| 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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can't give 5 because of the setup, January 15, 2006
By M. Summers (ca)
Please make sure you update the "airport admin utility" from apple if you have an older airport as the older versions do not work with windows xp service pack 2. Also if you are using the airport in connection with a audio receiver and not as a router, have your router information handy so that you have the WEP incription type and password (if you've protected your network) as you will need to input this information for your network to find the airport. I am new to networking and it took a while to figure this one out.
then follow this information posted before: (thanks anonymous)
For Windows people in despair..., October 8, 2004
Reviewer: Anonymous - See all my reviews
Yes, the directions stink, but there is hope for you Windows users. If you have the typical Windows wireless network setup (computer, router, laptop, access points, etc.), then follow these easy steps to get your AirPort up and running.
1. Before you go wireless, physically connect your AirPort to your router with an Ethernet cable. Plug in the AirPort, and wait until the LED turns solid green.
2. Start the AirPort Admin Utility for Windows. You now want to configure the AirPort to join your existing network "wirelessly". You should see the AirPort Base Station appear with its IP address in the Base Station Chooser.
3. In the lower right-hand corner, click on Configure... Click on the AirPort tab. In the "AirPort Network" section, Use base station to: "Join an Existing Wireless Network". Underneath that, type in your existing wireless "Network Name". You will be asked to change the password as well.
4. Click "Update" in the lower right-hand corner of the Configure window. Your AirPort will be restarted, and the LED should turn solid green again.
5. Finally, disconnect the AirPort from your router, and remove the connecting cable. You should NOW be able to plug in your AirPort anywhere to join your existing network.
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easy installation method!!!!!!, January 13, 2006
By GSchoenfeld (Coney Island, NY)
This product came highly recommended for the single use I had for it: playing itunes off my stereo. I followed the instructions in the booklet, and on the apple support site, and read every exchange on that site from other unhappy customers--but I could not get it to work, even though I have an existing wireless network that operates beautifully on my three PCs. Eventually, after becoming incredibly frustrated, I hit upon a novel solution that I highly recommend to anyone else who purchases the AirPort Express. I took the product outside and rested it on a brick. I took a sledgehammer, raised it high, and smashed it down on the device. Little white splinters flew everywhere. The product still no longer works, but at least I feel satisfied. The $124 I paid was well worth it; I learned an important lesson: never, ever again buy anything made by Apple.
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Wireless Freedom for everyone, January 10, 2006
By Alejandro Lavie (Caracas, Venezuela)
A small and convenient unit for wireless freedom all around the house. Excellent signal strength all over, perfect form factor, incredible ease of use (I'm using MAC OSX) and a good price line.
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Works flawlessly... UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, January 2, 2006
By frankz00 (Fairfield, CT, USA)
I bought one of these after being fed up with the garbage put out by Netgear and Linksys that were supposed to perform the same function. I never got either one to work.
I thought the same thing was happenning with my Express when I first installed it. But I found that in Windows the trick is to make sure that you have all but the network card you are using to connect to the network disabled. It is a pain in the butt for switchers like me but disabling a card is a click of a button literally so it's not that big of a deal.
Once I got my wireless card as the only enabled card, iTunes saw my Airport Express flawlessly. There is some skipping if you start to use your computer heavily while iTunes is playing but if you leave it alone to do its job, it works great. I have had it lose connection a couple of times but so far it hasn't been a big problem. I just disconnect and reconnect to the wireless network and I'm back up and running.
Now that I've got my computer and the Airport working together, I may try fiddling with the WDS or having the Airport participate in my existing wireless network. However, I am inclined to believe that bandwidth-wise having the airport connect into the LANPort of my router is the best way to go. When I want to play music, I connect my PC directly to wireless network the Airport creates.
So the setup looks like this:
Internet <- My Router <- Airport (via LAN cable) <- My PC
So iTunes sends to the Airport without streaming through my internal network. I imagine this saves bandwidth since I'm hitting the Airport directly. But since the Airport doubles as a router, I can still access the internet if I really need to. I guess I will need to experiment to see what overhead WDS or the wireless client setup create. But so far the current solution (which is default) is working.
I would have given it a 5 if the minor problem of having to disable other cards didn't exist but it's there so I have to ding the score. Otherwise, it's fairly hassle free.
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Form over Function, December 28, 2005
By mgnyc (Connecticut)
Let me preface this by saying that I own both PC and Apple computers, but I am increasingly leaning to the Apple as a superior product.
My fondness for Apple products does not extent to my Airport Express. Generally, Apple generally does an amazing job of melding superior form and function, but Airport Express delivers only on the "form" component. My Airport kicks me off the internet nearly everyday (despite a physical seperation of only 2 feet between my Airport and iMac.) To restore internet connectivity, I have to turn off my cable modem, unplug my Airport, and restart my computer -- quite a hassle when I am working on something.
I use my Apple and Airport in an apartment, so I don't know what sources of interference exist beyond my walls (probably a neighbors cordless telephone), but the Airport does a terrible job of dealing with this interference and getting on with life. Elsewhere, I use Linksys. Sure, my Linksys is ugly (with 3 antennas), but it works!
It's possible that my Airport experience is atypical, but my conclusion is that it is a subpar product. It will probably work fine for you if used in an environment free of interference, but I would avoid it in relative proximity to other networks, telephones, etc.
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My best wireless hub (almost perfect), December 27, 2005
By TESEV (New Orleans, LA)
Lets get the bad out of the way first:
First, Airtunes won't always work perfectly. Sometimes it will skip, sometimes it will just cut out completely and you have to close and reopen iTunes just to get it working again.
Second, this is rare but sometimes the whole thing will act up. I've had to reset my AE just to make it work again. Fortunately my computer saves the settings so I don't have to reconfigure everything all over again.
Other than that, the portability and signal I get from this thing is great. This is the best wireless hub I own. ::kiss::
By the way I own a Powerbook. Mileage may vary, especially with Windows users.
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Awesome, December 26, 2005
By bitman (Eureka, CA United States)
Easy to set up and works flawlessly. Another great Apple product. Next purchase is the Keyspan remote.
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Compact, reliable - pick one up!, December 23, 2005
By ChiroMaven (Charlotte, NC)
The wireless strength on this is surprsingly strong. I have it plugged in an outlet in an electrical closet in a medical office. My laptop had strong signal strength even when using it in a leaded xray room with the door open. Even in an environment where metal studs are used within the walls of the office, nothing intereferes with the signal from the airport express.
Save an extra $50 and buy a refurbished unit from the Apple website - it works just as well
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Works great once you set it up, December 22, 2005
By Scott (Lawrence, MA)
Airport Express works great when playing your itunes through your stereo. However, it took me hours to get it set up wirelessly. At first I tried setting it up without integrating it into my network, and that only worked sporadically. Then I bought a wireless router and I was able to get it working consistently after that. Although periodically it will lose the signal and I'll have to unplug and then plug it back in so it will search for the signal again. Once it loses the signal it generally doesn't find until you "reboot" it. I would recommend that for the most problem free set up to just use an enthernet cable and connect it directly to your router if that is an option for you. If it's not an option the wireless connection works well just expect it to lose the connection every now and then
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Easy Set up, December 19, 2005
By C. McDaniel (North Carolina)
Couldn't be easier to set up with Apple products. I plugged in the ethernet cable, plugged it into the wall outlet waited less than a minute for it to set up and turned on Airport on my Powerbook. Instant wireless network. Great for creating a new network or extending one.
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Works as advertised, December 17, 2005
By David Skinner (NY, NY)
I am using this with a Mac, and it has worked great for me. I am using it as a wireless router and to stream iTunes. I have an optical connection to my stereo.
Sound quality is good and performance has been very reliable. I have a large collection of music on my hard drive, so this is a much better option than plugging the iPod into the stereo.
I was originally experiencing intermittent sound cut-outs, but I just had to re-set the router and it has worked flawlessly ever since.
The one gripe is that it does not come with the required cables to connect to your stereo. But these are easily found and purchased online. (mini to optical or mini to analog cable). Also, as you can see from the picture, you have to plug it directly into the outlet -- it does not come with a power cord.
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I LOVE IT, December 13, 2005
By Emad F. Malak
Great for both signal boosting and adding a remote printer. I also love being able to beam my itunes playlist to my surround sound system.
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Great product, December 11, 2005
By rodoula7981
Those reviewers who have said that Airport Express only works with existing Airport networks are mistaken. In my household, our main router is a Microsoft one. I had no trouble setting up my Airport Express to work with it. All I had to do was reset both devices so that they would sync with each other. AirTunes worked wonderfully also. I have an iMac and an iBook, both with wireless connectivity, so the Airport Express was the best solution for me. Highly recommended.
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8 Hours to Set Up!, December 9, 2005
By M. Krupa
It took me 8 hours to figure out that it does not do what it claims. on a non-apple network.
It does two things:
act as a wireless router, when physically connected to a wan
OR acts as a wireless client that ONLY lets you stream music to it (or presumably share a printer)
It DOES NOT allow you to attach it to a non-wireless device and use it to connect that device to your wireless network (a bridge). On a non-apple network.
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"Airtunes" only works 50% of the time, December 3, 2005
By Brownfox
THE GOOD NEWS: It's a great little throw and go to take to a hotel that offers broadband in the room - Your laptop is unleashed!
THE BAD NEWS: The "airtunes" feature is constantly "breaking". Half the time, iTunes says it's not compatible with the "speakers" plugged into the express, or it can't find the speakers. You'll be listening to your music and suddenly it will drop off and then can't reconnect, or won't connect in the first place. The only solution is to unplug the Express, plug it back in, restart your computer and then... cross your fingers.
This would be a five star product if it was more reliable.
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Not worth the price., December 2, 2005
By Edvin (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
The Apple AirPort Express has several drawbacks.
1. It only extends the range of existing AirPort networks and will not extend the range for your Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, or any other router.
2. It is a pain to setup for wireless printing if on Windows operating systems.
3. Sending your ITunes music to your stereo requires additional components which are of course sold seperately.
The bottom line is that you can find a cheaper product that works better. So avoid the hype and look elsewhere.
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Finally Works Great with My Mac Network (even if a bit pricey), November 29, 2005
By MtnMeister (Silicon Valley, CA)
I pre-ordered this, because I needed EXACTLY this capability to stream from iTunes to my stereo system. I had endless problems initially, as it would lose it's programming after, say, a week or two and I'd have to do the tedious set-up all over again. I even returned one to Apple, and still had the same problem.
All changed when I updated the firmware about 3 months ago. Now everything works great. One of my slower computers (800MHz iMac) lacks processing power and does not support Airport Extreme. When I stream using this computer the music sometimes annoyingly cuts out. Not sure if this is due to processing power or non-Extreme limitations. Faster computers using Airport extreme don't have this problem.
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Beautiful, small, fulfills so many desires, November 23, 2005
By J. Paul (NYC)
I highly recommend the Airport Express. It is fantastic sending a wireless signal to the stereo (via the Airport Express) from iTunes. I listen to radio from all over the world, through my nice stereo and speakers. Fantastic!
Also, don't you hate having your bulky, ugly printer on your desk, when you only use it once a week or month? With the Airport Express, you can stick it in a cabinet, out of view, and wirelessly print to it. Also, everyone in the house or office with WiFi can send stuff to the same printer, wirelessly.
To top it off, the design is beautiful and small - no giant power brick on a 12 foot cable, no goofy antenna (or two).
Give it a try. You won't be dissappointed. By the way, to avoid 2.4Ghz (et. al.) interference, use the Airport Admin Utility to change the channel (between 1 and 12) - this worked for me. Note: I had to cahnge it three times to find a channel without interference, but it only took my about 5-7 minutes total and that's what you get living in an urban area.
Cheers!
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Once setup was complete..., November 13, 2005
By L. Entrekin (Philadelphia, PA USA)
I absolutely recommend M. Favazza's review for anyone setting up with a PC. I had tons of problems trying to set up with the CD, but once I followed his/her directions to a T, everything worked perfectly. PC users, go read that review!
Once I got it set up, it works great - sound quality is wonderful and I haven't had any problems with any cordless phone or other interference.
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excellent product, November 10, 2005
By scanman7 (Berkeley CA)
very fast router - i didn't even notice a speed hit when i enabled WPA encryption.
itunes doesn't even seem to affect performance.
setup was incredibly easy - just use the provided cd to get up and running and then download the latest software version from [...]. this is by far the easiest network config i've ever had to do because apple takes care of setting up all of the encryption and everything on your computer as well as on your router.
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