I have an Time Capsule set up in 802.11a/n – 802.11b/g/n Automatic mode. I have an Airport Express set up to extend this network.
Does the Airport Express just share the 802.11n part of the network or the 802.11b/g too?
I ask because I have a set of Airplay speakers with 802.11b/g which are much closer to my Airport Express but insist on joining the Time Capsule which is further away. AirPlay to these speakers is awful. If I could convince it to join the Airport Express bridge instead then I believe it would work, since there would be fewer hops from my phone which is already connected to the Airport Express.
Is there a way to have the 802.11b/g speakers join the nearer Airport Express?
Best Answer
It depends on the rev of Airport Express. The older Airport Express' only extended the 2.4GHz band.
The last Airport Express (before the change that makes it look like a white AppleTV) could extend either band.
The latest rev (looks like white AppleTV) will also extend either band. From what I understand, if your 2.4 & 5GHz band have the same network name, it will extend the band that has the strongest signal (since there isn't a way to select it in the Airport Setup).
If you have separately named 2.4 and 5GHz network names, then it will extend the network you specify.