Introduction to Setting Up AirPort Express Base Station

The Apple AirPort Express base station allows you to share devices such as speakers or printers with a single computer, wirelessly. The possibilities for cool technology projects this introduces are exciting. For instance, using the Airport Express, you can connect speakers in every room in your house to one iTunes library to create a wireless home music network. You can also use AirPrint to wirelessly send print jobs to printers in other rooms.

Whatever your goal, if you need to share data from your Mac wirelessly, the AirPort Express makes it happen with an electrical outlet and a little configuration. Here’s how.

Start by plugging the AirPort Express into an electrical outlet in the room you want to use it in. Then go to your computer and, if you don’t already have the AirPort Utility software installed, install it from the CD that comes with the AirPort Express or download it from Apple's website. The AirPort Utility software comes pre-loaded on Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) and higher.

Install and/or Launch AirPort Utility

1. Once the AirPort Utility is installed, launch the program. 
2. When it starts, you’ll see the new base station listed on the left. Make sure it is highlighted. Click Continue.
3. In the fields presented in the window, give the AirPort Express a name (for instance, it it's located in your home office, maybe call it "office" or "bedroom" if that's where it is) and a password that you'll remember so you can access it later. 

1. Click Continue.

1. Next, you'll be asked whether you're connecting the AirPort Express to an existing network (choose this if you already have a Wi-Fi network), replacing another (if you're getting rid of your old network hardware), or connecting via Ethernet. 
   
   For the purposes of this tutorial, I’m going to assume that you’ve already got a wireless network and that this is just an addition to it. Choose that option and click Continue.

1. You'll see a list of the available wireless networks in your area. Select yours to add the AirPort Express to. Click Continue.
2. When the changed settings are saved, the AirPort Express will restart.
3. When it restarts, the AirPort Express will appear in the AirPort Utility window with the new name you gave it and will be ready to use. 

To learn more about AirPort and how to use it, check out:

• How to stream music over AirPlay
• AirPlay & AirPlay Mirroring Explained
• What Printers Are AirPrint Compatible?

Apple’s Airport Express base station is a terrific addition to iTunes. It allows you to stream music from your iTunes library to speakers throughout your house or print wirelessly. But what happens when something goes wrong? Here are some AirPort Express troubleshooting tips:

If the Airport Express has disappeared from the speakers list in iTunes, try the following:

1. Make sure your computer is on the same Wi-Fi network as the AirPort Express. If it's not, join that network.

1. If your computer and the AirPort Express are on the same network, try quitting iTunes and restarting it.
   
   You should also make sure you have the most recent version of iTunes and, if not, install it.
2. If that doesn’t work, unplug the AirPort Express and plug it back in. Wait for it to restart (when its light turns green, it has restarted and connected to the Wi-Fi network). You may need to quit and restart iTunes.
3. If that doesn't work, try resetting the AirPort Express. You can do this by pressing the reset button on the bottom of the device. It's the small, soft plastic, gray button. This may require a paper clip or other item with a small point. Hold the button for about a second, until the light flashes amber. 
   
   This resets the base station password so you can configure it again using the AirPort Utility.
4. If that doesn’t work, try a hard reset. This erases all data from the AirPort Express and lets you set it up from scratch using the AirPort Utility. This is a step to take after all others have failed.
   
   To do this, hold the reset button for 10 seconds. Then set the base station up again.

 

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