • Written by from concord

    iv owned 2 of airport extreme base stations first was the 4th gen that died in 9 months luckily apple swapped it out for the new 5th gen :D. sadly about 1 year in to owning it the same problems happened wireless N antenna over heats and burns it self out wish they would build a fan in to them to prevent the over heating problem. passive air cooling is not enough any more....

    54 of 66 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    USB Disk a Joke

    • Written by from Toronto

    The router is good, as far as routers go. It's fast and easy to set up. One of the key features is the USB disk sharing which is why I bought the router. Apple products are usually superior, so I figured they would have this feature working really well on the APE

    Wrong. I could write to my drive at speeds ranging from 200 KB/s to 900KB/s (the higher speed achieved after 20 minutes or so). I was expecting at least 2 - 3 MB/s write and >5MB/s read.

    If you want a NAS (Network Attached Storage) router, look on CNET for some recommnedations. The speeds acheived here are useless - unable to stream media from the hard drive to any media player without constant interruptions and buffering.

    I returned this after 3 days of frustration.

    109 of 142 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    No Stereo Jack is Whack

    • Written by from West Hollywood

    I think it's really stupid there is no stereo jack on the Airport Extreme. The Airport Express has been able to wirelessly play music via AirTunes from the beginning, but somehow the bigger and better Extreme loses this seemingly simple (and very much appreciated!) feature.

    Disappointed and feel like I could've skipped this purchase and stuck with a couple Expresses.

    46 of 59 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    wish it had a built in modem with the router

    • Written by from Middle Cove

    title says it all. Difficult set up otherwise. dissappointed.

    19 of 46 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Generation 5

    • Written by from Springfield

    I recently upgraded from a gen 4 to a gen 5. I've had it for about eight weeks. I made the decision to upgrade solely based on the positive reviews found here. Several claimed that their range and strength doubled. Sadly, that was not my experience. I would say it is 10% better at best and I have to reboot it periodically to keep range & signal at the optimum level. My service is through AT&T U-verse. I'm using the 2Wire router to feed my Airport Extreme. It is in the basement office. My main disappointment is when I use the WiFi to stream music via Air Play throughout the house. The music will drop out intermittently when I'm in the kitchen. This is where the main stereo is. It has a Airport Express connected to it. I've attempted to convert the Express to an extender, but it didn't work. My advice is to save your $180 and wait until a later generation really improves the signal & range.

    48 of 61 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Makes Bothersome Noise the 4th Gen Did Not

    • Written by from CASTRO VALLEY

    When I decided to return this, I wasn't sure if I wanted to write a review. Sometimes my opinions are so marginal, they aren't helpful to others. However, I'm desperate for an 802.11n dual band AP, and would really like one that would work seamlessly with my existing setup (which includes a 4th Gen Airport Extreme).

    After trying several other APs, which I also found unacceptable, I've started searching again. Not only are my needs increasing with a Roku, iPad, and several other devices looking for high throughput WiFi, several less-technical friends have started asking for advice on similar issues.

    It didn't take long scanning reviews to find one titled, "Buzzing, Fizzing, Hissing, Clicking." That reviewer gave the AE 1 star, which I think is harsh, but the annoying noises definitely make this unusable in a quiet office. I have the 4th Gen AE (which supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, but not simultaneously), and that model is completely silent.

    As I'm not able to trade noise for performance, I'm still looking for a good dual-band N AP. At this point, I'm considering waiting for a product based on the evolving (draft) 802.11ac standard.

    26 of 31 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Complicated setup instructions

    • Written by from shelburne

    I would rate it five stars if it weren't for the complicated security setup instructions.

    35 of 55 people found this useful

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