Apple airport extreme

Rooky007 · 31 Dec 2011 at 21:32

Is the apple airport extreme a good kit?

I am planning get one put in little study so can connect printer to it so can print from iPad 2 and iPhone 4s but is the wireless connection good as plan bridge the Internet connection from my wireless router. If I did this would mt wireless point be the airport or can it be both so it be a wider coverage?

Or would it be best getting new printer?

JAMAL · 1 Jan 2012 at 14:19

I would go the AE route as you can use whatever printer you want and increase your wireless range and also add usb storage, pick up a second hand older version it would be perfect for what you need and you will get one for £50!

Turbo-G · 1 Jan 2012 at 16:44

Do you not mean Airport Express? Airport Extreme is a wifi router base station.

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MB321B/A/AirPort-Express-AirTunes?fnode=MTY1NDA0Mg

You can get HP AirPrint enabled printers from £50 now as an alternate option...

Rooky007 · 1 Jan 2012 at 16:56

I had a airport express but it was very poor keep dropping and I been told the extreme is more stable?

lamboman · 1 Jan 2012 at 18:46

There is a bit of confusion here on how AirPrint works/what it requires.

AirPrint requires an AirPrint-capable printer (select models from Lexmark, HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother) as seen here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4356

In a hack free setup, the printer must be AirPrint compatible, but can be through any router (of course providing it works, you'll have to read on that as there have been known problems).

AirPrint will not work if you plug any USB or ethernet printer that isn't AirPrint-capable into any router, or any AirPort router.

If you want guaranteed compatibility, by all means buy an AirPort Extreme, it is a fantastic router, both with incredible reliability and performance. However, you don't need one for AirPrint.

I'd recommend starting off with an AirPrint printer then trying it on your current router. If that fails, then start looking at alternatives or solutions. The cheap HP models are great if you just want a printer, but if you want a serious inkjet, Canon's MG5350 can be had for £90.

Turbo-G, not trying to be a mod, but unless there has been a rule change, we can't post links to competitors.

Turbo-G · 2 Jan 2012 at 00:25

Rooky007 said:
I had a airport express but it was very poor keep dropping and I been told the extreme is more stable?

Doubt it. Two different devices to serve differing purposes.

I have an AEBS serving as a wifi router, great bit of kit.

Conanius · 2 Jan 2012 at 09:24

I've had several airport extremes over the years and they are by far the best routers I have used. I don't think I've ever had to restart one due to a fault, and setup is pretty straightforward.