Works as described. Thank you so much for the concise and easy to follow directions. You saved me some grief and hair pulling :)
JS
· 10 months ago
I had exactly this task, and wasn't able to get it to work, but the one essential point that I found in your tutorial was:
- Set the 2WIRE wireless to WPA2 (not WPA/WPA2!)
I had earlier put it to WPA/WPA2 thinking that was more flexible, but for some reason, the AirPort Express isn't able to join that.
Thanks a lot!
Jess_NoLess
· 9 months ago
Thank you so much! I've spent days beating my equipment against a couple of walls trying to determine the error.
Chris
· 9 months ago
You should send this to Apple, they are clueless about this problem. Thank you so much for making something that should be so simple, in fact simple! This also solved another mystery... the only way I could get the Airport Express to work before was to leave my wireless security "open" on my network, and control access using MAC filtering, but that caused my iPhone to not stay connected to wifi (it would connect, but after standby mode, it would revert to EDGE), which was very frustrating. Now that I am using WPA, it stays connected. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Chris
· 9 months ago
I now have AE's connected to my network, and all is good - thanks again. Is there a reliable way for me to use one of them as a repeater to extend my wireless network? I found that one of my AEs has a Wireless Mode of "Extend a wireless network", but the other AE does not. The one that doesn't is about a year or more old. I checked for updates and there are none. If I use the newer one, and select that mode, will everything still work, and give me stronger signal in the area I have it?
David Ortez
· 9 months ago
I am glad that most found it easy to follow.
@Chris .... Yes, is this simple answer for "If I use the newer one, and select that mode, will everything still work, and give me stronger signal in the area I have it?"
Mark
· 7 months ago
Fantastic! Worked perfectly. Thanks so much for the clear, concise instructions.
kmik
· 7 months ago
After 2 hours on the phone yesterday with Apple, I was getting ready to box up my new AE and take the long trip to return it back to the Apple store, sad that we'll never be able to print wirelessly in my home.
In a last ditch attempt, I did a google search, and found this blog. I figured it was worth a try.
Although through the "resetting the AE" step, my device never blinked green after holding in the reset button for over 1 minute, it only blinked yellow, I went ahead with the rest of the process... and... IT WORKED!!!
We now have PCs, a Mac and an HP printer living in harmony with an AT&T 2wire router.
Thank you SO much Mr Ortez! Enjoy the coffee :-)
David Ortez
· 7 months ago
Thanks for sharing your story and buying me a coffee. Tomorrow I will enjoy a nice cup of joe. I am glad that I was able to be helpful.
Cheryl
· 7 months ago
Best tutorial yet.. everything went as planned. Except they kept asking me for a password for my AE's. After giving each a password, Got the green congratulations check on both AE devices. One went back to amber after plugging back in and the other went to green. Unfortunately neither show up with the scan. Checked each security setting you listed 10 times. We match exactly.
I've reset these over 20 times until finding your tutorial. Not sure what to do next?
David Ortez
· 7 months ago
Are you setting up multiple AE? Remember that in this tutorial I have "joined the wireless network" and not extended it. It seems from the problem that you are having that you are attempting to extend it, which I am not sure if you can do. I do not understand why not.
In the mean time, reset your AE and do one at a time until you do it correctly. I might end up making a video to explain to people.
James
· 7 months ago
Amazing instructions. Works like a charm. I had a slightly different setup than you described, (PC wireless and MAC ethernet connection with a 2Wire), but was easy to figure out once the security was changed. I believe apple should give you credit for this great service.
David Ortez
· 7 months ago
Thanks for the kind words James. I am glad that you benefited from this tutorial. Believe me this has been a work in progress since I switched over to AT&T DSL.
Tim
· 7 months ago
David you seem like a smart guy and may be interested in my problem. My iMac (10.5.7) has a very slow DSL connection. Pages try to download but stop and start and generally take too much time to finish. Speakeasy reports a fast speed ( around 8). We have tried a BEC router and a Vision Net. Now here is the kicker, when the tech girl hooks her PC to my router it blazes and my iMac computer (actually my laptop too) works great (fast) at my other DSL location which is 800 miles away ( I'm at my summer residence getting old looking at a spinning ball. Coffee, hell I'l send you a pound of Starbucks if you can solve this
Will
· 6 months ago
Thank you!! this worked liked a charm. my ae was sittin on my desk collecting dust as i had given up,but then today i decided to give it another try then i found this site followed the steps and voila! it works beautifully. Thanks again.
Mike C
· 6 months ago
My 2Wire OfficePortal 1800 does not give me the option of choosing WPA. Just 64-bit encryption or 128 bit encryption. AT&T was no help. What do I do?? (I selected the Edit Settings button under the wireless settings Network Summary)
David Ortez
· 6 months ago
Mike C,
Unfortunately, that 2Wire model does not support WPA security ... your only solution is to disable the WEP encryption as I explain in the first tutorial ... http://davidortez.com/2008/05/01/how-setup-airp...
owiest
· 6 months ago
How do I perform the first step, changing wireless security?
Excellent directions. This problem was driving me crazy all day.
Thanks very much!
Kevin Miller
· 6 months ago
Great Blog. I have one question. I have the AT&T U-Verse 2Wire 3800HGV-B router gateway. I was able to connect the Airport express (g) to it so I can play music in my home theater. I used the "join a wireless network" setting. The question I have is.. I would like to get a BlueRay player that needs an ethernet port for internet. I can't seem to get the ethernet port on the Airport express to work.
Any idea's
David Ortez
· 6 months ago
Kevin Miller, Unfortunately, it is impossible to distribute data via the Ethernet port on the AE ... it only receives. In other words, the AE Ethernet port can not send data via the ethernet connection to a computer connected directly. It only accepts data from a modem or router in order to redistribution.
I hope that makes sense as to why your configuration is not playing nice.
Kevin Miller
· 5 months ago
I may not be thinking of this straight, but when you use the AE wireless with a Macbook and have the AE connected to the modem via ethernet port isn't the AE ethernet port sending and receiving information?
David Ortez
· 5 months ago
Yes .... only if it is connected to a modem ... it does not if is connected to a computer.
rcarnley
· 5 months ago
I just switched to AT&T DSL and have the 2WIRE Gateway. I am using the default WEP security. It was not made known during installation that you can switch to a different one. Anyway, I wanted to use my Airport Express to play my iTunes through my stereo. I hooked the AE to my computer via ethernet and using Airport Utility manually configured it using the WEP security. It appeared to work. I have the green light on the AE and it shows up in Airort utility. Then I brought up iTunes. The box where you choose where to play iTunes was there with 2 choices, Computer Speakers or AE. However, the AE choice is greyed out and cannot be selected. Will switching to WPA2 security solve this issue or is something else wrong? I just upgraded iTunes to the latest version.
David Ortez
· 5 months ago
Rcarnley, Short answer ... Your first objective is to change your Wireless Network Security from “WEP” to “WPA2-PSK.” Check above for the screenshot that corresponds to this step.
rcarnley
· 5 months ago
Last night I performed a firmware upgrade on the Airport Express to bring it up to version 6.3. It all works now. It was still good to learn that you can adjust the type of security on the AT&T 2WIRE. I may still do that.
Ralph Carnley
sassafras
· 5 months ago
thank you so much for this. i luckily found your post today after about 8 hours of frustation several days ago trying to get this thing to work. today was going to be my last effort before i gave up and returned the airport express. your directions and images were right on. thanks for your time and effort :)
David Ortez
· 5 months ago
Sassafras, I am glad that you found it helpful.
Sandinista
· 5 months ago
David - Great instructions! My AT&T dsl modem is the 2-wire 2701HG-B; i'm using Airport Express in client mode as a peripheral for Airtunes. I connected it to 2wire hub using default router WEP-40 encryption and did not have any issues. However, I now want to use the AE to extend the wireless signal in my house - is this what your tutorial is teaching?
AT&T told me the only way to do this was to make the 2-wire a Static IP, essentially "passing through" the wireless signal to the AE and making that the hub. That is not what I want to do as I have other peripherals on my 2-wire network; I just want AE to extend the wireless signal in one part of my house.
Is there a performance difference using WEP versus WPA2-PSK? Just curious - I have not been happy with the 2wire router as I seem to lose wireless signal about every 5 minutes for several secs.
David Ortez
· 5 months ago
Performance difference ... I am not sure but security wise I have read that WEP is more secure.
Sophia
· 5 months ago
Ack. I was so excited when my boyfriend found this article. I had tried to set up AE 2 years ago to no avail. I've now followed the directions twice and got an error right at the end when the AE is supposed to re-start. I tried with 2 different AEs but got the error that the wireless devices could not be found after restart and the light kept blinking yellow.
David Ortez
· 5 months ago
Sophia, Not sure what to say ... I did my best to convey to others how to perform this tutorial and it seems that a large percentage of managed to follow along.
Did you reset it as I originally state that you must? If you have any questions along the tutorial let me know so I may clarify. For example you should have two Ethernet cords ... one connected to AE and one to DSL modem.
CC
· 3 months ago
David, your post helped me a lot. I finally got my AE to work. Thank you! CC
johnburbridge
· 3 months ago
David - THANK YOU! This blog has already saved me tons of research / trial and error. Following your instructions got me almost all the way, but I feel there's something I'm not doing right.
I have successfully setup my AE when selecting "Join a wireless network" - now I'm trying to move on to "Participate in WDS network" but am running into problems. In the WDS tab I'm selecting WDS Mode as "remote" and adding my 2Wire's wireless network's MAC address under WDS Main.
For some odd reason, when I reboot the LED will only flash green if the ethernet cable is connected. In other words, the AE it will not connect to the wireless network but will connect to the ethernet network.
I've reviewed all of the wireless settings on the AE, which seem to be fine? I don't quite understand why it would only be able to connect to the wireless network when "joining an existing network" but not when "extending the network".
Could there possibly be something about the 2Wire that doesn't allow an additional device to broadcast under the same SID / channel? At this point I'm at a total loss - any ideas?
David Ortez
· 1 month ago
You got me ... I have always wondered the same ... it kind of bothers me that you cannot extend the network ... oh well ... if someone can figure out a solution ... please do share.
thisisforjoel
· 2 months ago
I can join my network wirelessly fine, WEP or WPA.... my issue is trying to extend my network.
Any thoughts?
David Ortez
· 1 month ago
I have never been able to extend the network ... only join it. I am not sure why not.
chadjohnston
· 1 month ago
David,
I have followed the directions exactly as above. I had a three year old 2Wire router that I used fine with my express to play airtunes. I got the new 2701HG-B 2Wire and after following your instructions it says my express is set up but cant join the network. Flashing amber light. I never get even a glimmer of a green light. On your illustrations above you show just below your directions for a "manual setup" a green light on the express. I dont get that. It is amber. Any other ideas???
David Ortez
· 1 month ago
@Chad, You may need to reset your AE because it may be using its old settings. Other than that I believe that it did not capture your settings before you disconnected from the wall and put the AE in the room of your choice.
kenthomas
· 1 month ago
Hi David:
Looks like a good article although I am yet to try. I just got me an airport extreme and I have a 2wire DSL modem with wireless capabilities also I will be using a Windows XP machine. Do you think I should shut off the wireless feature on my DSL modem and connect the DSL modem to the AE via an ethernet cable and or should I join to the existing wireless account? Please advice... Thanks Ken
Exhaloprez
· 1 month ago
David,
I know this question is dumb but please bear with me. I read your wonderful article but I am stomped on where and how to find Wireless Network Security on my mini Mac so I can change WEP-Open to WPA2-PSK.
Thanks.
Richard
Narciso
· 3 weeks ago
Thank you so much. This worked perfectly. I was trying so hard to figure this out last night and it took me like an hour without any results. With this page I was able to do it in 5 minutes.
Great job! Thanks again!
jcnella
· 2 weeks ago
Thanks a ton. Even I could fix this with your solution. I owe you a coffee and Newcastle.
Gary
· 5 days ago
I am beginning to guess that this will only extend the range of the 2Wire by allowing me to attach a stereo or USB printer, and not by sending an additional wireless signal. To achieve a stronger overall signal, would I be able to turn off the wireless on the 2Wire, attach the Express by ethernet, and use the Express' wireless signal? -(about to try anyway, will post how it works)
All Comments
- Set the 2WIRE wireless to WPA2 (not WPA/WPA2!)
I had earlier put it to WPA/WPA2 thinking that was more flexible, but for some reason, the AirPort Express isn't able to join that.
Thanks a lot!
@Chris .... Yes, is this simple answer for "If I use the newer one, and select that mode, will everything still work, and give me stronger signal in the area I have it?"
In a last ditch attempt, I did a google search, and found this blog. I figured it was worth a try.
Although through the "resetting the AE" step, my device never blinked green after holding in the reset button for over 1 minute, it only blinked yellow, I went ahead with the rest of the process... and... IT WORKED!!!
We now have PCs, a Mac and an HP printer living in harmony with an AT&T 2wire router.
Thank you SO much Mr Ortez! Enjoy the coffee :-)
I've reset these over 20 times until finding your tutorial. Not sure what to do next?
In the mean time, reset your AE and do one at a time until you do it correctly. I might end up making a video to explain to people.
My iMac (10.5.7) has a very slow DSL connection. Pages try to download but stop and start and generally take too much time to finish. Speakeasy reports a fast speed ( around 8). We have tried a BEC router and a Vision Net. Now here is the kicker, when the tech girl hooks her PC to my router it blazes and my iMac computer (actually my laptop too) works great (fast) at my other DSL location which is 800 miles away ( I'm at my summer residence getting old looking at a spinning ball. Coffee, hell I'l send you a pound of Starbucks if you can solve this
this worked liked a charm.
my ae was sittin on my desk collecting dust as i had given up,but then today i decided to give it another try then i found this site followed the steps and voila! it works beautifully.
Thanks again.
Unfortunately, that 2Wire model does not support WPA security ... your only solution is to disable the WEP encryption as I explain in the first tutorial ... http://davidortez.com/2008/05/01/how-setup-airp...
For further information, read the old post.
Thanks very much!
I have the AT&T U-Verse 2Wire 3800HGV-B router gateway. I was able to connect the Airport express (g) to it so I can play music in my home theater. I used the "join a wireless network" setting. The question I have is..
I would like to get a BlueRay player that needs an ethernet port for internet. I can't seem to get the ethernet port on the Airport express to work.
Any idea's
Unfortunately, it is impossible to distribute data via the Ethernet port on the AE ... it only receives. In other words, the AE Ethernet port can not send data via the ethernet connection to a computer connected directly. It only accepts data from a modem or router in order to redistribution.
I hope that makes sense as to why your configuration is not playing nice.
Short answer ... Your first objective is to change your Wireless Network Security from “WEP” to “WPA2-PSK.” Check above for the screenshot that corresponds to this step.
Ralph Carnley
I am glad that you found it helpful.
Great instructions! My AT&T dsl modem is the 2-wire 2701HG-B; i'm using Airport Express in client mode as a peripheral for Airtunes. I connected it to 2wire hub using default router WEP-40 encryption and did not have any issues. However, I now want to use the AE to extend the wireless signal in my house - is this what your tutorial is teaching?
AT&T told me the only way to do this was to make the 2-wire a Static IP, essentially "passing through" the wireless signal to the AE and making that the hub. That is not what I want to do as I have other peripherals on my 2-wire network; I just want AE to extend the wireless signal in one part of my house.
Is there a performance difference using WEP versus WPA2-PSK? Just curious - I have not been happy with the 2wire router as I seem to lose wireless signal about every 5 minutes for several secs.
I've now followed the directions twice and got an error right at the end when the AE is supposed to re-start. I tried with 2 different AEs but got the error that the wireless devices could not be found after restart and the light kept blinking yellow.
Not sure what to say ... I did my best to convey to others how to perform this tutorial and it seems that a large percentage of managed to follow along.
Did you reset it as I originally state that you must? If you have any questions along the tutorial let me know so I may clarify. For example you should have two Ethernet cords ... one connected to AE and one to DSL modem.
CC
I have successfully setup my AE when selecting "Join a wireless network" - now I'm trying to move on to "Participate in WDS network" but am running into problems. In the WDS tab I'm selecting WDS Mode as "remote" and adding my 2Wire's wireless network's MAC address under WDS Main.
For some odd reason, when I reboot the LED will only flash green if the ethernet cable is connected. In other words, the AE it will not connect to the wireless network but will connect to the ethernet network.
I've reviewed all of the wireless settings on the AE, which seem to be fine? I don't quite understand why it would only be able to connect to the wireless network when "joining an existing network" but not when "extending the network".
Could there possibly be something about the 2Wire that doesn't allow an additional device to broadcast under the same SID / channel? At this point I'm at a total loss - any ideas?
Any thoughts?
I have followed the directions exactly as above. I had a three year old 2Wire router that I used fine with my express to play airtunes. I got the new 2701HG-B 2Wire and after following your instructions it says my express is set up but cant join the network. Flashing amber light. I never get even a glimmer of a green light. On your illustrations above you show just below your directions for a "manual setup" a green light on the express. I dont get that. It is amber. Any other ideas???
You may need to reset your AE because it may be using its old settings. Other than that I believe that it did not capture your settings before you disconnected from the wall and put the AE in the room of your choice.
Looks like a good article although I am yet to try. I just got me an airport extreme and I have a 2wire DSL modem with wireless capabilities also I will be using a Windows XP machine. Do you think I should shut off the wireless feature on my DSL modem and connect the DSL modem to the AE via an ethernet cable and or should I join to the existing wireless account?
Please advice...
Thanks
Ken
I know this question is dumb but please bear with me. I read your wonderful article but I am stomped on where and how to find Wireless Network Security on my mini Mac so I can change WEP-Open to WPA2-PSK.
Thanks.
Richard
Great job! Thanks again!
To achieve a stronger overall signal, would I be able to turn off the wireless on the 2Wire, attach the Express by ethernet, and use the Express' wireless signal?
-(about to try anyway, will post how it works)