Airport Express v. Airport Extreme v. non-Apple base station
I am going to be upgrading from a netgear 802.11b router to a 802.11b/g router in the near future, and I am, of course, looking at the Apple offerings. The Airport Express is very appealing given its tiny size. I would appreciate feedback from those who have used both the Airport Express and a standard Airport Extreme base station with regard to strength of signal and wall penetration. I am looking to put the base station on the 2nd floor or a 3 story house and cover all three floors.
Alternatively, are there any non-apple products that you would recommend in the alternative?
thanks in advance,
SM
edit: spelling
Alternatively, are there any non-apple products that you would recommend in the alternative?
thanks in advance,
SM
edit: spelling
Comments
If you do get a DI-524, make sure you update the firmware. Out of the box, the WAN port is set incorrectly for most cable modems at 100mb instead of 10mb. It fails to connect. It The new firmware corrects this (1.05).
Also will I be able to have it run into a router since my roomates don't have wireless capabilities?
Thanks, JAK
http://www.10111.biz/
http://www.kajsidog.com/
Originally posted by smatanovic
Alternatively, are there any non-apple products that you would recommend in the alternative?
I have a Belkin pre-n router on order - if it lives
up to its advance billing, then it is much better
than anything else. Adaptive channel usage,
can do both 802.11g and 802.11b without dropping
the speed for the 11g users.
If somebody releases pre-n drivers for the mac,
then we are cooking with gas (3 times the speed
of Airport Extreme, and 8 times the range).
But on the flip side, there is a chance that the
real 802.11n spec will not be compatible with the
belkin when it is released in 2 years.
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?si...id=193&tid=218
For $140, I will throw it away in 2 years if it is
not firmware upgradable to the real 802.11n.
Wait until you take it from one place to another and have multiple profiles loaded...it only gets cooler.
>Will all 3 types (express/extreme/non-apple) allow for a printer to be hooked up to it, or is that just Apple?
>Also will I be able to have it run into a router since my >roomates don't have wireless capabilities?
I'm just trying to make my new iMac as wireless as possible because it will be on an arm. Which means I'm going to have to find a great router also I guess. So much for just the power cable out the back.
Thanks, JAK
http://www.10111.biz/
http://www.kajsidog.com/
Originally posted by kajsidog
I'll try again before I let this post fall down for good.
>Will all 3 types (express/extreme/non-apple) allow for a printer to be hooked up to it, or is that just Apple?
>Also will I be able to have it run into a router since my >roomates don't have wireless capabilities?
I'm just trying to make my new iMac as wireless as possible because it will be on an arm. Which means I'm going to have to find a great router also I guess. So much for just the power cable out the back.
Thanks, JAK
http://www.10111.biz/
http://www.kajsidog.com/
I can speak about the Express and about the 802.11b Netgear router that the Express replaced.
Printer sharing:
The Express has a usb port that can be used for printer sharing. Honestly, though, I RARELY use a printer anymore, so I haven't tried it. My old netgrar did not have a usb port and would therefofre not work as a print server.
Wire networking:
The netgear device included a router with 4 ports, which allowed for wired and wireless connection. The AEX has only one port: if you use this as the newtork-in port (I have mine connected to my cable modem, for example) you cannot connect any other *wired* devices.
Hope that helps...
since I'm going to need a big usb hub anyways for my numerous peripherals i may as well have the printer wired also...
now it's time to search reviews of other company's wireless/wire routers.
thanks, JAK
http://www.10111.biz/
http://www.kajsidog.com/
It would be easier to just connect the express to the router. Set up is very easy. As long as there is an open port on the router that is the way to go.
If you got bluetooth then the power cable is all you will need most of the time.
reg
So I can just have express plug into the allready present router? That would be perfect.
>If you got bluetooth then the power cable is all you will need most of the time.
Is there a bluetooth adaptor that lets me have a hub for things like my scanner, wacom tablet, zip drive, camera cable, speakers etc.? That would also be great although I doubt the speakers outlet.
Thanks, JAK
http://www.10111.biz/
http://www.kajsidog.com/
so basically, if you want wireless routing hardware that can "keep up" with apple's added features with every airport update (range, security, etc), you should stick with apple hardware. i know i wish i had.
Good point. I really do appreciate everyone's help. It looks like I'm going with an express plugged into the current wired router.
sorry to resurrect this old thread but no-one answered the original question about how good the AE's range is...
At most I will probably want to go about 20 meters through a couple off brick walls - will it manage this at reasonable strength (enough not to notice the difference on a 2Mb connection)?
But remember your experience can be very different...
Originally posted by NOFEER
don't you think that the airport line needs upgrading?? shouldn't we see new stuff and features after the new year???
it took me a while to get my airport snow up and running with my ibook, g3 imac and pc dell and adelphia modem. now if i wanted to upgrade to another airport would it be hard or simple, would all the settings simply transfer?? any advice or prep i'd need to do it, without spending a ton of time which i don't have (2 and 4 yr olds little girls don't let me sit AND consentrate long on my computer)