airport extreme vs. express? Main differences? Trying to figure out how to go wireless for the first time (with my new macbook). I have cable internet and want to be able to set up wireless myself. Express is more affordable... Suggestions? airport extreme vs. express? Main differences? Trying to figure out how to go wireless for the first time (with my new macbook). I have cable internet and want to be able to set up wireless myself.... » Read More airport extreme vs. express? Main differences? Trying to figure out how to go wireless for the first time (with my new macbook). I have cable internet and want to be able to set up wireless myself. Express is more affordable... Suggestions? « Show Less
764493
I would strongly consider Extreme if you have a new MacBook with 802.11n, you will see a TREMENDOUS speed increase, esp with a cable modem! I'm about ready to spring for one as I've just gotten a new MacBook Pro with 802.11n and the range on my old Netgear router is great, I can finally take advantage of the speed!
764494
Thanks. That actually helps a lot. I don't need the extra stuff the extreme offers and I certainly don't need to spend the extra money. I have heard that the express is portable, but I am just now learning about wireless in general (yes, I know that I am behind the times). Is it really easy to set up wireless where ever I go? And, can it be "secured" when I use it in different places?Thanks so much for you help!Emily
1054112
Took my express on the road for the first time and though it worked at home ... It was green on the road in the hotel but my Internet would not connect. Not on my ipad2 or another computer. Wondering if I screwed up the setup...any tricks during setu?
948780
Time capsule is not only a wireless router, but also a hard drive so it backs up your computers/laptop. If you want all your stuff backed up go with a time capsule otherwise stick with a AirPort Extreme. Let me know if you have any other questions hope this helps.
1991047
Hi. From what I've researched, this Airport Extreme Card is compatible with all generations of Mac Pro through 2009. My Mac Pro is an Early 2009 model with a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon. It is easy enough to install once you remove the modules around the area where it will be installed (looking at the inside of the tower, it is just left of center), but it is somewhat difficult to attach the wires unless you have small enough tools. I had to have a local computer repair shop do that part of the installation. It was worth the extra $25. You might find additional installation instructions at www.ifixit.com. :-) Hi. From what I've researched, this Airport Extreme Card is compatible with all generations of Mac Pro through 2009. My Mac Pro is an Early 2009 model with a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon. It is easy enough to install once you remove the modules around the area where it will be installed (looking at the inside of the tower, it is just left of center), but it is somewhat difficult to attach the wires unless you have small enough tools. I had to have a local computer repair shop do that part of the installation. It was worth the extra $25. You might find additional installation instructions... » Read More Hi. From what I've researched, this Airport Extreme Card is compatible with all generations of Mac Pro through 2009. My Mac Pro is an Early 2009 model with a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon. It is easy enough to install once you remove the modules around the area where it will be installed (looking at the inside of the tower, it is just left of center), but it is somewhat difficult to attach the wires unless you have small enough tools. I had to have a local computer repair shop do that part of the installation. It was worth the extra $25. You might find additional installation instructions at www.ifixit.com. :-) « Show Less
621275
Line of sight is required. You will also want to make sure there is no interference with any wifi you may have. I have an Apple Airport Express that has 2 channels. 2.4 GHz and 5GHz. Lately I have had an issue with the 5GHz channel interfering. You want to keep your wifi on the double digits and not triple digits channels. I am currently using channel 44 and it is working fine.
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Here is my personal view. CISCO routers are amongst the most difficult routers to configure and especially with Apple Devices. I had 02 and I gave up and bought an Apple Airport. Not only are the Routers (E2000 and the Wireless Extender) challenging to set up, they also keep crashing which requires constant work and setting up. So do yourself a favour and choose a different router. You can look at Apple (seamless integration) or ASUS or any other robust brand. I personally will never buy CISCO again.
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You can easily link up to airport express from iPhone and you can link to your computer. I don't think you can stream to both at same time.
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I have a fairly large house and my wifi signal tended to drop off in certain areas, so I added a second AirPort Extreme to extend my network. But, that actually "cuts the signal in half" in that configuration. Sorry, only a closet tech person so I am sure I just butchered this explanation. To get around this, I used the powerline kit. I plugged one in by my main airport and the other by my second airport. Ran Ethernet to each from the airport. Also made sure these were the only thing plugged into the outlet. On the second airport, rather than extend my network, I set it up as stand alone with the same netiwork name and password. It is setup as a roaming network. The primary airport provides the dhcp services and the second is setup in bridge mode. Google "two AirPort Extreme on same network" and there is a good apple support article about this. My network performance improved by a huge amount after I set this up.
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Wifi transmits more information than Bluetooth. However, if you are considering a wifi connection there is nothing easier than an airport express.
559711
I wirelessly access my 3800 via an Apple Airport Express. No wireless capabilities out of the box. The 3880 (and the 3800) have an ethernet port (100 base-t) and a USB 2.0 port; you can use either of those connections (with an Airport Express) to wirelessly access all of the functionality as if the printer were connected locally to your machine (PC or Mac).
358523
Jura re-read your question. You could disable the wireless signal, on the phone companies router. Connect an Ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports (on the DSL model) and set up your own network. You can also use the AirPort Extreme in Bridge mode to extend your network. This means that the DSL wireless router will still be the main network and you are now extending it to other parts of the house. Nice thing about the AirPort Extreme is that if you change internet providers, you can host your own network. I switched from DSL (barely getting 12 Mbps down and 1.5 up) to Cable (52 Mbps down and 11 up) Jura re-read your question. You could disable the wireless signal, on the phone companies router. Connect an Ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports (on the DSL model) and set up your own network. You can also use the AirPort Extreme in Bridge mode to extend your network. This means that the DSL wireless router will still be the main network and you are now extending it to other parts of the house. Nice thing about the AirPort Extreme is that if you change internet providers, you can host your own network. I switched from DSL (barely getting 12 Mbps down and 1.5 up) to Cable (52 Mbps down... » Read More Jura re-read your question. You could disable the wireless signal, on the phone companies router. Connect an Ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports (on the DSL model) and set up your own network. You can also use the AirPort Extreme in Bridge mode to extend your network. This means that the DSL wireless router will still be the main network and you are now extending it to other parts of the house. Nice thing about the AirPort Extreme is that if you change internet providers, you can host your own network. I switched from DSL (barely getting 12 Mbps down and 1.5 up) to Cable (52 Mbps down and 11 up) « Show Less
1971939
My computer is down right now but I'm expecting a new memory chip early next week and I can give you better answers. But, if you go to the Apple store online and look for refurbished hardware you will see some airport expresses that have an integrated AC prong that is the correct device. It is the preceding device for the current express that is shaped like an Apple TV. They are around and you can find them. Maybe even on eBay. I just found it on the Apple store for refurbished Mac accessories. It doesn't have a model number on the store and right now I don't know one to find it. But it's obvious that it's the top one on the list of Mac accessories for about $69. My computer is down right now but I'm expecting a new memory chip early next week and I can give you better answers. But, if you go to the Apple store online and look for refurbished hardware you will see some airport expresses that have an integrated AC prong that is the correct device. It is the preceding device for the current express that is shaped like an Apple TV. They are around and you can find them. Maybe even on eBay. I just found it on the Apple store for refurbished Mac accessories. It doesn't have a model number on the store and right now I don't know one to find it. But it's... » Read More My computer is down right now but I'm expecting a new memory chip early next week and I can give you better answers. But, if you go to the Apple store online and look for refurbished hardware you will see some airport expresses that have an integrated AC prong that is the correct device. It is the preceding device for the current express that is shaped like an Apple TV. They are around and you can find them. Maybe even on eBay. I just found it on the Apple store for refurbished Mac accessories. It doesn't have a model number on the store and right now I don't know one to find it. But it's obvious that it's the top one on the list of Mac accessories for about $69. « Show Less
1583838
Your explanation was a terrific help, and leads me to another question. What are the options if the Airport Express (attached to cable modem) is too far away for an audio cable to reach the entertainment center, i.e., Airport Express/cable modem upstairs, entertainment center downstairs? Should I use a separate Airport Express (downstairs) just to stream music? Would I be better off relocating the current Airport Express and cable modem downstairs, nearer the entertainment center?I'd so appreciate some guidance; I'm disappointed in myself that I have not yet figured out how to use the Airport Express to its full capacity, for music streaming. Thanks in advance.JW Your explanation was a terrific help, and leads me to another question. What are the options if the Airport Express (attached to cable modem) is too far away for an audio cable to reach the entertainment center, i.e., Airport Express/cable modem upstairs, entertainment center downstairs? Should I use a separate Airport Express (downstairs) just to stream music? Would I be better off relocating the current Airport Express and cable modem downstairs, nearer the entertainment center?I'd so appreciate some guidance; I'm disappointed in myself that I have not yet figured out how to... » Read More Your explanation was a terrific help, and leads me to another question. What are the options if the Airport Express (attached to cable modem) is too far away for an audio cable to reach the entertainment center, i.e., Airport Express/cable modem upstairs, entertainment center downstairs? Should I use a separate Airport Express (downstairs) just to stream music? Would I be better off relocating the current Airport Express and cable modem downstairs, nearer the entertainment center?I'd so appreciate some guidance; I'm disappointed in myself that I have not yet figured out how to use the Airport Express to its full capacity, for music streaming. Thanks in advance.JW « Show Less
180935
hey,thank you for your advice. first of all i have a linksys router so that would be a problem. seems like these deals are not that good and too much for a computer newbie such as me :)
841409
I use an Airport Extreme and it works great. Initial setup requires a copper connection to configure the wireless adapter but after that no problems.
690336
It's a wireless router (in simple terms). Stick it between your home/work computers and your DSL/Cable/Internet provider. Great wireless coverage and reliability. Plus, apple simplicity and great additional features.
698287
this discussions encourage me to buy the airport extreme as my router for home even when i only have windows computers. I can said everythings goes fine but there is an important issue about the external hdd that was a major feature i like of this product.the things is it cant handle ntfs hdd so you have only two options: format with fat32 and limit yourself to files no larger than 4gb that is absurd as it sounds, or buy macdrive and format the disk with mac format to make ir reconogzible for the airport and also readable in windows without any kind of limitations.i think i will go for the second but still have no try it but i seems to work. this discussions encourage me to buy the airport extreme as my router for home even when i only have windows computers. I can said everythings goes fine but there is an important issue about the external hdd that was a major feature i like of this product.the things is it cant handle ntfs hdd so you have only two options: format with fat32 and limit yourself to files no larger than 4gb that is absurd as it sounds, or buy macdrive and format the disk with mac format to make ir reconogzible for the airport and also readable in windows without any kind of limitations.i think i will... » Read More this discussions encourage me to buy the airport extreme as my router for home even when i only have windows computers. I can said everythings goes fine but there is an important issue about the external hdd that was a major feature i like of this product.the things is it cant handle ntfs hdd so you have only two options: format with fat32 and limit yourself to files no larger than 4gb that is absurd as it sounds, or buy macdrive and format the disk with mac format to make ir reconogzible for the airport and also readable in windows without any kind of limitations.i think i will go for the second but still have no try it but i seems to work. « Show Less