Apple Airport Express 2012

[Mark Uhde]

It would be great to see you review the new Airport Express, I'd love to know especially how it's routing performance compares to the Airport Extreme. At the price, and given the stability I've found the Extreme to have, I'm tempted to recommend them, but I'd like to see some nice, controlled numbers beyond what I have the ability to test.

 

[sfx2000]

Second that...

However, do note that Tim has had to directly purchase the last few test samples - I'm guessing that SmallNetBuilder is not on Apple's review list...

My primary concern with the new Airport Express - if someone is running Mac OS X 10.7, they're currently limited to the 6.x version of the utility, which some folks have serious issues with... Hopefully Apple fixes the 5.6 version so that it will install under Lion...

 

[Mark Uhde]

Second that...

However, do note that Tim has had to directly purchase the last few test samples - I'm guessing that SmallNetBuilder is not on Apple's review list...

My primary concern with the new Airport Express - if someone is running Mac OS X 10.7, they're currently limited to the 6.x version of the utility, which some folks have serious issues with... Hopefully Apple fixes the 5.6 version so that it will install under Lion...

May I ask what's wrong with the new utility?

 

[tannebil]

The Airport Utility 5.6 runs fine with Lion on my MacBook but the iOS version meets most of my needs.

 

[Mark Uhde]

The Airport Utility 5.6 runs fine with Lion on my MacBook but the iOS version meets most of my needs.

What's the problem with the newer version? I use the iPad version myself for the clients I have with Apple Airport's

 

[HawkFire]

A newer version (5.6.1) of AirPort Utility is available.....

Apple last week issued an updated version for the Airport Utility. They built back the options for IPv6 also. Just go to the Apple support page then downloads to see the new version downloads.

 

[Mark Uhde]

The first look as me excited to see how it performs. It could be an affordable Apple router for typical home users if it's reasonably powerful, of course only long time testing will determine if it proves stable over the long haul. The old Expresses sure didn't - infamous power supply issues.

 

[sfx2000]

The first look as me excited to see how it performs. It could be an affordable Apple router for typical home users if it's reasonably powerful, of course only long time testing will determine if it proves stable over the long haul. The old Expresses sure didn't - infamous power supply issues.

Hence my heating question... the older AP Express devices ran fairly warm...

Affordable is a subjective item, but my experience is that the Apple provided routers have been relatively trouble-free (except for the Express when put into long term service).

The long term affordability - plug them in, configure, and let them work - less support calls...

 

[sfx2000]

The Airport Utility 5.6 runs fine with Lion on my MacBook but the iOS version meets most of my needs.

The 2012 edition requires AP Utility 6.1 if you're running MacOSX 10.7 - 5.6.1 was release for 10.5/10.6, along with Windows 7 - WinXP is not supported, Airport Utility stopped there a while back... if you're running WinXP still, the Airport Express 2012 is not an option

From a support perspective - Win7 SP1, MacOSX 10.6 seems to be the best place right now for consultants...

6.1 isn't bad, but it removes the logging/debug capabilities that the 5.6 series had, and that can be an issue.

 

[PaulKemp]

So, thinking about the Airport Express only for AirPlay streaming on the bathroom. But will it ever be possible to extend my current network wireless range with the AirPort Express? Or is that forever only locked to Apple routers? Thanks

 

[tannebil]

Forever is a long time but I've seen nothing that indicates it will ever be anything other than an Apple-to-Apple feature.

A pair of powerline adapters might be a more practical approach. I've seen the 500mb ones for $50/pair recently just keep in mind that you won't see anything close to 500mb. Pretty close to impossible to predict if they will work between any two specific outlets in your house without actually trying them. That's likely to be a more reliable solution that extending wireless anyway.

 

[PaulKemp]

OK thanks. The problem is that the price is to steep just for the AirPlay feature. So wifi extender would be a bonus.

 

[Mark Uhde]

You can do it right and run Cat5 to the express and then configure it as an AP

 

[SamS]

I wonder if the AE can be used with a PoE injector/splitter?

Are there any rules as to which devices PoE with a third party injector/splitter? As long as it draws less than the 15w that PoE supports?

 

[sfx2000]

You can do it right and run Cat5 to the express and then configure it as an AP

Yep, and it works quite well at that - as per Apple documentation - consider that a "roaming" configuration.

 

[sfx2000]

I wonder if the AE can be used with a PoE injector/splitter?

Are there any rules as to which devices PoE with a third party injector/splitter? As long as it draws less than the 15w that PoE supports?

Airports do not support Power Over Ethernet...