What network products can replace or integrate Airport products?

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What network products can replace or integrate Airport products?

I need to get a new wifi network product to replace the mesh network I had created with Airport products. Do any of these new products integrate with Airport products (an Airport Express) or work well with Apple? I need to cover a large house with smart devices in the garage.

I didn't know Apple no longer sells Airport products, until after my time capsule died. Using the support from someone in these Communities, I had configured the TC in bridge mode with my AT&T Uverse router and an Airport Express to create a sort of mesh network. Even tho the TC disk drive has failed, the Wifi network is still running but it has become flaky.

I have tried to install extender products at my sister's house and thought those products were awful, so I'm reluctant to try such things again. I'd like to know if the new mesh network products on the market will work for my situation. Plus I'd like to keep using my Airport Express, if it makes sense to do so.

Posted on Nov 26, 2020 7:51 AM

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Answer 1

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mjlee Author

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Nov 28, 2020 10:13 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Hey Bob Timmons, thanks for your reply. I looked at the Apple store online but I stopped buying 3rd party stuff from Apple a few years ago after consistently confronting incompatibilities and no Apple support.

I also posted my question in a groups.io forum for my suburban semi-rural town, where people would similarly have large houses and limited U-verse bandwidth, since there is no fiber. To summarize those 7 responses:

3 recommended eero, 2 recommended google nest wifi, and 2 recommended Netgear Orbi (altho setup was hard)
1 person integrated airport products into the new eero system and said not to do that, not worth it
1 person wanted to buy my airport express so that he could maintain its high-quality digital audio throughout his house
I realized I still needed my airport express to support a USB Dymo printer (will find out if that works when I get my wifi-6 eero)
I also discovered that uverse requires iP passthru or bridge mode because it needs to control the TVs and phone. My TC was running in bridge mode, so I’m ok with that, but it does affect use of other eero services

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Answer 2

Nov 26, 2020 8:10 AM in response to mjlee

Last time I checked, Apple was selling 3 different brands of mesh systems in their stores and online.......Eero, Netgear and Linksys. Apple would not offer these products if they were not compatible with other Apple products.

https://www.apple.com/shop/accessories/all-accessories/mesh-wifi-networking

Other retailers also offer the same systems, so there is no requirement to buy from Apple unless you want to do so.

I would expect any of these systems to easily outperform the WiFi that Apple router(s) might provide in terms of speed and range.

The AirPort Express will be able to connect to the WiFi signal provided by any of these systems if you want to use the Express on the new mesh network.

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Answer 3

Nov 28, 2020 12:10 PM in response to mjlee

I looked at the Apple store online but I stopped buying 3rd party stuff from Apple a few years ago after consistently confronting incompatibilities and no Apple support.

Got that. I mentioned that there was no requirement that you purchase the products from Apple unless you wanted to do so.

and 2 recommended Netgear Orbi (altho setup was hard)

I have looked at the setup guides for both Eero and Netgear, and helped a neighbor install a Netgear Orbi system........the Netgear setup was as simple as I've ever seen on any system. But, I have not had "hands on" experience with Eero.

I realized I still needed my airport express to support a USB Dymo printer (will find out if that works when I get my wifi-6 eero)

It should work. Did work fine with the Netgear Orbi system at the neighbor's.

I also discovered that uverse requires iP passthru or bridge mode because it needs to control the TVs and phone. My TC was running in bridge mode, so I’m ok with that, but it does affect use of other eero services

Don't know if Eero offers a Bridge Mode setup option, but that would be the way to set things up. Then, the ATT modem/router, the Time Capsule and the Eero system will all be on the same network, so everything will be able to talk to everything else. As it stands now, you probably have two networks set up......ATT and Eero. I'm not sure whether you have the Time Capsule set up on the ATT network or the Eero network, but either way, the Time Capsule would be in Bridge Mode.

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Answer 4

mjlee Author

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38 points

Nov 28, 2020 5:23 PM in response to Bob Timmons

> As it stands now, you probably have two networks set up......ATT and Eero. I'm not sure whether you have the

> Time Capsule set up on the ATT network or the Eero network, but either way, the Time Capsule would be in Bridge Mode.

Yes, with my Apple network, I have 2 networks: Uverse AT&T network and the Time Capsule’s network. The TC is in bridge mode. I don’t have the eero equipment yet, but I will probably have to configure it the same way.

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Answer 5

Nov 28, 2020 5:53 PM in response to mjlee

If you have the TC in Bridge Mode, it is on the same network as the AT&T modem/router, even though the AT&T router might be providing a WiFi signal with one name / password and the Time Capsule with a different name / password.

A quick way to confirm that the Time Capsule is set up correctly would be to log on to the AT&T wireless and then see if you can open up AirPort Utility and "see" the Time Capsule that way. If you can, you know that the Time Capsule is set up correctly in Bridge Mode on the same network as the AT&T router.

It does look like the Eero system does have a Bridge Mode option as well, so that is good news. More info here:

https://support.eero.com/hc/en-us/articles/208276903-How-do-I-bridge-my-eeros-

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What network products can replace or integrate Airport products?

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