| Apple AirPort Express with Air Tunes (M9470LL/A) |
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Model: M9470LL/A
Brand: Apple
Manufacturer: Apple Computer
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 299
Platforms: Windows
Operating system: Windows & Macintosh
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of your house
Share a single broadband Internet connection and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive cables
Create an instant wireless network on the go
Access an AirPort Express wireless network
Compatible with Windows XP or 2000; Mac OS X v10.2.7 or later |
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| Description: |
| Apple M9470LL/A AirPort Express Base Station - The AirPort Express is a very unique wireless base station. It fits in the palm of your hand, plugs directly into a wall outlet, and allows you to wirelessly connect to the Internet, print, and stream iTunes music to any room in your home. It does this via 3 bult-in ports. A WAN Ethernet port for your cable or DSL modem, a USB port for your printer, and an Audio port for your home stereo. Security - Built-in Firewall, Password Protection, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Support, & 128-bit WEP Encryption Supports up to 10 users NOTE - Wireless printing over USB requires Mac OS X v10.2.7 or later or Windows XP or Windows 2000 and a compatible printer NOTE - AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express can extend the range only of an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express wireless network |
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| User Reviews (299 total): |
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Awesome Device, December 9, 2007
By Wasky (California)
With my MacBook, setup couldn't have been easier. The Airport Setup Assistant guided me through the setup with no problems at all. Hooking it up to my home stereo was easy as can be and I was up and running with AirTunes in under 10 minutes. I highly recommend an AirPort Express for all music lovers.
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Lousy Instructions for Windows But I Got It To Work, December 2, 2007
By Michael L. Mccoy (Burbank, CA USA)
Four stars because of terrible instuctions. I tried for hours until I realized I needed to set the AirPort up from a computer that has wireless built-in and was not dependent on the wireless router. I had been trying from my desktop which had my iTunes but no built-in wireless and the AirPort Utility could never "see" the AirPort so I could set it up. Having my desktop connected the the wireless router did not make a difference. Then I installed the software on my laptop which has wireless and my laptop "saw" the AirPort as a wireless network when I scanned for additional networks. I connected to it as if it was a network and ran the Utility again from the laptop and there it was. I started to run the setup and it then asked if I want to join an existing network (yeah) and from there it was very straight forward.
It works great and now I can listen to songs I gave not played for years.
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Works very Well, November 27, 2007
By Lynn May (PHX,AZ)
I have a tri-level house and get excellent connection to the net in every room. I even have my Sony PC on the network with my two other Macs. Some people are having problems with this. Just connect your Macs to the network first and then your PC using the network password for the Mac. It can must be translated into numeric code for the PC. You can always check out the Apple Forum website for more help.
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Free your iTunes from those dismal little speakers!, November 22, 2007
By Jules De Simone (Media, PA USA)
With my iTunes library growing exponentially, I felt compelled to give the Apple AirPort Express with Air Tunes (M9470LL/A) a try. Set-up was intuitive; no manual was needed. The distance from my Mac to my home stereo speakers was approximately 20 ft and the path from computer to speakers was a convoluted one at that. There were some potential obstacles in the way, including a wall and several pieces of furniture. I was pleased to discover that the wireless connection was a solid one and Air Tunes seem to be streaming along without any noticeable problems.
Since I only own one computer at the time, I have not yet tried this device to create a wireless network. A cursory glance at the instruction manual gave me the impression that this would be a relatively quick and simple process.
In my opinion, it is worth the price alone to liberate iTunes from my tiny little computer speakers and provide a means to listen to my collection through my home stereo system.
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Streaming iTunes to Home Audio, November 15, 2007
By S. McKneely (Hammond, LA)
We wanted a way to stream our CD music, which was originally ripped using Apple lossless encoding for CD quality playback from an iPod in the car, to our home theater/audio equipment. Our home is hard-wired for ethernet so we can't comment on its wireless capabilities, but this little device has performed flawlessly in making our entire CD collection accessible to the home audio system, with all the playlist, shuffle play, etc. capabilities of the iTunes interface. Hard to beat, at least until home audio equipment can decode Apple lossless.
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OS X 10.4 or later ONLY, November 6, 2007
By bpjc (NYC)
Just a heads up for fellow Mac users. The Airport Express now works ONLY with OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard). I know the product description on this page says it works with OS X 10.2 or later; that is now no longer true. I just ordered this because I thought it would work with our Mac running OS X 10.3.9, but instead I now have a $100 paperweight.
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A Mixed Blessing for Users with Mixed Networks, November 5, 2007
By Software Developer (Ann Arbor, MI United States)
I have owned two of these; the first one was purchased a few years ago when the product was brand-new. That unit was unreliable. It failed, and I had it repaired under warranty. Then, despite firmware upgrades, it would frequently need to be power-cycled. When I used it to share an inkjet printer, it frequently failed when I printed big color images (the image would not be completed on the page). AirTunes worked fine.
I have another new one, since it is still an inexpensive product and I wanted to try it out with a mixed network and a remote PC in an upstairs room. This has been a bit of an exercise in frustration; here's why:
- My main firewall/router is an older Netgear box. It works wonderfully, so I don't feel the need to replace it. Our seven- or eight-year-old Apple laptops in various states of decrepitude work great with it and their old-school Airport cards. A new Mac Mini and G5 iMac also work great with it.
- I wanted to put a laser printer and PC in another room and use the Airport Express to put the PC and printer on the network.
First problem: my PC run Ubuntu and Windows 2000, not XP (this is deliberate, for security reasons). The Airport Setup software for Windows requires XP service pack 2. I guess that's reasonable, but irritating.
Second problem: after much gnashing of teeth, I discovered that if you want to use the Airport Express to extend an existing wireless network and allow the PC to connect to the internet using the Ethernet port on the Airport Express, you'd better be talking to an Airport Extreme base station. If you're not, the Airport Express can act as an endpoint and do AirTunes and share a printer, but it won't provide an IP address via DHCP to the PC and won't route internet traffic. I think it shuts off the Ethernet port entirely, since a Mac connected to it would report that the Ethernet cable was not connected.
I have found that there are some hack workarounds for this; certain routers can get unsupported firmware upgrades, but I don't think my older model is among them.
So, to make a long review shorter, if you have a newer AirPort Extreme base station and you want to use these with it, you have a lot of options and they will probably work really well for you. If you have a mixed wireless network that does not support WAP you will not be able to use it as flexibly as you might like.
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A Total Disaster, October 17, 2007
By Aaron Stark
I was really looking forward to getting my Airport, as I have over 600 albums in iTunes and wanted to hear my playlists over my stereo. I have a Windows PC, and I saw some reviews about the difficulty of getting the Airport to work with PCs and non-Airport wireless networks, but figured it couldn't be that tough to add an Airport to my network.
So I followed Apple's instructions (limited as they are), the installation seems to be going well until the last step when the installation utility says it couldn't see any Airports in range. And I was never able to get it to work, but that was only part of the bad news. It also screwed up my computer's connection to my wireless network. I spent several hours over a few days trying to get my computer back on my wireless network, and was at the point of spending $100-150 to hire a computer guy to get it working again. Fortunately an IT guy at work suggested I reinstall my computer's wireless drivers, and that worked. (He said he heard that the Airport has a known bug that can affect wireless networks.) I then dared to try again to install the Airport using C.P. Cavafy's instructions, but the Airport installation utility still couldn't see the Airport.
I used to have a very high opinion of Apple for creating products that had simple, elegant interfaces and of being a pretty pro-consumer company. But after the problems I've had using the Airport, and seeing Apple's promotional claim that the Airport is "unmatched in its ease of use", I now realize that they lie like the rest of them.
So my recommendation (for people trying to get music from their computers to their stereo systems) is:
1) If you're having trouble getting your Airport to work, return it. If you haven't yet bought an Airport, don't.
2) If you have a laptop, place it next to your stereo. Or, place your iPod or other MP3 player there.
3) Connect your computer or MP3 player to your stereo using a mini-stereo to RCA cable.
4) Press play.
5) Sit back and enjoy your music through your stereo, the money you saved, and the time you're not wasting trying to get the Airport to work correctly.
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Now own 2 of them, October 6, 2007
By Apple/Mac Fanatic (Brooklyn Heights, OH United States)
I've had one of these for the last few months. Used it to network my HR20-700 Directv DVR and now I'm back to purchase another one to use with my Toshiba A3 HD-DVD player. Very easy to install. My suggestion is pick one of these up then search the net for ultra flat cat5 cables if you're one of those people like me who has wires all over and have people constantly tripping over them.
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Bought it for AirTunes, October 1, 2007
By JT was Here (Bay Area, CA USA)
I bought the Airport Express merely to add to my existing wireless network (using an Airport Extreme Base Station) so I could stream music wirelessly to my home stereo directly through iTunes. It works great - so far there hasn't been even the slightest breakup of sound.
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Apple AirPort Express with Air Tunes, October 1, 2007
By Wireless (Los Altos, CA)
I bought one Apple AirPort Expess with Air Tunes and after getting it working bought a second unit. My wife and I use new MacBook and iMac computers and we share a laser printer. We both have iTunes libraries and like to play playlists through our home stereo equipment in the Den and/or Living Room. We also share a Comcast broadband Internet Web connection. Results are mixed as follows: The wireless Web connection is solid, fast and reliable from any room in the house. Both the Air Tunes, and printing function require use of the setup utilities and/or restart of the AirPort Express nearly every time we change from use of one computer or the other. To get the Air Tunes and print functions to work required sessions on the phone with Apple tech support. Of course it takes 15-20 minutes wait time to speak with a tech support rep like all the help lines from various vendors. One tech rep that specializes in AirPort let me know that they get calls all day long and the reality is that wireless printing and music require lots of re-booting. Even so, once working, the result is worth the effort. As others have noted that these units burn out in a couple of years, I'm hoping that a better product is available when mine fail.
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Excellent!!!, September 27, 2007
By JQ (Akron OH)
All I had to do was plug it in. My computer (I-Mac) picked up the signal immediately and I was on my way. I didn't have to input anything. Easiest electronic set-up I have every seen!
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great product - poor documentation, September 27, 2007
By K. McLaughlin (USA)
great product - poor documentation
be sure to get the software updates before you try to configure and install on your network - that should include itunes as well as the airport admin utility. setting it up on a linksys non-apple wireless network with a windows XP machine was not obvious and certainly not explained in the documentation - it would never have worked with the software on the CD that came in the box - updated software did work. there were multiple ambiguous forms to fill out in the admin utility - solved mostly by trial and error. my linksys network was set up WEP 64 bit but the apple only offered WEP 40 and 128 bit options - however, when i just entered the key it did not care if the setting was 40 or 128 bit - go figure. Once installed and configured it works great. I can select multiple speakers in the itunes application on my desktop or laptop and send a playlists to my living room TV line1. I plan to get a second one for the bedroom.
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Perfect!, September 19, 2007
By Matthew McGowan (Seattle)
I ordered the Airport Express Base Station to use with my MacBook Pro and it's exactly what I needed. Although I did read the instructions, I didn't really need to; as soon as I plugged it in, my MacBook recognized it and I was connected to the internet. It works great around the house. I can even get a connection a short distance outside the house (on the porch swing, etc.) I love the idea that I can travel with it and set up a secure wireless network on the fly wherever I can find an ethernet connection. Perfect for my needs.
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Airport is great, September 5, 2007
By Steve (Alabama)
The airport is the way to go. It extended my existing wireless, I can play my I-Tunes from any computer and I added a new printer that connects to any computer,
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Works well, September 1, 2007
By D. R. Turgeon (Minneapolis)
Overpriced? I've had no problems so I don't think so. Insanely great? No. I've got two of them as remote peers extending my WDS 802.11n home network (hosted by the 2007 Aiport Extreme, which I adore). One serves a printer and the other a sound-system. They all play nice together. 4 stars.
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Plug and Play Perfection, August 31, 2007
By L. Iorio (Acarigua, PO Venezuela)
Connect the ethernet cable, connect your speakers, connect your printer, Plug it in and Play. It really is that simple. I love it.
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Works Great, August 24, 2007
By E. Lindman (MN United States)
Fantasic little item. I am very pleased. I use it to beam tunes (mostly) to a stereo in another room and spread music through my home. It's awesome. It also extends my home's wireless network very smoothly.
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Unbelievably quick and easy to set up!, August 18, 2007
By Product of intelligent design? (NYC)
I am amazed once again at the design and engineering of Apple products. I just came home with an Airport Express, and I was a little worried about trying to set up a wireless network for the first time. I mean, it couldn't be as easy as Apple said, right? Just plug it and and answer a few questions and that's it???
Well, you can believe Apple. It took me all of 5 minutes to set up my new wireless network, and most of that time was spent trying to choose the two passwords!
I just plugged the ethernet cable from my dsl modem into the Express, plugged the Express into the AC socket in the wall, opened the Airport Setup Assistant, answered a few questions, chose a couple of passwords, and VOILA! My iBook found and connected to the Express in an instant.
I checked the download speed. Blazing fast. Then I decided to walk to the next room and see what the download speed would be. Just as fast. Then I went a little further away, to another bedroom, and guess what? The download speed was just as fast. Unbelievable. This was at least 30 feet away from the Express, with at least two walls in the way. And no discernable drop in connection speed.
I next decided to try out the AirTunes feature, which allows you to stream you music from your computer to the Express (and then to any connected speakers). Again, I thought "this won't be as easy as Apple says it is". Wrong. It was a cinch. Piece of cake. The music was streaming from my laptop to speakers in the next room in a matter of moments.
I cannot say enough about this fantastic product. Once again, Apple has blown me away. "User-friendly" is an understatement. I am kicking myself for not buying one of these miracle gadgets a long time ago.
One caveat: since I'm not on a PC, I have no idea what the process of setting up an Airport Express with a PC is like.
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Music Lover's Item, August 16, 2007
By Joel Vallejo (Santo Domingo, Rep. Dom.)
This item is a music lover's dream. Too bad I didn't find out about it sooner but the short time I have with it has been amazing. I don't even use it for wireless internet, just the Air Tunes feature is worth the price of admission. The fact that I can listen to all my itunes music wirelessly on my better sounding speaker setup across my room has opened up a lot of possibilities in my music listening experience. The only downside, I guess, would be that it's only compatible with iTunes but since I'm a Mac user it's really not a problem. Installation (on Macs) is as easy as just plugging it to the outlet, connecting it to your speakers with either an analog or optical cable, turning on the Airport feature on the Mac and just wait for it to be recognized, select it, open iTunes, choose it on the bottom of the page and voila, your ready to experience your whole music library with just a couple of clicks and with no messy wires. I recommend an optical connection if your set up supports it over an analog (red and white iPod cable) connection. I tried them both and music coming out through an optical connection had better clarity and quality, but that's just my appreciation. The fact is that I'm really happy with it and I should have had one of these when they first came out.
Joel Vallejo
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