Apple Airport Extreme - owner reviews & thoughts

[TSW]

Originally Posted by bayerische

That iPad stand is cool! Haven't seen it before.

Here's where i got it

http://www.luxa2.com/index.aspx

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by TSW

Here's where i got it

http://www.luxa2.com/index.aspx

Tack!

I'll have a look into those.

[smartson]

Have been using Airport for past 3 years without problem.

But like other said, attaching HD to Airport as backup drive is not very reliable. Go with TC or direct USB plug in.

[dalip]

Originally Posted by esm

Dalip - can you advise if you were on 2.4GHz (via the old router/modem) and did you get onto 5GHz with the TC on your MBP?

Originally Posted by bayerische

Glad you like it Dalip!

Thanks Andreas

As for your question Eric.... Im not sure. I am not well versed in these areas...I.e. modems/routers. But I will check when I have a chance.

I have a pretty good router already in the house and was told by the apple store to connect the TC to this network.

But is it better for me to scrub that and use the TC as the router also ? Will this give me better speeds?

We are an all apple household BTW.

Excuse my ignorance around this. This product is entirely new for me..

Thanks.

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by CashGap

Actually, everything they are seeking is there. It's just not "out front" since the casual user doesn't need a great deal of configurability.

Port mapping, IPV6, SNMP logging and remote logging, DHCP, LDAP, wireless configurability, multicasting, etc. Note that some of this requires the PC or Mac client, not just the iPhone/iPad setup app.

Although it still doesn't offer a web interface.

[CashGap]

Originally Posted by RedBaronF2001

Although it still doesn't offer a web interface.

Yep. I don't think that is an accident. Even with HTML5, the look and feel can't be where they (and the target market) expects it to be.

[bayerische]

Dalip,

My experiences with the TC:

To get the best speed use it in Dual channel mode. (You need to set this up using the Airport app located in Applications/utilities)

Also if you use the TC as your main router (I do) have the network name as short as possible. I had mine a three word length, "Apple Time Machine", and I didn't get good speeds. I have a 200mbit line, and I was getting 30-35mbit. I changed the network name to "Apple", and set it to dual band, and bang, speeds hit directly to 100-120mbit.

The TC is a VERY stable and reliable router. I think I have had to reset it once (unplug from mains) in the 2 years I've had mine.

If you have a large house/yard, you can daisy-chain other Airports, like the Extreme, or Express models to extend your TC network. This is also easily done in the Airport App. If you need help setting up, I'm happy to help.

[dalip]

Thanks Andreas. I'll let you know how I go

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by dalip

Thanks Andreas. I'll let you know how I go

Allright buddy!

[esm]

thanks Dalip, Andreas.

Picked up an Airport Extreme just now (havent open it yet) and was told by one of genius that i have to connect the AE to my existing router and turn off the wi-fi function off the router, and set the AE to the dual mode? does that sound right? can i use the AE as a router and connect the cable off the wall straight into the AE?

Thought i'd get the AE first and see "if it works".... if so, i can exchange it for a TC within 20 days (with £ difference on top of course).

[RedBaronF2001]

Originally Posted by esm

thanks Dalip, Andreas.

Picked up an Airport Extreme just now (havent open it yet) and was told by one of genius that i have to connect the AE to my existing router and turn off the wi-fi function off the router, and set the AE to the dual mode? does that sound right? can i use the AE as a router and connect the cable off the wall straight into the AE?

Thought i'd get the AE first and see "if it works".... if so, i can exchange it for a TC within 20 days (with £ difference on top of course).

Just use the Airport Utility to find it first and then set it up. Wireless is enabled by default on the AE.

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by esm

thanks Dalip, Andreas.

Picked up an Airport Extreme just now (havent open it yet) and was told by one of genius that i have to connect the AE to my existing router and turn off the wi-fi function off the router, and set the AE to the dual mode? does that sound right? can i use the AE as a router and connect the cable off the wall straight into the AE?

Thought i'd get the AE first and see "if it works".... if so, i can exchange it for a TC within 20 days (with £ difference on top of course).

Well the AE don't have the "modem" function, so the "raw" line in won't work, so is your existing mODEM/ROUTER provided by your ISP, you will most likely need it connected by a cable to the AE, and turn off the Wlan on your existing one.

But this isn't a problem really, you just need two boxes.

[daveathall]

For the extra 100 quid or so, I would have been tempted to get the Time Capsule.

[esm]

setup the AE, and as expected... cant really notice a huge speed change... will give it a couple of days for me to see any changes...

the network printer thingy is pretty cool me thinks
(i wonder what happens if i hook up an external HD with data already in it onto the AE.. )


if i can notice a change, i will exchange it for a TC

[Holdout]

Awe inspiring in it's simplicity to set up and operate. I had all Windows gear and converted over to Mac, setting up 2 Airport Extremes (1 for each floor of the house) and a Time Capsule took less than 20 minutes. Streams phenomenally fast from the Apple TV also.

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by esm

setup the AE, and as expected... cant really notice a huge speed change... will give it a couple of days for me to see any changes...

the network printer thingy is pretty cool me thinks
(i wonder what happens if i hook up an external HD with data already in it onto the AE.. )


if i can notice a change, i will exchange it for a TC

Test your speed at;

speedtest.net

[RedBaronF2001]

You might want to check your channel settings as well. There may be significant interference. Just set your channels (one for 2.4 GHz and one for 5 GHz) two or more channels higher than your nearest neighbor.

Try this tool:

Meraki WiFi Stumbler

[esm]

right... so managed to stroll into the Apple store today to swap the AE for a TE... setup was easy enough.
running time machine on the 13" MBP ATM.... is it normal to have higher temperature? (just turned on the smcFanControl thingy to cool it down...
is it okay to run 2 x time machine for the first time at once? or should i run the 15" later?

[CashGap]

Originally Posted by esm

right... so managed to stroll into the Apple store today to swap the AE for a TE... setup was easy enough.
running time machine on the 13" MBP ATM.... is it normal to have higher temperature? (just turned on the smcFanControl thingy to cool it down...
is it okay to run 2 x time machine for the first time at once? or should i run the 15" later?

You could run your first time machine backup on two machines at once, but it would take forever. I'd let one finish, turn off time machine, do the other, then turn on incremental for both.

[esm]

Originally Posted by CashGap

You could run your first time machine backup on two machines at once, but it would take forever. I'd let one finish, turn off time machine, do the other, then turn on incremental for both.

Thank you sir

[bayerische]

Higher temp is normal!