Airport Express Wifi: Extend, Join or None?

For those using Airfoil, I'm assuming that amongst others, you have a number of Airports as targets.

My question is, do you configure yours to extend the wifi, or just join it, or none (cable input only)?

My wireless cable router is in the study, downstairs at one corner of a square 4-up, 4-down house. My bedroom is upstairs in the diagonally opposite corner.

With only the router emitting wifi, you can't get wifi in most of the house, so I've wired one Airport Express to the bedroom. Wifi is now reasonable in most of the house, but could still be better.

However my iPhone struggles to swap to the better signal as I roam around the house.

Do you have one SSID that all your APs (inc Airports) broadcast and your mobile devices roam based on signal, or different SSIDs in different areas? Do you manually switch to better signal?

I've just put in two additional Airports which are JOINed to the wifi, but not EXTENDing - because my gut feeling is that extending will just add more mid-strength APs for the iPhone to try and keep hold of when there's a better signal nearer.

Thoughts?

(This may seem daft, but by day I'm an IT Network Manager with close to 2,000 tablet/phone devices on a wifi network covering around 8 buildings with seamless roaming across the entire site - but that's on industry grade wifi equipment designed to talk to itself and roam all day long - I just don't seem to have any success at home! )

Peter

[jay (support)]

I've never been successful getting an AE to extend a network - and my internet searching seems to imply others have had that experience as well. Fortunately, my router reaches the entirety of my house so I don't have any range issues.

My AEs are just connected via ethernet and are used solely as sound distribution devices.

[MODERATOR NOTE] Since it's not directly related to the Airfoil plugin, I've moved this thread to a more appropriate spot.

If you can get an Ethernet cable to each of your AE's, you should create a wireless network, with the same name & security as your main router's wireless network. Your devices should roam seamlessly.

This is how I have 4 x AirPorts (2 x AC, 1 x Gb-Dual Band & 1 x Gb Express). Non of my WiFi devices, Apple or otherwise, have any issue roaming between AP's. I'm lighting up 120' x 120' property with WiFi, inside & out. The house is 3500 Sq Ft, and old construction with a mixture of native lumber (thick & hard), and Brick/Block.

We can move anywhere on the property, streaming music, etc., and never miss a beat.

Please keep in mind that there are a limited number if channels for wifi. The more routers/access points you have they have to share the channels. I believe / recall that the channels used should be at least two channels apart otherwise the thruput suffers. And the switching between the access points is not that seamless There are options to boost the signal of the main router ( beam forming antennas higher output) that might solve your problem.


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And if you have neighbors they will also use some of the channels.


see his link: http://www.connect802.com/80211n_channels.htm

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I would just add a comment on the new AC beam forming router... I borrowed a friend's to see if I could get away from my Airport express extending the network but it offered no additional range from my 1 generation old dual band N airport extreme. Certainly not super scientific, but both routers were in the exact same position with the same channels.

switched from an older linksys (n) to an asus 68 and the whole house was covered with tested with 4 year old mac laptop. The iPhone 5s had problems in some areas.
There is "explicit" and "implicit" beam forming. one requires a receiver that can adapt to beam forming, the other will work it holder wifi devices.
.. many options, I guess trying it out is the only real test.

Thanks for comments. I switched from using Netgear router supplied by VirginMedia to using ASUS RT68* six months ago. Better, but still not great.

What I have done is cabled under floor to get the ASUS more central in house - but haven't actually moved it yet! Will try that and see.

Oh, and I'm using inSSIDer to sort channels out already.