#Apple airport express multiple setup trial
#Apple airport express multiple setup password

Occasionally, after a reboot, the Airport will not be visible in Airport Utility.So get it working using the above settings. But it's important to get the Main unit working as a wireless base station before proceeding. If, after all this, you still don't see the green light, you'll need to troubleshoot your connection in Airport Utility, which is beyond the scope of this article.Make sure you give it enough time before trying to connect to it. If you don't or can't, reboot the unit again for good measure. You should also be able to connect to the Airport network wirelessly. If all went well, you should see the classic green light on flashing on the Airport unit.After the reboot, remove the Ethernet cable connect between the Airport and your computer, and (re)connect the Airport to the network/router.The Airport will go and make the settings you just configured, which will require it to reboot.Once all this is set up, hit the 'Update' button.You'll add your WDS Remotes later, once we've plugged in the other Airport in the next section.'Allow wireless clients' should be checked.Under the WDS Settings tab the Main WDS Airport's WDS Mode should be set to 'WDS main.'.This is the one used for joining the network from your computer. Finally, be sure to set your wireless network's password.

#Apple airport express multiple setup trial

It's all good unless you're in a super-crowded area, in which case trial and error is your friend. The Airport recommends WPA/WPA2 Personal, which I like too. I like clear nomenclature, so I went with 'SystemsBoy-Wireless.' Clever, huh? This is the name you'll use when joining the wireless network from your computer, so choose wisely and for the ages.

Here you'll also want to give the network a name.

It's also important to check the 'Allow this network to be extended' checkbox.

Under the Wireless tab, set the Wireless Mode to 'Participate in a WDS Network.' This is the key, really, to the whole shebang.

#Apple airport express multiple setup password

As always, make the password memorable and secure. I recommend naming it something like 'Airport-BS-Main' for easy identification. The name will be the name of the base station itself, and the password is the one used to log in to and change the unit's settings.Begin in the Base Station tab by setting the name and password of the unit. Double-click the unit to open its configuration window.You should see the Main at the very least. This is not absolutely necessary, but it will help to mitigate any problems you might have as you go making changes, since you won't be dependent on a wireless connection. The easiest (and Apple-recommended) way to do all this is with a direct, wired connection, so grab yourself an Ethernet cable and connect your computer to the Airport that you want to be the Main unit.It's important to remember, as you continue with this process, that each new wireless node must be added to the main node in order for it to be seen by the WDS network. You'll connect the 'Remote' Airports to the Main wirelessly, allowing them to extend the network. It's the one that's connected to your cable modem, or your router, with an Ethernet cable. The 'Main' WDS Airport is the unit that will host the wireless network. Let's take a look at the process, which for me anyway, was fraught with difficulties that this article will hopefully help me (and you) avoid in the future. It turns out that, in order to extend an wireless network across multiple Airports, you must set up what is known as a WDS network. I had initially believed - perhaps naively - that the process would essentially be a matter of joining the new Airport to the existing network the same way you'd add a new computer. Doing so was fairly tricky and not anything like I'd expected. I'll leave the detailed instructions below for anyone who's interested.Ī while back I got a second Airport Express in the hopes of using it to extend my existing wireless network. So, definitely the thing to try first before you go into the twelve page set of instructions below. I haven't tried using this myself, but it does look exceedingly easy. A few people have written in to tell me that they've had great success using the configuration 'wizard' available in the Airport Express Utility. It looks like there's actually a better way to extend an Airport network than the one I've outlined in this article.