Airport Express wont join existing wireless network!

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OK, so I bought a AP Express yesterday and Ive yet to get it to work as a client.

I have no interest in extending the existing network, as Im aware that it wont do that for non-apple wireless signals.


I have a Huawei E355 USB WiFi hotspot key that provides my wireless network. It is secured with WPA2 mixed encryption. Ive tried shutting the encryption off so that it would be easier for the AP Ex to join the network but that failed also.

I continually get the "Unexpected error occurred. Try again." message.

Ive hard reset the AP Ex probably a dozen times and tried every single possible order of booting everything up.

I can get the AP Ex to create its own network and function just fine. But then I loose internet capabilities for any of the products connected to the AP Ex. The sole purpose of the AP Ex in my case is for it to simply be a client and connect to my stereo for AirPlay.

During the setup I instruct it to do so. I will either end up with a amber blinking light on the unit or sometimes I will get it to show green, and on my router it will show that the AP Ex is connected to the network, provide me its MAC address and all of that. But when I go into Airport Utility the AP Ex still doesnt show up, and when I try to connect via iTunes or my iPhone a connection failure always occurs.

Im at about my wits end with this. Ive tried everything. Ive searched the net for over 4 hours looking for solutions or people with the same issues. Ive found plenty of people with the same problem but none of the solutions worked nor are they current. They seem to all be related to older models of the AP Express and an older version of AirPort Utility.

Ive even tried using AirPort Utility 5.6 being as 6.1 is supposedly worse. And as you can tell by this thread, trying 5.6 yielded me no better results.


SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME. I thought Apple products were supposed to "just work". This is very frustrating to say the least.

Im off to my local Apple store for assistance but I doubt those salesmen will know more than you guys do.
 
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So just to check:
New style AE ? (white, flat, horizontal, separate power cord)
Any firmware updates available?
Option chosen - connect to existing network?
 
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I have no interest in extending the existing network, as Im aware that it wont do that for non-apple wireless signals

what do you mean the Airport Express works just fine with Windows, Linux and Android clients
 
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So just to check:
New style AE ? (white, flat, horizontal, separate power cord)
Any firmware updates available?
Option chosen - connect to existing network?



Yep... white, flat, separate power cord. Came in a small cube-like box.

Not sure about the firmware updates, where would I download these? Im running AirPort Utility 6.1, is there a newer one?

Yes... Connect to existing network.



So I went to the Apple Store today and tried to show them how it wasnt working.

Low and behold, after doing things EXACTLY as I had been doing them at home (I brought my entire setup to the store) the AP Ex finally connected to my network. But this time, it only did so because the USB stick was plugged directly into the USB port of the MacBook Air (usually it is plugged into a wall socket via its adapter).

So I finally got the AP Express to work with AirPlay as a client. Well... sorta... when we tried to use my chics iPhone or any of the Apple Store emplyee iPhones they could not play their music thru my network via AirPlay.

They were all baffled. I had literally the entire store trying to figure it out.

So then they tried telling me that the problem was because the Huawei was a 3rd party router, that was the issue.

I then showed them a link to Apples website where it specifically says the AP Ex should be able to work as a client on a 3rd party network. They again were baffled.

Then one of the employee's admitted to me that EVERY time he's set up a home network for a customer that uses a 3rd party wireless router (conventional style unlike my even more unconventional USB stick) that they have issues and are never able to get it to work.

I gotta say, that if Apple did it this way on purpose, it is really lame. I can see them not wanting us to be able to extend a network without using other Apple products, but not allowing me to do only AirPlay is a real downer.

I then took my setup to another Apple Store and they then explained that they actually have a 3rd party router and that their Expresses have no problem hooking up to the network. The employee there seemed to think that their is some sort of language barrier (so to speak) between the AP Ex and the WiFi key.



Im open to any and all suggestions at this point. I spent hours today at the Apple Stores and about 6 total hours yesterday trying to fix this mess on my own. Ive done every possible Google search combination you can imagine. And tried everything that had been articulated in a proper way for me to try.



Im thinking that adjustments need to be made to the MAC filters or some fancy setup options like that tho Im currently too ignorant to do that on my own without some good guidance.
 
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what do you mean the Airport Express works just fine with Windows, Linux and Android clients



You may have mis-understood me.

The AirPort Express in its normal function, acts as a signal repeater, thus extending the WiFi range of your home's wireless network signal. But that signal must originate from another Apple product such as a Extreme or a Time Capsule (of which those units must be connected via ethernet cable to your modem/router setup).

And then of course, as you said, any other type of device (Linux, Windows, Android) can pick up the wireless signal that has been extended by the AP Express.

What the AP Express wont do is extend the signal of your 3rd party wireless network if it is receiving that signal wirelessly. It must be plugged into it via a ethernet cable.

That is why Im trying to use "Client Mode". Which basically sets the AP Express up for the sole purpose of playing AirPlay. In this mode, it is supposed to accept a 3rd party wireless signal, it just wont re-broadcast it. Which is fine, Im not looking to strengthen the signal, my apartment isnt that big.
 
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Airport Express wont join 3rd party wireless network for airplay

I am having a very similar problem. I have exactly the same set up as you (except using a Huawei HG556a HW.C router, from vodafone).

When going through the initial set up on my iPhone, i get exactly the same errors as you describe.

I successfully created a new network, but this has no internet connection. Then I edited the network settings via airport utility to join a wireless network, and manually typed the network name and password of my home network. I also changed DCHP and NAT to off (bridged mode). Initially this fails too, but I did get it to work once by restarting the AE after setup. However, eventually (10mins) the AP utility would say the AE is not found.

I have also tried configuring AE via the Airport Utility on my PC, version 5.5.3 (the newer version is Win 7 only, I have Vista). Having been through setup with this tool too, it no longer can find the AE.

I can get it to work if it is wired to my 3rd party router, but that defeats the purpose, as I want to use it purely for airplay. My stereo is in a different room to the routher, so connecting it via ethernet is not an option.

Did you ever solve this problem? If so, i'd love to know how. I, like you, have spent hours on this and am at my whits end!

Cheers
 
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change the channel

Hi,

I had the same problem with 3rd party router.
After setting the wifi chanel on the 3rd party router from auto to 9 the problem solved.

Since then I can see the airport express on my wifi network

Cheers,
Zoli
 

CJMorley

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Reset the APE using a pointy thing, and then connect your iPhone/iPad's wifi adapter to the Airport Express (instead of your wifi network). Then follow the steps to add it to an existing WiFi network. That's the trick.
 

Raz0rEdge

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The thread is 10 years old and the last reply is 6+ years old. The OP has been banned and Apple doesn't even create routers anymore, suffice it to say that people have moved on from this topic and routers for a long time.

Please check the thread dates before posting.
 
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