Setup an AirPort Express to Extend Your Network

I finally got around to buying an AirPort Express so that I could extend the range of my AirPort Extreme wireless network, and I had quite a hard time getting things up and running. Of course, when I say "quite a hard time," I'm speaking in Apple terms, as I rarely have any issues with any Apple hardware or software. Evangelism aside, searching Apple's support forums let me know that I wasn't the only person that had issues setting up an extended network, so I thought I'd post a quick how-to, now that I have everything working.

STEP 1. We'll start out with the assumption that you have your main AirPort network running properly, and that your AirPort Express is at its factory, hard reset status — and plugged-in. I'd recommend plugging-in the Express in the same room as the Extreme during setup, just to ensure both devices can clearly communicate with one another.

The first thing you need to do is note the AirPort Express's AirPort ID, which is found on the outside of the AirPort, and when you open up AirPort Utility. Looking at the screen shot below, you can see where the AirPort utility displays the ID number — and I'd recommend highlighting the text and pasting it into a text file.

STEP 2: The next step is to setup your main Base Station to work as a WDS (Wireless Distribution System) network. To do this, select your main Base Station in the AirPort list on the left, click the "Manual Setup" button to open the configuration settings, and go to the "Wireless" tab. You will see a popup menu labeled "Wireless Mode," and you need to select "Participate in a WDS network" from the list of options. Make sure the Channel sets itself to 1, make sure "Allow this network to be extended" is checked, and take note of your network name and wireless security settings. Your AirPort Utility page should now look something like this:

STEP 3: When you set your network to participate in a WDS network, you probably noticed a new tab appeared in the AirPort Utility window: a tab labeled "WDS." Click the WDS tab heading, and make sure "WDS Main" is selected from the "WDS Mode" popup menu — this lets the network know which AirPort is the the one connected to your internet source (cable, DSL, etc.). What we need to do now is add the AirPort Express to the network, and the first step in doing so is to click the "+" button under the "WDS Remotes" listbox. In the window that appears, you need to paste-in the AirPort Express's AirPort ID number, giving it a description if you feel so inclined (it's not necessary to). Your AirPort Utility page should now look something like this:

Click the "Update" button, and the new configuration will be loaded to your AirPort Extreme. After the AirPort Extreme restarts, you may see a couple of errors — but ignore them for now.

STEP 4: Now we need to get the AirPort Express up and running, and to do that, we need to note the AirPort Extreme's AirPort ID — just like we needed the Express's in Step 1. So simply select the Extreme from the AirPort list and copy its AirPort ID. Now select the AirPort Express from the AirPort list, and click the "Manual Setup" button to open the Express's configuration settings.

Go to the "Wireless" tab and set the Express to "Participate in a WDS network" from the "Wireless Mode" popup menu, making sure "Allow this network to be extended" is checked, and that the Express is set to Channel 1. Make sure you enter your network name in the "Network Name" field, too — this is a critical step that Apple's documentation fails to make the user aware of. You also need to make sure your security settings are setup exactly as they are on your Extreme Base Station — exactly. Your AirPort Utility page should look something like this:

Once you've done that, click the "WDS" tab, and select "WDS Remote" from the "Wireless Mode" popup menu. This will allow your Express to share your Extreme's internet connection as well as act as another "hotspot," thus increasing the overall range of your network. Make sure "Allow wireless clients" is checked, and paste the Extreme's AirPort ID (which we copied earlier in this step) into the "WDS Main" field, like so:

Click the "Update" button, and the new settings will be sent to the Express. It may take it a while to restart, but eventually it will come back online, and you should see the status light (on the Express itself) glowing solid green. If you never get a solid green light, go back to the AirPort Utility and see what errors it lists, then check the associated settings.

That's pretty much all there is to setting up an AirPort Express to extend your wireless network. For whatever reason, Apple's documentation fails to explicitly state that both devices have to have the same network name entered, that both devices have to be set to Channel 1, and that both devices have to have identical security settings. Using the same network name makes sense if you think of it from the perspective of the Express merely being an extension of your main network — but the other side of the coin is worrying that doing so could also lead to conflicts, as wireless devices could potentially get confused, not knowing which AirPort network is the "real" one. The "fix" for that worry is to setup the Extreme and Express in the proper order, as I detail here. The channel and security settings follow this same logic — but it would have been nice of Apple to detail such things.

Hopefully this little write-up will help someone setup their extended network. The Express is a great little piece of hardware — once you get it working. It took me a while, but it's working flawlessly now, and I couldn't be more pleased with the little guy.