Netgear Router / Airport Express Problem

M

MartinT

Registered
Hi,

Please help...!

I have a one-year old well-specc'd iMac and connect to the Internet using a Netgear Wireless ADSL Router (DG834G). This all works fine and has proved to be reliable.

However, I have today purchased an AirPort Express base station to allow me to play iTunes songs through my stereo. I have got this working, but it comes up as a separate network and when I connect to play the music, I can no longer access the Internet. When I connect back to my previous network, the base station vanishes and I can access the Internet once more.

I then went into the AirPort Admin Utility and clicked configure. I then selected wireless mode: 'Join an Existing Wireless Network' and clicked on the Netgear network. When I update this setting, the base station completely disappears from the screen and the only way I can get it back again is to unplug it and do a hard reset.

What am I doing wrong? How can I play songs and still access the Internet? I am extremely frustrated and would welcome any advice.

Many thanks,

MARTIN
 
Firstly, is there any reason you're wanting to keep the Netgear router, rather than just use the Airport Express?

Secondly, are they in the same location? Has the Airport Express been physically connected to your network with Ethernet? Or have you tried setting it up as a WDS node (which basically makes it *part of* the network managed by your Netgear router)?

Your best solution is to setup the Airport Express so that it has Internet connectivity, and then use that as your preferred router.
 
Many thanks for your reply. In answer to your questions, my local Apple shop advised me to get the Netgear Router to network and share the Internet between my two iMacs, which has worked fine.

I recently thought it would be good to listen to iTunes through the stereo, so I bought AirTunes. The AirportExpress unit is in another room, away from a telephone socket, with no ethernet connections, just plugged into my stereo basically.

I tried to make the AirportExpress as a 'WDS Relay Base Station' but wasn't really sure what I was doing, and the Internet settings kept complaining. Is this the way forward? Please would you let me know exactly what I have to do?! If I could get this to work, I'd be a happy man...

MARTIN
 
from apple.com's airport extreme website

"Add Music to Your Current Wireless Network

If you already have a wireless network in place, you can use AirPort Express to add music to its capabilities. Let’s say, for example, you have AirPort Extreme set up in your den. There’s no need to scrap this setup and create a whole new one with an AirPort Express Base Station, your DSL or cable modem, printer and stereo all in one place. Simply connect AirPort Express to your stereo in your favorite music room and plug it into an electrical outlet — it wirelessly links to your existing network, letting you play your music in your room of choice without moving anything or connecting anything else."

I take this to mean that your airport extreme can connect to your netgear's network and thus making it possible to access the stereo's airport extreme *through* your netgear network.

Currently your netgear is an access point and your stereo's airport extreme is acting as another access point. Your computer (client) can only connect to one access point at a time whereas an access point can connect multiple clients. You need to get the stereo's airport extreme to be a client of the netgear access point.
 
Hi again,

Yes, I seem to have two networks, the Netgear one with Broadband, the AirportExpress one with music.

> You need to get the stereo's airport extreme to be a client of the netgear access point.

That makes sense? Any idea how I would go about this?! :)

MARTIN
 
that blurb seems to suggest it should happen automatically. Is there a user interface that you can configure it? maybe that "wds node" is a hint from symphonix.

Sorry I don't have an airport extreme base station.
 
Unfortunately everytime I add the network using the AirPort Admin Utility it makes the base unit disappear completely. Perhaps I'll just have to suffer iTunes / or the Internet, just not both at the same time.

Thanks anyway. Any more thoughts?...

MARTIN
 
what do you mean dissappear? If the airport extreme becomes part of the netgears network, you will only need to access it by IP address through the netgear's network. It will no longer be an access point and probably no longer visible as a wireless access point.

I would set a static IP on the airport extreme. If for example the netgear gateway is located at 192.168.1.1, then you could set the airport extreme to 192.168.1.100 as long as no other device (including your laptop, printer...) is using that address. Once it joins the netgear network then you can access it by going to 192.168.1.100.
 
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