AirPort Express review: getting rid of wires. Knowledge Base - Powered by Kayako Connecting airport express to an existing network

Most users of modern devices prefer to use devices developed by Apple. This kind of preference is most likely due to the quality, performance and style of the products. True, they also have several disadvantages, because of which many amateurs and professionals refuse to purchase the unit. First of all, it should be noted the high cost of gadgets and the unique approach that, for example, the Airport Express router requires.

To configure the device you need to install a proprietary utility

This device is a full-fledged Wi-Fi router, adapted to almost all domestic providers.

Features of the American unit

Today, two versions of the Airport Express router are sold around the world. The new device has an updated body and a more advanced form factor. The latest version of Airport Express can support more than 50 devices connected via Wi-Fi, operate at 5 GHz, and also connect to a USB printer and print documents without the use of cables. The case is not equipped with outputs for direct connection of flash drives and modems. Another difference of the new router is the presence of AirPlay and an additional LAN port.

Apple Airport Express does not have a personal web interface, and user configuration requires the proprietary Airport utility. You can download it from the official website, then install it via the AppStore on your iPhone (iPad). Computers and laptops running MacOS are pre-equipped with this extension.

In today's article we will look at step-by-step instructions that allow even novice users of this American product to easily connect the device.

Setting up a router from Apple

The specialized website apple.ru, although adapted to the Russian consumer, has several significant drawbacks. The fact is that the “simple three steps” described on the web resource, which seem to provide quick and unhindered configuration of the unit, are in fact not enough. The user often faces various difficulties and tasks that cannot always be solved on their own.

Airport Express will be configured within the framework of one of the largest Moscow providers - Speedyline.

At the initial stage, we will take an access point, connect to it a power cord from the network and an Internet cable from the provider serving the user. The last wire must be inserted into the WAN connector (several small circles are drawn above the round hole). If the user is holding a previously connected device rather than a new one, the previous settings should be reset using the reset button.

The following manipulations will help you restore your Apple Airport Express to factory settings:

When disconnecting from the power supply, you need to turn the router over and find a small hole in it into which you can insert the end of a straightened paper clip or a toothpick. After pressing the reset button, you should not let go of your hand for several seconds, and then, while holding reset, turn the unit back on to the power supply so that the indicators indicating the operation of the access point are located in front of the eyes of the connector.

Removing previous settings

Setting up Airport Express is not possible without resetting the previous parameters that were set during the previous connection. The owner of the gadget should wait a few minutes until the router starts “blinking” the status indicator. It is this signal that indicates the need to release the held reset button. This simple manipulation allows you to reset old data and start connecting the device almost from scratch. The access point will glow exclusively yellow until the setup is completed, and only after connection the indicator color will change to green.

Continue setting up the router

Using the Explorer (Finder), in your favorites you should find programs - utilities, among which is the necessary AirPort application. Using this program, further configuration of Airport Express will be carried out, so there is no point in trying to connect the unit via a web interface, which cannot help the user due to its absence.

After opening the application, AirPort base stations will not be instantly found; a specialized notification will notify us about this. Therefore, you need to click on “Other AirPort base stations (1)”, and in the menu that opens, choose AirPort Express aa0406. The selected position opens the settings window.

The router needs to indicate the name of the network and the name of the base station, so in certain lines the user needs to indicate the names that he prefers. It is worth noting that in this section you can leave the default names. The only thing you need to come up with is a password consisting of at least 8 characters (you will have to enter it every time a new gadget tries to connect to a Wi-Fi access point).

So, that's where the simple ends. If the owner of the device, by logging into any browser and typing the site address, gets to the desired page, it means that the provider chosen by the user is able to provide settings that allow him to connect AirPort Express “in just three steps.”

If someone is less fortunate, and your Internet provider only issues IP addresses via DHCP, you can resort to a few more simple steps. True, they can only help if the provider does not regularly check all connections by MAC address, that is, by the identification number that each network device receives at the manufacturing plant.

Please note that some units are equipped with addresses that cannot be changed or renamed later. Such devices include Apple Airport Express. American developers assign unique MAC addresses to most of their manufactured products, including network cards, adapters, routers, and phones.

If your Internet provider filters all connections, you will have to contact its operators for services. When you call technical support, you should indicate that you purchased a new router with an unchanged MAC address. Employees of the provider company will need to help with adding a new MAC address to the user’s table of allowed connections. As a result, the user will only have to configure AirPlay and a network printer.

Setting up a router when renting an external IP address

If technical support reported that the user is a tenant of an external IP address, and the router still lights up yellow, you need to configure Airport Express using static ip.

The previously mentioned Speedyline company disables MAC address protection, so the device owner needs to download (open) the AirPort application again, click on the access point and the “Change” property. In the “Internet” subsection, the first line “Connect via” should be filled with the word “Static”. The fact is that a static address, unlike a dynamic one, is unchanged. Further configuration involves specifying the IP address, subnet mask, router and DNS server in certain columns. The information must be known to every consumer of a particular provider. If this data is missing, you need to contact technical support, where they will tell you everything.

At the moment when you configure the router, you must enter the gateway address in the “Router” section. And then, after entering all the parameters, you need to press the “Update” button and wait for the process to complete.

Once the procedure is complete, you can close AirPort Utility. The Internet access device will light up with several green circles, which will indicate the presence of the Internet.

Conclusion

In principle, the basic configuration of the router from the American manufacturer is now complete and the Airport Express consumer can happily reap the fruits of his labor.

Recently, another very interesting device from a company from Cuppertino appeared in my collection - a WiFi router. The company's developers, as always, did not approach the task of creating software for their router in a completely ordinary way, so if you have always used routers from other companies and are trying to set up Airport for the first time, then the slightly non-standard logic may initially confuse you. Well, let's figure out how to set up the Apple Airport Express router, connect it to the Internet and start distributing Wi-Fi - by the way, these instructions are also suitable for the Airport Extreme model.

Installing Apple Airport Utility

First of all, what is surprising is the fact that there is no admin web interface, which we are used to logging into using the router’s IP address. Apparently this was done, again, because of the same notorious security considerations that Apple always bothers so much about. Configuration from a computer is possible in only one way - through a special utility that is downloaded from the official Apple website. Thank God, this time they took care not only of MAC owners, but also of us, Windows users. But, unfortunately, there is no Russian version yet.

After downloading, run the installation file and click the “Next” button in the window that opens.

Check the box that you agree with the terms of use

And again “Next”

Select the folder on your computer where the program files will be installed - you can leave it as is

After unpacking is complete, click “Finish”

Connecting cables to an Apple router

Now you need to connect the cables to the router. It’s difficult to get confused here - Airport Express has only two Ethernet connectors - one LAN for the cable, which we insert the other end into the computer’s network card. The other is WAN, where we connect the cable from the Internet provider. And, of course, don’t forget to plug the power cord into a power outlet. Look at the diagram to see where everything is located and what icons it indicates.

Setting up an Airport Express router from a computer

After installation, launch the program. True, the built-in Windows security system will try to prevent this from happening, but we “allow access” and the program will open

It is possible to immediately go to the manual settings of Apple Airport (Manual Setup), the step-by-step installer is quite convenient, so click the “Continue” button

The next step is to select

completely configure the router from scratch
or save previous settings to a configuration file

I choose complete removal to make everything my own

Then select the first item - to create a new WiFi network

Now we set a name for the wireless network itself, which other devices will see when connecting to it. And the password for connection.

After this, we will be asked to choose how AirPort will connect to the Internet

Bridge mode - we select this mode if we connect the router to another router or ADSL modem.
Share a Single IP address - select this item if AirPort will be the main router on the network connected to the provider’s cable, and it will be the one that will distribute IP addresses to everyone else

99% of the time, you and I need the second option.

After this, we will specify exactly how the router will connect to the provider’s equipment. If all your settings happen automatically, then select “DHCP”. If you need to manually set the IP address and DNS server, then select the “Manually” option. This information needs to be clarified from the agreement on the provision of Internet services with the provider

The final step is to confirm all entered data. To do this, click on the “Update” button

A warning will appear that during the Airport reboot the network will be unavailable - ignore it with the “Continue” button

And wait for the router to reboot

After applying the settings, Apple Airport will announce a final success message. Exit the installer using the “Quit” button. Now a network at a frequency of 2.4 GHz will be available for connection.

How to set up an Apple Airport router via iPhone?

Thanks to Apple for making it possible to set up the Airport router using an iPhone without using a computer. This can be very useful, since when setting up Wi-Fi, you don’t always have a PC or laptop at hand. But the iPhone and iPad are most often carried with them (by those who have them, of course). In this article I will show in detail how to set up Apple Airport from scratch using a mobile phone.

But first, we turn on the router to the network and connect the cable from the Internet provider to the appropriate connector

And we activate WiFi on the phone and go to the list of networks to connect to. Below them, in a separate subsection “Set up a new base station”, our Airport Express will be displayed.

After the iPhone collects some information about the network, a window will open to enter settings - here you need

Come up with a name for the future wireless network
Set a password for it to connect

The easiest way is if the router immediately connects to the Internet and starts distributing a Wi-Fi network. This means that the provider is configured to distribute IP addresses automatically and Airport immediately connected to the Internet.
An additional window has opened for entering your login and password for authorization on the Internet, if your services are provided through - then you will just need to enter this data provided by the provider.

It is worth noting here that the L2TP protocol on which it works is not supported by the Apple Airport router!

If, after everything has been done correctly, this message appears:

then reconnect the power to the router and check whether the Internet cable is inserted correctly and whether the connection data you entered in the last step is correct.

If the WiFi network appears, but the Internet still does not work, it is possible that the provider has filtering configured by MAC address or is using a static IP. Then you need to go to the admin panel of the router and configure it manually. How? This will be discussed in a separate article.

Thank you! Did not help

In order to get into the router’s web interface, you need to open AirPort - Utility. The utility is located in the Utilities - Applications folder on a Mac, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a Windows computer.

Launch AirPort Utility
Select the required device from the list and click the “Manual setup” button.

[Setting up WI-FI on the router]

In AirPort utility you need to select the tab at the top "Airport", in the list that opens, select “ Wireless network" We set the parameters as follows:

Wireless mode: Creating a wireless network.
Wireless Network Name: Enter the name of the wireless network. The value in this field cannot be changed.
Check the box: Allow expansion of this network.
Radio mode:
Radio channel selection: Select the Automatic value.
Wireless Security: Personal WPA/WPA2.
Wireless password: You must enter any set of numbers from 8 to 63. They also need to be remembered so that you can specify them when connecting to the network. It is recommended to use the device serial number as a key (indicated on the box as S/N ########).
Confirm the password: You must re-enter your wireless password.
Check the box: remember the password in the keychain.
Click the button below Update».

Today we’ll look at how to set up WiFi on an Apple router. It's always nice to talk about how to customize something from Apple. I remember when I first saw a router from Apple, I was absolutely delighted! The fact is that we don’t even need to go into the router settings; the Aplle router simply doesn’t have a web interface! This means that we don’t need to fill out a bunch of complex and incomprehensible parameters and get lost in a bunch of different tabs, set up connections from the router and modem by registering static IP addresses. Apple does everything according to the principle, the simpler the better, and even if in this concept some in-depth configuration options will be missing, and to hell with them, who needs to buy another router! All the problems that are present in most firmware of routers from other manufacturers are useful only to 5% of guru buyers, and 95% of ordinary people want to do this: buy it, press a button, everything works! Apple understands this very well.

So how do you set up an Apple router? Everything is done through a single AirPort utility.

Airport is a utility utility for installing and configuring a WiFi point for the entire series of Aplle AirPort routers:

AirPort Extreme.
Time Capsule.
AirPort Express.

AirPort is installed by default on all MAC-Apple operating systems.

AirPort is also available for other operating systems: Windows, iOS, Snow Leopard, Leopard, Tiger, X Lion.

Let's move on to setting up routers, Extreme, Capsule and Express, using AirPort.

The first and last thing we need to configure the router is to launch the AirPort utility.

I will show the setting using the example of an Express router, but as I already said, it is also unique for Extreme.

AirPort is located at Programs, Utilities.

After launch, click the “Other AirPort base stations” button.

Configuring settings for your router, you have Extreme or Express, respectively.

We set the parameters for the network so that no one on the left can connect, click the Next button.

We are waiting while the settings are applied... In your case, for example, Extreme will be indicated.

The setup was completed successfully. Click Finish.

Done, now if your provider has the necessary settings, then you will have the Internet automatically! More precisely, I wanted to say this is how it would be if you lived in the USA.

We are not looking for easy ways, and now let's figure out how to configure a PPPoE connection or a Static IP address.

The circle is yellow and indicates that there is no Internet connection.

Click on our access point and press the “Change” button.

Go to the Internet tab, in the first line select the type of connection that we need.

Next, fill in all the necessary details, depending on your type of connection, I think you won’t have any difficulties here. If you do not know what type of connection your provider provides, then check with its technical support or look in the contract; as a rule, all access details and the type of connection are indicated there.

After the setup is completed, click the “Update” button and wait until the Internet connection is established.

Waiting for connection...

PS I don’t understand why other network publishing manufacturers haven’t thought of such a concept, everything is simple and clear!

I hope the instructions for setting up a router from Aplle via Airport were useful for you, good luck surfing with Apple!

Found a typo? Select the text and press Ctrl + Enter

Setting up Apple AirPort Extreme hardware
to connect to the Smile network

This router does not support IPTV port!

First, you need to connect all cables to the appropriate connectors:

Food.
Incoming Ethernet cable from the provider (to the corresponding WAN port.)
Ethernet cable from the network card to any LAN port on the router. (usually indicated by numbers.)

For Windows XP:

Go to the menu , .

In the network connections window (Figure 1), right-click on “ " and select " Properties».

Figure 1. Network connections window in Windows XP.

In the window " Local Area Connection Properties"(Figure 2) select " Internet Protocol tcp/ipProperties».

Figure 2. Local network connection properties.

In the window " Properties of the Internet Protocol TCP/IP» (Figure 3) select:

« »
« »

and click the button OK»

Figure 3. TCP/IP protocol

For Windows 7:

Go to the menu

, , , .

In the window " » (Figure 4) click .

Figure 4. Network and Sharing Center window in Windows 7.

In the window " "(Figure 5) find " LAN connection", right-click on it and select " Properties».

Figure 5. Network Connections window in Windows 7

In the window " Local Area Connection Properties" (Fig. 6)) select the item " Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"(without unchecking the checkbox) and click on the " Properties».

Figure 6. Local network connection properties in Window 7.

In the window " Properties: Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"(Figure 7) select:

« Obtain an IP address automatically»
« Obtain DNS server address automatically»

and click the button OK»

Figure 7. TCP/IP protocol

To configure this device you need a program . It is included by default in MAC OS. For Windows operating systems, this program can be downloaded from the Apple website, or.