Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station MB053LL/A [OLD VERSION]
by Apple Computer
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station MB053LL/A [OLD VERSION]
Customer Review: Excellent router...once it is set up
Summary: 5 Stars
I use this router to connect to the internet wirelessly with both my new MacBook and my 4-year old IBM Thinkpad T40(for which I need backward compatibility for 11g), and through an ethernet cable with my desktop pc. All three computers share the same printer.
I gave this unit 5 stars even though setup was a nightmare because I don't think it was the fault of the unit. My internet provider is Comcast, and for whatever reasons the base station was not recognized until I plugged the ethernet cable from my cable modem directly into my MacBook. I then had to unplug and restart the cable modem several times before the Airport Extreme finally picked up the correct IP address, DNS Server info etc. Finally, I had to go into manual setup and change to a specific channel number rather than obtaining a channel automatically because I was getting interference. I wound up with level 2 Apple tech support to walk me through all of this.
In retrospect, I think that I should have initially unplugged my existing wireless router (even though it was no longer connected to my cable modem) and also unplugged both the power cord and phone cord to my cordless 2.4 phone, as I ultimately did, since these may have contributed to my setup problem, though I am not sure.
Once the unit was setup, it worked great. Even though I cannot take advantage of the highest speed because I need bacwards compatibility for my PC laptop, there is still a noticeable improvement in wireless range.
As for the printer setup, I also needed some help from Apple tech support. I discovered that if you are using Bonjour on a PC, you need to download the sofware from Apple's site because that download for some reason contains components that are not available in the software on the CD that comes with the unit. Once I downloaded from the Apple site, everything worked fine.
Apple tech support is very helpful, so don't hesitate to call them.
The unit has a nice appearance, and unlike my previous router, has no antenna sticking up. In addition, it was a breeze to set up a secure wireless connection on my MacBook, and with only minor configuration I was able to do the same on both my laptop and Palm T/X.
Once I got past the setup problems, which I don't necessarily blame on the unit, it was a pleasure to use it and I am happy with my purchase.
Update March 22, 2009: I recently switched from Comcast to Verizon Fios, which requires using their wireless G router, which works fine for my PCs. However, I wanted to use my Airport Extreme for my Macbook to get the benefit of the wireless N protocol. I just plugged my Airport Extreme into the Verizon router and created a second wireless network. It was not too difficult, though I did have to call Apple Tech support to figure something out.
Update January 5, 2010: I am still using this router and it has worked without any problems. I like that when an update for the router software is available, the router will flash amber, and when everything is up to date, it stays a solid green. The solid green also indicates that the router is working without any problems, since it will flash amber if anything is wrong (and not just indicating the need for a software update.)
Customer Review: One word: Apple
Summary: 5 Stars
Apple seems to excel at everything they make these days. In retrospect they always did while Steve Jobs was at the helm, but back in 1985 most people were not techno-savvy enough to appreciate or enjoy the advanced machines Apple Computer was putting out.
So here we have a wireless Internet router, but this is not just any router -- it's Apple's vision of what a router should be...
Where do I start?
1) Packaging -- As with all Apple devices and software, you can expect only the most elegant wrapping and containment, sexy, stylish, clean, and beautiful, you will not want to throw the box away.
2) Inside the box -- Pull out the router and you'll immediately get a giant woody, it's beautiful, sexy, lean and mean. Inside the box you will find the typical, easy to use installation manual and a CD with the software needed for the install. If this is your first router you may need to consult with the manual, but being battle hardened from my old router, I didn't even open it up.
3) Setup -- Couldn't be easier, Apple really delivers on ease of setup, all my devices were up and running on the network in a matter of minutes - even with the secure network settings I use, and the many wireless devices I have (PS3, Wii, Apple TV, VoIP, DS, PSP, Laptop, PC's, printers).
Setup on my old Linksys router took several days, and some things never would work - like network printing; by contrast setup on this router took less than one hour and everything just works.
4) Range and Speed -- The range is much better than my old 802.11g, living in a cement house has it definite disadvantages, like signals not going through walls. This router improves the signal for the computers I have in other rooms. With the 802.11g I would only get one bar in a certain room in my house. With this router I get three bars. The speed is perhaps the best you can get at this time; 802.11n is not yet finalized so we will see how it turns out.
5) Stability -- My Internet has not dropped yet, the router it replaced would drop frequently, and would not work with my PS3 at all, forcing me to use a wired connection. This router seems extremely stable.
6) Appearance -- Going back to the looks, it really complements the other Apple devices you already have on your desktop. Besides ease of setup, this is probably the second highest reason to purchase the Apple vs. one of the competitors; it just looks great on the desk.
7) Simplicity -- Unlike other routers it does not have a multitude of flashing lights on the front of it. One light only lets you know if the device is working or not. Mine has been on green for go since installation. Also you will not find the typical antenna's sticking out on the back, really an elegant touch.
Overall the only con that I could list is the asking price. It is a little more expensive than the competitors, but in my opinion is worth the extra cost.
Customer Review: a must if you have both PC's and Macs
Summary: 5 Stars
First off don't be put off by the price, you can get this used from Apple for only $150 (full warranty) or even less on resale sites. The main advantages of this router are steady (but not super spectacular) speed, rock steady performance, and the incredible ability to mount MAC formatted HFS+ disks and FAT 32 disks with USB connections and any usb printer so that all your computers can read/write/print to them (I don't run linux so can't vouch for that OS.)
I recently upgraded both the PC's (two thinkpads with gigabit wired/ABG wireless and a WMC box I built myself) with our nest of Macs (three minis, G4, G5, ipod touch, ibook) and successively worked my way up from our old Linksys GS up to two new linksys N routers (110 and 310) and the Dlink DIR-655) Never though to look at the Airport since its 50% more expensive than the others. However I wanted gigabit ethernet and needed to access two specific DNS routers for our company VPN. The only one that would do this was the Dlink, (the VPN feature is flaky on the new Linksys models) but none of them had a network USB port so I tried the apple on a whim and am glad I did. Its not as easy to set-up with its arcane menus but it does have an utility that works fine with either PC's or Macs that are hardwired to the router, and it easy to save the settings even if its difficult to find them, thank Heaven for the user groups!
Anyway I have an old HP laser printer and two USB dirves hooked up to this, one was the dedicated backup for the G5, and much to my surprise I can see and print/access all of them from our thinkpads. That right there is more than worth the price difference. As for raw speed the D-Link seems faster on our mixed G/N network though the signal strength from the Airport is stronger a few rooms away than any of the others. Interesting in that the apple seems to have a setting that affects the speed it downloads video files so they don't timeout on buffering. All the other routers would hiccup when I was looking at CNN, film trailers, or other internet news feeds, but not the airport - its sweet and stable and makes watching all those video clips way too easy.
There are a few cons, being an apple product it integrates flawlessly with the Apple hardware, but since my laptops are company secured we can't run bonjour so we had to hardwire access to the disk drives and printers (again thanks to Google and user groups) And it takes a while to handshake with one of our laptops running WPA2 security, but doesn't drop it once it locks on.
If you didn't care for the port options and were only running PC's I think the DLink would be the better choice, its under $100 now and work well in mixed mode like we have and kicks at pure N. The linksys 310 was and okay contender, but wouldn't keep the VPN settings which I need to access our company servers, and it runs pretty hot.
Customer Review: Apple Easy Set Up
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased one of these recently because I like Apple quality, ease of use and wanted to replace my Belkin 802.11G standard wireless router to take advantage of my new Apple iMac 2.8 MHz system with built in pre-N wireless.
Setup was very easy and Apple does a great job of walking you through the necessary screens to get the system set up and running. Even my Sony PC laptop was easy to set up. Score one for Apple. The range is better than my existing Belkin and throughput is at least a blistering 130 Mbps which makes downloads of big files *almost* fun.
I purchased a Seagate 750 MB USB external drive to backup the system and do it remotely through the AirPort's USB port. Hooking up the drive is a bit more complicated - need to use the Apple Airport Disk Utility but again it worked well. Then the wheels started coming off. The Seagate is formatted in NTFS and Apple needs either HTFS (Mac) or FAT 32 (PC) to work properly. I hooked the Seagate up to the back of the iMac directly and reformatted the Seagate in HTFS journaled to optimize compatibility with the iMac. Easy enough, then I hooked the drive into the back of the Airport and communication with the drive wirelessly was great. Next I turned on the backup "Time Machine" in Leopard. The drive was not recognized by Time Machine. I plugged it directly into a USB port in the back of the iMac and life was good - everything worked. Did some Googling and found out that the Time Machine backup program does not work with Airport drives. Bummer - minus one for Apple. Speculation is that Apple will provide a firmware update for Airport that allows it to communicate with Time Machine but as of now it does not.
On the plus side, I was able to daisy chain two Seagates on the back of the Airport - the aforementioned HTFS drive and a companion FAT 32 drive. Both show up fine under Leopard and the FAT 32 shows up under Bootcamped Vista.
In summary, I am happy with the Airport Extreme Base Station as it exceeds all of my expectations with the exception of the incompatibility with Leopard's Time Machine.
March 20, 2008 update. Apple did come through with a software update for Leopard and a firmware update for the AES which does allow backups from Time Machine directly to a USB hard drive attached to the back of the AES. After installing the software and firmware you will probably want to reboot your system and verify that the hard drive is recognized by Time Machine. The first backup took almost 8 hours - just like the initial backup when connected directly to the computer USB port - but subsequent automatic backups are pretty quick. I'm happier now!
Customer Review: FINALLY! An easy router/network set-up! ONE SET-UP NOTE.....
Summary: 5 Stars
After years of dealing with Linksys' frustrating products, I couldn't have been happier to say good-bye to them. Our Linksys router had become slow and outdated and when I updated a wireless card on one of our pc's, the trouble began once again. When I finally broke down and called Linksys for support, they offered a ridiculous fee for phone support or a "deal" on one of their "best-selling" routers. When I asked for the model and searched while the man was talking, I quickly found their "special deal" was about double what I could buy the same product for here on Amazon. I was not happy with Linksys to begin with and certainly wasn't fond of the idea of being locked into another one of their products. I declined all of his "special" offers and deals and hung up. Discouraged, I happened to find an e-mail about the new AirPort Express. I jumped at the thought of using an Apple product..... every other Apple product we own has been a joy and so easy to use...... smart and elegant design to boot!
I received my AirPort Extreme and was slightly hesitant to begin set-up b/c of all the horrible experiences with Linksys; HOWEVER, it took less than an hour to connect all our pc's, Mac and other peripherals and be running away, faster than ever before on the internet! So simple. So easy. So smart. Simply does what it's supposed to do without jumping thru any special set-up hoops.
ONE BROADBAND NOTE: If you use a cable service for your home cable, internet AND phone, the cable/phone modem needs to be reset. Setting up the AirPort was very simple and only took one short phone call to our cable company for them to reset the modem and give me simple instructions for future reference, should it ever be needed. If you happen to have a similar phone, cable and internet service, try setting up the AirPort Extreme first. Then, unplug the AirPort from power and either unplug or push the reset button for the cable/phone modem. Wait 2 minutes and then restart your base computer. Once the computer and modem are back up and running, plug the AirPort back in and the internet connection is established. The cable support tech said it's only an issue b/c the modem is a phone modem but resetting the modem quickly corrects the problem.