#APPLE AIRPORT EXPRESS SETUP PRINTER FOR MAC#
#APPLE AIRPORT EXPRESS SETUP PRINTER MAC OS X#
#APPLE AIRPORT EXPRESS SETUP PRINTER SOFTWARE#
#APPLE AIRPORT EXPRESS SETUP PRINTER MAC#

Apple has long had a leg up by offering a friendly face for Wi-Fi router configuration, especially compared with the web-based administrative frontends for most other devices.

#APPLE AIRPORT EXPRESS SETUP PRINTER SOFTWARE#

Instead, the computer industry as a whole went for UPnP (Universal Plug and Play). Nearly every base station and networked piece of hardware supports UPnP, as well as multi-platform software like VNC and Plex.ĪirPort Utility. However, it was barely picked up by any other party. While Apple developed it (in 2005), it wasn’t proprietary: it was submitted as a standard. NAT-PMP stands for Network Address Translation Port Mapping Protocol. From some users’ accounts, the problem remains. Work in a semi-useless mode until we removed the iCloud account from the base station’s configuration. The feature requires an iCloud account to function, and I and many users had our base stations It’s rare you’d need to change your base station’s configuration outside of its LAN, and remote-drive access can be accomplished in a lot of other ways, including with many standalone NAS devices.

However, it’s not reliable and not robust, where other remote access tools (like TeamViewer) work with aplomb.

#APPLE AIRPORT EXPRESS SETUP PRINTER MAC#

Back to My Mac (BtMM) was once a great feature, especially for people with Macs in multiple locations. I stopped recommending wireless base station interconnection about four or five years ago, and suggest gigabit ethernet (which can require running cable), powerline networking (which works through unmodified electrical outlets), or a mesh network (explained later) that uses a separate radio for connecting base stations. But it became less and less reliable over time, even as data rates went up by leaps and bounds. If you still need a router-attached hard drive, most AirPort competitors offer USB-shared drives via SMB.īase station to base station networking. I used to tout this feature as a great way to work around obstructions like walls and ceilings, and while the WDS that Apple used to make it work was an industry standard, only Apple seemed to have mastered it. And streaming and on-demand services have replaced some of the purpose for fileservers that mostly held video. Cloud-based storage and sync services reduce the need for network servers. Standalone NAS drives have significantly better features and performance, and are available at all sorts of prices, not just for caviar budgets. Apple shifted to SMB for network filesharing, which makes it easier to work with Windows-compatible servers.

#APPLE AIRPORT EXPRESS SETUP PRINTER MAC OS X#

Apple’s attached drive support used to be a big deal when OS X was oriented around AFP, and it was difficult to create networked fileservers except Mac OS X Server or personal filesharing in regular OS X. And most Wi-Fi routers include USB-based printer support that’s compatible with macOS (although not always with iOS). Even quite inexpensive printers now include Wi-Fi networking, allowing a completely cable-free connection. The AirPort Extreme has an audio jack for sending music from a Mac or iOS device to a set of speakers using the AirPlay protocol. Guest networking (access to an isolated and protected network for guests)Įach of Apple’s advantages has slipped away over the years:.

Separate network names for 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks.DHCP assignment or “reservation,” offering a permanent local network address to a device on the network.Other features found in Apple’s base stations are easy to find in other routers: Time Machine support built into Time Capsule.Automated notification of firmware updates.A network punch-through protocol called NAT-PMP for enabling remote access for applications, like games and servers.Internet access to base station configuration and NAS drives via Back to My Mac.Base station to base station networking (via Wireless Distribution System or WDS).Network-attached storage (NAS) with AFP (Apple Filing Protocol) and SMB support.AirPlay audio passthrough (AirPort Express only).

#APPLE AIRPORT EXPRESS SETUP PRINTER FOR MAC#

However, for Mac users in particular, the gateways had Apple-specific features you couldn’t get elsewhere. What about Apple’s proprietary base station features?įrom Apple’s introduction of the original AirPort until just a few years ago, its base stations were often the best on the market, even if sometimes the most expensive’.

Apple airport express setup printer