Customer Reviews

Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Simultaneous Dual-Band) (MC340LL/A)

5 star:		(236)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

Ah jeez, what can I say. I can do most anything with a computer, Apple or PC, but when I try to configure a network, gremlins keep any of it from working. When my Netgear "lost its settings" spontaneously, they were kind enough at technical support to offer to fix it for me for 99 bucks. When I declined they offered up that I might go to their website for support tips. But I had spent too many hours when I first bought that router, I was done. So I purchased this router and it is just like other reviewers have said: plug it in, stick in the disk, answer a few simple questions, and it's done. THIS is how consumers LIKE computers to work. Bemoan the higher price tag if you want, but I will pay a little extra for things that just do their dang job and don't aggravate me NEEDLESLY!

This review is going to mention a number of products--because a wireless network is all about infrastructure and integration. I purchased the AirPort Extreme to pull a number of other devices together, so I hope shoppers considering it will find this kind of review useful.

Since 2001 I have used the original AirPort (graphite), the AirPort Extreme (2003) with modem, and a host of Netgear and Linksys wireless routers to set up 802.11x networks at work and at home. The latter work well in their applications, and this review is not intended to knock any of them.

Apple M8209LL/A AirPort Base Station
Apple M8799LL/A AirPort Extreme Base Station with Modem and Antenna Port

But at home, I'm not a masochist. I want my networking system to work with my gear, and I don't want to spend hours setting it up and more hours dealing with changes to my system.

When we replaced our home theater system after an equipment meltdown (thankfully insured), I wanted to add a Logitech Squeezebox to the receiver, streaming music from a ReadyNAS Duo. The problem was that the older AirPort Extreme was in our office at one end of the house, and didn't have the range to reach the family room where the Squeezebox receiver is located.

Netgear ReadyNAS Duo 2-Bay (Diskless) Desktop Network Storage RND2000
Logitech Squeezebox Duet WiFi Internet Radio

My first thought was to add an AirPort Express as an extender--plug it in at a suitable halfway point and allow it to extend the network. This was only half the solution, because the most recent AirPort Express is an 802.11N-centric device, and it proved to be nearly impossible to set up a stable Wireless Distribution System (WDS) with the older AirPort Extreme.

Apple Airport Express

The solution turned out to be recognizing that, gradually, all of the wireless devices in our home now support at least 802.11G, and our computers all support 802.11N. On AirPort devices that also support 802.11N, it turns out that Apple has developed a much simpler way to link AirPorts in an extended network.

The new AirPort Extreme arrived two days ago. Installation was classic Apple: open, remove plastic cling wrap, and plug in. Using AirPort Utility, I entered the new base station and network passwords, and needed to reset my cable modem to allow it to recognize the new MAC address it was feeding. (I should also note that AirPort Utility allowed me to view the settings of the OLD AirPort while I was setting up the NEW AirPort.) Installation took a grand total of 12 minutes, including slitting the packing tape on the shipping box.

The second step was setting up the AirPort Express. This involved setting a base station password, naming it, and then following the three step procedure in the Help menu for "Extending a Wireless Network." The steps are: Click a checkbox in the AirPort Extreme's settings to "Allow This Wireless Network To Be Extended," choose a popup menu item in the AirPort Express's settings to "Extend a wireless network", and tell the AirPort Express which network it is extending along with password.

Once settings are saved, the network is extended. Using the 802.11N standard still involves a small hit in networking speed, but because of the greatly increased throughput it's not as large a decrease as in earlier versions.

This kind of configuration would have involved multiple instances of changing IP addresses, network SSIDs, and finger-crossing with other routers. (Believe me, I've done it successfully, and I plan for a two-hour session, even with known configurations.)

With the AirPort Extreme and Express, it just happened. My Squeezebox is now happily streaming music to the receiver, TiVo is receiving streamed programs from Netflix with (almost) no rebuffering--a huge improvement--and both my spouse and I are happily living in the 21st Century!

TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder
TiVo AG0100 Wireless G USB Network Adapter for TiVo Series 2 and Series 3 DVRs

As I said at the top, I don't want to spend hours tearing apart and troubleshooting my network at home--home is for relaxing and enjoying time with friends and family. The AirPort Extreme is ideal as one building block of that equation.

Purchased from a military exchange.

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT:

REQUIRED:
Management Utility requires a downstream computer running a recent version of Windows or OSX.
NOT DESIGNED TO BE MANAGED FROM A LINUX CLIENT.

PROS:
-No integrated web server for modifying device settings (must use AirPort Utility)
-Manual Setup option includes all of the necessary tools to secure your network
-Integration of External Hard Drives via integrated USB Port is SUPER easy (just plug it in)
-Supports USB Hubs for more drives/printer sharing (I haven't tried this)
-Supports Full US 101 Keyboard Character Set in Passwords/Pass Phrases
-Works great in a "Double NAT" network environment

CONS:
-Only three integrated "downstream" ethernet ports
-Only one status light for system health

EXCRUCIATING DETAILS:

NETWORKING:
I purchased this router to better secure my mixed-platform network and aid our family's transition from WinXP to Mac. I ran the initial setup from a "Wired" PC and went immediately to the Manual Setup. Transition of all of my network devices from my older subnet to the new subnet was painless once I got over my own boneheaded mistakes. Throughput on the wireless side of my home network was increased significantly (as advertised) vs. my older Linksys Router. I've retained the older subnet to support some WiFi devices that can't support the latest security protocols. Despite the Armageddon like proclamations about "Double NAT-ing" I've experienced absolutely no problems with our internet enabled devices accessing the internet.

AIR DISK:
For me this was mostly painless, but there are some limitations worth noting. AEBS does not support NTFS, however this is a non-issue (keep reading to see why). AEBS supports FAT32 and HFS+ (FAT32 is grossly inadequate for modern hard drive sizes and hard drive image archival).
PLEASE NOTE: If using an AirPort Extreme Base Station, even for a Windows environment, I recommend that you get a disk preformatted for HFS+ (Mac OS Extended). This will give you all of the advanced storage capabilities of a modern file system and the AEBS comes with software that will translate the HFS+ disk into FAT32 for your Windows PCs. SOME LEGACY SOFTWARE (in my case Ghost v9) will self-impose a 4GB file size limitation (part of the FAT32 specification), but Windows itself will roll with it.

TIME MACHINE WITH AIR DISK (I no longer recommend use of this undocumented feature):
There is a procedure for enabling an AirDisk for use with Time Machine. It's a NON-SUPPORTED/UNDOCUMENTED FEATURE of the AEBS. The process is very simple and requires no advanced knowledge (just a normal ability to follow instructions). I won't list the process here because this is a product review ("google" Time machine and AirPort Extreme). However, don't call Apple for help with this as it's not officially supported.

(UPDATE APR 2011) - This will work for a month or two, and then unexpectedly quit. Further examination indicated a progressive build up of file system errors due to the way Time Machine interacts with target volumes (most likely the WHY behind Apple's decision not to support this feature). As a result, I quit using the AirDisk with Time Machine workaround and I now use a FireWire drive connected to a Mac as our Time Machine target.

OVERALL:
I think this is a great product for any networking environment that includes Macs. This solution should also be considered in Mixed Mac and Windows environments. The features on this router are optimized for the OS X operating system, so those utilizing a Windows only environment should pay close attention to the FAT32 limitations of the AirDisk feture.

When I recently decided to upgrade to a router supporting a-band I shopped the Apple and Cisco choices. I chose this one because I have mostly Apple equipment. While I have been happy with their computers I consider their routers a moderate struggle to configure. Also the settings are a bit more cryptic (nonstandard) than Cisco's. Nevertheless I wanted the following advantages of this AirPort Extreme
1. Extending the range with Apple's WDS relay and remote options
2. Using iTunes over the AirPort
3. Mounting a drive on the base station (comparably priced Linksys routers don't offer this).

So I went with the AirPort and it satisfies my needs. The a band works fine and the new software / firmware is an incremental improvement over my previous AirPort base stations.

On the bad side I wish configuration were more straightforward. Apple's documentation is sparse and the settings options are, in some cases, not standard. For instance the "multicast rate" selection has low, medium, and high, rather than explicit rates. Some blog searching can tell you how to use the AirPort, but Apple should offer better support.

Also I have not been able to extend the WDS network. My few attempts have failed. I am sure if I dug through more blogs I could get it to work (as I have in the past). But I have established that it is not always easy to do (as some blogs confirm).

Overall I recommend this product. It does what I need, working as a single base station including the a band. I would say it is at a decent price point compared to Cisco and others. As with anything Apple it is no bargain next to the bottom of the line competitors, but feature-per-feature is priced pretty well.

So your old router is causing headaches, needs rebooting seemingly every day, you go and buy a new one and it's a little faster, a little more stable but still a thorn in your side quietly..? Go and get one of these! Until Amazon prompted me to enter a review I'd completely forgotten I'd bought it - I set it up initially and it's just sat in my closet doing it's job ever since, no hassles, no sudden loss of connectivity, it just sits there being good at it's job. We're a network-heavy house too - 1 permanently connected IP phone, 1 fragile VPN needing very high uptime, a server used to deliver media throughout the house (wirelessly through this router) and 4 PC's. If you're in the same boat and have realized you need something a bit more capable then I'd say the Airport Extreme is the way to go, if you're not using wireless as heavily as us, you might as well get one anyway because it's only a matter of time before you give up on cable TV and boxes of DVD's and begin to use this sort of technology to deliver your media kicks.

I had switched to Apple routers after years of frustration with Linksys and (worst of the worst) Belkin routers.

Upgraded to this latest APE from the older, single band model (MB053LL/A) for the obvious advantages and improved technology. Cosmetically, the units are identical. Set up remains similar: hook up the connections, load the software, set parameters, passwords and wireless options, then reboot the modem and then the router. You can also reboot the PC to make sure everything's in working order. The process ran smoother than on the old router which had trouble being recognized.

The best compliment that can be said about routers in general is "set it and forget it" - this applies admirably to the AirPort Extreme line. Once set up, although parameters may need tweaking here and there as you update your network and new needs arise, the APE performs consistently. Most easily fixed problems arise from failure to reboot the modem/router after setup, and failure to specify the Radio mode and check the 5GHz box. Adjustments of the Multicast rate, Transmit power, and wide channel toggle are worth experimenting with to achieve optimal performance for your set up. Also, specifying the laptop's modem and connection settings to take full advantage of the network speed.

I attempted to put the old AirPort to use as an extender and hub but didn't have the patience to get things right. I ended up using a Netgear ethernet hub with more ports.

As with other AirPorts, there is no QoS/ packet prioritization. This is a big deal and many shun these routers because of this omission. I just bought the Ooma ooma Core VoIP Phone System with No Monthly Phone Service Bills which has built in QoS, however it's attached behind the router since I didn't want anything in front of the router. I have enough bandwidth that so far no problems arise. A solution could be Linksys Network Optimizer for Gaming and VoIP between the VoIP device and the AirPort.

Now on to USB drives attached to the APE. My main PC is Win 7, other attached PC have XP, one Ubuntu, and wireless laptop and gizmos. The many limitations of the FAT32 format are frustrating. Windows 7, Vista, XP do not allow for formatting FAT, so you have to search around for freeware, or use Linux or a MAc. Windows 7 offers exFAT formatting option which is NOT recognized by APE. Since NTFS is also unrecognized, your options are FAT32 or the Mac native hfs+. The latter is a modern full featured format without limitations of FAT and is thus preferred.

For a Windows user, either choice is problematic at first, and each has advantages/disadvantages. The greatest drawback of FAT32 (after the hurdle of formatting the drive in the first place) is file size limit cap of 4GB. Want to load that 12 gig mkv file? Can't do it- same limitation as on PS3. The greatest advantage on the other hand is portability and universal recognition across multiple OSs. This was my format on the old APE.

For the new router I decided to give HFS+ a try. I'm someone who never "got" the Mac platform and still don't understand its appeal. However, other than Windows, I'm an increasingly avid Ubuntu user for several years now (lunacy, yes, I've been told). You can't plug in a drive in a PC and format to HFS. On Linux I didn't see hfsplus as a formatting option, though I know it formats Mac discs but not sure it's hfs+.

Your options are to spend $$ on MacDrive 8 For Windows which works very well, allowing direct hfs+ formatting and use of drive for read/write by Windows. (Thre's a freeware prog out there, but I'm unsure if it's read only, like the Apple available one). You can buy a pre-formatted Mac drive (Seagate and WD have them) but Windows wont recognise them unless plugged into the router. Bring your drive to an Apple Store and beg the geeks to take pity and format it for you; or, as I did, ask your (a) kid to borrow their MacBook.

Now that you have the properly formatted drive and attached it to the AirPort, Windows sees it as FAT32 formatted, even though it's HFS+. Now file size limitations no longer apply. Problems arise if you ever want to connect the drive directly to a PC, in which case it won't be recognized and Windows will prompt to format it. Ubuntu sees it as a normal drive.

One of the reasons to remove the drive from the router is for faster file download. What takes a few minutes on direct PC attachment can take 30-60 min to load when attached to the router. It's much more efficient to load files while the drive is directly attached to the computer than to do it attached to the router. If you have tons of files it'll be a slow process.

I also had several instances when the drive dropped from the network and unable to access it. sometimes it shows up in Windows but I can't connect to it. I never had this problem on the FAT32 disc and the old APE. Also, some drives are notorious for inability to wake and remain inaccessible unless replugged. The Airdisk utility loads at startup allowing connection to the drive, takes about 5 k of memory, and is somewhat annoying popping up when you boot to request drive access password. I disabled it. Disc access is mandatory passworded. You have the option of "guest" log in.

Otherwise the drive functions perfectly. It plays nice with Sonos. I had streaming music on G band nad video on N to two laptops in separate rooms without a hitch. The reported better range is minimal compared to older model. Because of inherent properties of different wavelengths I get better connection on G band in a far room than with N. That's expected and not a limitation of this router necessarily.

The drive is connected to an USB hub shared with a printer. Bonjour set it up instantly and works perfectly. Just know that other PC on the network need to load Bounjour Printer Wizard for it to work. It's downloadable from the Apple site so you don't need to load the full AirPort program on all PCs. It loads mdnsResponder taking up about 3 k memory.

My wish-list for future AirPorts would be inclusion of QoS, and ability to use NTFS format drives. As a stand alone router it's otherwise nearly flawless with rock solid, worry free functionality.

A few years back I had to scrap an old 802.11b/g D-Link router that was on it's last leg (and I was buying a laptop that had "n" technology so it timed well). I went to Best Buy and weighed my options and it came down to a Linksys and the Airport Extreme. I mulled it over for a bit and at that time I didn't own any Apple products (besides a video ipod) and the price was much higher than the others. The staff at BB was trying to sell me the AEBS and I figured as much due to the price...I went with the Linksys product.

I am fairly tech-savy and really don't have any trouble with electronics at all. That being said I know that networking is a pain in the rear no matter what anyone says. The Linksys was difficult to say the least, but only slightly more confusing than the old D-Link. It continued to get more difficult the more network devices I began to accumulate (PS3, PSP, network-capable television, MacBook Pro, etc) and had to configure the router manually every dang time something was added. Then set up the QoS list, and find all the devices' IP address, MAC address and plug all this into the router. Then let's say that a friend brought over his laptop and wanted to hop on so...here we go again!!!!! Just a head ache all in all!! Then more recently the router started dropping the network out of nowhere a little at first and then increasingly more often. Sometimes numerous times a day! This became infuriating after about a day or two so I started the search for a new one.

Having recently purchased a MacBook Pro (and hating all things Windows based!!!!!!!!!!) I am slowly converting over to Apple-World. So my first inclination was to look at the AEBS right off. After doing a little research I went down to the store and picked on up (had to have it tonight, remember, the dropping-signal-router?). Man, that price! But whatever, it's Apple, things are always more expensive but you get what you pay for with Apple!

AND BOY DO YOU!!!!!!!!!!! I pulled the old router out of the system and installed the AiPort Extreme Utility that came on the disc in the box on my Mac and the wife's VAIO, easy 'nuff. 5 minutes tops (and I am including getting a knife to open the plastic surrounding the box!). Then plugged all the ethernet cables I use into the back of the AEBS including the WAN cable, then plugged the power cable in. Within the minute the (new) software on my Mac found the new AEBS, clicked "want to create a new network", set a password for the unit and for the guest network, and it restart itself when I was done. I was then instructed to restart my cable modem. Another 5 minutes down. I then went to the kitchen area to grab our wireless printer (I reset the printer back to factory defaults to clear the network info in the printer) and brought it to the AEBS and plugged it in via USB cable. Opened up the Airport utility on the MAC, entered the password, went to the printers tab, selected my Lexmark printer and clicked the box to use it wirelessly. The AEBS restarted itself after that. Unplugged the USB cable, and plugged the printer back in the kitchen area, typed the AEBS password into the printer and done. Proceeded to check the (now hardwired) PS3 and the AEBS did everything itself. Set the television to its network factory defaults and rescanned, AEBS did the work behind the scenes; all done. On to the cell phones, type in the new password, done. Move to the wife's VAIO (and what I thought would be the real test of ease-of-use with this thing) and YUP! Network found, type in password, good to go! So I did in under 15 minutes what took me at least initially 2 hours and countless more over the years of owning the Linksys!!!!

Granted, this is the FIRST NIGHT i've owned the product so I can't speak to it's long term ease of use, so keep that in mind. I just had to get on Amazon and write this review it was so easy!!!!!!!!! I am forever impressed with Apple's ingenuity! Everything Apple just works and works the way it's supposed to! I also love the fact that it's dual band so the router speed won't drop down to "g" speed the second a "g-based" device gets on. I checked the speed in the Mac's Network Utility and YUP! Sitting at full "n" speed even though all the other "g-based" devices are on!!! I love this thing! Super easy setup and for networking that is saying a whole hell of a lot! Well worth the price! The only regret I have is not buying this thing almost two years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Length:: 2:11 Mins

There is a lot to like about the Airport Extreme - It offers lightening fast connections via dual bands, a USB port to offer network flexibility, and the ability to join and amplify an existing network. In my case it works well but not perfectly (I will admit I have not tried to use it to expand an existing network).

The features that I like

- The N-band is lightening fast. One example is my Apple TV with 160GB Hard Drive - MB189LL/A which now downloads movies alomst instantly.

- Basic set-up is very easy (using a Mac) - Airport Utility will walk you right through the set-up.

- The ability to serve a printer server - allowing one printer to be shared by multiple computers

- Ability to add an external hard drive through Airport Extreme's USB port - it is great being able to back-up files wirelessly!

The things I had issues with

- The range is below that of my NETGEAR Wireless-N Access Point - although it is much more reliable than the Netgear.

- Try as I might I was never able to connect my HP Printer to the network - the network will recognize it but I am unable to print. I am sure that this can be overcome... but how much more time will it take?

- It took several tries for me to install my external hard-drive and have it recognized.

- I do get a few network drops - it may be issues with my computer.

Final Verdict - If it was easier to install my printer and external network this would be an easy 5-star recommendation, but due to the hassles (and failure in the case of the printer) I will give it 4 stars. It is the best router that I have used... but it is also the most expensive (so it should be the best).

4 Stars

this is exactly as I expected, however I have one small complaint. Apple ships this product with documentation that doesn't explain correctly how to "extend" the network using an Airport Express. This is a highlighted benefit of using the Airport so I think it bears some explanation. When using an AP Express with an AP Extreme, you can play music on a stereo system plugged into the AP Express as well as increase the overall range and strength of your network.

It seems that they've changed their preferred method from the "WDS" system outlined in the document. I was able to figure it out, but I'm not sure that the everyday user would just get it.

I've searched out this thread on the Apple forums that explains it:

[...]

"On the Extreme:
Open AirPort Utility, click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons
Wireless Mode would be set to "Create a wireless network"
Make sure there is a check mark next to "Allow this network to be extended"
Update to save settings

On the Express:
Open AirPort Utility, click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab
Wireless Mode would be set to "Extend a wireless network". If you don't see this choice, hold down the "option or alt" key on your computer when you click on the selection box. When you select this choice, you should see the network created by the Extreme to "extend".
Enter the wireless password if requested
Make sure there is a check mark next to "Allow wireless clients"
Update to save settings

Although it is not documented, the ethernet port is also active in the "extend" setting. This can come in handy at times. And, if you want to stream iTunes, be sure to enable this by clicking on the Music icon."

Hope this helps!

Bought this recently to replace an older Linksys model, also used a Netgear range extender because I have a big house. I wanted something easy to install, enough range to cover the whole house, handle a mixed network (iMac, older PC laptop, and wireless printers), better security with WPA2, and flexibility. I am a big Apple fan, let me make that clear up front. Based on various comments and reviews, this seemed to be the best bet to handle the mixed network. Setup was very easy, as soon as I disconnected the old Linksys and plugged in the AE device the install prompts jumped up on my remote iMac. Other than a few minor hiccups, basically resetting the cable modem a couple of times, setup via the iMac was a breeze. I then added PC laptops and wireless printers easily, the whole thing took about 15 minutes. Range throughout the large house is excellent, I was told I could continue to use the Netgear range extenders with AE if needed, but the AE does just great on its own. I also like the guest network feature, which allows guests to basically use a separate wireless network which can also be WPA2 protected if desired. I have not used the more advanced network features yet, but will edit this review if I do. Bottom line is I really like the Airport Extreme so far, I know it is not the cheapest alternative on the market, but does everything so far as advertised.