AirPort Express review: getting rid of wires. Manually setting up Internet access What is airport express

I’ll say right away that Planet, in my opinion, is the easiest provider to set up, but it has one pitfall that can be a little unbalancing if you don’t know about it (details below)! I did the setup at a friend's place where I was able to take a bunch of screenshots and get a great photo from ! So, let's get started (there are a lot of pictures under the cut)!

AirPort Time Capsule

The first thing to do is turn on the access point to the network, connect the cable from the provider to the WAN connector and launch the AirPort Utility (Programs/Utilities). If the access point was already configured with a previous provider, then it is better to reset it by pressing and holding the special button on the back of the AirPort for 10 seconds and configure it from scratch. Please note that the data on the disk (in the case of Time Capsule) is not deleted, only the network and WiFi settings are reset!

After all the conditions from the previous paragraph have been met, we proceed to the setup. First we must select our access point from the list of available networks.

Immediately after this, the AirPort Utility may open, with the Capsule pre-configured. If this does not happen, feel free to launch it!

The access point will be prepared for configuration, and if you have already configured other AirPorts from your computer, the system will automatically go through them to check the settings.

After going through all the previous options, the Utility will give you fields for entering basic settings.

I’ll make a reservation right away that I selected the Other parameters option, as this will give a little more customization options. As a result, we see this window:

In this case, I had to configure the Time Capsule as new, and I chose the first option. I think you will need the same one. Feel free to click Next!

Here we specify the main parameters future network. The network name is how the network will be seen by your devices, Name base station- this is the identifier of the access point itself (will later be displayed in side menu Finder, when accessing the disk), password - the password you will use to connect to AirPort. The first and second names can be made the same. By the way, to access the network and its settings, you can do different passwords. You will need this if you want to protect your network from unauthorized reconfiguration, for example, in an office or public place (cafe). After filling out all the fields, we boldly move forward.

In a new window you can activate the guest network. For example, you need it if you want to share the Internet and be on the same network with someone, but you don’t want anyone to have access to the built-in disk (or connected to USB in the case of Airport Time Capsule and Extreme ). If you skip this step and do not configure the guest network, you can activate it later, from the advanced settings of AirPort Utility. Go ahead.

At this stage, the settings are applied and the access point is rebooted. After everything we have done with the access point, it should accept all this.

After rebooting, we see a globe icon representing the Internet and our AirPort Time Capsule. If you click on it, we will see a small menu where you can enter fine-tuning of the access point. To do this, click on Change.

The first tab allows you to configure the Base Station.

Here we see fields that are already familiar to us, in which we will not change anything unless there is an urgent need. You can also configure it when Apple help ID, if you click on the plus and enter your ID and password. Let's go to the Internet tab.

In this window, you will need to enter your Internet details provided to you by your provider. I remembered several providers that AirPort works with - Planet, ... Maybe there are others, but I won’t say that right off the bat. Why these particular providers? Yes, simply because they do not use tunneling (VPN), which is not supported by Apple access points. Kabinet, Dom.ru, MTS, Beeline, Akado use VPN, and to configure AirPort Express/Extreme, you will first need a VPN router that will connect to the provider, and only then distribute “clean” (via DHCP or static) Internet to Apple access point.

As for the pitfall of Planet (Convex and Ruskom) - they have a binding by MAC address, and if you change the router, you will need to call the technical support service and ask to rebind the point (you may need passport data). After a successful conversation with the TP, you will be able to access the Internet.

By the way, if the provider automatically issues the details, then leave Connect via in the DHCP state. If some other parameters are used (static IP or PPPoE), then select it:

After selecting the connection type and entering the details, you can move on to the next tab.

At this stage, you can slightly change the operation of the access point itself, if it is a continuation of an existing wireless network. In this case, in the Network Mode menu, select Advanced. wireless network. A similar case may occur in a large house or office, where the range of one point may not be enough.

You can also change the network encryption method WPA, WPA 2 and others. By the way, if you didn’t create a guest network at the initial AirPort setup stage, you can do it here.

If you click on the Parameters... button, another interesting field will open before us:

In this window, you can activate the 5GHz network, as well as select a channel for the wireless network. Now we won’t dwell on this in detail; you can try to experiment on your own and decide which operating mode suits you best. If there are no questions here, click Save and go to the next tab - Network:

I would be happy to talk about all the points in detail, but in most cases you won’t need them. And if you need it, you can always :)

Let's go to the last tab - Disk.

If you configure Tima Capsule, you will see the built-in disk, its capacity and free place On him. Here you can clean the disk, or transfer all data to external drive by clicking the Archive disk button. We won’t touch other settings - everything works as it should!

If you have gone through all the steps and selected the settings that suit you, then feel free to click on Update and agree to the update. After rebooting your AirPort, you can connect to it again and enjoy the Internet!

Let me remind you again that AirPort Express, Extreme and Time Capsule do not support VPN! I strongly recommend that you take this fact into account when choosing an access point to your home, or when choosing a provider! If you still find yourself in a situation with a VPN, don’t despair - a simple “layer” between the provider and your AirPort can serve as the TP-Link TL-WR841, for example. Personally, for me, a similar router takes care of all communications in the apartment :)

Remotely access Time Capsule and create iPhone backups to Time Capsule

Dear readers, as an afterword I would like to clarify something else. I very often receive emails of the following nature:

• the ability to remotely access Time Capsule from the Internet (without using a permanent IP address);
• interaction with Time Capsule disk and iPhone/iPad. How to create backup copy phone per capsule.

AirPort Express/Extreme/Time Capsule - home, amateur devices! They are very easy to configure, as you saw above, but their functionality is very poor! They cannot be loaded with Padavan firmware, dd-wrt or anything similar, thereby expanding the potential of AirPort... These access points are more suitable for a home or small office, but not for geeks who want to get the most out of the device...

Remote access access to Time Capsule is carried out only through your Apple ID. In the first tab “Base station” you can enter your Apple ID below and then your capsule will be visible on your Mac from anywhere in the world, as long as there is Internet. No, this won't work with Windows. And it doesn’t matter what method you use to connect to the network: DHCP, static or PPPoE.

How to watch movies from Time Capsule from iPhone/iPad? No way, no crutches... This access point only works well with computers. Yes, you can install a program like or on your iPhone/iPad and connect a drive from Capsule in it. I’ll be honest: I tried these solutions and they all don’t work very well. user-friendly. In short, in one place...

How to create a backup iPhone copies/iPad to Time Capsule? Almost nothing. That is, directly, so that by pressing one button a copy would be created, or even automatically - no way! There is a workaround, but it’s impossible without a computer: a very ordinary backup is created in iTunes, and then either the folder ~/Library/Application Support/Mobile sync/Backups is transferred to the capsule by hand, or we wait for the next update of the copy via Time Machine, so that a local copy from iTunes gets to the capsule. And then we go to the iTunes settings and delete the backup copy so that it does not take up space on the built-in disk... I’m telling you that this was done in one place...

By the way, regarding the photograph that I wrote about at the very beginning, here it is:

Many thanks to Nikita Polosov for such a cool shot and for providing access to his AirPort Time Capsule!

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 PPPoE connections or 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 connection type, I think you won’t have any difficulties here. If you do not know what type of connection your provider provides, then check with your provider. 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

Any good router should work according to the following principle: buy it, configure it and forget about the existence of this box at home. Apple Company decided to refute this axiom by releasing the apple Airport Express router. It should be noted that there are two more types of routers of the same campaign. This is the so-called “Time capsule”, which, among other things, is also a network hard drive, and Extreme. You can connect the same to the latter HDD. Extrime is a little more powerful than Express, but overall the difference is not so critical, and both devices work reliably. I would like to note that below is a story about the updated version of Airport Express 2012, which differs only in the power connection. If previously the router could simply be connected to an outlet directly, now this is done using a wire. Whether it is convenient or not, everyone will decide for themselves. It should be said that there is no functional difference between the new and old models.

The updated model combines an eye-catching design and excellent functionality. But will this device be able to provide the proper quality of work? Will it be possible to comfortably use it for your own home wireless network? Let's take a closer look at this device.

Appearance and equipment

In a small white box we find only the power cable and the apple router itself. The device is made of white plastic. The square shape with rounded corners will look nice on your desk. The only LED on the front side lights up only when connected to the Internet. All connectors are located on the rear side. There is a socket for the power cable, WAN, WAN and USB ports. There is a standard 3.5mm jack for headphones or speakers. It should be noted that the power connector is non-standard and, when buying a device in Russia, ask the seller for a plug adapter for a traditional Russian plug.

Functional

Data apple wifi router can please its users with an excellent set of functions. The company claims that the device can support the connection of 50 devices. We managed to find only 10 for testing various devices(smartphones, tablets, laptops with different operating systems). The router handled the load perfectly, no bugs or slowdowns were observed.

The router can work as an access point; it supports bridge mode and can work as a second router in an existing wireless network. Devices connected to the device can simultaneously use two bands, 2.4 and 5 GHz, which will automatically work at the best frequency.

To expand your network using Airport Express, the first thing you need to do is reset your router. To do this, press the button on the back of the device and hold it for several seconds. The indicator light on the front panel will blink at this time. Next, you need to open the Airport utility and find our router. Then click “Add to an existing network” and select the network to be expanded (this can be the name of the router that distributes Wi-Fi). You need to wait 5-10 minutes and the utility will do everything on its own. That's all, the network has been expanded.

WITH via USB You can connect a printer to the router. Documents can be obtained via wireless network and print them immediately. This function works both on Macs and on the familiar operating system Windows (XP (SP3), Vista (SP1), 7). It should be noted that any other device connected via USB is not recognized.

Setting up an Apple router

Using an apple wifi router, you “doom” yourself to easy setup and almost instantaneous use of the Internet. Having a computer with a Mac, the situation is simplified even more, thanks to the AirPort utility, by launching which you only need to specify the connection name and password. Settings can be made from any Apple devices by downloading the utility from App Store. If you, like most people, have a computer running an operating system Windows system, you will not experience any problems with the setup using the same utility.

To provide wireless printing, the router uses Bonjour technology. It was created in order to synchronize work with different operating systems. This may be practical when you have two or more computers. This eliminates the need to connect to the printer every time. different computers. Everything here is extremely simple: connect and use!

While talking about the Apple router, it would be a crime not to mention AirPlay technology. With it you can connect any stereo system directly to the router! No additional wires or adapters are needed. Additionally, you can manage playlists in iTunes with using iPhone. A special Remote application will allow you to navigate between songs, adjust the volume and a number of other parameters. All this can be done without going to the speakers, but being, say, in another room.

So, Airport Express is quite an interesting product that is worth paying attention to. In our opinion, it will not gain recognition in Russia among ordinary users. The device costs about five thousand, which is too much for the relatively modest functionality offered. The focus on Apple technology and software is also a big disadvantage. Undoubted quality and corporate design For the most part, they will attract only fans of the brand, or for those who do not want to tinker with the settings, but want to immediately get stable and high-speed Internet.

Apple has been releasing branded access points since 2004. The devices are called Airport Express (AE). Today, the second generation of such equipment is being produced, which is capable of distributing Wi-Fi to up to 50 “consuming” objects. Work at different frequencies and high speed transmission, combined with reliability, allows for high efficiency. Let's look at recommendations for setting up Airport Express on a MacBook.

Settings

So, the AE router is installed, the cord is connected to the network, and the optical line is connected to the connector with an icon of dots forming a circle. Everything is ready to figure out how to set up an Apple Airport Express router on a MacBook.

1. Turn on your MacBook and open Finder.
2. Go to “Programs”, then to “Utilities” and “Airport Utility”.

1. An icon will appear in the window that opens, indicating that it is searching for available networks. If the search is unsuccessful, you need to use the “Other base stations” menu, where the existing name of the operating devices is selected.

1. After your network (and Express, respectively) is found, a window will appear informing you that information about it is being collected.

1. Next, the program will begin connecting. After completing all the steps, Express is rebooted (the cord is pulled out from the power supply).

1. Once the connection is complete, a notification will appear informing you that a new network has been created. Here we enter the required configurations. You can configure auxiliary settings.

1. Next, the window for creating a guest network will pop up. We let him through.

1. The network creation process begins.
2. It may be necessary to reboot the DSL modem if the connection is made through it. If it is not there, just click “Next”.

1. Settings continue.

1. Once completed, the connection process will begin. The two Network and Express LEDs will turn green.

1. We check if there is a connection by opening a website in the browser. A window may pop up asking you to enter the previously entered login and password. Enter the data and reboot the device. The setup is complete, the router is now ready to transmit as a base station.

How to connect Airport Express to your existing network

Apple's dispenser has another useful feature functionality– with its help you can “fit” into an already existing existing network. In this way, you can significantly expand wi-fi coverage, connect acoustic or other equipment.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Using a cable, Airport Express connects to another router and turns on. The indicator lights up green.
2. Let's go to the utility. In “Other base stations” select the displayed device.

1. In the configuration window that opens, click “Other parameters”.

1. Fix the point opposite “Add to existing network”.

1. Next, select the network to which you will connect.

You may need to configure pppoe, as many providers require connection via this protocol. This is done through the settings in the utility.

How to update Airport Express?

Sequencing:

• check the presence of an Internet connection;
• open “Utility” on the MacBook;
• next to the name of the base station, click on the red icon with the number;
• install new firmware, if available (click update).