Wi-Fi роутер Apple Airport Extreme 802.11n — 329 отзывов, плюсы и минусы

This was my second wireless router purchase. I had a D-Link previously and setting it up using Windows XP was a pain. Some companies just don't care about user experience design, but Apple does. It took all of 5 minutes to plug in, install the Airport Utility, and create a secure network.The software is straightforward, easy to follow, and only a few steps long. This isn't designed for network-tinkerers or gamers tweaking advanced settings to optimize their lag. The hardware is good-great, it works all day long, looks pretty on my shelf, and took no time to set up.That's Apple. It's expensive and it makes you feel good about owning it.

I bought the Airport Extreme because the Belkin unit it replaced was not penetrating the far rooms in my house. When I first set the unit up I had an IP adress conflict that was resolved by Apple Care. Although Apple Care service isn't free, it it well worth the price to have someone to call and end the frustration if setup does not go as planned. Once this issue was resolved, the unit performs well to all the rooms of my house. I am most satisfied with this purchase as I am certain you also will be.I had previously tried a LinkSys unit and had difficulty with setup. Their "online chat" system for customer support hung up on me 3 times and was most frustrating. I shall avoid LinkSys in the future and advise all to do this as well.

Easy setup but had to format the external Hard Drives for Mac OSX, for some reason FAT 32 did not work. Still have not got my Linux machine to read the HDs but the network printer works with everything. Plugged it in, turned it on and it has performed flawlessly. Very pleased os far, no hang ups or reboots required.

We were having trouble with an old router so we decided to buy a new one. I have used the airport express before and have had no problems with it. I just bought my fiancee an mac book pro, so I thought why not get a router that is just as fast as her computer. It was very easy to install and use. We live in an apartment so I can not tell how far it reaches.

This Apple product does all the reviews say it does. Very easy to install even for the computer un-savy. Like most Apple products, they tend to be pricy, but they seem to work great right out of the box. Their tech support sucks, as one has to pay money ( by the minute) to talk to one, but if one shops google, one can usually find tech answers from other users for free! Amazon is great with free shipping and the product almost always arrives on or before the estimated date and in good condition. Things that aren't as ordered or advertised, Amazon has always been good at advising returns, hassle free.

This thing is a breeze to setup, I wanted a dual band router that would just work. And everything that i've bought from apple has so i thought i would give this one a try.I'm the first guy to hack something, or tweak something or tinker with something and this router still appeases me. There isnt a browser setup utility, you should know that going in. There have been a lot of bad reviews on the router because of that but that just means you didn't do your homework.It's attractive, easy, it just works and it's fast.My last router was a good one but just wasn't fast enough to stream movies over my network like i wanted. The airport extreme handles it no problem. The guest network is really a plus, that way you setup your devices, hide the SSID, and never have to worry about getting your friends online when they come over. Just give them the guest network password that has limited access.I would recommend this router to anyone it's been great.I never give products 5 stars unless it's just the best thing ever nothing is perfect.

I have been using many wireless routers (Linksys, D-Link, SMC, Netgear, Siemens...) over the years, since the early days of 802.11b, but this is my first experience with an Apple router.There is no need to comment on the manufacturing quality, design and packaging: in typical Apple fashion, they're miles ahead of the competition. For instance, unlike all the other routers I ever used that came with a 110v only power supply, the Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS for short) comes with a universal worldwide power supply equipped with a standard power cord.Performancewise, it is exceptional. I have been putting it through its paces over the past few days and it's barely breaking a sweat in situations where my previous routers (Linksys WRT54G and Netgear WGN824) would progressively get slower, or just plain crash and require a reboot. Coverage is excellent, better than my WGN824's which was already quite impressive.Apple has traditionally be doing things differently, and it shows here again: unlike most routers, which are managed by accessing a built-in web server, this router can only be configured using the "Airport Utility" configuration program. The bundled CD contains a Mac OS X and a Windows version of the utility (I can already hear groans from the Linux geeks). The utility is extremely simple to use, although I haven't tried to use the more advanced features such as setting up another router like the Airport Express as a range extender.One problem you might run into is the lack of support for "legacy" devices: although the AEBS offers a compatibility mode with WEP devices called "WEP (Transitional)" which lets WEP and WPA coexist, this mode imposes restrictions on the keys that may not work for you (for instance you won't be able to reuse an existing 40-bit WEP key). The problem is that WEP-40 and WEP-128 are not compatible with the 802.11n standard, so you have to choose between speed or full backwards compatibility. Also, you should know that WEP-40 and WEP-128 are not very secure: there are utilities out there that can crack these keys easily.Note that 802.11n gives a significant speed boost to the AppleTV and laptops equipped with compatible cards (such as Apple's Core 2 Duo laptops with the 802.11n enabler installed -- you can find the enabler on the AEBS CD). Unless you own one of these machines, there is no harm in switching to a non-802.11n radio mode. How? Just hold the command key (or control on Windows) while clicking on the "Radio Mode" popup in the Wireless tab of the AEBS configuration utility. Extra, non-n modes appear in the list, and once one is selected the WEP-40 and WEP-128 modes become available under Security. If you select WEP-40 or WEP-128 security, you can enter a hex key by prefixing it with a dollar sign.The AEBS also comes with a versatile USB port, which can be used to attach hard disks and/or a printer (USB hubs are supported). Unlike other base stations or NAS boxes, the AEBS does not require that you reformat the disk; all you have to do is plug it in and voil?! Instant NAS, all your files show up on the network. Some very basic access control features are provided. I plugged in the external USB drive I use to backup my MacBook, and now I can do automated backups without having to worry about remembering to plug in the drive: it just works wirelessly. The AEBS also lets you share a USB printer.In conclusion, this router is a fantastic performer. Although it's one of the most expensive 802.11n routers out there, its feature set, build quality, performance and top-notch customer support more than make up for the price difference. I recommend it highly.

I've used one of these for a while now and I couldn't be happier. We've had various routers from other makers in our home and none of them could hold a candle a candle to this typically awesome Apple product. I have never had to restart it for any reason other than after a firmware update. It just works...period.

Excellent product, easy installation! Very good for network security! Highly recommended, even with the high price! (It's worth paying the "Apple Tax" as usual)

I installed this in my Mac Pro. I'm running a 2 x 3 Ghz Dual-Core intel Xeon computer, made in 2007. I installed it myself, which was easy enough, but I've worked with computers before, if you haven't I recommend to use A LOT OF PATIENCE. As it's tiny screws, and tiny plugs. But it's easy enough. It's running on the 802.11 g network, although it does run on any a/b/g/n. So if I buy the airport express, I can easily upgrade.Very very happy that I have this, as now my internet doesn't need the cord. And if you live in a city, you can more than likely find a friendly person to share the internet with you and save 50 some bucks a month.Buy this if you want wireless internet for a Mac Pro. So far I've seen them work in every Mac Pro, from the 2006 models, right up to the 2009 models.

Compared to an old D-Link DI-524 Wireless 54 Mbps High Speed Router (802.11g), this Apple product is more stable. I have yet to experience disconnects with the wireless connections even if the devices connected are downloading large files.There seems to be an improvement in download speeds even from wireless devices. Not sure what caused the old router to not be as fast as this new one when the Internet connection (a DSL connection) is not any faster than regular Ethernet. Using speedtest.net, I get pretty much the full throughput of my DSL link unlike with the D-Link.Printing through this router is functional and good. My PCs and Macs work well with the printer, an HP Photosmart D7360 Printer, although I seem unable to query the ink levels as I could when the printer was connected directly to the Mac via USB.One annoyance is that whenever you change a setting, you need to reboot the router.

Wireless access points can be complicated and confusing. Apple has built an access point that is very easy to get up and running, but also provides sophisticated control for the power user.The most obvious difference between the Apple Airport Extreme base station and those made by anyone else is that you manage the Apple device with Apple's Airport Utility. The airport utility is quick, and gives you plenty of warning before you make a change that requires rebooting the device.Unlike web-based access points, the Airport can message your computer when you need to update its firmware. This is a huge feature, as it ensures that your device will have the latest security and performance patches.

So easy even a caveman can do it! Worked properly right out of the box. Network setup screens walked me through perfectly. I've struggled with other brands of wireless routers to get them set up. This was NOT a struggle. Mac users: Pay a little extra for this router! It is worth it!

I just upgraded my MB053LL/A, last years Airport extreme with Apple's newest Dual band Airport Extreme, and I have to say I love it. Setup was a breeze just like every Apple product I buy. My network is stronger and faster then it's ever been. I ran Last years Extreme in 802.11n only and bridged the connection to an Airport Express to have 802.11g for our iphone, ipod touch, Wii, and old dell Laptop. I would have weak signal in some areas of the house and even loose connection. Now it's super strong and I have great signal every where in the house, even outside in the back yard where I would never get it. I also have a network drive that seems to work faster on this new extreme.I would definitively recommend this to anyone who is thinking about upgrading to a 802.11n router. This Router in my eyes is the best Dual Band Router on the market. I've dealt with a couple of competitors(D-link and Linksys) and this one is the best hands down. Apple does it again.

Showed up quickly after being ordered. Works as expected. I only wish it had a couple more Gig-E ports and would allow me to use it as a print server for my Windows machines as easily as it does for my Macs.

I had wrestled with other wireless routers for years the last being a D-link Now my 4th is this Apple. I have a mixed network of wired and wireless, 2 Macs, Apple TV, a Ruko, and 2 PCs. It took less than 5 min. to network each Mac, Ruko and the Apple TV. The PCs took about 6 min because Bonjour needed to loaded. Even my Asus netbook was simple. I could not believe how easy and now I have a 2 band (both bands are used by the Apple products) encrypted, 2 network system running at > 300 mbits instead of 54. It increased the reliability of the cable internet but not its speed (most cable internet is very fast but not that fast. What it does do is increase my transfer speed of photos and music between computers . I was almost disappointed I did not get to fiddle with the system just a little more. Took me five minutes this morning to add a USB hard drive. I think next I'll ad a hub and a printer or maybe more hard drives - nice choices

Excellent router. Dummy-proof setup. Great range. Easy to setup network printing works flawless.Only downside to this router I've found is when networking a USB hard drive, it tends to disconnect and the only way to reconnect is to reboot the router. With that exception, this router is well worth the price paid.

I am a recent Apple convert (but still use Windows).I was on my way to buy another Linksys router after the one I was using had died.I picked this up instead and it works great. Fast, simple to setup, works with both MAC and PC.I also got an external USB drive on my network in just a few minutes.

I purchased this immediately after release to upgrade the previous gen AEBS. What was great was the seamless transition. Don't need to reinput all your settings, just let the Apple Utility migrate everything over to the new one. Guest access is an awesome feature if you have friends over alot.It might be due to the 7.4.1 firmware but, wow, the range on this is terrible. On what I used to get a "Good" to "Very Good" connection in one corner of the house, I now get constant drop outs or unable to see the network. However, I just tossed in a Airport Express which was easy to extend the existing network. But that's another $99 expense. Overall, it's a great router, but no reason to upgrade unless you still have a lot of b/g devices. Also, make sure your N adapters can operate at the 5ghz range. A lot of PCI adapters don't have that capability.

This wireless router was very easy to setup using a PC. Range is great. I have a great signal on both the first and second floors of my home. Solid connections.

Apple computer has a track record of providing only the best hardware, and this just keeps that record rolling. I already had the previous Airport Extreme Base Station and loved it. But, as any N router would do, it dropped to the slower G when there were G devices in my house (and there always were). So, I purchased this one and made it my access point. The other now extends my wireless to my son's room where he is connected via wifi at N speed. My television is connected via a dual-band Airport Express (also at N speed) and the iPhones in the house and the Wii all use the G speed. This was easy to set up and works great. Keeping things all Apple helps, but they just work!

Apparently there is no way to substitute (or clone) an existing MAC address with this router. I have an existing DSL connection with Verizon (West/former GTE) which expects the MAC address of the PC I originally used years ago when the account was set up. My current router (a D-Link) allowed me to clone the old address to keep Verizon happy, but the AirPort Extreme apparently has no provision for this and it was thus never recognized by the Verizon network, even after leaving it plugged in overnight. I finally returned the router, and will probably purchase a D-Link DIR-825 instead.

This unit was a replacement for the first one shipped which was defective. A tech and I wasted over an hour trying to get it to work. Amazon did a great job picking up the defective unit and shipping this replacement quickly. This unit was easy to set up and use as advertised. I have been very satisfied with it.

this product works great, its a little tough to install if you have big hands. i dropped one of the tiny screws while i was installing and is gone forever, but the card stays put with just one screw.

I bought one of these routers on the suggestion of several friends, and it seems to work well. I had a few problem with it, though, that forced me to return it:-There is no HTML interface. You MUST use Apple's software to configure the router. If there is no WAN connection, it will not allow you to do any configuration.-The drive sharing will NOT see an NTFS partition on a USB drive. FAT32 is supported but that file system has a file size limit of 4.0GB, making many HD videos unable to be stored. The mac file system is also supported, but that makes the drive useless if you want to bring it to another Windows computer.Because of these reasons, I can not recommend this router, especially for Windows users.

Like all Apple products, the Airport Extreme is easy and fast to set-up. Even when you're looking to make the process complicated the programing steps in and leads you by the noise. Effortless, great wireless performance and fast networking.I highly recommend it.

I upgraded from the previous version of the AirPort Extreme so that I could get the dual-band and guest network functionality. Absolutely love it. The device is rock solid both in construction and performance. Yeah, it costs more that most home WiFi routers, but you put it in (easy to config) and forget about it. I highly recommend this product for anyone that needs good WiFi coverage and a trouble-free device.

Apple MB763LL/A AirPort Extreme Dual-band Base Station, This thing worked like a charm. If ever there was something as simple as "plug and play" then this is it. Worked right out of the box with minimal tech issues. Unlike the Belkin that I upgraded from that you needed to be an IT genius to connect a network up to (and I'm not an IT person, an nor should I have to be to connect my network up). Mac continues to please the public while windows based products continues to frustrate.

Everything is great about this router. It is easy to setup, the range is excellent, the firewall is intuitive and it doesn't run too hot. This router is running on a Windows based network and I have had no comoatibility issues.Customer service is great as well. I could not get a keyboard sharing app to run called Synergy. Everything else, including my VPN connection, was working perfectly. I called customer service, got right through was escalted to a senior tech who quickly solved my problem (it was windows firewall, Duh!)I am a windows guy but if all Apple stuff is as good as thie router, I might be convinced to switch.

With only macs and ipods to hook up, this was the obvious choice. Almost no setup. Very fast on new macbooks and pros, merely fast on older (non-N) pro. Great that both can run simultaneously. The speed alone was worth the upgrade, but as a bonus, functions we could not get to work with two previous routers (like ichat video) are seamless on this one. The one sour note is that local software for setup instead of a browser-based control of the router is odd.

Purchased: May 27th, 2007I purchased an Apple Airport Extreme Base Station based on several key functions:1. Ease of setup2. Ability to print wirelessly3. Ability to set up a wireless usb driveI installed the included Airport Software on my IBM T60 laptop that runs XP. The Airport Software Utility guided me through the wireless set up procedures and within 15 minutes I had set up a secured wireless network that allowed me to access both my Brother 2040 laser printer and my 250 GB Western Digital My Life USB hard drive (A USB hub is required to operate both the printer and hard drive at the same time). I was worried that I would not be able to use the Western Digital backup software over the wireless network, but it still works like a charm. The backup is a little slow compared to a direct connection to the drive, but I just schedule my weekly backups to start in the middle of the night after I have gone to bed.I have had no issues in the two weeks following my purchase and setup. I am extremely happy with this product and I recommend it to both friends and family as a one stop solution for creating a secure wireless network with printing and file sharing capabilities. The $170 price tag may seem high, but it is well worth it! My only complaint is that there ought to be two USB ports instead of just one.Update: July 28th, 2007Two weeks ago I performed another data backup from my T60 to my Wester Digital USB hard drive while I was sleeping. When I woke up the next morning I went to check on the backup file. When I opened the drive folder in "My Computer" while on the wireless network it appeared as if my entire drive had been erased, however, the drive information on the left side of the drive folder listed the folder capacity as having roughly 80 GB of free storage left.I connected the drive directly to my laptop and all of my files were visible again. I reconnected the drive to the base station and opened the drive over the network. Again, the drive appeared, but none of my folders/files were visible. I reinstalled the Base Station software and also checked for firmwar updates but it did not resolve the problem. I can still print wirelessly, but the most important feature to me in the product is now malfunctioning. I am still looking for a solution to this problem in the Apple support forums.Update May 13th, 2008:Turns out one of the Airport Extreme updates caused my drive to appear empty while connected to my wireless network. I uninstalled then reinstalled the Airport Utility software from the disk provided with the Base Station. After setting up my network again, I was able to view the content of my drive while attached to the Base Station. I have refused all further suggested updates for my Base Station for fear of running into the same problem again. After several months, I have not had the same problem again.

It took me about the same amount of time to order this item as it did to set it up. I used the option of configuring from my old network, so there was no time needed to reconfigure the MacBooks and printers I had already assigned to the old WPA network. A few clicks, the light changed, and I was ready to go. Everything is running faster and smoother than with the Linksys WRT160N. I Highly recommend this!

This is really the best router out there. Configuration is easy, the double band is great. And I don't even use all its features. Highly recommended, worth spending a few more dollars to get the best product.

this airport extreme is very easy to set up, in fact it does all of the heavy lifting, you just plug and play...

If this is going to work for anybody it's going to be me, and it absolutely does. I live in an apartment and use two Macs, a desktop and a laptop. Previously I had tried out a Netgear wireless router which I dropped in the trash after it couldn't even keep a steady connection with the desktop that was hardwired into it. I'm not a militant Apple person but I figured if I had two Macs, an Apple router was the way to go, and I was correct. I can't speak for the ease of installation with a PC, but judging from the PC I use at work it might not be pretty. (Although to be fair, XP plug and play is better than it gets credit for in my experience.) With my two Macs at home, it was ridiculously simple. Plug it in, run the set up utility and you are in business. I have my desktop hardwired into it, and my laptop obviously wirelessly connected, and both connections are much more solid than I had hoped. I experience maybe one hiccup in the connection a week on the laptop and the desktop is flawless. (My Netgear router couldn't even maintain the desktop wired connection.) I wasn't expecting much from the USB port, I figured I would plug in my HP Laserjet and see what happened. To my surprise it worked immediately and I was able to easily print from both computers. Not only that, but I quickly tested the USB port with a thumbdrive and that worked easily as well. It's also worth mentioning that the setup utility is pretty easy and intuitive, especially when dealing with security which is useful when you live in an apartment building where everyone with a laptop is licking their chops to borrow your bandwidth.So to summarize, I have this set up in my apartment with two Macs. The range is excellent, I have full signal wirelessly at all times, no problems with the wired connection and was easily able to network my printer and share files from a USB thumbdrive. My laptop internet connection is just as fast as the desktop that is wired and I have absolutely no complaints with this router. It's even nice to look at, although I wouldn't mind being able to turn off the status light completely. In my opinion it's worth the premium price to have a solid, no worry router.UPDATE 4/7/2007- I decided to purchase an 80GB portable hard drive to share via my network with my two computers. I went ahead and bought a powered USB hub along with it in order to have both my printer and the drive shared. A word of warning, I had some trouble getting the hard drive set up. I hit the Apple forums and eventually was able to solve my problem and now everything works great, but according to my research it looks like I was hardly alone in having trouble. I'm not sure you can take any steps to avoid problems, so take it as you will, but now that everything is working it's great.

I got the airport extreme, because I bought a new Macbook Pro. Almost nothing works as advertised, and the help text and website help is useless. First, my ISP requires a MAC address, and the airport does not share the internet signal very well. The Airport gives you a double-NAT error, and Airport recommends you disable internet--WHAT? this is why I got it for. After days and nights of figureing that out, I found where you could disable this message. The help files and manuals do little other than tell you how to plug it in. In troubleshooting, it tells you to disconnect the power and restart it. The reset switch does not reset the base station. If you go into the setup utility, your IP addresses and sharing and other things are the same. The only thing the reset button does is reset the password. In order to get my internet to work, I had to disable the NAT error, and I had to hard code an IP address in the DHCP screen. Is'nt DHCP dynamic? Why do I have to hard-code an IP in DHCP? It was hell getting the internet to work. The Wan port is advertised as a gigabit port. That may be true, but the other three ports are 100 Mbit ports--that's false advertising. USB port is the main reason I liked about this base station. I wanted to share my printer over it. Printer sharing: It only works with about 15 HP printers, unfortunately, it does not work with my printer. I also wanted to use the USB port for my external hard drive. It works with USB thumb drives, however it does not work with drives formatted in NTFS-it only works with FAT formatted drives. This again is not documented or advertised. You are hard-pressed to find any support on the website. It is a pretty unit. And I get good coverage (up to 250 feet outside the house) Over all, the reasons I bought this base station, I cannot use. And I cannot share resources with my Windows computers. Apple computers and OS are good, but their other products really suck. This thing is falsely advertised to work with USB printers and USB drives, but only a few of USB devices acutually work, and ISP sharing took me about a month (days and nights) to get it to work. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. BUY SOMETHING ELSE.

When Apple released this update of their Airport Extreme, I was excited. Apple simplicity, speed, and reliability were expected and new features such as printer connectivity and hard drive sharing made me jump on this purchase.Wireless speed and easy LOCAL access to hard drives and printers between Mac and Vista make this suitable for most people. With my home network, I wanted to be able to access my home hard drive from any Internet connection. Documentation and support on this remote access is non-existent. Apple docs didn't shed any light on the process and neither did their online help. Some people in the forums said they were able to access their hard drives but didn't explain the steps. After repeated attempts, I've given up on this.If you have a dynamic DNS, like 99% of all cable home users, you'll need either software or a router to update a service to a name server so you can access your network when the IP address changes from your ISP. This is needed if you want to access security cams, printers etc. Routers from linksys will easily update this without the need for software (this is a free service from Dyndns). Airport unfortunately does not offer this. You'll have to leave a computer on to update the DNS or have another router do this for you (I do the latter, a fifty dollar linksys router does this fine -- Yes, I use this WITH Airport). Bonjour promised to relieve all of this, but support or docs for that service are non-existent.Wireless speed is excellent. Wireless-N will catch on and become affordable and the standard (most new Apples have this but Pcs need a N-adapter which runs around a hundred dollars). Gigabit Ethernet isn't included on this router and for Apple to release this (with all their recent computers supporting this) is a disappointment at this price point. Connection to a USB hard drive is surprisingly easy and will become a welcome integration for most home users.Don't buy this router until some revisions take place. There are cheaper routers with the same speed and more features. The only current advantage you'll have is the Airport Disk sharing.

I bought this with two goals in mind: (1) enhance my network security; and (2) allow my external hard drive to act as a network backup device. Here is the reality.First, it took almost 5 hours of technical support to get the thing set up. No joke. I am reasonably sophisticated, but this thing was very difficult. The complications were that I am using the Extreme with a DSL modem and trying to configure it with a Windows computer. Contrary to hype, Apple does not do Windows well. The DSL modem added another layer of complication in that it had to be configured to share the same IP address as the Extreme.Second, the security goal is just another money spending opportunity. The problem was that my old wireless router was incompatible with the various Airport Express devices that I use to distribute music around my house. So, I had an open network, and wanted some security. The Extreme does that. But it won't talk to the network adaptor that I use to refresh my TIVO. So, I now have the choice of either spending $60 on a new adaptor for the TIVO, or periodically turning off the security so I can connect the TIVO using the current adaptor. That is frustrating because I called Apple before I bought the Extreme to ask if it would be compatible and was told "no problem."Third, the notion that the Extreme can turn your external hard drive into a network backup device is fantasy. I have two Windows machines and two Macs. The Macs recognized the drive (Apple product talking the Apple product). The Windows machines would not. After almost 3 of my 5 tech support hours I got to someone at Apple who understood the problem. I needed to map the drive to each Windows machine. It showed up. I lost the benefit of the automatic backup software that was running flawlessly before I started this, but hey, I now had a networked drive that could back up all of the machines. Or so I thought. As soon as I actually tried backing up data from the Macs to the drive, it crashed. I am now told that I have to reformat the external drive, losing all the data I had previously stored there. I am in process of doing data recovery now, and may try again after I have reformatted and partitioned the drive. But any way you slice it this had been a major pain in the rear.So, my advice to the >90% of you who have a Windows machine or operate in a mixed Windows / Mac environment would be to skip this product. You'll have more fun spending the time and money on voluntary root canal. To the <10% who operate in a pure Mac environment, well, you have already drunk the koolaid and are beyond hope.

The new airport extreme replaces a Linksys Wireless G router which I had in place for a couple of years. I have slowly migrated all of my machines in my home office from Windows PCs to now all Macs and with the release of this new, faster router from Apple, I couldn't resist temptation.I am happy to report that the setup and implementation of the router into my home network environment was a "quintessential" Apple experience with no hiccups or problems of any kind. My network consists of a new Mac Pro and an older G5 which connects to the router via ethernet, and an older G4 mirror door desktop which connects wirelessly on the other side of the house from the router. I also have an Airport Express hub station in the living room which is connected to my home stereo unit as well as a color laser printer in the office connected to the router via ethernet. I also connect two Mac laptops wirelessly from time to time.After plugging in the router and connecting all the cables and then installing the new airport utility software that came with it, I was literally back on line with all peripherals connected and functioning again in just a matter of minutes - no problems at all. It is amazing how much easier it is to set up when compared to the Linksys device which was very difficult and time consuming; especially for configuring the Airport Express device.The signal strength is much stronger than the Linksys and the speeds of course seem much better. I can only get the "N" speed connections when the G4 and the G5 are off line. Neither of these machines have the intel chipset or the "N" enabled wireless card, so whenever they are connected to the network, it slows the entire network down to "G" speeds. With just my Mac Pro and my Mac Book Pro intel machines on line, the speeds are incredibly fast as I am able to connect at the "N" speeds.All in all, I am very impressed and happy. The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because for the price I would've expected Apple to include gigabit ethernet ports instead of the 10/100 base ports on the back. Something they will probably take care of in the next release or hopefully with a firmware update in the future. Still, I would highly recommend this router (especially for Mac users) and yes, the router is fully configurable with manual settings, port mapping and forwarding, and all the other fun things you can do with any other router.

-Installation was not all that smooth, connecting to my regular DSL at home required some manual parameter tweaking. That included both connecting directly to the modem or via the Eternet switch. The AirPort wouldn't get the IP automatically via DHCP, unlike any computer I would connect to the network, just plug them in and they work. I am not an expert, but fortunately I knew enough to be able to do it manually on the AirPort myself. Inexperienced users, however, would need extra help.All that said, the installation utility is really easy to use, this was my first ever WiFi setup and I never felt puzzled or lost in the process.-The 5GHz mode doesn't work that well, even though it's suposed to penetrate walls better than the 2.4 GHz. On the upper floor of my house, really only about 10 yards straight line from the base station, my new MacBook Pro COMPLETELY lost signal. I even tried positioning AirPort on it's side, closer or further away from windows etc., nothing helped. But switching to 2.4GHz made for a very stable connection.-AirDisk works perfectly! I had an external Western Digital MyBook HDD connected to my laptop and after plugging it into the AirPort, it mounted without a problem, folder structure etc. intact (there was no need to create special user or shared folders and move files). Oh, it did take several minutes to show up after connecting for the first time, but after that never had a problem.UPDATE: I am quite puzzled by the 5 GHz mode. I did some testing with the AirDisk and copying same sized files (about 200 MB) from the AirDisk to the internal HDD took 3 times LONGER using the 5 GHz mode vs. the 2.4. Base station was about 20 inches away from the laptop. I created two identical sized files, but of a different kind, to make sure cache was not to blame. I thought 5 GHz was supposed to be faster in every way...? So I am just sticking to 2.4 GHz, 802.11n mode only.

Setup is easy and it works seamlessly without regard to OS. I have my iMac, Vista Laptop, XP Laptop (I need it for certain legacy programs that aren't compatible with Vista), and Linux all working off the same router without any problems. Definitely the best router I've purchased, over Linksys and Belkin routers I've owned previously.

If I was just considering performance, then it'd be 5 stars without a doubt, and I still recommend the router without hesitation.However, I wasn't so happy with the configuration utility. I'd much prefer a web interface like the venerable Linksys WRT54G. I ended up configuring it from my MacBook Pro because the configuration utility came preinstalled. I didn't want to install the utility on my Windows system.I found it difficult to configure some advanced features such as MAC address filtering (if you don't know what MAC address filtering is, don't worry about it; you'll love the router). The problem is that you can't just tell it to add all currently connected systems to the MAC address list as you can with the Linksys (my previous router). You have to find the wireless clients on one screen, make a note of their addresses, then manually add them on another screen. The only exception is that the software will add the address of the computer on which the configuration utility is running. You also can't do something as simple as allow or deny access. You have to define access times, and if you want to always allow access you have to specify "every day, all the time".To make matters worse, the default behavior is to give unlimited access for any system NOT in the MAC filtering list. Not a good move.Once I got it working, however, I was very happy. I don't know if it is true, but the AirPort Extreme just seems to be faster than my old Linksys. It is also small and attractive, although I miss having a blinking light for each network segment...I did not try the printer or disk interface, so I can't comment on them.

This Airport Extreme Base Stations ROCKS the house. I'm using it to connect wirelessly to a FW800 Dualie, G4 1.42 MacMini, a B&W Smurf and mainly my MacBook Pro C2D 2.33 using OSX and BootCamp WinXP. I couldn't configure the AEBS strictly for the MBP since I needed to connect with G wireless adapters. I also set up an AirPort Disk (some old FW/USB 2.0 external drive I had lying around). It was setup with two partitions. Works like a charm. I also have a SlingBox Pro running over ethernet and that works perfectly with the AEBS. Some guy named derek in the Sling Community forums figured out how to get it working on the AEBS and gave detailed instructions.The RangeMax MIMO I was using with WPA2 was dropping connections every few hours although it put out a strong signal. I had to keep resetting the RangeMax which was very annoying. With the AEBS I get a strong signal and I haven't had any dropped connections. I'm using OSX.4 Server and my MacBook Pro sometimes couldn't connect to shared drives because they didn't always show up in the Network Window. My other machines saw the drives with their G wireless cards, but the Atheros chipset didn't always see them. Very frustrating. Using the AEBS, they show up every time on the MacBook Pro.I had to give my WPA2 password 13 characters in order to have it connect to WinXP in BootCamp. Still no drivers for the Atheros chipset in WinXP so it only connects at 54 MB/s,Overall I'd say the Airport Extreme Base Station is excellent. It's compact, solid and has very nice configuration software. The only mildly annoying thing about it is when you make minor configuration changes, the AEBS has to restart and that takes a bit of time. And no external antennas or provisions for them. Still, it's worth it. I look for long usage with this product. Way to go Apple.

I had an old Linksys G wireless station, and I have attempted to upgrade it to an N station, while preserving the current functions of my G station. I stream video to several computers (PCs and Macs) simultaneously throughout the house, and share a printer. I bought several other N wireless stations from different vendors before getting that one, and I had to return every single one of them because I could not stream the videos properly from them (too many interruptions). This N station worked flawlessly right out of the box. No tweaking required so far (I only bought it yesterday). I can stream video flawlessly to many computers at the same time, as I did on my G station. And transfer to the N equipped laptops is 3 times faster. The range is also excellent. Connection to the base station is also much faster than on my old G station.There is however one HUGE advantage of this station that the other ones I tried did not have. I was able to connect a USB printer directly to it (many other vendors do that). But what is unique to Apple is that I can access the networked printer from both Macs and PCs using Bonjour, and the station behaves as a USB passthrough, meaning that I do not need suboptimal CUPS drivers anymore, as the native USB printer drivers work flawlessly on both Macs and PCs. This is a huge advantage.

Just got the new Airport Extreme "n" version. We were replacing a really old Airport Base Station we've had in the home office since 2001.First here is a list of items that connect wirelessly throughout our home:iBook 500mz, w/standard Airport cardiMac Core 2 Duo 24", w/Airport Extreme cardNintendo WiiTivo, Series 2Tivo, Series 2 Humax DVDHP Officejet 7410The switchover went fairly smoothly - plugged in the Airport Extreme, switch the Ethernet cables from the Linksys Router (we has DSL coming in), then went about configuring it. Only took a couple of minutes. Then went to the Macs and selected new network, and was was connected!The Wii was the same, very easy to just select the new network.The Tivo caused a bit of a problem, both connected via Linksys WUSB11 Wireless-B USB Network Adapter, and even though I set up the AE to be B & G compatible, Tivo would not accept it. In the end I purch 2 Tivo "G" Network Adapters ($100 for both) and then configured Tivo.Here is a rundown of assumed speed increases, please note no benchmark testing was performed-this is just my perceptions!iBook-nada, same as beforeiMac-faster (finally the Airport Exteme card could take advantage of "G" networkWii-no idea! Don't know internal specsTivo-Big increase in transfering programs between Tivos-actually makes it worthwhile, and a general increase in getting updates etc.The negative of course, is we are not taking advantage of the "n" network because no one supports it!! We gained because we went from "B" to "G". I will probably rant went we need to replace all the network adapters and airport cards when the hardware becomes available for "n".One final benefit we will be using, is the option to add a NAS USB Hard Drive (AirDisk), we are looking at the NewerTech miniStack, as it has the same footprint and will hopefully stack below the AE.

I bought the Airport Extreme Base Station because my old Linksys WRT54G died and also because most of computers at home are Apple. Big mistake. Other older devices in my home had no luck linking up with the Base Station. My Panasonic IP camera (current model), my older Series 2 TiVo and my 5-year old Dell desktop computer all would not see the Base Station with encryption on. So basically in order to keep the Base Station, I had to turn off encryption. Not a good idea. So now I'm returning it and buying another Linksys.Other issue: Apple has to do things their way at the expense of convenience sometimes. For example, you cannot view the Base Station configuration screens using a web browser. You need to install a standalone application called Airport Utility. Consequently, you also cannot see your Cable Modem or DSL Modem configuration screens without disconnecting your setup and hooking up your modem directly by Ethernet to the Base Station.Summary: Apple Airport Extreme Base Station has lots of compatibility issues.

I have an older house with only one phone jack upstairs, next to my bed, where I do not want to put my DSL and Computer. So, when I moved my workstation upstairs, I needed to go wireless. Since then I have owned THREE Netgear routers. The first one had a hardware flaw and would overheat, drop the DSL connection, and I would have to unplug, plug, and reset the modem connection each time. Major pain. Second Netgear router just quit on me one day. I bought another router, and could never get the connection to connect properly. After weeks of futzing around, I gave up and just got a REALLY long telephone cord so that I could hook up my DSL modem IN my home office. Which was fine, but I couldn't sit in bed and type on my laptop, or work in the kitchen, like I wanted to. Months went by, and I remembered that the Apple Airport Extreme had been released. So I ordered one yesterday. It arrived this afternoon. I set up the airport, installed the software, and after restarting my Mac, I was instantly connected to wireless network. It is THAT simple. Who could want for more? So the speed isn't super fast whiz bang etc. [it is perfectly adequate!] but for the first time in months I am wireless!

I am elderly, know little about puters and nothing about wireless routers, live in mountains and had to rely solely on tech support. I researched the product, found this one to be best, and Apple walked me through a simple installation. Now I go anywhere in the house with my laptop and visit my grandchildren and have the capacity for more STUFF that I will ever need.