Resolved Need Help With Airport Express! UPDATE AT END

[b-rad g]

After me raving of how easy it was to set up my Time Capsule and Airport Express, my brother bought an Express for his house to use as his Wifi router. Wouldn't you know he is having problems.

He has it all set up with WPA2 psswd and his MBP is connected fine, but neither his 3g or his wife's 3gs are getting internet. It says they are connected but they aren't getting the Airport bars at the tops of their phones, and of course can't get on internet.

Iv'e had him reset all network settings and forget this network, still nothing. He is also not getting any entries in the DNS field. Can somebody help me help him?

 

[Azzin]

I don't think you can use an AE as a router.

I'm no expert, but all it can do is redistribute an existing wireless signal or simply join a wifi network (which is I did with mine) and then enable streaming to speakers and/or wifi printing.

 

[skorpien]

I don't think you can use an AE as a router.

I'm no expert, but all it can do is redistribute an existing wireless signal or simply join a wifi network (which is I did with mine) and then enable streaming to speakers and/or wifi printing.

It can be used as a router and is in fact advertised as such.

http://www.apple.com/wifi/
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/features/sharing.html

OP, have you attempted to change the channel on the Express? I assume he's running it in mixed b/g/n mode?

 

[willieva]

I'm not sure what you mean by "It says they are connected". Who is it, the phones or the router?

If the phones see the network name but don't connect, my first guess would be that the password was typed in wrong. Reset the wpa2 password on the router and try it again.

 

[Azzin]

It can be used as a router and is in fact advertised as such.

http://www.apple.com/wifi/
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/features/sharing.html

OP, have you attempted to change the channel on the Express? I assume he's running it in mixed b/g/n mode?

How can it act as a router? What Internet connection can you put in it to "route"?

From the link you posted....

With AirPort Express connected to your DSL or cable modem, up to 10 users at a time can surf the web, send email, annihilate the competition in multiplayer games, and much more — wire-free.1

 

[b-rad g]

OP, have you attempted to change the channel on the Express? I assume he's running it in mixed b/g/n mode?

I have not had hime check or change the channel. He is running all default settings as he just bought and set it up today. The only thing he has done to the Express is name the network, put it on WPA2 and set the password.

 

[superfula]

It can be used as a router and is in fact advertised as such.

http://www.apple.com/wifi/
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/features/sharing.html

OP, have you attempted to change the channel on the Express? I assume he's running it in mixed b/g/n mode?

No it cannot, and neither link makes that claim.

It allows you to expand or share a connection. There is no routing involved.

 

[skorpien]

How can it act as a router? What Internet connection can you put in it to "route"?

From the link you posted....

It can "route" any high speed Internet connection. If you have a modem that provides Internet access via Ethernet, just connect it to the Express and it can share or "route" its connection.

If you're thinking about "modem," then no, it can't be used as such.

If you're thinking of "combo modem/routers", then also no, none of Apple's offerings include a modem built into them.

They are however able to route. Hence, they are routers.

No it cannot, and neither link makes that claim.

It allows you to expand or share a connection. There is no routing involved.

From my second link

Internet Sharing
With AirPort Express connected to your DSL or cable modem, up to 10 users at a time can surf the web, send email, annihilate the competition in multiplayer games, and much more — wire-free.1

Edit: A great read for those that don't fully comprehend what routers are:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router

 

[b-rad g]

I'm not sure what you mean by "It says they are connected". Who is it, the phones or the router?

If the phones see the network name but don't connect, my first guess would be that the password was typed in wrong. Reset the wpa2 password on the router and try it again.

The MackBook Pro connects fine to the network. Their iPhones are having the trouble.

When they choose the network and enter password it accepts, but they don't get the WiFi Airport bars at the top of the phones it stays on 3G. And when you go to Safari it says "Can't Find Server" or something like that. I had hime turn it on Airplane Mode and the turn only WiFi back on and the bars will then come up but still can't get on internet.

 

[superfula]

From my second link

That's a hub, not a router.

 

[skorpien]

That's a hub, not a router.

You are mistaken. A router is any device that routes an existing Internet connection and shares it between multiple devices. Routers may have multiple Ethernet ports and act as "hubs" for multiple wired devices, but the Express routes its Internet connection wirelessly. The modem is the device that actually connects to the Internet and provides that connection.

You may be getting confused since there exist devices that act as both modems and routers, but this does not mean that standalone routers are not "routers".

Please read that Wikipedia article I posted.

 

[Azzin]

The MackBook Pro connects fine to the network. Their iPhones are having the trouble.

When they choose the network and enter password it accepts, but they don't get the WiFi Airport bars at the top of the phones it stays on 3G. And when you go to Safari it says "Can't Find Server" or something like that. I had hime turn it on Airplane Mode and the turn only WiFi back on and the bars will then come up but still can't get on internet.

To what network?

 

[b-rad g]

To what network?

His home network that he set up with the Express.

 

[skorpien]

To clear any confusion, the OP's brother's MBP can connect to the Internet just fine, correct? If so, this indicates an issue with the iPhone 3G and 3G S's connections to the Express.

OP, have your brother try changing channels on the Express. It may be that there are devices nearby causing interference. You may also ask him to try disabling encryption on his network and see if the iPhones can connect. Lastly, I would try asking him to bring the Express to your house and see if you can set it up and get it working properly. If not, you may need to get it swapped by Apple as it may be the Express itself having issues.

 

[superfula]

You are mistaken. A router is any device that routes an existing Internet connection and shares it between multiple devices. Routers may have multiple Ethernet ports and act as "hubs" for multiple wired devices, but the Express routes its Internet connection wirelessly. The modem is the device that actually connects to the Internet and provides that connection.

You may be getting confused since there exist devices that act as both modems and routers, but this does not mean that standalone routers are not "routers".

Please read that Wikipedia article I posted.

*sigh* No, that's a hub. It's a dummy device that simply shares one existing connection and allows several devices to use it. A router, however, offers may other options such as traffic directing, dhcp, NAT, etc. Based on your definition, my iPhone can be a router, which is silly.

Yeah, I know what routers, modems, hubs, switches, etc are.

You need to finish reading your wiki article, because "any device that routes an existing Internet connection and shares it between multiple devices" is a hub. A router will do that, but it also offers much much more like i stated above. Meanwhile a hub, like the airport express, doesn't. You can try and continue twisting definitions, but it'll still be a hub

 

[skorpien]

*sigh* No, that's a hub. It's a dummy device that simply shares one existing connection and allows several devices to use it. A router, however, offers may other options such as traffic directing, dhcp, NAT, etc. Based on your definition, my iPhone can be a router, which is silly.

Yeah, I know what routers, modems, hubs, switches, etc are.

You need to finish reading your wiki article, because "any device that routes an existing Internet connection and shares it between multiple devices" is a hub. A router will do that, but it also offers much much more like i stated above. Meanwhile a hub, like the airport express, doesn't. You can try and continue twisting definitions, but it'll still be a hub

There may be more fully featured routers than Apple's AirPorts, but they are still routers. The Express does do DHCP, DHCP reservation and even port forwarding and NAT. I don't know where you're getting your information.

 

[Spikestrip]

*sigh* No, that's a hub. It's a dummy device that simply shares one existing connection and allows several devices to use it. A router, however, offers may other options such as traffic directing, dhcp, NAT, etc. Based on your definition, my iPhone can be a router, which is silly.

Yeah, I know what routers, modems, hubs, switches, etc are.

You need to finish reading your wiki article, because "any device that routes an existing Internet connection and shares it between multiple devices" is a hub. A router will do that, but it also offers much much more like i stated above. Meanwhile a hub, like the airport express, doesn't. You can try and continue twisting definitions, but it'll still be a hub

Aren't these the type of settings a router might handle? This is from Airport Utility on Snow Leopard managing an Airport Express.

Spike

 

[Azzin]

His home network that he set up with the Express.

So there's an existing cable/ADSL modem feeding a connection in to the AE to start with then?

[Edit] - Because there's no mention of it in the original post....

He has it all set up with WPA2 psswd and his MBP is connected fine, but neither his 3g or his wife's 3gs are getting internet. It says they are connected but they aren't getting the Airport bars at the tops of their phones, and of course can't get on internet.

 

[b-rad g]

To clear any confusion, the OP's brother's MBP can connect to the Internet just fine, correct? If so, this indicates an issue with the iPhone 3G and 3G S's connections to the Express.

OP, have your brother try changing channels on the Express. It may be that there are devices nearby causing interference. You may also ask him to try disabling encryption on his network and see if the iPhones can connect. Lastly, I would try asking him to bring the Express to your house and see if you can set it up and get it working properly. If not, you may need to get it swapped by Apple as it may be the Express itself having issues.

I will try these suggestions. Thank you very much for responding.

So there's an existing cable/ADSL modem feeding a connection in to the AE to start with then?

[Edit] - Because there's no mention of it in the original post....

Yes there is existing coax cable going to modem and then ethernet cable from modem into Express. Sorry I didn't mention it.

 

[Azzin]

Yes there is existing coax cable going to modem and then ethernet cable from modem into Express. Sorry I didn't mention it.

Ok gotcha, makes much more sense now.

So you want to connect the AE to an Ethernet connection from the modem and have it broadcast wirelessly for the iPhones to connect to?

From memory, there's an "allow ethernet connections" option you can tick in the config software.

 

[BubbaJones]

Is it an 802.11n vs 802.11b/g problem? Or a 2.4ghz vs 5ghz issue?

 

[skorpien]

From memory, there's an "allow ethernet connections" option you can tick in the config software.

That's only if you're using an AirPort Extreme, Express or Time Capsule to join to an existing wireless network and want to enable the Ethernet ports on the Base Station to extend the network to wired clients. The Express does not have this setting otherwise. When using the Express to create a wireless network using the Internet connection from a cable/DSL modem, you just create the network and devices *should* be able to join.

As BubbaJones said, it may be a wireless n vs b/g/n issue. I doubt it would be a 2.4GHz vs 5GHz issue as my iPhones (3G, 3G S and now 4) were never able to even see the 5GHz network let alone join it.

OP, another thing I just thought of, has your brother and his wife ever reset their iPhones? Try holding the lock and home buttons together until the device restarts. Could be some settings in the phones that are messing it up which will be cleared with a reboot.

 

[Azzin]

Is it an 802.11n vs 802.11b/g problem? Or a 2.4ghz vs 5ghz issue?

It doesn't sound like it's either, as it sounds like the AE has not yet been configured correctly on the OP's "network".

Think the OP needs to plug it in to mains and then run the Airport utility to configure it in "Bridge" mode.

But as I said earlier, I'm no expert!

 

[Azzin]

That's only if you're using an AirPort Extreme, Express or Time Capsule to join to an existing wireless network and want to enable the Ethernet ports on the Base Station to extend the network to wired clients. The Express does not have this setting otherwise. When using the Express to create a wireless network using the Internet connection from a cable/DSL modem, you just create the network and devices *should* be able to join.

Fair enough, I bow to your superior knowledge!

 

[jenzjen]

To help squash the skorpien vs superfula beef ... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/157975/ ... plus many other links out there, it is a router.