Connecting airport express to current G modem/router

adox

I`m streaming HD files from my iMac to ATV2 wirelessly at the moment and am having occasional buffering issues which I`d like to iron out.

I currently have everthing wireless, iMac wireless to modem/router and modem/router wireless to ATV2.

Now my moden/router is an old G router and I was thinking of changing to a N modem/router to see if that improves things. I was going to look at buying a new modem/router but remembered I have a airport express (the N version) sitting around doing nothing and was considering connecting that to my current G modem router to make a new N network.

Now Im not entirely sure how to do this and if it is possible. Is it just a matter of connecting the airport express to the G modem/router and setting it to bridge mode, creating a new network, or are there other settings I would need to adjust to make sure I have a N network running?

Also Im also considering hard wiring the whole lot as another option, but again am unsure how to go about it. Do I just need to connect the modem/router to ATV2 with an ethernet cable and leave the iMac running wirelessly, or do I need to also connect the iMac to the modem/router by ethernet also, or can I just connect the iMac direct to the ATV2 by ethernet?

ashleey

I had a similar set up.

1. Connect airport extreme/ express to existing router with cat v cable. Use one of the Ethernet connections on the router but the extreme has a specific WLAN port.

2. Open airport express on your mac or download and run windows version.

3. Follow instructions as it asks what type of network you are creating.

4. Once network is up reboot everything to ensure the dhcp server on original router gives everything a local ip with no conflicts.

5. Then enter setup page of original router and turn wireless off so you just have only your new apple network.

6. If all this works you could buy an extreme if you have a big house as it has better range and runs dual channel.

7. Consider powerline products to turn your electric connections into a wired LAN. I actually have my modem and airport extreme linked via a powerline network as they are in different rooms.

8. Speed is determined by slowest part. Your movie download will be limited by your broadband but streaming between mac and apple tv by your WLAN.

adox

ashleey wrote: »

I had a similar set up.

1. Connect airport extreme/ express to existing router with cat v cable. Use one of the Ethernet connections on the router but the extreme has a specific WLAN port.

2. Open airport express on your mac or download and run windows version.

3. Follow instructions as it asks what type of network you are creating.

4. Once network is up reboot everything to ensure the dhcp server on original router gives everything a local ip with no conflicts.

5. Then enter setup page of original router and turn wireless off so you just have only your new apple network.

6. If all this works you could buy an extreme if you have a big house as it has better range and runs dual channel.

7. Consider powerline products to turn your electric connections into a wired LAN. I actually have my modem and airport extreme linked via a powerline network as they are in different rooms.

8. Speed is determined by slowest part. Your movie download will be limited by your broadband but streaming between mac and apple tv by your WLAN.

Thanks for the response. One question on the setup, I presume I am setting it up in bridge mode?

ashleey

I can't remember exactly but when you add the airport express/ extreme it asks if you are joining a network or setting up a new one. You want a new one. I think bridge mode is when you are adding the express to an existing wireless network as a repeater? The good thing is, if you choose the wrong option in the airport utility you can go back till it works.

ashleey

Best of luck. It is actually quite user friendly and all my stuff works much better. Non apple networks often are flaky with bonjour sleep protocol. This is the part that ensures you can access your library by waking machines as required. You won't look back!

adox

ashleey wrote: »

Best of luck. It is actually quite user friendly and all my stuff works much better. Non apple networks often are flaky with bonjour sleep protocol. This is the part that ensures you can access your library by waking machines as required. You won't look back!

Thats great, thanks again for your help. I had a look on youtube and youre right, setting up a new network is the way to go, not a bridge.

ashleey

Phew. Glad I got it right. Would have been embarrassing. Hope it goes well. The advantage of an Extreme over an Express is that it runs dual channel. So if a slower G device connects it will use the 2.4 Ghz channel and the 5 Ghz channel can be left to the faster all N network, so that if you are streaming between a mac and ATV2 and you open a different device then they won't interfere. If you have a bigger house too then the 2.4 Ghz network has a better range (not so the 5 Ghz). An IPhone 4/S won't connect to a 5Ghz but none of this should really slow down your streaming.

Doodah7

Sorry to resurrect this thread but this is exactly what I intend to do this evening by effectively upgrading my current G router with an Apple Airport Express to get N signals.

If and when I get this up and running, when it comes to using homeplugs, do I plug one into my old router or the Airport Express or does it matter?