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: Extremely Good, but not Excellent
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this to replace a failing Linksys 54G router, and wanted something that my Mac-user spouse could operate and configure is need be, as I travel a lot for business. The user interface makes the setup and configuration nearly painless, but I need not have worried, as I have only needed to adjust the wireless/network settings once (when I set it up). Beyond this, it has been rock solid.
Another selling point was the gigabit ethernet, which I use for transfers between my Vista PCs (desktop & laptop). You could easily pay this much for a gigabit router from another manufacturer, so those that complain about this unit being overpriced are a bit misguided. Total devices connected to this unit include the following: Vista 32-bit laptop (wired/wireless), Vista 64-bit desktop (wired), XP SP2 Desktop (wireless), MacBook (Wireless), MacBook Pro (Wireless), iPod Touch (Wireless), Blackberry Phone (Wireless), HP Color Laser AIO (Wired), and a USB external hard drive (USB). All but one of these components functions flawlessly with this base station, and that is where Apple lost a star.
The Airdisk function is very flawed, and pretty well noted as an outstanding issue on the discussion boards and even in the reviews in this section. Basically, the connection is inconsistent and after working for several days/weeks/hours, the drive fails to show up on the Airport. Somehow, the drive becomes corrupted, and the only solution is to transfer all of the data to another drive, reformat, and restore the data. This got to be problematic enough that we don't really use the drive for any critical storage, but as more of a "transfer" location for files from one computer to another. It's a simple matter to disconnect the drive and connect to any of the PCs or Macs, but I'd prefer the convenience of a central drive for backup and storage.
Having had all of this information going in, I still had fairly high expectations from this unit, and for the most part they have been met. I would like to see Apple release a companion managed switch to allow more wired devices, but that may just be pie-in-the-sky (apple pie of course).
Customer Review: Got my money's worth
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought a used unit, a few months back, on craigslist for $120 after a great deal of thinking and I'm really happy I went with it.
I knew what I wanted to do with it: 1) Use it for quick network based backups of my data, without having to hookup an external hard drive physically to my Macbook Pro. 2) should be able to support my airport express so that I could send the music on my computer to my Home Theater system. 3) Most importantly function as a fast home router that didn't look ugly sitting in my living room
I got everything working after a little bit of time and effort. It wasn't really plug and play, but I guess plug and play would work only if you are using it for basic home networking needs. My only complaint about it is the lack of a web based interface. Let me also state that the range is very good.
I wanted the max speed 802.11n has to offer, and was not ready to settle for less. Configuring it on mixed mode with WPA encryption, only gave me 130mbps but configuring on 802.11n only mode at 5.4ghz gave me 300 mbps. Since I have other computers at home that are 802.11g based, I hooked up my old belkin router to the ethernet port of the airport (kept it a little far from the extreme to avoid any electrical interference) to create a secondary network for all the other devices.
For backups with time machine, I initially hooked up my external hard drive directly to my MacbookPro and after it was complete, connected it to the Airport Extreme. Now hourly backups over the air, are fairly quick and I could restore a 700 mb file from my time machine backup drive within 2 minutes. I think Apple really nailed this one. Can't think of such a seamlessly integrated solution for windows.
A few things on my wish list:
1. Full 300mbps link speed even in mixed mode, so that all my devices can be on the same network.
2. A web based interface
3. A wizard on the airport utility that guides you through the setup process for different configurations.
All in all, I think its the best value for your money provided you use all the features it has to offer.
Customer Review: Solid product with a couple of obsure missing features
Summary: 4 Stars
There isn't *that* much to say about a WiFi router in the end, but here's the good:
* Good performance -- I used to have a lot of connection stability problems with d-link and linksys routers in the past, possibly because the apartment building I live in is flooded with signals (there are times that I can scan and see over 50 APs). But I haven't had any problems with this.
* Looks good -- Most routers are designed to look like Japanese robots or something. This has the clean Apple look, and it looks good on the shelf under the TV with the DVD player and sound system (my cable TV and cable internet both come in near there).
Here's the bad:
* Having to install the Apple Airport software to configure or manage the router. That's absolutely ridiculous, Apple. Every single other one in the world has a browser-based admin interface. Get with it.
* You can't enable both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands simultaneously. You have to choose one or the other. I had a dual-band (non 802.11n though) a/g D-Link router before, and it could basically run as two access points at the same time on different radios. They could have different SSIDs as well. I assumed before I bought it that you could do this with the Apple, but you can't. (If you're wondering why, it's because I get better performance [due to less interference] on the 5 GHz band for my laptop, but I have some devices [iPhone, iPod touch] and might own others that only run on 2.4 GHz.)
* For some reason, Microsoft Outlook can't communicate properly with MS Exchange over SMB over a Nortel VPN IPSEC tunnel over this router (whether wireless or over a wire). The Nortel VPN tunnel works fine otherwise, and I think if you ran Outlook/Exchange over HTTP it would be fine (all other HTTP traffic over the Nortel VPN tunnel is fine), and it is just fine over IMAP as well. I found someone else had this problem on Apple's discussion forum, but there isn't a fix out as of now.
* The ability to share a USB drive over the network is awesome. But it has to be formatted FAT32 (or the Mac FS), not as NTFS.
Customer Review: What Apple doesn't tell you but should
Summary: 5 Stars
Apple can tell you a lot of good reasons to buy almost any of its products. I should know because I have bought an awful lot of them.
But I did not "get" why I might want Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Gigabit) MB053LL/A. It is true the base station was adopted for the new 802.11n draft standard, but my two Macs predate the introduction of either the standard (which is still in draft) and the base station. So I figured to take advantage of the extreme speed increase 802.11n offered over 802.11g, I would need at a minimum a new air card, adding significantly to the cost.
I even stood around the Apple Store staring at the box for the Airport Extreme trying to figure out why I might want to spend a significant amount of money for a base station whose capabilities required even more money to be spent. So I didn't get it.
At home I continued to ask myself that question, and then in a MacWorld blog I found the answer. I wasn't even sure I had the right information so I called Apple and the product specialist had to look it up to confirm it.
OK so what should Apple have told us right off the bat? It is this:
ALMOST ALL INTEL-BASED CORE DUO iMAC, MACBOOK, AND MACBOOK PRO MODELS ARE PRECONFIGURED FOR 802.11n.
The software for the base station includes unlocking software for you Mac. Install the software after you have plugged in the base and you will fly. This base station allows for very high-speed wireless connections.
So why is this product worth $179 when you have a perfectly good 802.11g router running your system? That is sort of like asking why you might want a Ferrari to replace your Ford Focus. Speed, speed, speed.
Customer Review: Manages my complex home network nicely
Summary: 4 Stars
Over the past 8 years, I've used the Linksys WRT54G, a Belkin wireless G, and a D-Link DI-524 wireless G. None of these products ever broke down on me, but they all suffered a weakness: the occasional dropped connection and requirement to a hard reset (i.e. unplug and restart). In fairness, each of these routers was $20 - $50, and so the savings over the Apple router was substantial (and ignoring the fact that they are all wireless G vs. Apple's wireless N).
Here's the verdict on the Apple Airport Extreme router. In almost 45 days of continuous use, it has not dropped a connection or ever required a restart in any way. To me, that's worth spending extra money.
I have a fairly complex network:
Cable modem >> Apple Airport Extreme >>...
1. Gigabit port 1 connects to SMC Gigabit 8-port switch, which connects 5 other devices around the house via Ethernet
2. Gigabit port 2 connects to a Vonage Motorola VOIP router.
3. Gigabit port 3 connects to a TivoHD
The wireless router is serving an HP laptop and a Tivo series 2 (both using WPA encryption).
The USB port is serving an HP LaserJet 6L, which has a parallel-to-USB cable. The Apple Bonjour software made this printer a breeze to install. Multiple computers (Windows XP and Apple) now print to this printer.
I also have 2 airport express units (wireless G models) connected to the wireless network to serve iTunes music to other parts of the house.
The setup and configuration of this unit is superior to the Linksys, Belkin, and D-Link. The only minus is that I cannot seem to find a DHCP table that shows me all devices connected to the network (and corresponding IP address).